Miss Shen’s attempt to ease the atmosphere had the opposite effect, and the cold wind of the North almost burst into a hot wave.
If time could turn back, Yin Ci would have wanted to expose Shen Zhu’s identity immediately.
Having lived for so long, he indeed wanted an unprecedented experience, but it didn’t include this century-old embarrassment. However, this couldn’t be blamed on Shen Zhu—just judging by appearances, he looked younger than Shi Jingzhi.
Demonic Lord Yin’s clumsy, fatherly heart trembled and collapsed halfway.
Before, not knowing each other’s true identities, he and Shi Jingzhi had been testing each other for quite some time. Being tied together as “master and disciple”, it was inevitable to have some intimate actions. Now that they recognized each other, the emotions could be slightly turned around… provided he hadn’t teased his own master so casually.
How could he forget about this matter?
From the crossing of qi at the Ghost Tomb to the pretend affectionate kiss at the city gate, and occasionally blowing air to tease each other—Shi Jingzhi, who usually acted like a proper master, would turn red with embarrassment, making it quite enjoyable.
If it were the other way around, he could have magnanimously said that the younger generation was ignorant, pretending as if nothing had happened.
Unfortunately, the old hooligan turned out to be himself, and this matter wasn’t so easy to handle.
Yin Ci rarely regretted anything in his life, but at this moment, he regretted not being honest from the beginning—was teasing a serious junior really that much fun? Why couldn’t he just honestly play the role of an ordinary mountain dweller?
For a moment, he couldn’t see Shi Jingzhi as the cute Little Mute anymore. The fun he had gained from this had turned into an inexplicable embarrassment.
Luckily, he had a face that had been honed over hundreds of years, allowing him to pretend to be carefree at any time.
In these situations, he must never reveal any awkwardness first. Yin Ci clasped his hands together and smiled naturally.
“Yes, I am indeed Yin Ci.”
Shi Jingzhi looked at Yin Ci strangely for a while, not knowing whether he was amazed by the thickness of this person’s face or admired his ability to act dumb.
Shen Zhu didn’t notice the hidden undercurrents between the two and continued, “There are too many injured people. It’s best for all of you to rest at Twin Rivers as soon as possible. After this period of time, it won’t be easy to leave the Central Plains.”
She stepped onto the wooden boat artifact and tied the sled to the back of the boat. The rabbit demons pulling the sled disappeared in an instant.
Shi Jingzhi shook his head and came back to his senses. “Not easy to leave the Central Plains?”
Shen Zhu’s smile faded slightly. She glanced at Yin Ci, then turned her gaze back to Shi Jingzhi. “Regarding the incident at the Jianchen Temple, it was exposed too quickly. The Yueshui Pavilion has already received the news—you forcefully went up the mountain, plotted to kill two eminent monks, and took away Master Kongshi’s Sword of Compassion.”
The Yueshui Pavilion, which managed information, would soon spread the news throughout the martial world.
Shi Jingzhi thought for a moment. “Such a ridiculous statement must come with an audacious title… Let me think, the Sword of Compassion holds a clue, and in order to keep the secret to myself, I killed two eminent monks to silence them?”
Shen Zhu: “Exactly. There must be someone behind this, pushing things along.”
Shi Jingzhi: “I’m well aware of that.”
Having said that, he glanced at the unconscious Shi Zhongyu. “The tragic incident at the Jianchen Temple came first, followed by the unsealing of the Arcane Arts of Mishan. It seems that the more we travel, the more obstacles we encounter… It seems that we need to separate from Miss Shi as soon as possible. If she travels with us for too long, it’s hard to guarantee that she won’t be harmed and become a victim of a plot.”
With this matter exposed, finding the path to the Shirou would become even more difficult. However, Shi Jingzhi remained calm and clearly knew a few things.
Shen Zhu didn’t ask further and continued, “Regarding the clue on the Sword of Compassion, the Ling Sect is already aware. They have taken advantage of the terrain and sealed off Zongwu Mountain.”
Shi Jingzhi’s expression remained calm. “I know.”
Yin Ci didn’t have time to savor the awkwardness; he just looked at his surprisingly calm cheap master, slightly furrowing his brows. Unfortunately, with the freezing cold in the North, and they were carrying a boatload of wounded people, it wasn’t convenient to inquire in detail.
Both of them had their own thoughts as they proceeded towards Twin Rivers.
When Shi Zhongyu woke up, there was a shelter above her head.
It was currently the setting sun, and she calculated that she had actually slept for nearly a whole day.
Subconsciously, she touched her chest and finally let out a long sigh of relief when she felt the talisman. Shi Zhongyu put on her shabby Green Maiden Sword and struggled to get out of bed.
The inn room wasn’t large; just a regular courtyard that looked like a typical household doing some extra business. There were only two or three rooms for guests, and the furniture inside was dusty and shabby, to the point of being crude.
However, despite the hardship faced by the Kushan Sect, they weren’t so uncouth as to toss a young girl into a room with men. Shi Zhongyu had a room all to herself, and even half of the Kushan Sect’s belongings couldn’t be seen inside.
Shi Zhongyu quickly tidied up her appearance, pushed the door open, and wanted to rush back to Taiheng to wake up the sect leader.
However, considering that she had been taken care of by the Kushan Sect during this trip, leaving without saying anything was not the conduct of a gentleman. Now that she had recovered some strength, she began to look for people from the Kushan Sect.
She knocked on the door of the adjacent room for a long time, but no one responded. The door was half-open, and through the narrow crack, she could see the unconscious Su Si and Yan Qing. The two of them were covered in dirt and lying huddled under the quilt, but their wounds were properly bandaged, and they seemed to be fine. Lord Bai was pressing on Su Si’s chest, looking exhausted as it dozed off.
There was no one else in the room. She turned around in circles but couldn’t find Shi Jingzhi and Yin Ci.
The yard wasn’t large. As the only moving person wandering around, she caught sight of the innkeeper. “Miss, you’re awake. Your friends are waiting for you in the front hall.”
Friends?
It suddenly dawned on Shi Zhongyu. Taiheng had a post in Twin Rivers, where many disciples with average talents were stationed. They were usually not focused on martial arts training and were busy with the trivial matters of the sect.
They rarely saw important figures from Taiheng, so suddenly, a big senior sister appeared from the sky—it was definitely something worth seeing.
Now that she had successfully reunited with the sect members, she only needed to enter the protection shuttle and could quickly return to the Central Plains.
However, Shi Zhongyu couldn’t understand why the master and disciple chose to inform Taiheng in advance and then specifically avoid them, leaving only two wounded people who couldn’t receive any visitors—Yan Qing was previously just a servant of Taiheng, and Su Si had only recently joined the Kushan Sect. Even if the disciples of Taiheng were waiting for her here, as long as she didn’t speak, they wouldn’t show the slightest interest in those “nobodies”.
Facing two people whose consciousness was unclear, she seemed to have nothing to say.
Though Shi Zhongyu was stubborn, she grew up in a wealthy family and knew which superficial courtesy was best to be done. Back in the Ghost Tomb, Sect Master Shi hadn’t hesitated to repay her kindness.
Now with such arrangements, it seemed like they didn’t want to have any contact with her and were subtly urging her to leave.
Clearly, they had fought side by side before, experiencing life and death together.
Shi Zhongyu rubbed her temples, and she realized that no matter how tangled she was, there was only one path to choose—that she couldn’t risk the life of her own sect master to pursue some minor details of etiquette.
So she forced a smile and dealt with the enthusiastic disciples of Taiheng in front of her. They surrounded her as they left the small courtyard. When parting, Shi Zhongyu turned her head and looked at the shabby yard with confusion.
…Fortunately, even if she couldn’t bid them farewell in person, there were other ways to repay them.
Yin Ci, no, Senior Yin had entrusted her with something.
The life and death situation with Sect Master Qi had to be handled urgently. However, extracting the record of a deceased disciple was something she still had time to do.
A few hours later, an Arrow Horse left Twin Rivers, and a gray pigeon flapped its wings, crossing the night sky.
When Yin Ci received the Taiheng gray pigeon, the moon had risen. It was almost the fifteenth day, and the moon was quite full.
Unfortunately, Twin Rivers was remote and cold. As soon as night fell, the lights on the streets dimmed a bit. The master and disciple stood on the rooftop, casting two faint shadows, like decorative stone animal carvings, continuing to tacitly maintain the facade of tranquility.
When the pigeon arrived, Yin Ci didn’t avoid showing it to Shi Jingzhi. He read the message in front of him.
The note only had one short sentence.
[Shi Chongyu was fortunate to be favored by the emperor, but she passed away before even four years had passed since she entered the palace.]
Yin Ci crumpled the paper, and the final speculation settled—the person who could specially fabricate a body to deceive him was rare in the world. Shi Jingzhi must have come from an extraordinary background.
Shi Jingzhi had mentioned that his elder brother inherited the family business early and that no one cared about him. He said he had drunk Immortal Wine, but it had no effect on him… He also said his elder brother had peculiar hobbies and taught him the strategies of warfare from a young age.
At the time, Yin Ci thought this person was just talking nonsense, but when he looked back now, most of it turned out to be true. Yin Ci had heard some royal information but had never heard of such a son in the Xu family.
After all these years, Yin Ci had finally caught the fox’s tail, but he couldn’t be happy about it.
Shi Jingzhi had once said that he wanted to find him early and be by his side. But now Shi Jingzhi knew the profound connection between them, knew Yin Ci’s concern for him, and yet he didn’t come forward explicitly or implicitly, trying to use the “immortality” which was even more powerful than anything else.
Clearly, no matter who the enemy was, he wouldn’t lose his life for it.
The crying child from back then had grown up. Yin Ci thought that perhaps he had grown up a little too much. Shi Jingzhi’s “addiction” was present, and facing immortality in front of him, who knew how he could resist asking about it.
Even at this moment, with no one else around, Shi Jingzhi still just watched the pigeon fly away and asked, “A message from Taiheng?”
“Mm.”
“A’Ci, the grilled fish with fruit juice at noon were delicious. Can we have grilled fish tomorrow?” Shi Jingzhi naturally changed the topic.
Yin Ci suspected that if he didn’t speak, they could maintain this false calm forever.
“Over the years, I have been investigating the cause of this ‘immortal body’. If I knew the answer, I would never hide it from you.” Yin Ci sighed and took the first step. “Unfortunately, my past can’t help you with anything.”
His memories when he first obtained “immortality” were already fuzzy and indistinguishable between truth and falsehood. In that vague recollection, he only remembered boundless darkness and despair. After investigating for hundreds of years, Yin Ci hadn’t found anything close to an answer. Time was running out for Shi Jingzhi, and this path was obviously not one they should take.
Putting aside his own age, there was no need to burden Shi Jingzhi with the bitterness of the past. Yin Ci didn’t want to give Shi Jingzhi any unrealistic hope; that would be too cruel.
But the person involved in the matter of not aging and being immortal had no clue. Once he said this, it would definitely raise suspicions.
However, upon hearing this, Shi Jingzhi just smiled brightly. “I know. After all, A’Ci promised me a long life of a hundred years. You wouldn’t intentionally hide something from me. The Kushan Sect is about to become public enemy number one, and yet you are willing to stay. I am content as your master.”
Yin Ci could tell that this wasn’t a lie—once the ban was broken, if there was one change in Shi Jingzhi, it was probably this complete and unrestricted trust.
After finishing his words, Shi Jingzhi then enthusiastically admired the lights under the eaves of the houses.
Why doesn’t he come closer? Yin Ci wondered. Shi Jingzhi had sufficient reasons to act coquettish, hint, or ask for help—anything would do.
‘Forget it,’ Yin Ci thought. Since this person had already pulled him into the world, he could also walk over.
Such a simple truth.
“Your Highness, this can’t go on like this.”
Yin Ci placed a hand on Shi Jingzhi’s head, exerting a little force to make him look at him.
“It’s time for an open and honest conversation.”
The author has something to say:
Compared to immortality, it seems like royal identity is the most irrelevant onion peel _(:з」∠)
Fox Shi has grown up! Demonic Lord Yin… Demonic Lord Yin’s old father mindset failed to renew.
Shi Jingzhi had a not-too-long nightmare. He was well aware that he was dreaming, which gave him some comfort.
The Queen of Milan wasn’t like Yan Budu; she had no intention of leaving detailed memories for the world. The vast hatred and despair came crashing down on him, almost causing him to lose consciousness.
The Queen’s temperament was even more ruthless than Yan Budu’s, and she showed no mercy to her “kind”. Shi Jingzhi felt some regret—had he not received assistance from Yin Ci and Chen Qianfan, he might not have been able to defeat the Arcane Arts. To deal with the full force of the “Queen’s Funeral”, he would have needed at least a well-trained army.
She hoped to leave her last words to a strong and capable member of her kind.
Shi Jingzhi wasn’t sure if he was being crafty or not; he just had a vague feeling. The Queen of Milan’s last words were definitely not something he could easily digest.
Sure enough, in the beginning of the nightmare, Shi Jingzhi saw the vast glaciers of the North. The Queen of Milan stood at the edge of the glacier, dressed in a blue and white imperial robe, exuding a chilling elegance.
There was no one by her side.
And opposite her stood Great Yun’s tens of thousands of troops, mixed with thousands of Milan soldiers. Leading them was an elderly man on a white horse, dressed as the Great Yun’s Imperial Preceptor of that time.
“What am I? A monster or weapon created by you?”
Under the dark clouds and storm, she asked calmly. Her voice was transmitted through magic, and the surrounding generals and soldiers were indifferent, as if only the Imperial Preceptor could hear.
The Imperial Preceptor raised an eyebrow and looked at the Queen of Milan up and down. She coughed up blood and smiled sarcastically, like a diseased plum standing atop the glacier.
“When I was treating my illness, I found a formation in my own blood. The formation was so complex that it didn’t seem like something from this world, but it did indeed have traces of human alteration. It has been with me since birth, and my short-lived illness and terrifying desire are all related to it, right?”
Rather than asking a question, the Queen of Milan’s tone was more like a reproach. The Imperial Preceptor’s eyes showed some admiration, but that admiration quickly turned into regret.
“To be able to detect the blood formation, you are indeed a talented magic prodigy as rumored. Unfortunately…”
His voice was very low, also transmitted through magic, and it felt like needles stabbing.
“No need to regret anything. Today, I just want to die with a clear understanding. Old man, if you dare to lie in front of me, even if I have to go to hell, I will take the lives of the tens of thousands behind you.”
The Queen of Milan interrupted him with a cold laugh.
The Imperial Preceptor looked compassionate, as if looking at a child being unreasonable. He looked at the countless spells gathered around the Queen and hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Great Yun has had generations of talented individuals, brilliant and unparalleled. A Saint sacrificed himself to the heavens, and heaven granted such blessings. You’re not monsters, but rather the fate of the heavens. We are sending you to a place of freedom with great care.”
“Unfortunately, it’s a pity… women are shallow in their hearts, and their fixed desire is too biased, making it difficult to bear the mandate of heaven in the end.”
The Queen of Milan’s smile grew larger and larger, and the cold wind lifted her long sleeves, blending her killing intent and immortal aura.
“Children of Desire? Fixed desire? Let me ask you, is the ‘bloodline disease’ that nearly took my life a fixed desire?”
The Imperial Preceptor nodded gently. “Indeed.”
The Queen clenched the handkerchief in her hand, and her smile became somewhat twisted. Dark clouds rolled in under the clear sky, and thunder rumbled in the clouds.
Her despair became even heavier, carrying fragments of chaos. Memories from the fixed desire were difficult to say whether they were blessings or curses, and she was destined to never escape from them in her lifetime.
Queen Xu Luo was afflicted with a disease that caused her to cough up blood, making it difficult for her to bear children, and thus was neglected by the royal family. After entering the palace for many days, the royal family treated her as a beautiful decoration and gave her a female slave named A’Tao.
Unexpectedly, the two met by chance, and A’Tao became the Queen’s first friend in her life.
One spring day, she received this handkerchief. Under the sunlight, the servant girl A’Tao’s eyes were sparkling, and she smiled brilliantly—
[Take it, I embroidered it! I remember today is your birthday. Haa, the two of us are trapped here all alone, so we have to support each other.]
[I learned Great Yun’s songs from my sister, and I’ll sing them to you! How does it go… The warm, warm breeze caresses the pretty peach branches…]
[Unfortunately, my family are all imperial slaves. Otherwise, I would definitely travel all over the country, singing everywhere. A’Luo, what do you want to do in the future?]
It was obviously just a smile, but it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life. No matter what, she wanted to see it again.
Perhaps she could fulfill that person’s wish.
Several years later, beside the pile of corpses of the royal family, on the blood-stained throne, the new Queen happily announced to her friend—
“I will abolish the system of imperial slaves, and you can sing freely.”
“I will take care of your family and take care of this country… Now I will do whatever I want.”
“…A’Tao, why aren’t you smiling?”
The slave girl A’Tao knelt trembling under the throne, not daring to raise her head. When she heard those words, she looked up and forced out a smile that was even uglier than crying.
Not long after, A’Tao’s family was besieged by the people as “betraying the royal family and supporting a tyrant”. A’Tao didn’t seek help from her former friend. By the time Xu Luo found out, they had already crossed the border and fled to Great Yun.
She could never find that smile again.
A’Tao hurriedly escaped, and no matter how hard she tried to govern the Milan people, in their eyes, she would always be a usurper who killed her husband and family with sinister intentions, an outsider with ill intentions. She was caught in a dilemma, and her time was running out.
She knew in her heart that she would never see that kind of smile again.
What a pitiful and ridiculous life, only to exchange it for the frivolous phrase “shallow in their hearts, and their fixed desire is too biased.”
Then what was “right”?
The Queen let go, and the wrinkled handkerchief danced in the wind, falling down the mountains and rivers. She looked directly into the Imperial Preceptor’s eyes and said in a slow, deliberate manner, “Great Yun has had generations of talented individuals, brilliant and unparalleled. Knowing that I won’t be the last one… That’s enough, it’s enough.”
“Come, let me teach you two things—first, when a person is about to die, their words may not be virtuous. I lied to you when I said I wouldn’t kill anyone. Second…”
After letting go of the handkerchief, she smiled even more beautifully.
“You should guard your secrets. The dead may still talk.”
As soon as the Queen’s words fell, countless crimson spells shot out. The Imperial Preceptor’s expression changed, attempting to resist with magic, but his heart was instantly pierced. Splashes of blood caused the massive glacier to shatter, and tens of thousands of troops fell into the icy sea in an instant.
“Old man, let me show you the hatred of a ‘woman’.”
The Imperial Preceptor’s corpse was dragged closer by the spells, and the Queen tightly embraced it. After a burst of blood-red light, more corpses swarmed in. Before being engulfed by the corpses, the Queen’s face turned ashen, and her lips moved slightly.
“I will let you all know that when a Saint sacrifices himself to the heavens, it’s not blessings that heaven bestows, but calamities.”
“I will become this calamity.”
For decades, for hundreds of years, there would always be others of her kind coming to this northern land. Even if there was only a slight possibility, she wanted them to pay the price.
In boundless hatred and despair, she finally shed tears. In the final moments of the nightmare, Shi Jingzhi saw the Queen of Milan move her lips and then stubbornly swallow her last words.
Looking at that tiny movement of her lips, she seemed to want to call out the name “A’Tao.”
The information in the nightmare “testament” was terrifying, and the sensation of the corpses piling up was too horrifying. Shi Jingzhi gasped in shock, suddenly sitting up.
He struggled wildly, like he was drowning, and then a warm hand grabbed him.
Shi Jingzhi instinctively grasped the hand, holding onto the person’s hand tightly. The despair and oppression almost drowned him, but he still had a piece of buoyant wood that would never sink.
“Are you awake?” Yin Ci sighed with relief.
Shi Jingzhi didn’t know if he could be considered awake—the aftereffects of the Living Puppet Curse were like a hangover, and the influence of the Queen of Milan’s “testament” made his brain feel like it was bubbling. Sect Master Shi let go of his disciple and frantically clutched at the sides of the boat, trying to vomit.
But there was nothing in his stomach to vomit, and he dry-heaved for a long time before recovering.
Memories from the age of three returned, and Shi Jingzhi knew that the matter of “fixed desire” was undoubtedly related to the previous Imperial Preceptor. Unexpectedly, this “connection” started over two hundred years ago.
There was not just one Imperial Preceptor involved; it was a group.
The Queen of Milan, Yan Budu, and himself were all some kind of living being called “Children of Desire”. Their strange hemoptysis and twisted desires were all due to this identity.
Great Yun produced generations of Children of Desire. Apart from the particularly troublesome Queen of Milan and Yan Budu, how many people were buried in the shadows?
According to the words in the testament, after the first Imperial Preceptor sacrificed himself to the heavens, the “Children of Desire” appeared. But what exactly were the “Children of Desire” meant for?
Shi Jingzhi wished he could fly to Yidu right now and interrogate Jiang Youyue with severe methods. Unfortunately, Jiang Youyue was well protected, and he was under the watchful eye of the royal family, so it wasn’t easy to take action.
Moreover, at this moment, he had more important things to consider—
How could there be a short-lived, strange disease? He only had a mysterious formation in his blood. The formation had been with them since birth; even the Queen of Milan couldn’t remove it, which indicated it wasn’t easy to deal with.
The aftereffects of the Living Puppet Curse had passed, and Shi Jingzhi lost Chen Qianfan’s magic reserves. He couldn’t deduce deeper clues. He could only grasp Yin Ci and look around weakly. “Where are Senior Chen and Granny Wei?”
The wooden boat seemed to be some kind of magical tool, and it was stable on the snowy plain. Shi Zhongyu and Yan Qing were still unconscious, but Chen Qianfan and Granny Wei were nowhere to be seen.
Yin Ci lowered his gaze and said casually, “They’re gone.”
Shi Jingzhi’s chaotic thoughts froze immediately. The magical artifact was still warm, and they must have just stopped. There was undoubtedly only one meaning to what “gone” meant in such an empty and desolate place.
After half a day, he finally thought a bit slowly—when he left, the two elders were clearly fine. How could they suddenly disappear after he took a nap?
He immediately held Yin Ci’s hand, as if afraid that the person in front of him would also vanish.
Since his ban was lifted, and after the fierce battle and the testament, Shi Jingzhi hadn’t had any rest. Yin Ci looked at him, and he felt that the person in front of him was filled with exhaustion from head to toe. The vigorous vitality of the past had diminished somewhat.
Yin Ci pondered for a moment and didn’t inquire about the matter of the testament, but continued calmly, “Shi Zhongyu and Yan Qing aren’t in good condition. They need a warm place to recuperate from their injuries. We are not far from Twin Rivers. We can rest there for a while.”
“It’s just sunrise now, and the yin energy is receding. I will go find Su Si. You wait here.”
Yin Ci’s tone was calm, with a touch of unquestionable composure, which made people feel reassured.
Just like many years ago.
…Right, Yin Ci was immortal. He thought belatedly and couldn’t help but drift away in his thoughts again.
In just an instant, Shi Jingzhi deeply understood the pain of the Queen of Milan—if there wasn’t such a thread of worldly attachment around him, when the heavy truths came crashing down, he might have fallen into despair too.
He felt a strange sense of having survived a great calamity, and cold sweat soaked his back.
Yin Ci seemed to misunderstand Shi Jingzhi’s blank expression, thinking that he had not fully recovered from the nightmare.
He took out an exquisite brocade and placed it in Shi Jingzhi’s palm. “Woven by Granny Wei, inside there’s a tranquility charm written by Chen Qianfan. Remember not to open it casually… I’ve accepted your ‘flower lantern contract’, so I should return the favor.”
After speaking, Yin Ci took out another tranquility charm and waved it in front of Shi Jingzhi. “This one is mine, and I’ve put your flower lantern contract in place.”
Oh, Yin Ci was coaxing him.
Shi Jingzhi suddenly felt that this person had been using the same three tricks for the past twenty years, which meant that there weren’t many tricks left. Despite carrying a heavy burden in his heart, he was almost amused by his disciple’s actions.
Yin Ci continued clumsily playing the role of a father, his tone somewhat uncertain. “When we get to Twin Rivers, I’ll cook fish for you.”
Shi Jingzhi carefully held the tranquility charm and put it in his pocket, looking at Yin Ci. “Master has already passed three; I was just thinking about serious matters.”
He was no longer the little mute from years ago; this small bribe couldn’t fool him anymore.
“But I really want to eat fish with fruit juice.” After thinking for a moment, he added seriously.
Yin Ci’s expression loosened. He let out a sigh of relief, about to say something, when his brows slowly furrowed.
Shi Jingzhi turned his head and followed Yin Ci’s gaze—not far away, a white smoke billowed. From the shape alone, the approaching object seemed somewhat strange, but the demonic qi was quite faint.
As the object drew closer, the two of them could make out the general outline. It was a small sled pulled by rabbit demons, and standing on the sled was a figure holding… a large goose.
The large goose had two fleshy antennae on its head, and its eyes were stern and dissatisfied. They were very familiar with it.
Lord Bai had a warm jade hanging from its chest and looked somewhat frightened, but fortunately hadn’t suffered any injuries. Su Si was unconscious at the back of the sled, wrapped tightly in thick clothes; his face was stained with blood but still showed signs of breathing.
“Long time no see, Sect Master Shi. Did your Kushan Sect lose something?” The sled stopped beside the wooden boat, and the person on the sled smiled sweetly.
Shi Jingzhi: “…Thank you, Miss Shen.”
He found it somewhat amusing and couldn’t help but play along with Shen Zhu’s act. Based on Yin Ci’s experience, he probably discovered their connection back in the Ghost Tomb. Now, Shen Zhu was pretending not to know them face-to-face, and he was momentarily unsure whether he should introduce this subordinate.
The atmosphere was so awkward that it felt strange whether they spoke or not.
Sect Master Shi had just gained some true emotions, and the initial excitement hadn’t subsided yet. He was afraid he might slip and break it. He was at a loss for words, unable to come up with a smooth response.
On the other side, Yin Ci indeed remembered the face of the newcomer; it was Shen Zhu from the Ghost Tomb.
When they were in the Ghost Tomb, Shi Jingzhi had sneakily spent time alone with this person. Disciples of the Yueshui Pavilion were always running around, investigating various peculiar things. Now that they bumped into each other here, he could barely explain it as a coincidence, but…
Yin Ci glanced at the bird whistle hanging on Shen Zhu’s chest and thought of the sparrow feathers on Shi Jingzhi and understood the situation. But now that Shi Jingzhi was pretending not to know her, he didn’t know if Shi Jingzhi had mentioned this matter to her.
Regardless, they had been avoiding any direct contact with her, so it seemed a bit hurtful to expose everything right now. With Shi Jingzhi not saying anything, he seemed unable to speak up.
The two of them looked up and down, and the atmosphere fell into a suspicious silence.
Shen Zhu observed the inexplicable atmosphere for a while, and her eyebrows rose higher and higher. Seeing that neither of them spoke, she gradually grasped some clues—
Shen Zhu pulled Su Si onto the wooden boat and then turned to Yin Ci. “Alright, you know who I am. I am indeed Shi Jingzhi’s subordinate, but he didn’t tell me anything about you. The Yueshui Pavilion’s news is always fast, and as soon as I heard that you openly acknowledged your Master at the city gate, I recognized you.”
She smiled and tried to ease the tension.
“Yin Ci, right? I had quite an impression of you from our time in the Ghost Tomb. I’ve only seen one person who dared to talk back to their Master like that, and that’s you.”
The author has something to say:
Shen Zhu: I’m just a bot that brings up embarrassing past events…
…Demonic Lord Yin, do you remember what you did before?
The dusk had passed, and the night grew deeper. More than ten li away from Chen Qianfan’s residence was an icy cave.
Lord Bai huddled in Su Si’s arms, feeling confused for the first time.
There must be some major problem with its ability, but it couldn’t figure out where it went wrong.
Was it when it left the Chigou Sect?
The Chigou Sect took exploring the world’s great tombs as its responsibility, and they especially revered matters related to fortune-telling. When they went to tombs, they even brought talismans to ward off evil spirits and caught special ability monsters to offer them as sacrifices.
Lord Bai was transferred from a side branch of the Chigou Sect to the main branch. It had a strong natural intuition and knew how to ward off evil spirits, making it worthy of the title “a living spirit artifact” in the Chigou Sect.
The main branch of the Chigou Sect was located in the northwest desert. Despite the dry environment, it had its own clean pond. Normally, it slept on the freshest and cleanest straw and ate the most tender grass and fish fry. Those minor noble tombs weren’t even worthy of inviting it to preside over the ritual.
Lord Bai thought it could comfortably spend the rest of its life there.
A few months ago, after it happily finished wringing the neck of one of the human subordinates, it suddenly had an uneasy premonition—the feeling was complex and dense, difficult to explain. It felt like it needed to leave this place, but it didn’t know where to go.
So it could only lie despondently in its nest, using its small brain to think hard about its life as a goose.
Who could have expected that on that evening, a pair of wicked hands would reach into the goose pen? Lord Bai was furious, about to turn back and wring the person’s neck, but its mouth was caught in a noose. The whole goose was stunned—it was a premeditated attack!
However, the premeditated attacker had a good appearance and was skilled in martial arts. He silently picked it up, holding a glistening blade close to its neck.
Lord Bai didn’t struggle, and one of its fleshy antennae tingled, sensing the man’s fortune.
Although Lord Bai always looked down on humans, its brain wasn’t as good as a human’s after all. At that moment, it opened its small, bean-like eyes and made a simple and straightforward judgment—there was something ominous here, but the man’s fortune was very auspicious. So, it followed him without hesitation. What else was there to hesitate about?
Following the wrong person, it would end up being grilled at some restaurant, while accompanying the right one would bring it a joyful life full of food and drink.
However, ever since its “new servant” joined the Kushan Sect, it hadn’t encountered anything good. The declining fortunes of these humans made it almost doubt its goose life. Fortunately, everything seemed to go smoothly for the time being, and the group of people didn’t encounter any major disasters. Su Si became increasingly lively and active, and its premonition wasn’t completely wrong.
Until now.
At this time and place, its “joyful life” was in terrible condition, and it was about to breathe its last breath.
Su Si was huddled in a corner of the cave, his lips turning purple, his face pale, and the blood on his clothes had frozen. A few steps away, a tragic corpse lay on the ground, the robe of the Mishan Sect torn and tattered.
Lord Bai was firmly held in Su Si’s arms, its bean-like eye, in a rare instance, showed not severity, but concern.
Su Si smiled and rubbed its head with his chin.
“You’re not very good at seeking good fortune and avoiding disasters… But you’ve already helped me a lot. Everyone has their own fate, and I’m afraid I can only support you until here.”
Anxiously, Lord Bai twisted its body, breaking free from Su Si’s somewhat cold embrace. While raising its head and making a low honk, it continued to think, trying to find the place where it went wrong and led them astray.
According to its intuition, both of them should survive.
Could today be different?
Early in the morning today, Lord Bai sensed an extremely strong ominous aura. So it nudged Su Si awake, intending to save its own servant.
As expected, Su Si put on his clothes and chased after it murderously.
Over the past few months, Lord Bai had learned about its servant—Su Si was always vigilant, and he never left his butcher knife behind. He was also good at survival and would definitely be able to walk out of the snowy plains alive.
The most convenient thing was that Su Si was quite calm and ruthless, never doing anything useless. Su Si had used other humans before, but he was better at withdrawing in time than anyone else.
What a stable and useful rice bowl.
Lord Bai’s premonition came just in time. As soon as Su Si found the goose demon and was about to run after it, they saw a large group of monsters.
Seeing fresh human flesh, a few small monsters broke away from the group and pounced towards them. Su Si lowered his eyes, and the blade of his butcher knife flashed, splattering blood all over the ground.
So far, this was normal. However, what happened next was that the usually calm human seemed to make a wrong decision—
Faced with danger, Su Si didn’t escape. Instead, he kicked away the corpses of the monsters near his feet and was attracted by the broken runes on the monsters’ skins.
As the young Patriarch of the Chigou Sect, Su Si didn’t need to learn spellcasting and formations. However, he had to learn the basic formations often used by enemies and the sinister arts commonly used in tombs.
“Before, I only found these ghostly talismans annoying, but now I have to thank that old hag.”
Su Si picked up the inconspicuous pale piece of paper and carefully examined it in his palm.
“You called me out for this? …It’s just a simple formation-breaking technique. But someone deliberately tore the symbols into snow and spread them among the monsters, concealing the spell within the monster’s qi.”
“Did they want to weaken the protection formation without anyone noticing? Hmm, San Zi, Sect Master Shi, and Senior Yin should be fine…”
Lord Bai blinked its eyes, eagerly waiting for Su Si to take it away—the goose demon didn’t understand any spell or formation, and it was annoyed by the ominous aura of this place.
If it were before, Su Si would have run away already. But this time, he stood still, muttering incomprehensible words like “chasing the culprit” and “breaking the formation”.
It didn’t come to save him and be idle!
Lord Bai was furious, and it bit Su Si’s leg with one bite. Unfortunately, it was freezing cold, and Su Si’s clothes weren’t thin enough. Its bite was in vain, and it could only flap its wings anxiously.
“I know, we need to find the person who cast the spell quickly.” Su Si glanced at Lord Bai. “I don’t understand the spell, and Chen Qianfan’s protection formation won’t hold up for too long.”
“Honk!!!” What do you know? What does it matter what they’re doing!
However, Su Si only tightened his clothes, wrapping Lord Bai inside his robes, and continued forward following the horde of monsters.
…Fine, it didn’t care anymore. Anyway, it didn’t sense any ominous signs of trouble. As long as it and its servant weren’t going to die, it didn’t mind dawdling a bit longer.
Lord Bai felt somewhat disgruntled.
Of the three people from the Kushan Sect, except for the one with red eyes who was somewhat still human, the other two were much stranger. Su Si didn’t have fresh grass and fish fry, nor did it have its own clear pool. It couldn’t understand why Su Si was so attached to the Kushan Sect.
Half a day later, Su Si successfully found the remote spellcaster. However, the person was more cautious than they imagined and stronger than they anticipated.
The two fought for a full three hours while Lord Bai trembled behind a giant rock in the cave the entire time—it could only predict fortune and misfortune and had no knowledge of any spells. Any random spell that came their way could instantly send it to its demise.
Moreover, the spells that exploded in front of them were more than anything it had seen in its entire life.
Its servant exhausted all his strength before finally ending his opponent’s life. But when the enemy fell, Su Si was also covered in injuries, and he could barely stand steadily.
Under normal circumstances, these injuries wouldn’t be enough to take his life in one go. But here was the desolate and uninhabited northern region, where even someone in good health could easily freeze to death.
Lord Bai was almost frightened by Su Si’s situation.
His servant’s death was imminent, and it would be left alone in the icy and snowy wilderness, uncertain about its own fate.
Yet, it still couldn’t sense any ominous aura. Did its fleshy antennae get frostbite? Or was it too cold here, and it was weakened due to hunger and lack of vitality?
“Honk! Honk!” Lord Bai stumbled and ran towards the corpse, hopping and yelling on the body.
According to Su Si’s character, he should have gone to gnaw on the corpse. If he ate something, he might have more strength to support himself.
But Su Si just shook his head wearily.
“They will definitely come looking for me. Unfortunately, the horde of monsters won’t disperse for a while, and this place is well hidden. They probably won’t arrive until after sunrise… Even if I eat the corpse, I won’t survive until then. I don’t want them… to see me in that disgusting state.”
He exhaled a breath of cold air and even revealed a trace of a weak smile.
“Besides, even if I want to eat something, I should eat you first.”
“Honk!” What the hell! This is completely outrageous!
“Lord Bai, come over here.” Su Si’s voice suddenly became steadier.
Lord Bai stomped the ground, trying to appear majestic, and walked over. It hadn’t even stabilized its posture when something warm was added to its body. It lowered its head and saw a piece of warm red jade.
“I found it on that bastard’s body. It’s probably a little gadget they used to warm their fingers when casting spells. You wear this and go far away… You can go anywhere.”
“Honk?”
When something was unusual, there must be something demonic behind it. It was freezing cold here; how could this person bear to give away such a treasure?
“You’re small in size, so you can use this to protect yourself. In my current condition, just warming a finger won’t help… I don’t want to struggle to survive for a short time. It’s not worth it.”
Su Si seemed to have figured something out and smiled even more brightly.
“Doesn’t this line sound quite ‘heroic’?”
What a mess! Lord Bai, with the warm red jade on its chest, went to twist Su Si’s hand again.
However, Su Si didn’t respond anymore. He half-closed his eyes, not knowing if he was resting or already unconscious. Lord Bai nudged the palm of his hand with its head, feeling the icy coldness of Su Si’s palm.
‘Things shouldn’t be like this,’ it thought sluggishly.
Maybe it should wait here for a while. It couldn’t say for sure that it wasn’t mistaken, and perhaps there would be a turning point. It had lived for so long by warning about fortune and misfortune and leaving everything to fate. As long as it found a suitable human servant to attach to, it wouldn’t need to think or do anything.
Its ability had never been wrong.
Considering this, Lord Bai tried to twist Su Si again. Su Si still didn’t respond. It drooped its head and sat there dumbfounded.
Su Si’s life force was feeble; he was really about to die.
Maybe it should listen to him and leave this place, find the next person with good luck and live comfortably. Even if its predictions were half wrong, at least it wouldn’t have to worry about its own life.
But Lord Bai still felt somewhat displeased; the warm jade on its chest was making it uncomfortable.
Su Si probably came all the way here alone, relying on it to remain silent, right? The extent of its abilities…
Forget it.
Lord Bai straightened its neck, raised its head high, and let out a loud honk. Its fleshy antennae drooped completely.
It didn’t want to think about the existence or absence of abilities or the good or bad outcome of the situation. Those things were too complicated, and it gave it a headache. Being just a goose was fine. If it received benefits, it would return the favor. Even as a goose, it had to uphold principles.
Lord Bai flapped its wings for a moment, then rushed out of the cave. Its body was pure white, and as soon as it stepped on the snow, only its orange-red beak and feet were visible. The wind and snow subsided, and there was silence all around. Lord Bai ruffled its feathers, ran to the most open space, and lifted its head to keep honking.
It honked until it was thirsty, then it lowered its head and took a bite of the snow. It didn’t know how long Su Si could hold on or if there were any people nearby. It just kept honking like cursing, getting more and more exhausted, but also feeling more and more relieved.
It didn’t want to die, so it would shout until it had just enough energy to survive. That way, it could leave the northern region with its head held high.
If it owed its servant a favor, wouldn’t it be so humiliating?
Lord Bai couldn’t remember how long it had been honking. It was making so much noise that it started to feel dizzy. It only remembered that when the dark clouds dispersed and the stars appeared, a pair of feet stopped in front of it.
It lifted its head and saw a young woman. The woman wore a dark red cloak, with delicate makeup and radiant eyes.
“I was wondering what it was. It turns out to be a little goose demon.”
She said with a playful smile while caressing the small silver whistle hanging around her neck.
On her shoulder, three chubby sparrows crowded together, curiously tilting their heads.
The author has something to say:
Actually, it’s like this: At the beginning of this chapter, I was writing from Su Si’s perspective, but halfway through, I felt that something was off _(:з」∠)
I thought everyone probably wouldn’t want to read a one-man show and another fight scene, so I rewrote it.
“Do you want me to activate the Living Puppet Curse now? Are you eager to die faster?”
Chen Qianfan retorted the absurd words of Sect Master Shi in one sentence. He stood up from the wooden platform and stretched his muscles for a while. Time had taken its toll on him, and despite focusing on breaking the ban for around seven hours, it was still challenging for him.
The defensive formation outside seemed a bit off. It was supposed to last for two or three days, but it decayed much faster than he had imagined.
Fortunately, the enemies were becoming desperate, providing ample corpses. The plan to break the formation that was initially supposed to take three days was completed in just half a day.
Elder Chen showed a little kindness to Shi Jingzhi. “Anyway, let’s eat something first. You look so weak that you could fly and become a flag in the sky. When we start fighting later, be careful; otherwise, your disciple might tear me apart.”
Seeing that the light in the main hall had dimmed, Granny Wei returned.
She brewed a pot of hot tea as usual and served it to Chen Qianfan. Then, she wrung a hot towel and sighed while wiping the dirt off Shi Jingzhi’s head and neck.
Chen Qianfan leisurely drank his tea, gazing at the exhausted young man on the wooden platform.
After Yin Ci left, Shi Jingzhi no longer pretended to be fine. He coughed up more blood and collapsed, struggling to breathe for a while before recovering.
No wonder he was eager to drive Yin Ci away; this master and disciple were getting on his nerves.
Chen Qianfan scolded Shi Jingzhi upfront, and surprisingly, Sect Master Shi didn’t say much and obediently rinsed his mouth and drank sweet porridge. Holding the porridge bowl with both hands, he looked calm, as if he were about to ascend to the heavens with the bowl in his hands.
Chen Qianfan raised an eyebrow involuntarily.
From Shi Jingzhi’s previous clinginess, he thought the sect leader was planning to put on a tragic act and insisted on going outside to help his disciple. However, the man turned out to be surprisingly calm and even enjoyed his porridge.
This guy only recovered memories from when he was three years old; he hadn’t cured his illness completely, and Chen Qianfan couldn’t fathom where this serenity came from.
After finishing his porridge, Shi Jingzhi adjusted his posture on the wooden platform and closed his eyes, preparing to take a short nap.
Chen Qianfan couldn’t hold back and fell into his usual sarcastic manner. “They say that too much concern can lead to chaos, but your mindset seems quite composed, young man.”
Earlier, he was afraid to go up on the wooden platform, and Sect Master Shi seemed desperate, resisting with all his might. Now, they were about to confront the Arcane Arts head-on, facing a considerable risk of death, yet this person appeared calm.
It was unbelievable.
This young man’s appearance didn’t belong to the category of a treacherous villain, but he possessed a heavy demonic aura and wasn’t someone of pure benevolence either. Although Chen Qianfan knew that this person wouldn’t betray him, he didn’t hold back in his words. “Are you planning to make a deal with your disciple to run away as soon as you step outside?”
Shi Jingzhi smiled and replied, “Wouldn’t that be disrespectful to Senior’s goodwill?”
“Goodwill? Once the Living Puppet Curse is activated, you won’t have any peace of mind. I’ll just impart the technique into your mind temporarily and give you a target for the attack. Let me make it clear beforehand. Even if it’s a temporary measure, you’ll experience enough suffering. And once the technique is activated, you and the Arcane Arts will be inseparable, and you won’t be able to escape even if you want to.”
Shi Jingzhi: “I see.”
He didn’t show any fear but rather seemed eager to try.
Oh no, it’s over. It seemed like there was a slight problem with breaking the ban, and it affected that kid’s mind. Shi Jingzhi might not be foolish, but he was definitely eccentric.
Chen Qianfan sighed and got straight to the point. “Aren’t you afraid of death?”
Shi Jingzhi: “I am afraid, but now I fear being confused and living aimlessly more.”
Chen Qianfan clicked his tongue. “Now you are getting spirited. Did you live in a temple before the age of three?”
Shi Jingzhi smiled. “No, it’s just that I have the power to fight desperately and trustworthy companions around me. I don’t want to timidly yield to fate; that’s just not my style.”
Unfortunately, no matter how much Chen Qianfan thought about it, he couldn’t figure out where the three-year-old child got such determination. He could only attribute it to the side effects of breaking the ban. Ignoring Shi Jingzhi, he poured himself a cup of hot tea, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to activate the Living Puppet Curse.
In half a stick of incense’s time, Chen Qianfan rummaged through various objects and pulled out a wrinkled dead person’s head from somewhere, dangling it in front of Shi Jingzhi’s nose.
The head was shriveled and deformed, looking like a misshapen gourd. Its neck was sewn with hair into a small body, and the strange, pungent smell went straight to the nose, looking both funny and horrifying.
Shi Jingzhi’s heroic spirit froze instantly, and he swallowed his saliva, visibly shrinking back.
Well, it seemed he was susceptible to emotions and desires, so he should show some fear.
Seeing him tremble again, Chen Qianfan breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, don’t close your eyes. Watch carefully; I’m about to begin.”
“Understood, Senior.”
The moon was concealed by a gloomy atmosphere outside the door. Shi Zhongyu covered her injured arm, speechless.
She and Yang Qing did their best to stop the Arcane Arts from attacking and managed to secure many corpses. They were afraid of disturbing the formation, so they just threw them into the house through the window.
It wasn’t because their abilities had dramatically improved, but because the Arcane Arts seemed to have gained intelligence and become cunning—it didn’t directly target them but instead focused on the defensive formation. Every time it struck, the brilliance of the formation would dim momentarily, frightening them.
For this reason, it was willing to sacrifice some of its body.
As the night grew deeper, the demonic qi of the Arcane Arts grew stronger. However, the two of them were running out of energy and gradually found it difficult to continue.
Shi Zhongyu’s arm and ribs were injured, leaving her with only half of her combat power. Yan Qing was also exhausted, with a deep wound on his leg. His hands holding the sword trembled slightly, and he was anxious.
The Arcane Arts clearly intended to reap the benefits easily.
Once the defensive formation failed, the hordes of monsters would instantly transform into ravenous locusts, engulfing all living beings within the formation. They wouldn’t be able to retreat to recuperate inside the formation anymore and would undoubtedly be wiped out.
They did their best, made no mistakes, and even fought harder than the previous two days, but they could only watch the situation worsen.
This feeling was quite despairing. While water dripping on stone* may still have an effect and they had collected numerous corpses from the monster horde, it seemed as if the opposing side barely even flinched.
*(水滴石穿) Idiom referring to constant efforts brings success, like how water constantly dripping on a stone will eventually wear it out.
The demonic qi was becoming dense, as if about to take tangible form.
No wonder, given the situation, no one from the Mishan Sect extended a helping hand—aside from considering the restriction of ‘not destroying the Arcane Arts’, the current situation was beyond the capability of ordinary people to handle. Sacrificing one or two disciples was deemed an acceptable “loss” compared to being targeted by the Arcane Arts.
It seemed like the Arcane Arts sensed their frustration; it narrowed its countless eyes, slightly tilting its head, exuding a mocking expression from every single one of its eyes.
Yan Qing’s pair of red ghost eyes looked horrifying; he had been intentionally or unintentionally protected by Shi Zhongyu, which allowed him to preserve some strength. Young people always had such stubbornness; he faced numerous monsters wandering in front of the Sword of Compassion, resembling a scene of hell that completely tarnished Kongshi’s name.
The monster horde on the ground smelled the blood on Yan Qing’s legs, and their oddly shaped eyes widened as they let out ear-piercing squeaks and screeches. The Arcane Arts calmly guarded outside the formation, waiting for this foolhardy young man to seek his own death.
A hand rested on Yan Qing’s shoulder.
“The ban has been lifted, and everything is going smoothly. Taking care of Sect Master Shi. There are even spare corpses, enough for the battle… You both have worked hard.”
Yin Ci spoke in a deep voice.
“It’s time to dismantle these ignorant monsters.”
Shi Zhongyu’s exhausted heart skipped a beat but didn’t settle—having spare corpses meant they didn’t need to worry about the disaster warding talisman. However, currently, only Yin Ci came out; he had no inner force, so the situation wouldn’t change much.
Yin Ci didn’t say anything more. He simply held the Hanging Shadow Sword and walked toward the crowd of screaming monsters outside the formation.
He didn’t conceal his true strength, and there was no caution or hesitation in his steps. The monster horde fluttered like willow catkins; as they were hit by his icy and formidable qi, their demonic qi and killing intent momentarily diminished.
Under the moonlight, the black sword swept through.
This time, even Yan Qing could see the difference in the situation—
Yin Ci stepped on the heads of numerous monsters and headed straight for the Arcane Arts. His sword techniques were intricate; each strike was aimed directly at vital points, seemingly just like in the past. However, this time, the sword actually left a wound when it pierced the Arcane Arts.
For some reason, something had changed.
The Sweeping Bone Sword technique was unpredictable and hard to anticipate. The most famous aspect of it was reflected in its name—the sword technique was filled with a heavy deathly aura, as if it originated from the underworld. Each move was connected to the next, and pulling a single hair could affect the whole body. It was difficult to change techniques.
The power of this sword technique was as oppressive as it was formidable, with only the intent to kill the opponent, devoid of any other emotion.
Shi Zhongyu doubted if her eyes were playing tricks on her, but she actually saw a glimmer of vitality in this Bone Sweeping Sword technique.
Like the melting snow and ice, a hint of warm wind emerged in the midst of the cold spring.
Wasn’t it Shi Jingzhi whose ban was lifted? How could this person’s state of mind change so much?
Yin Ci wasn’t much calmer than Shi Zhongyu. The myriad of monsters howled, and the eyes of countless dead people were fixed on him. But he had never felt so exhilarated before, and the cold blood that had been in him for so long gradually warmed, bringing bursts of thawing pain.
Before, this had been a “must-fight” battle. But now, he seemed to have something burning more and more intensely inside him. Countless emotions merged into one, all bursting out from the tip of his sword.
Yin Ci had already guessed that Shi Jingzhi was the Little Mute. He originally thought that “recognizing Shi Jingzhi” wouldn’t change him too much.
But his world almost turned upside down.
Whether it was the initial exploitation or the recent protection, whether it was the previous jest or the current commitment, he never needed Shi Jingzhi to understand or respond.
Immortality was like a cold glass cover, allowing him to overlook the world. However, in the instant when Shi Jingzhi held him tightly, after a hundred years, he was finally completely connected to the mortal world.
The feeling of “attachment”—was it always this wonderful?
Sword techniques were like the heart of a person; he watched as it revealed a faint sense of vitality. When the Arcane Arts retaliated with spells, he even unconsciously made an effort to evade—
In a flash, Yin Ci forgot his yearning for death. He only remembered that there was a place he had to return to.
The accumulated snow of a hundred years cracked at the summit of the mountain, and stagnant water stirred up enormous waves. Yin Ci turned into a bloody wind wrapped in battle intent, continuously stabbing at the Arcane Arts, each strike bringing down considerable corpses. The sword qi and the demonic qi tangled endlessly, creating sharp and explosive noises.
The Arcane Arts couldn’t even touch the protective formation anymore.
Yin Ci seemed to have forgotten the word ‘exhausted’. His techniques became increasingly unrestrained and free; he didn’t retreat to the protective formation even once. Despite Yin Ci having no inner force, the Arcane Arts couldn’t help but slowly widen its eyes, abandoning its previous calm demeanor and becoming noticeably more cautious.
Yan Qing watched with unwavering focus.
In a battle between top masters, each glance was precious. He held his breath, forgetting the pain in his legs, almost suffocating himself.
‘If only Yin Ci had inner force,’ he thought. This man, of flesh and blood, was evenly matched with the Arcane Arts’ spells, but he was reaching his limit. Compared to his and Shi Zhongyu’s gradual progress, Yin Ci was like waves crashing against cliffs, but unfortunately, the rock was still a rock, unable to be destroyed in an instant.
Midnight eventually arrived, transitioning between yin and yang. In a flash, the yang qi diminished and the yin qi intensified.
The Arcane Arts retreated dozens of feet; a sight rarely seen before. It hid among the restless horde of monsters, lifting its terrifying head and gazing at the sky. Its two arms, formed by corpses, crossed its chest, adopting a praying posture.
Countless spells moved rapidly on its body, emitting a dazzling blood-red light.
The next moment, it was no longer in its human form, kneeling on the ground. Numerous deformed arms and legs emerged from the pile of corpses, each wrapped in spiraling spells, stretching to abnormal lengths.
A couple of days ago, the Arcane Arts moved at a pace not much faster than a tortoise. But now, with numerous long arms and legs supporting its body, its movements brought about a nauseating twitching sensation, faster than even the smallest demons.
On the Arcane Arts’ head, countless dead heads surged again. The gap used for devouring widened, emitting a broken and ear-piercing laughter.
Yin Ci stopped his attack for the first time.
He had been battling the Arcane Arts for nearly two hours, and the accumulating monster corpses had formed a mountain of corpses around him. He stood atop this corpse mountain, vigilantly watching the Arcane Arts—
Something was wrong.
Even after lifting the restriction, the Arcane Arts was still just a mindless artifact. Its top priority should be self-preservation, not mutually assured destruction. The Northern Wasteland was barren, and who knew how long it had been accumulating this body made of ancient corpses to provide power.
In previous battles, its sense of self-preservation was no less than its attacking instinct. As an opponent in battle, Yin Ci was clearer about this than anyone else.
However, at this moment, it seemed like it had caught the scent of blood like a rabid dog, recklessly overextending its power.
In the halo of the blood-red spells, the Arcane Arts was covered in corpse water. It rushed toward the fragile protective formation. The formation made a creaking sound, appearing to be on the verge of collapse, causing the earth to tremble.
The spells even temporarily left the Arcane Arts’ body and scattered erratically around it. Yin Ci just barely brushed past them, and his arm was half rotted away.
This was no longer about sitting back while reaping the benefits but about sacrificing oneself before the soldiers.
Although he didn’t know the reason for the sudden change, the battle had to continue. The situation was dire, and he had no time to consider his own well-being. Thankfully, the darkness and the horde of monsters provided cover; as long as he “died” discreetly, Yan Qing and Shi Zhongyu shouldn’t notice any clues.
Yin Ci adjusted his breathing, and his sword was about to rise—
The tips of his hair swept across his cheek, splitting the night into two with golden flames.
Shi Jingzhi had changed into the long robe of the Mishan Sect. He rushed out of the formation with his Medicine Cures Illness Flag burning with golden flames.
“A’Ci, you set fire as an official, burning across the Nine Provinces*, but you won’t even let me light a single candle. You’re really unreasonable.”
*(九州) Poetic name for China, often referring to ancient China when its geographical division was nine provinces.
Shi Jingzhi’s voice was full of amusement, teasingly pointing out the situation as if he hadn’t seen the transformation of the Arcane Arts.
Unlike twenty years ago, Shi Jingzhi didn’t hide behind him, crying for his parents. He leaped nimbly onto the corpse mountain, standing beside him.
“Senior Chen lent me his spell-casting experience, and I have a brilliant idea. Come closer; I’ll tell you.”
Within half a stick of incense time.
Unlike the forbidden area, Shi Jingzhi used the monster corpses as a guide and spontaneously set up a formation in front of them. The yang fire didn’t spread as it had in the past; it floated in the air as fist-sized fireballs, gracefully revolving around the Hanging Shadow Sword.
Shi Jingzhi remained motionless on the mountain of monster corpses, meditating in place. Even though the Arcane Arts were very close to him, he showed no intention of evading—Shi Jingzhi was multitasking. His left hand controlled the fireballs, while his right hand kept moving, arranging an extremely complex formation.
Before the formation was completed, its power was already astonishing. Around Shi Jingzhi, the demonic qi from the corpses turned into whirlpools, creating a mountain-like pressure.
The Arcane Arts seemed to sense the threat and gave up attacking the protective formation. Instead, it charged around at an extremely fast speed, trying to stop the incomplete spell.
However, it couldn’t touch Shi Jingzhi.
Yin Ci switched from offense to defense, standing a few steps away from Shi Jingzhi. Over a dozen golden fireballs rotated around him, igniting along the edge of his sword without the slightest deviation, perfectly compensating for the shortcomings of the Bone Sweeping Sword Technique—
Whenever the Arcane Arts approached, its protective spells were instantly burned away by the golden flames. In the blink of an eye, several ancient corpses fell to the ground and turned into material for Shi Jingzhi’s spell.
If the Arcane Arts were to attack Yin Ci, those fireballs would automatically cluster around it, turning its magic attack into a gust of hot wind.
It was like a living suit of armor.
Naturally dark clouds rolled in, and a pitch-black vortex spun above Shi Jingzhi’s head. Icicles and minced meat on the ground rose with the wind and fell from the earth to the sky.
Shi Jingzhi remained still on the pile of corpses with a calm expression. The sleeves of the Mishan Sect robe fluttered, and he stood on the muddy flesh and blood, controlling the formation with both hands in an elegant and decisive posture. One golden formation after another unfolded behind him, and from a distance, he truly looked like an idol of an evil god.
Before that “idol”, Yin Ci raised his sword horizontally. More and more clusters of golden flames swirled around him, flying faster and faster like living beings. His sword became increasingly elusive. Even though it didn’t touch any spells, it seemed purer and more elusive, unlike anything in this world.
“They want to use a large-scale battle formation,” Shi Zhongyu murmured. “Just two people supporting a large-scale battle formation… Sect Master Shi is simply…”
Simply mad.
She was certain that Chen Qianfan lent his spell-casting experience to Shi Jingzhi, not for him to be so cocky. A large-scale battle formation usually required several people and several days of effort, with no room for the slightest mistake, let alone multitasking. The formation must not be too far from the target, and any unusual occurrences during the process would surely be noticed by the enemy, so even more people were needed to guard the formation.
But now, one dared to cast the spell, and the other dared to defend the formation. For a moment, she couldn’t tell which side was more insane.
The evil qi of the Arcane Arts rolled in, but it was all blocked by the lone sword in front of Shi Jingzhi, preventing it from taking a single step past the lightning pool.
The Arcane Arts suddenly stopped moving.
The golden light of the formation reflected in its countless murky eyes, and it hugged its extended long arms and legs, no longer attacking rashly—
The dead heads on its head trembled, and every one of them opened their dark mouths, revealing their black tongues, as if they were about to vomit. However, after a commotion, what came out of those mouths wasn’t corpse water but a strange melody that gradually became clear, drifting in the night.
It began to sing.
The countless dead heads moved their lips, and their singing was coarse and cold. The lyrics seemed to be an ancient Milan dialect with strange intonations and rhythms.
Hearing it made people’s hair stand on end and their hearts tremble in fear.
“Cover your ears!” Shi Zhongyu immediately roared at Yan Qing, who was still in a daze, and thus missed the perfect timing. The song affected her inner force, causing her to spit out a mouthful of blood on the spot, nearly succumbing to the evil qi.
Yan Qing was a step slow and couldn’t stabilize himself, curling up in pain on the ground. Shi Jingzhi also frowned, her hands trembling.
However, Yin Ci smiled.
He immediately sheathed his sword and retreated behind Shi Jingzhi. The Hanging Shadow Sword was inserted diagonally into the corpse mountain, freeing Yin Ci’s hands, which he used to gently cover Shi Jingzhi’s ears. Instantly, the look of pain on Shi Jingzhi’s face dissipated, and his hands stabilizing the formation regained their composure.
Yin Ci listened to the ominous ghostly song with an unchanged expression.
He had long witnessed more desperate states of insanity; this exotic elegy wasn’t enough to push him into the abyss.
“…You won’t harm him,” Yin Ci silently said to the Arcane Arts.
In an instant, golden light emanated.
It wasn’t the raging wildfire, but tens of millions of finger-thick fire chains. They flashed in an instant, piercing through the enormous body of the Arcane Arts, firmly imprisoning it between heaven and earth.
The blood-red spells fiercely tangled the fire chains, seemingly attempting to break them. However, yang fire inherently countered the yin evil, and Shi Jingzhi’s yang fire was incomparably pure, causing the opposing spells to emit a charred smell and melt away like snowflakes.
The Arcane Arts reached a dead end. Its demonic arms deformed and elongated again, reaching towards Shi Jingzhi not far away. All sorts of spells exploded without hesitation, illuminating the night sky filled with dark clouds.
The song continued, and the curses never ceased.
Shi Jingzhi’s complexion turned pale. Even though he had the ancient corpses and monster corpses as materials, the battle formation had completely drained him. Numerous hands of the Arcane Arts reached before him, seemingly about to touch his body, yet he didn’t even waste energy trembling.
Shi Jingzhi just slightly tilted his head and felt the warmth in Yin Ci’s palms.
Then he exerted his last bit of strength, and with two fingers, he flicked upwards.
The gentle fire chains tightened, finely sawing through the Arcane Arts’ body. Countless fire chains moved slightly but without any mistakes. Complete ancient corpses were stripped away from the Arcane Arts, resembling autumn leaves leaving the branches.
Although he had only borrowed Chen Qianfan’s experience temporarily, Shi Jingzhi still brought it to its ultimate potential.
In just a moment, the blood-red spells were completely extinguished. The “Queen” fell, and the monster horde that had been running around in chaos was stunned for a moment.
Ancient corpses scattered all over the ground, stiff and intact. The Arcane Arts still stood in place, but it didn’t quite look like the Arcane Arts anymore.
Queen Xu Luo of Milan, with her fair skin and beautiful appearance.
Her corpse was still standing, like an immortal born in the snow-capped mountains of the North. The Queen’s cloudy eyes stared directly at Shi Jingzhi with a rigid expressionless face.
The clothes on her chest were rotten and tattered, exposing half of her breasts, and a dark spider-shaped birthmark lay quietly on her fair skin.
The Queen stood still for a moment, opening her arms in front of the two people.
“Smile for me…”
Her vocal cords were stiff and rotten, and her voice was unpleasant, but it carried a different clarity and confusion.
“…Smile for me, please.”
Yin Ci showed no mercy, casually pulling out the Hanging Shadow Sword. The Queen of Milan had long since died; what stood before them was merely a pure corpse, the core of a killing weapon.
However, Shi Jingzhi seemed to sense something. He grabbed Yin Ci’s wrist with one hand and shook his head gently.
The closer Shi Jingzhi got, the clearer her voice became, and the more vivid her expression—on the face of the corpse, a faint trace of hatred appeared.
“…My… compatriot… It’s good that you… defeated me…”
The Queen’s corpse emitted a faint halo. The blood-red light was incredibly faint, more like sorrow than fierceness. Gradually, the light converged and condensed into a semi-dormant rune, lying weakly in the Queen’s palm.
The Queen’s corpse clasped her hands and stiffly handed the rune to Shi Jingzhi, her face becoming rigid again.
“…Smile…for me…”
“A’Ci, under the Living Puppet Curse, I can recognize this technique to some extent. What the Queen of Milan left behind isn’t a killing weapon but a last testament—a testament left to her ‘kind’… Only when the prohibitions of the Mishan Sect are lifted will the weapon recognize me.”
Shi Jingzhi sighed lightly and closed his eyes. He slowly stretched out his hand, touching the fading rune.
“I’ll be fine. Trust me.”
Yin Ci lowered the tip of his sword.
The moment the spell touched Shi Jingzhi’s fingertip, it dissipated abruptly. Yin Ci remained silent, catching Shi Jingzhi’s falling body—the person’s body was warm, and their breathing was steady, as if they had fallen into a deep sleep.
Almost at the same time, the corpse of the Queen of Milan fell.
She fell onto the snow-covered ground soaked with blood and turned to ashes in an instant. The monster horde had not yet dispersed, and the protective formation remained as thin as a cicada’s wings but still steadily flickering.
Not long ago, inside the house.
The juniors were fighting fiercely outside, and Chen Qianfan had already prepared the artifact for escape. Extremely bored, he picked up some pieces of corpses from under the window and made two sets of disaster warding talismans.
As for the housekeeper, Granny Wei, she used demonic flowers to weave two delicate tranquility charms. She didn’t care whether Yin Ci made a sincere request or just casually brushed her off. She only cared about wrapping the charms, patting her stiff back with a serene face.
“It’s getting late. Those kids are still outside?”
“Mm.” Chen Qianfan put away the disaster warding talismans and tidied up the research tools on the table. “Xiao Chun, pack some clothes and food. We’ll have to run later.”
“Why?”
“They might win, but they can only delay for some time. There are many monsters outside, and the protective formation won’t hold for long. We need to go far away and find a new place to live.”
Granny Wei looked at him blankly for a moment and then asked again, “It’s getting late. Those kids are still outside?”
Chen Qianfan’s movements paused. He didn’t lose his temper and instead repeated his answer, “Mm… This place is going to become a monster’s lair. Remember to pack your things and follow me.”
“Yes.” Granny Wei’s face turned pale, twisting her hands uneasily. “I want to go out casually, but the master will beat me again.”
Chen Qianfan straightened up, and he felt Granny Wei’s pulse. His eyelids twitched, but he didn’t say anything in the end.
Granny Wei suddenly came to her senses. Seeing Chen Qianfan’s expression, a hint of sadness appeared on her face. She stood still, like a child who had done something wrong.
Chen Qianfan’s face remained calm. “…Did your dementia strike again?”
Granny Wei lowered her eyes, still smiling. “I just occasionally forget things, getting old and muddled. It has been happening more frequently lately. It’s nothing; I’ll go pack my things.”
Chen Qianfan didn’t say anything and continued to pack his luggage. But in less than half an hour, there was a muffled sound. Chen Qianfan turned around and saw Granny Wei falling to the ground—she struggled for a while but seemed to forget how to get up.
Chen Qianfan walked to her side, and in less than ten steps, she had forgotten how to climb. Granny Wei lay dazed on the ground, unconsciously humming that tune. The surrounding air seemed a bit colder, with a faint smell of urine in the air.
The hoarse voice echoed in the icy hall, carrying a hint of desolation.
Chen Qianfan picked up a piece of monster corpse, carefully supporting Granny Wei’s head. Several blood-red lines wrapped around her forehead. Then Chen Qianfan quickly set up a formation and performed his spell. All day long, he lifted prohibitions and cast the Living Puppet Curse. He was at his limit, and his face showed signs of exhaustion.
Only then did Granny Wei regain consciousness. She murmured blankly, “It’s getting late. Those kids are still outside?”
After asking this question, as if she sensed something, she slowly shed two muddy tears. Then she immediately wiped the tears from her face.
“Master, is this what you call Heaven’s Displeasure’?”
Chen Qianfan said calmly, “Yes.”
There were limits to diseases. Treating them before the limit was reached was twice the result with half the effort, but once the limit was crossed, even the best medicine wouldn’t help. Unfortunately, every person was different, and no one knew the exact location of that boundary.
“I just haven’t thought of a solution for dementia yet.” Chen Qianfan handed her a new pair of pants while replying in a still flat tone. “Let’s leave first; there will be a solution eventually.”
If her intestines were rotten, he would give her new ones. If she had a tumor in her stomach, he would give her a new one. Repeating this, even mortals could become immortal.
But what if her mind was confused?
Chen Qianfan pondered for a long time, unsure of what to replace. This illness was tricky, and he needed more time.
However, time waits for no one, not even for the departed*.
*逝者如斯夫，不舍昼夜) Famous saying from Confucius that describes time passing like flowing water—once passed, it’s gone forever.
Granny Wei stood up swaying, seemingly having opened an invisible hole in her body, and her vitality was irreversibly draining away. She tried to catch the pants Chen Qianfan handed her several times, but each time she failed to do so. When she finally held it in her hands, she looked at it in confusion, unable to understand why she was holding such a strange thing.
Thankfully, there were still many pieces of corpses left. This time, Chen Qianfan simply used ancient corpses, using up four or five pieces in one go. Granny Wei’s face was mostly covered by the formation.
She regained consciousness again, touching the uneven marks on her face, but said nothing.
Chen Qianfan finally let out a sigh of relief and continued packing his luggage. Beside him, Granny Wei changed into clean clothes and calmly organized daily necessities. She also touched the peach blossoms she had embroidered.
“Master, do you remember the day we first met?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Do you remember why I call you ‘Master*’?”
*[Fuzi] (夫子) A respectful title to address an older person who is well-learned.
“I don’t remember.”
“Forgetting is good.” The wrinkles on her face gathered and scattered, whether from sadness or relief.
Granny Wei carefully smoothed out the creases in her clothes and stood still for a moment. Not long after, she seemed to have recovered and said softly, “It’s midnight; I’ll make some tea.”
The small pot sat on the fire, and the fragrance of tea filled the air.
Not long after, the four people who were stumbling and swaying entered—Shi Zhongyu had serious external injuries, while her internal injuries weren’t insignificant either. Yan Qing supported her; his legs were covered in blood, and his once healthy complexion now appeared pale.
Yin Ci held the unconscious Shi Jingzhi and looked relatively composed. “Senior, we completely dismantled the Arcane Arts. The core of the weapon was damaged, but the other ancient corpse spells remained intact.”
Chen Qianfan said, “Good. Since you have fully dismantled the weapon, this place will become lively again. Even if the core is broken, it can be considered an offset; there won’t be any major problems.”
“As for the protective formation—”
“The protective formation won’t hold for long. The demonic qi of the Arcane Arts hasn’t dissipated, so the monster horde won’t retreat so easily.”
Chen Qianfan stroked his beard, looking completely untroubled.
“If you hold on a little longer, we can leave with the artifact and run for a day and night. Those things won’t be able to catch up.”
Yan Qing’s expression changed slightly. “Su Si hasn’t come back yet. What if something happens…”
“Currently, our situation isn’t good, and there’s no way to find him.” Yin Ci shook his head. “Su Si is being guarded by that goose demon, and he knows very well how to protect himself. We’ll find him once we reach a safe place.”
Yan Qing looked at his heavily injured companion, lowered his head, and swallowed back the words he hadn’t spoken.
Yin Ci’s judgment was extremely rational. If he were to cause trouble now, it would only create more problems. Even for himself, with a leg injury, he wouldn’t be able to go very far.
Shi Jingzhi’s golden fire formation and Yin Ci’s peculiar sword technique were firmly etched in his mind, and he understood the vast difference between them.
If only he had that kind of power too, would he still need to temporarily leave his companions?
Yin Ci ignored the melancholy thoughts in Yan Qing’s heart and took the lead, placing Shi Jingzhi on the magic artifact—
The magic artifact looked like a wooden boat, with no arrow horses or other monsters pulling it in the front. There were two boxes with complex arrays at the stern, and beside the boxes were full of monster corpses emitting a faint stench.
The wooden boat floated in the air, and the arrays below were already flickering, activating the process.
Yin Ci placed Shi Jingzhi at the stern and covered him with a thick cloak.
Chen Qianfan picked up the disaster warding talismans and openly handed it to the near-fainting Shi Zhongyu. Then, he secretly slipped a pair to Yin Ci. “You mentioned during the lifting of the ban, we had an agreement?”
“I know where to find the immortal body, and I’ll bring one for you to study.” Yin Ci accepted the talisman with a slight smile. “I’d like to ask Senior to quickly remove the remnants of the Living Puppet Curse.”
Chen Qianfan’s beard twitched, holding tightly to the record book in his arms, and his eyes brightened momentarily. “Alright.”
After about half an hour, the wooden boat finally activated.
Chen Qianfan pulled it outside the house. The monster horde was grinding their teeth outside the protective formation. As the saying went, many ants could kill an elephant*, but without the Arcane Arts, the protective formation’s collapse was slower. However, it couldn’t withstand the impact of the monster horde and slowly began to crack.
*Idiom referring to a large number of weak or insignificant entities, when combined or united, can achieve a powerful or significant effect, even against a much stronger opponent.
Granny Wei responded and carefully extended her body toward Yin Ci. “Child, this is the tranquility charm you wanted. Take it and have a safe journey.”
The brocade bag was exquisitely embroidered with fine stitches, clearly crafted with great care. Yin Ci thanked her. At the time, he only wanted to dismiss the old woman, but Granny Wei still took it very seriously, just like embroidering a tablecloth that no one would appreciate in an empty room, or tying small flowers to dead branches.
Looking at the kind eyes of the old lady, Yin Ci always felt that something wasn’t quite right.
Granny Wei looked kindly at him for a while, then turned to continue, “Master, this bag is for cooking utensils. This bag is for changing clothes. This bag is…”
The wooden boat already had five people on board, and it was full with more than a dozen bags of luggage. Granny Wu was still not satisfied, pulling up a large bag. “This bag is the items you commonly use, Master.”
“Let it be.” The protective formation made a dangerous cracking sound. Chen Qianfan was in a hurry to leave, and his tone quickened. “If it’s gone, I can buy more. That’s enough.”
Granny Wei looked at the group of monsters not far away. “Alright.”
“Come up. We’ll fly out from there later. Then…”
“I won’t go.” Granny Wei smiled.
Chen Qianfan’s words came to an abrupt halt, and he furrowed his brows, as if he had heard something outrageous. “Xiao Chun, what are you saying?”
“After Master used precious materials to cure me, it hasn’t been long since I started to be confused again… I can still speak like this now, but later I might start to talk nonsense again.”
She smiled even more gently.
“Thank you, Master, for allowing me to steal so many years from heaven and live peacefully for thirty years… People always say that fallen leaves return to their roots*, and I also want to die at home.”
*(落叶归根) Idiom referring to returning to one’s place of origin or going back to where your family/roots are.
Chen Qianfan: “There will always be a way.”
“If it could be cured, you would have told me long ago.” Granny Wei shook her head. “It’s alright, I’m not some important figure like a sect leader. I don’t need to fight against ‘Heaven’s Displeasure’. Instead of living in misery, I’d rather leave with dignity.”
Chen Qianfan remained silent for a moment before calmly asking, “Have you made up your mind?”
“I have,”
Granny Wei was extraordinarily calm.
Shi Jingzhi was still unconscious, while Shi Zhongyu had fallen asleep holding the disaster warding talisman. Yang Qing was in a semi-conscious state due to excessive blood loss. Yin Ci remained silent while looking at them with a complicated expression.
No one tried to stop her, and Granny Wei sighed with relief.
“Go.” She waved her hand and turned back into the house.
‘Chen Qianfan had underestimated her,’ Yin Ci thought. The old woman had looked at the horde of monsters and remained calm, without any fear on her face, only tranquility.
Chen Qianfan pulled down the mechanism with a stern expression. The heavily loaded wooden boat floated up with great difficulty, swaying dangerously, seeming unfit for the burden.
Not far away, the protective barrier was on the verge of collapse. Chen Qianfan appeared to have forgotten about Granny Wei as he muttered, “Too heavy, it can’t fly. We need to throw some things off.”
The rest of the people had almost no luggage, so his words were just for himself. Chen Qianfan reached into the baggage, digging through the scattered and broken equipment to find the pack of kitchenware.
The package that Granny Wei had prepared was tidy and convenient to throw away. When it hit the snow-covered ground, it made a series of cracking sounds. The wooden boat stabilized somewhat, but it still couldn’t gain enough height.
Chen Qianfan picked up the bag of clean clothes. The clothes were soft and gentle, and as soon as they hit the ground, they made a dull sound.
The boat flew a little higher, but the height was still insufficient.
Chen Qianfan took a deep breath and opened his bag of “commonly used items”. He looked inside the bag several times before finally untying the opening and pouring the contents out onto the ground. Teapots, tea containers, and other odds and ends scattered all over the place, in complete disorder.
There were no valuable items inside, only insignificant trinkets. Chen Qianfan quickly calmed down, and the pouring speed seemed to have increased.
In the torrent of items, a teacup rolled out of the bag and fell to the ground.
Chen Qianfan instinctively caught it.
Yin Ci remembered that cup. Every midnight, Granny Wei would unfailingly pour a cup of tea for Chen Qianfan. It was his teacup.
Chen Qianfan’s hand trembled as if the cup was scalding his palm, but his fingers refused to let go. He held the cup tightly, frozen in thought.
In the next moment, Chen Qianfan mercilessly cast a spell.
“I need to get rid of these trivial thoughts; I don’t have time to record them. Brother Yin, you’ll fill me in on the situation later.”
Chen Qianfan was undoubtedly a master of sorcery, and his movements were extremely skilled, precise in every detail.
However, the spell stopped midway and failed.
“Senior?”
“…It’s too trivial.” Elder Chen looked somewhat lost. “It’s too trivial, how do I erase this?”
He and Granny Wei had had no heart-stirring events between them. The only thing that seemed different was their initial encounter, but he had long forgotten about it. After that, they spent only two or three hours together each day, with a few plain and ordinary conversations.
In addition, there was a bowl of hot rice, a cup of warm tea, and nothing else.
Other than treating her illness, Chen Qianfan would occasionally bring her a few demon flowers, which she would use to dye threads for embroidery.
He thought and thought, but he couldn’t find anything special. However, for thirty years, he had clung to these tiny fragments, and he couldn’t remove them. He didn’t know what would be left after he cleared away everything, and he didn’t know if he could remove them all without anything left.
Chen Qianfan lowered his head and looked at the dilapidated house where he had lived for thirty years. He remembered every corner inside—the hall was messy on one side, but on the other side, it was warm and inviting, as if two completely different worlds were coexisting.
Should they have been so distinct? It was simply unreasonable.
Most human illnesses were like this. They remained unnoticed when there was no trouble, but when they struck, the pain was continuous and piercing.
The pain, like a dagger, penetrated his heart.
Chen Qianfan shook his head, suddenly bursting into laughter. As he listened to the cracking sounds of the protective barrier collapsing, he spoke as calmly as usual, but it wasn’t clear whom he was addressing.
“It’s amusing. I gained the heart, liver, spleen, and stomach of a living person, and threw away the ups and downs of my life, but I can’t get rid of a broken cup.”
He looked at Yan Qing, who clung tightly to the Sword of Compassion, and suddenly remembered the moment he was sent flying by the sword years ago.
At that time, he had thought that he might not be suitable to be a monk.
Now, he thought he might not be suitable to be an immortal either.
Chen Qianfan pondered for the time it took to finish a cup of tea and let out a long sigh.
“Brother Yin, forget it.” He stroked his beard, feeling a little lost. “I suddenly don’t feel like pursuing that immortal body anymore.”
“Your friends are in bad condition. You need to hurry and find a safe place for them to rest. It doesn’t matter if you’re not skilled in magic; you can activate the formation with the corpse pieces and adjust the direction… As for my records, you can give them to your master. It’s a waste if someone with a bit of talent like you doesn’t use them.”
Chen Qianfan’s tone was still exasperating.
Even though Yin Ci was experienced and knowledgeable, he was momentarily speechless. “You…”
Chen Qianfan shook his head and put the teacup in his pocket. He carefully looked at Yin Ci and smiled.
“Even if I were to obtain an immortal body, I’m not the type to cut off emotions and desires. It’s inherently unsuitable for me, so why bother forcing it?”
“So be it.”
He said.
“This is fine too.”
Yin Ci didn’t have time to respond before Chen Qianfan leaped over the side of the boat and landed gracefully on the ground. With one person’s weight gone, the boat shuddered and shot up into the sky.
Once Chen Qianfan reached the ground, with his hands behind his back, he calmly walked into the house.
“It’s not midnight yet; let’s have another cup of tea.”
The protective formation was broken, and the horde of monsters, carrying the remnants of the demonic qi from the Arcane Arts, surged in. Under the starry sky, a spell was activated. It absorbed all the intruding monsters and then extended its body, blooming vibrant flowers from the buds.
A peach tree stood in the icy northern land, quietly blooming for half an hour.
In the end, it dissipated without a trace.
The author has something to say:
I haven’t forgotten Su Si! Or Lord Bai!!! They will appear in the next chapter, I promise!
Please cherish the pure and sincere(?) emotions between the two male guests. Once the affection bar is full, they might undergo some transformations√
Kinky Thoughts:
The title of this arc is “Seeing A Gentleman”, which is part of the line in the poem “Wind and Rain”. The whole line goes “Having seen a gentleman, why wouldn’t one be happy?”
Applying it as a whole to the poem, it means how can I not be happy to see you in a stormy time.
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.”
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).
The pain of addiction was as agonizing as the torture of skinning.
The young Shi Jingzhi closed his eyes. Silence enveloped everything, and the maple forest disappeared. Only intense pain and darkness remained in his memory.
When the crucial memories returned, the pain pierced through time like splitting a bamboo*. Completely recalling that moment from the past, Shi Jingzhi’s mind was almost torn apart.
*(势如破竹) Metaphor referring to something so powerful it’s unstoppable, just like how bamboo can be split with ease when using great strength and momentum.
In that fleeting moment, he finally understood the danger of breaking the ban.
Accompanied by the sweeping fragments of memories, the pain continued without end. It felt like sinking into a swamp, unable to breathe or move. It was as if he was forcefully crammed into a small iron cage, and his entire body was in excruciating pain.
Shi Jingzhi tried his best to maintain a shred of clarity in his mind.
It wasn’t for the sake of the truth; for a moment, desires and bets were thrown to the side. Amidst the growing chaos in Shi Jingzhi’s mind, only one thought remained.
What happened afterward? What happened next?
Yin Ci would return in haste with medicinal herbs, only to find a scene of carnage. Faced with the scattered internal organs and shattered bones, what emotions would he experience?
This was the second time Shi Jingzhi didn’t wait for him to return.
Would Yin Ci fall into madness again? Without him by his side, Yin Ci would be alone once more. At the moment of Yin Ci’s utmost suffering, there would be no one to hold him.
They only had one short month. The best day would be their last meeting.
Twenty-four years later, they encountered each other again at Kushan, but an invisible ban separated them, making them strangers despite seeing each other.
As far as he knew, Yin Ci’s “three generations” of relatives were all on Kushan… After the dispersal at the gathering in the Juyi Valley, did Yin Ci never leave the vicinity of Kushan again?
The heartache and sorrow overshadowed even the intense pain caused by the ban. The sadness didn’t solely stem from their separation…
On the day of their forced separation, the eerie battle between Yin Ci and the giant monster was still vivid in Shi Jingzhi’s mind.
According to legends, the immortal body restored its physical form through blood-red fine roots, thus achieving immortality. In Shi Jingzhi’s mind, the ink characters that recorded the legends swayed, and the scattered clues assembled like pearls at this inopportune moment.
Yin Ci was also an immortal.
For a long time, Shi Jingzhi had been seeking the path to longevity, but he had never heard of an immortal body. Chen Qianfan had studied this path for thirty years and only discovered a rumor. The immortal body wasn’t as common as mushrooms after the rain, impossible to appear so frequently.
A near-absurd conjecture gradually took shape.
…What if there had been only one such person since ancient times?
Since their reunion, regardless of the situation, Yin Ci never showed obvious external injuries. His aura, honed through years of experience, and his exceptional combat skills were all unlike those of an ordinary person.
Twenty years ago, Yin Ci was present in this place. He referred to himself as “This Seat”, his authority profoundly imposing.
Was Yin Ci really just a descendant of the “Su Clan”? If the Chigou Sect, which became the top demonic sect in the world, couldn’t find the “Su Clan”, was it really because they chose to live in seclusion? …Did the “Su Clan” really exist?
One hundred years ago, Su Zhi and his renowned Bone Sweeping Sword technique simply passed away, but was it really just a natural death and not fabricated aging using the ghostskin robe? Two hundred years ago, that strange person kneeling before the village—was he also Yin Ci?
This almost pitiful “immortal” state—when did it actually begin?
Numerous questions surged up and down, eventually condensing into waves of palpitations. Thousands of words gathered and scattered, and in the end, he only wanted to give that person a hug, twenty-four years late.
Shi Jingzhi had never wanted to wake up so much before.
The ban sensed his intentions. The headache became more piercing, and more memories rushed in, attempting to disrupt his thoughts and occupy his entire mind.
He saw his own mother.
The woman leaned against the bed, with only a pair of eyes left in her emaciated appearance. She looked at Shi Jingzhi expressionlessly, with traces of her past beauty still visible on her face. Since he regained his memories, it seemed that he had only seen her like this once.
The unfamiliar mother didn’t speak, but simply reached out and caressed his head. The thin, withered hand naturally slid down his face, tucking a strand of unruly hair behind his ear.
The next moment, he saw himself being held down by the eunuch, Lu Fu, reluctantly putting on a tattered mountain villager’s clothes. The clothes reeked of a wild, foul odor, causing the young Shi Jingzhi to be immediately nauseated by the stench.
The eunuch forcefully dressed him, saying, “Ancestor, just behave yourself. If you wear those luxurious and fragrant robes, you’ll be taken away by wild beasts the next day!”
Shi Jingzhi remembered the carriage carrying him to Kushan, the taste of bitter medicine lingering in his mouth. He also remembered the Imperial Preceptor carrying him back to the mansion, with the added aroma of medicinal herbs. He heard people whispering angrily and arguing. He also heard others whispering, mourning, and crying.
Memories became increasingly fragmented, and the voices became louder and more chaotic. Emotions from the past cycled endlessly. The three elements combined into countless invisible hands behind him. They constantly tempted him to lose focus, to be angry, and even to be confused, trying to drag him into the depths of darkness.
In the depths of his mind, Shi Jingzhi felt as if he had returned to Juyi Valley and stepped onto a strange path with no way out. Sweet floral scents wafted behind him, and he knew that as long as he turned around, gave up struggling, the endless pain would stop.
But this time, he strode forward, without even glancing back.
A’Ci told him to wait for him. But he had been away for too long, and he couldn’t waste any more time here.
The “immortal” under the maple tree had been waiting for him for twenty-four years.
Finally, at the end of his memories, a soft sigh echoed. In the last memory, a thin, withered finger pressed against his forehead.
“A bottomless pit of desire, an endless world of mortals. You have collected the desires of all living beings, often destroyed by your own desire. To maintain your sanity, you can only choose one desire.”
“Unfortunately, for over three hundred years, anyone who chose their desire, be it wealth, fame, love, or family, eventually became a calamity, without exception.”
“You are somewhat special… Your desire was formed early, and your character is not yet mature, which makes you suitable for our careful cultivation. Perhaps this great achievement in a hundred years can be accomplished by this old one’s own hands…”
Suddenly, Shi Jingzhi felt like laughing.
Born with an insatiable desire, destined to bring calamity in the future. It turned out that he had even attempted to adopt a disciple and hold a “Zhuazhou” ceremony. But little did he know that the world had already made him go through a “Zhuazhou” once, letting him choose one from countless desires.
A thought flashed, and his mind became clear.
Shi Jingzhi knew what desire he had chosen. On that day, in Yin Ci’s embrace, he grasped a moment of worry-free contentment and lasting satisfaction in his heart.
Countless beings in the world spend their whole lives seeking what they desire. It was no different from this.
That old man really made a mistake. Over three hundred years, Shi Jingzhi didn’t know how many people became those who “chose their desires”, but he must have been the greediest among them all.
In the past, he disregarded everything to seek survival, yet he never found satisfaction. The reason was simpler than he imagined—what he desired was “the happiness of living”, but it was forcefully cut off, leaving only a vague “life” without meaning.
…Until he met Yin Ci again.
At this moment, the person he eagerly wanted to see was just within reach. If he really died due to the ban, wouldn’t it be a letdown to the “bottomless pit of desire” the old man spoke of?
In an instant, a strong gust of wind rose, bringing a heavy sense of oppression.
Chen Qianfan was busy disassembling the formation and almost spat out blood. His movements almost came to a halt.
Shi Jingzhi on the wooden platform had his eyes tightly shut, and his face looked somewhat distorted. Threads of blood-like patterns appeared around him, and his surging inner force went out of control, causing the flames below the platform to scatter chaotically. The ban formation behind Shi Jingzhi’s head manifested again, emitting a series of explosions, significantly weakening the brilliance of the grand formation.
The brilliant golden formation seemed alive. Strands of runes detached from the formation and crawled towards Shi Jingzhi’s temple, burrowing into his flesh and disregarding any resistance. They swelled and wriggled beneath his skin like restless blood vessels.
Between Chen Qianfan’s fingers, silver-blue threads of light intertwined, forming sharp “tweezers”. He held his breath and carefully disassembled and twisted the runes, pulling them away from the formation. The golden runes he plucked wriggled like worms but soon turned into scattered specks of golden dust.
However, their numbers were too great, their structures too complex, and their speed of burrowing into the flesh was too fast. Chen Qianfan’s face became drawn, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Shi Jingzhi’s skin turned a golden color, blood oozing from the corners of his mouth, and his trembling fingers showed signs of resistance.
Without Chen Qianfan needing to explain, Yin Ci knew that it was a critical moment in unraveling the formation.
Shi Jingzhi must have sensed the “root of desire” and was fighting for his life against the ban, which provoked the crazed counterattack of the formation. If Shi Jingzhi lost consciousness, these runes would immediately seize the opportunity to infiltrate his body and turn him into a lifeless husk.
Although Shi Jingzhi was adept at circumventing others, he wasn’t a coward. Judging from the situation, he was forcefully intimidating the runes with his qi, daring to confront them head-on.
Yin Ci saw no trace of retreat or fear on his face, but he sensed a sorrow of unknown origin.
Shi Jingzhi was highly skilled at finding joy in adversity. Even if he faced despair and anger, he always clung to his full vitality. Yin Ci had never seen Shi Jingzhi like this… filled with sadness.
Thankfully, Yin Ci knew how to deal with this situation.
Yin Ci tightened the outer garment stained with blood and stepped back into the formation. He withstood the chaotic inner force while matching the path with his right hand drawing the “Purifying Words”, sequentially pressing on the acupoints around Shi Jingzhi.
His left hand gripped Shi Jingzhi’s trembling fingers, covering them with his palm.
Chen Qianfan immediately puffed his cheeks, glaring at him angrily. “What are you messing around for? Just behave yourself!”
Yin Ci didn’t let go. “I won’t interfere with you in disassembling the formation. I’m just helping him.”
As if sensing a familiar aura, Shi Jingzhi’s trembling gradually stopped, and the rampant inner force around him also quieted down a lot. Whether it was oblivious or deliberate, Shi Jingzhi’s fingers moved in Yin Ci’s palm, as if trying to hold that hand again.
It was this moment that made the ban go completely berserk.
The momentary calm passed, but instead of improving, Shi Jingzhi’s condition became even more terrifying—blood flowed from his seven orifices, and his whole body convulsed. The wriggling runes at his temple struggled frantically, making his complexion even darker, and the former exuberance in him gradually revealed the appearance of decline.
Shi Jingzhi’s fingertips, which were originally scorching hot, now cooled down a bit. Yin Ci’s hand tightened, and his heart turned cold as well.
Did he make another mistake?
Did he once again choose the seemingly correct but ultimately destructive path?
The scorching heat in his palm suddenly changed its nature, and the scene before him overlapped with the tragedy of twenty-four years ago. Yin Ci almost couldn’t control the rising resentment in his heart.
On that day many years ago, he didn’t understand the cause of the Little Mute’s illness. But Yin Ci knew in his heart that he needed some medicine for internal injuries to stabilize the Little Mute’s condition.
He had never exerted his full effort in qinggong like he did that day. At the nearest medicine shop, Yin Ci tossed a few silver ingots and directly took away the most precious medicines in the shop. He continued without stopping, and he couldn’t count how many wounds he got from the branches along the way.
He handled things properly and returned in a timely manner. Even though Yuyi Valley was vast with a wide variety of monsters, it was only a temporary departure, so the Little Mute should be fine.
He couldn’t afford to have anything happen.
Yin Ci already knew that prayers were useless, but at that moment, he uncharacteristically made a wish. In the vastness of the world, he only wished for the heavens to accommodate the destiny of a three-year-old child.
When Yin Ci returned to his original location, the autumn wind blew gently, and the red leaves remained. The monster’s corpse was still there, looking the same as when he left.
However, the smell of blood in the wind was overpowering.
As if it was destined by the heavens, his wish would never be fulfilled. All the hopes he held onto would eventually end in vain. Faced with a ground covered in flesh and blood, in a daze, Yin Ci’s mind found a kind of almost cruel calmness.
He remembered how he had repeatedly inspected those remains, trying to find any traces of the “Little Mute” still being alive. He also recalled how he despaired bit by bit in front of the roasted fish and wild fruits inside the corpse’s stomach.
Yin Ci didn’t fall into madness, although he even hoped to lose his mind.
Even if he couldn’t die, he just wanted to escape from the tragic scene before him and find liberation. Blaming others was easy, but hating oneself was like hell. People said there were eighteen levels in hell, but his personal hell seemed like an endless abyss.
Unfortunately, this time, he couldn’t take that final step off the cliff.
In just one month, Yin Ci had developed a pitiful habit. Just as his resentment surged, it silently dissipated once more.
In a daze, it was as if someone was holding his hand and giving him a sticky embrace.
What a pity. He still wanted a flower.
The heavens indeed gave him an answer that was so sharp it was almost ironic—indeed, there was such a person who, from birth to death, never disappointed him once.
Then he would leave it to fate, continue to maintain his clarity, and wander through the world. If one day that hand could no longer hold him, if that embrace could no longer stop him, he would leap off the cliff once again and perhaps never have a clear day ever after.
Now that he had finally found a glimmer of hope, would he watch it extinguish before his eyes?
Yin Ci tightly held Shi Jingzhi’s hand, unable to meet the man’s face covered in blood. The suppressed resentment of twenty-four years sensed his fear and began to stir once again.
Crack.
A series of cracking sounds followed by continuous explosions rang out.
Within Shi Jingzhi’s heavy qi, a hint of warmth emerged. Golden dust exploded throughout the room. Chen Qianfan’s hand froze in mid-air, and the runes on the “tweezers” continued to writhe.
A hand reversed and gripped Yin Ci’s wrist. The hand was scorching hot and almost burned him, but its strength was just right—gentle yet irresistible.
In an instant of daze, Yin Ci was pulled towards the wooden platform, and the slight resentment within him had no time to dissipate.
Immediately after, he received a warm embrace.
On the wooden platform, Shi Jingzhi’s face was covered in blood, looking disheveled. But his embrace was fervent, and his heart beat steadily and vigorously. The ban was completely shattered, and the dark green sparks on the wooden platform turned into a radiant gold-red color. They were swept up by Shi Jingzhi’s inner force, resembling tiny scattered petals.
“You’re back.”
Shi Jingzhi buried his nose in Yin Ci’s neck and sighed softly.
Kinky Thoughts:
I’m just a hot, crying mess reading these chapters.
He couldn’t let out a mournful cry; he just silently shed tears as if trying to drain the blood from his eyes. When this person went mad, he suppressed his madness, suffering silently.
After sitting for the duration of an incense stick, he straightened the young Shi Jingzhi’s collar for an entire hour and then took his hand.
“I’m sorry about earlier. Let’s go back.”
On the edge of the cliff of destruction, the blood in Yin Ci’s eyes had faded compared to before. His voice was no longer as gentle as when he was crazy; it sounded bitter, cold, but with a touch of sincerity.
The changes were subtle that a young child wouldn’t be able to distinguish them.
Shi Jingzhi’s neck turned red; he was relatively unharmed, at least not to the extent of triggering his “object addiction”. Children had limited understanding, so how could they know that they had just experienced a near life-or-death situation? He only thought that a flower had cured his benefactor and saved him from a beating, considering himself quite extraordinary.
So, he immediately cast aside the losses he had just suffered and, with his other hand, made gestures and acted spoiled, immediately asking for fish.
Yin Ci patted his head, his eyes filled with mixed feelings.
That night, Yin Ci no longer casually fed him with whatever food was available; he started to cook proper meals.
Sliced fish, lightly grilled, paired with sweet and sour juice, tasted soft and sweet when eaten. Fresh small fish with their internal organs removed were cooked until crispy by the fire. The texture of the root vegetables was dense and fragrant, complemented by tender wild shoots, providing an incredibly refreshing taste.
The young Shi Jingzhi ate without knowing what time it was. If it weren’t for Yin Ci providing perfectly balanced meals, he would have vomited from overeating.
This time, Yin Ci didn’t inquire about “fate” or “answers”. He quietly stayed by the side, continuing to meditate. The air of hostility and killing intent gradually dissipated. Yin Ci’s expression became calm, revealing a cold and jade-like temperament.
After finishing the meal, The young Shi Jingzhi was filled with emotions, tears welling up in his eyes—he had never eaten such delicious food in his life, nor had he ever seen someone as attractive as Yin Ci.
In this secluded forest, this person was a demon slayer with earth-shattering abilities. And he could also cook a great meal; he must be an immortal in human form.
Previously, the immortal1 had blood on his body, surely indicating that he was injured somewhere.
The three-year-old child felt that he had discovered the truth—he had been saved by a god1 and owed a tremendous debt of gratitude. But the god was a bit fierce, and if he didn’t repay the kindness properly, there was a chance he might be abandoned.
1Note: There’s two terms being used. He’s calling Yin Ci himself an immortal [xian ren] (仙人) which is usually refer to someone who had ascended through cultivation, while this term god [shen xian] (神仙) is more of a general term referring to a celestial/divine, encompassing deities, gods, spirits, and even immortals.
Thinking of this, the young Shi Jingzhi felt a sense of crisis. Whenever he had a chance, he would scrutinize Yin Ci with his eyes, searching for opportunities to repay the favor.
Yin Ci didn’t know what was going on in the little brat’s head. With the night growing colder, he drew the child closer to him, and the two of them fell asleep under the maple tree.
Everything was calm. The tiger demon that had escaped earlier pretended as if nothing had happened. Taking advantage of the dark night and strong winds, it leisurely returned for a free meal. In exchange, it generously lent out its fur, providing a warm tiger meat mattress for both of them.
The moon and stars were thinning. As the moon started to set, the sun rose.
At that time, the young Shi Jingzhi didn’t know anything yet, but he had a natural talent for understanding people’s hearts.
The young Shi Jingzhi was particularly sensitive to those fluctuating emotions. He closely followed that trace of blood, and whenever Yin Ci showed any signs of unnatural hostility, he would be the first to rush forward, carefully embracing Yin Ci until the pain in his eyes subsided.
If Yin Ci clenched his fists and cut his palms, the young Shi Jingzhi would forcefully pry open his hands and earnestly protect them with his own two hands.
If Yin Ci fell into a frenzy, with sword qi about to erupt, the young Shi Jingzhi would pounce on him and straighten out the black hair that should have flowed like a waterfall.
And if Yin Ci couldn’t calm down no matter what, the young Shi Jingzhi would resort to his last trump card—
The demon flower from a few days ago had scared him half to death, and he didn’t dare touch it anymore. Instead, he would save red leaves and offer Yin Ci a few beautiful leaf “flowers”.
And finally, he would accompany it with a full-force hug.
Now it seemed that these attempts to appease were naive, bordering on foolishness. However, for some unknown reason, Yin Ci was truly pulled out of the abyss by this childish helping hand.
Day after day, the blood in Yin Ci’s eyes grew fainter. The young Shi Jingzhi was quite satisfied—even though he still couldn’t find the wound, it was indeed slowly healing.
Later on, the god even allowed him to sleep on his chest.
The young Shi Jingzhi loved being in the god’s embrace. The faint, cold fragrance enveloped him, and when held by the god, an unprecedented sense of security came from all directions. It felt like the least worrisome place in the world.
Delicious food, beautiful scenery, and the company of a god. He could go wherever he wanted and play however he liked, never feeling so relaxed before.
When Yin Ci was feeling better, he would even play those childish games with the young Shi Jingzhi. Even when he wasn’t feeling well, Yin Ci would quietly stay nearby, watching him frolic in the soft fallen leaves.
There was only one worry left for the young Shi Jingzhi.
Once the god’s injuries were healed, would everything come to an end?
Was he useless to him?
In the young Shi Jingzhi’s vague memory, “kindness” was a scarce commodity that required fair trade. Without merit, one wouldn’t receive rewards, so he was always cautious and careful, trying to gain a little from others.
People who were kind to him were already few and far between, and no one would be kind to him without reason.
Children’s ability to be anxious and hesitant was far beyond that of adults. The young Shi Jingzhi was frightened by his own speculations, unable to sleep. The “object addiction” that had remained calm for several days gradually resurfaced.
He couldn’t eat with peace of mind; he always felt like it would be his last meal and had to eat more, even if it made his stomach uncomfortable. He couldn’t fully enjoy playing either, always feeling that the person beside him would return to the heavens at any moment. If he couldn’t relax for half an hour, he would crawl into Yin Ci’s arms for a while to make sure he was still there.
This suspicion almost drove the young Shi Jingzhi mad. He had no power to control everything he wanted, but he feared that his desires would be too heavy, causing the god to dislike him, so he resorted to biting his fingers hard.
Fortunately, the “god” gradually recovered, spoke more, and understood why he was so timid.
“With your current state, you’re not exactly normal either.”
Yin Ci pulled his blood-soaked finger out of his mouth and carefully bandaged it. His gaze was clear, with only a faint hint of red left in his eyes.
The young Shi Jingzhi hugged him with a sense of grievance, burying his face in Yin Ci’s chest, unable to break free no matter how hard he tried.
“Alright, stop biting your fingers. Let me teach you a mantra. Remember it well.” Yin Ci ruffled his hair. “Evil spirits roam in the Juyi Valley, but I won’t abandon you.”
However, the gentler Yin Ci was towards the young Shi Jingzhi, the more the latter broke down. He seemed unable to handle this continuous stream of kindness and refused to let go, his face turning red with frustration.
Yin Ci looked at the young Shi Jingzhi in such a state and quickly realized what was going on. He frowned and looked at the trembling child.
“…Kid, has no one ever cared for you?”
The young Shi Jingzhi looked utterly confused.
Yin Ci sighed and lightly flicked his head. “This Seat doesn’t have any intention of making any deals with you. If I’m kind to you, then that’s how it is. If I have to gain something from a three-year-old, I’m either worthless or a beast.”
The young Shi Jingzhi covered his head that was flicked, growing even more perplexed.
His little world, based on the theory of “fair exchange”, had been functioning for quite some time but was now on the verge of collapse. Could there truly be “goodness” in the world that didn’t require trade?
Could he really trust this person?
Seeing the young Shi Jingzhi stunned, Yin Ci simply hugged him tightly. “The fact that you and I can meet in this desolate place can be considered fate. Since no one has cared for you, how about being This Seat’s son?”
After a while, Yin Ci let out a bitter smile and added, “This Seat doesn’t even need you to take care of me in my old age.”
The young Shi Jingzhi didn’t have a clear concept of “parents”, but he understood what it should mean and grasped the implicit meaning in Yin Ci’s words—the god genuinely wanted to protect him and didn’t require his constant efforts to please.
The sincerity in the god’s gaze was different from the people who used to deceive and placate him.
In a fleeting moment, something seemed to break in his heart. Unfamiliar emotions surged forth, starting with a sense of grievance, followed by an incredibly tender feeling. At that moment, the young Shi Jingzhi couldn’t distinguish it clearly.
He was busy shedding tears, sobbing silently, and indiscriminately wiping his tears on Yin Ci’s sleeve.
“Alright, Little Mute, I’ll take it as you’ve agreed. Don’t bite your fingers anymore. After reciting the ‘Purifying Words’, you can go play.”
But the young Shi Jingzhi didn’t let go; he clung tightly to Yin Ci, as if a drowning person clinging to the last piece of driftwood.
It was like a newborn bird opening its eyes for the first time, and he had never felt so at peace.
The days that followed felt like a dream.
Even when the young Shi Jingzhi grew up, he had never experienced such a feeling—he didn’t need to worry about anything, nor did he need to second-guess anyone. And he could be genuinely kind to that person, placing complete trust and dependence without reservation.
The gentle breeze of early autumn, the serene sunlight.
Those were the best moments of his life.
After nearly half a month, the blood in Yin Ci’s eyes had almost faded away. Even so, the young Shi Jingzhi didn’t let any of Yin Ci’s low moods go unnoticed; he always found an opportunity to ask for a hug.
And Yin Ci would respond with a smile.
The adult Shi Jingzhi watched, lost in a daze, as his heart ached spontaneously.
…If only he could leave with Yin Ci and disappear from the world, how wonderful would that be. Even if he suffered from a strange illness and couldn’t live past thirty, it would still be a fulfilling life.
Unfortunately, he knew in advance that the ending of the story wouldn’t be like that.
He watched as the autumn colors grew richer, playing like he usually did during his childhood. Suddenly, the earth trembled violently, and dry leaves rustled while debris flew through the air.
A malicious figure emerged from the ground, nearly knocking him off his feet.
In an instant, the stench of demonic qi exploded and soared, surpassing the six-eyed tiger demon by a hundredfold.
The Juyi Valley was originally a royal hunting ground that collected various strange monsters. But later, they lost control of the monsters, and the royal family could no longer manage them, so they simply let it go. It was rumored that there were many colossal monsters in the valley, sleeping year-round, their forms unknown to mortals.
The young Shi Jingzhi, perhaps due to some connection with fate or maybe because his qi was truly delicious, had attracted such evil monsters.
The colossal monster was as tall as two adult men, resembling some kind of lizard. Its skin was covered in brown tumors, and it had a large round black eye in the front of its head. Opening its mouth wide, its sharp teeth struck chaotically, emitting a saliva that exuded a suffocating stench.
A three-year-old child had never witnessed such a grand spectacle before; even a mere flower ball could cause him to have nightmares for seven days. When this thing crawled in front of him, the young Shi Jingzhi’s hair stood on end.
Fortunately, the phrase “crying for father and mother*” still applied to him to some extent.
*(哭爹喊娘) Idiom referring to someone who’s panicking or crying out for help in a desperate situation, to a point of an embarrassing state (often used derogatorily to highlight cowardice).
With courage, the young Shi Jingzhi ran away as fast as he could. And in the next moment, Yin Ci indeed descended from the sky. The sword qi of the Bone Sweeping technique struck directly at the round giant eye.
With a muffled sound, the murky liquid from the eye splattered out.
The colossal monster let out a painful roar, while its body still charged towards the young Shi Jingzhi, solidly taking in a few strikes of the sword qi.
Yin Ci’s movements were graceful and elegant, striking precisely and beautifully.
Even without any inner force, facing such an advantageous opponent, Yin Ci didn’t show the slightest intention of retreating. He had no sword in his hand, and the sword qi was no longer as chaotic as before. Only his black sleeves fluttered in the wind, launching sharp and concentrated attacks.
Like invisible whips, they descended like a storm, each strike accompanied by a fine spray of blood.
The colossal monster had thick skin, but it couldn’t withstand such sharp and fierce attacks. It recoiled, relying on its massive body, relentlessly charging toward the young Shi Jingzhi, determined not to give up without taking a bite.
Seeing that thing relentlessly chasing after the young Shi Jingzhi, Yin Ci let out a cold snort.
He stood not far from the young Shi Jingzhi, intercepting the monster’s path, and instead of retreating, he engaged in close combat with the colossal monster.
As it approached, the power of the sword techniques grew stronger. Freed from madness, the sword qi moved at will, and the attacks were quite effective. Under the fierce assault, the one-eyed giant monster was injured, losing a significant portion of its flesh, revealing its white skeletal frame.
This roadblock couldn’t be bypassed, and it finally stopped in its tracks.
In the flickering dark light, the demonic qi surged. A purplish-black tongue shot out from its mouth, its edges sharp and teeth menacing, moving as fast as lightning.
Without inner force for protection, that human body was as fragile as paper in front of it.
Yin Ci was too close to evade. From the neck to the waist, he lost half of his body in an instant.
The “immortal” vitality ceased to exist, and blood gushed out wildly, with his organs seemingly about to spill out. The giant monster, feeling triumphant, let out a low roar and turned its attention to the young Shi Jingzhi.
But Yin Ci didn’t step aside, nor did he fall down.
He stood in his incomplete state, letting the blood rain down upon him like a storm. Then he raised his head and gave the giant monster a bloody smile.
Amidst the falling red leaves and scattered strands of hair, he once again charged forward.
At the edge of that terrifying wound, numerous blood-colored fine roots emerged. They quickly formed new organs, bones, and flesh, instantly restoring Yin Ci’s half-body.
Truly more eerie than the demonic monster itself.
Several even more fierce sword qi rose, with the momentum to completely destroy the giant monster, causing it to cry out in agony.
The opponent couldn’t be killed or defeated, and it had lost too much blood. However, it realized too late as Yin Ci’s offensive became more erratic, displaying an unstoppable momentum.
In the end, it fell on the path of escape, collapsing into a heap of severely wounded flesh.
The young Shi Jingzhi, filled with wonder, stared at Yin Ci’s figure, completely captivated. He was securely enveloped in a sense of peace.
That person was truly an immortal, the only immortal he knew.
His immortal was invincible, and no one could bring him down.
He didn’t need to fear anything.
The young Shi Jingzhi stumbled and rushed toward Yin Ci, who skillfully lifted him up, allowing him to sit on his arm. Shi Jingzhi tightly grasped the cool, smooth long hair, regretting his inability to speak.
After a moment, he held onto Yin Ci’s neck tightly, trembling with all his strength, his body shaking with excitement.
Yin Ci, considering the child’s young age and being frightened by the monster, gently patted Shi Jingzhi’s back. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you.”
However, the child still refused to let go and trembled even more intensely.
“How about I make a feast with all fish for you tonight?”
“…Or should I go back and play hide-and-seek with you?”
Shi Jingzhi continued to tremble, clinging to him.
Yin Ci pondered for a moment and then tore him away from himself, looking directly into those amber-colored eyes.
“We’ve known each other for so long, and I haven’t properly granted you anything. How about this? I’ll fulfill one of your wishes. Is that okay?”
Shi Jingzhi finally stopped trembling. He stared at Yin Ci without blinking, forgetting even how to nod or shake his head.
Ignoring his torn black clothes, Yin Ci lowered his eyes and smiled slightly. Bathed in the warm autumn sunlight, that smile carried a hint of warmth.
“Little Mute, since you can’t speak your wish, This Seat will grant you a life free of worries and a hundred years of longevity.”
The young Shi Jingzhi hesitated for a moment before reaching out one hand and pressing it against Yin Ci’s cheek. Feeling the warmth in his palm, he dared not let out a breath.
With blood scattered like maple leaves, it pricked his eyes.
“…But you have to be a good child and not let down those around you,” Yin Ci added in a low voice.
Shi Jingzhi finally regained control of his mind. He vigorously nodded, tightly gripping the long hair in his hand and burying his head in the crook of Yin Ci’s neck.
The scent of the immortal was very pleasant. He closed his eyes, and his heart leaped with joy.
Born lonely, he had now touched an unbreakable and rock-solid affection. At least in this moment, he was free from worries and fears.
In a daze, he felt that this happiness was simply not of this world.
It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. It was a thousand times better than roasted fish when starving or sweet fruits before dying of thirst.
The next moment, intense heat and severe pain struck together.
The young Shi Jingzhi immediately spewed out a mouthful of black blood and convulsed in Yin Ci’s arms. His arm was instantly covered in dark blue blood vessels, and his whole body seemed to be falling apart.
Yin Ci was startled by his unusual condition.
He almost immediately let go of Shi Jingzhi, took his pulse, and furrowed his brows tighter and tighter. Then he tried to pick up Shi Jingzhi, who let out a series of non-human screams from his broken throat and vomited a large pool of black blood.
The child’s fever was severe, and his illness was bizarre and not easy to touch or move. Yin Ci quickly made a decision. He placed the child on a soft pile of fallen leaves and, without hesitation, cut open his wrist, soaked it in blood, and applied it to Shi Jingzhi’s forehead.
“We don’t have time to search for medicine here. There’s a medicine shop in the town outside the mountains. I’ll go and be back in no time.”
Yin Ci’s calmness in his words was on the verge of collapsing.
“Wait for me here. It won’t take half an hour for me to return.”
After saying that, he hastily dragged the new dead giant monster. Despite its miserable death, it still lingered with demonic qi. Even if he wasn’t nearby, with the monster’s corpse guarding Shi Jingzhi, no other monster would dare approach.
Finally, Yin Ci gently touched Shi Jingzhi’s burning face, activated his qinggong, and disappeared in an instant.
The young Shi Jingzhi lay alone on the fallen leaves, feeling the warmth around him gradually fade away, and the autumn wind suddenly turned colder. He longed to grab onto the hem of Yin Ci’s clothes and keep him by his side. But in the midst of the intense pain, he lost the strength to lift his hand, unable to even let out a cry.
The nearby demon corpse still emitted heat, its appearance repulsive. However, Shi Jingzhi dared not close his eyes. He held onto his eyelids, counting his heartbeat little by little, wishing time would pass more quickly.
Unfortunately, it seemed that fate had destined him for parting.
Not long after, a gust of magic suddenly rose, and three people and a dog appeared before him. Leading the group was a dog demon, with steam rising from a hole in its head.
Behind the dog demon was an elderly man with white beard and a withered appearance.
He glanced at Shi Jingzhi and spoke with a grave tone, “Since the establishment of Great Yun, no one has ever had their ‘fixed desire’ before the age of fifteen. This child is only three… It seems that I have won the gamble against the emperor.”
“If you really wanted to protect him, why did Master inform the emperor early that this child is a ‘catastrophe to the nation’? If not for that, the Emperor wouldn’t have decided to take action so quickly.”
Following beside the old man was a familiar face—Jiang Youyue, respectfully asked.
“The Emperor no longer believes in us, and he must have already sought another way to calculate things. If we concealed this matter, we would only offend the Emperor*.”
*Clarity: Dragon’s countenance/face (龙颜). In this context, he’s not referring to just the emperor, but also the emperor’s face (and, by extension, the monarchy itself).
Jiang Youyue suddenly realized. “So that’s why Master deliberately set up this gamble? Leaving this child in Juyi Valley for a full month, allowing fate to determine life or death… And the Emperor agreed?”
“Yes. His Majesty, the True Dragon Emperor*, firmly believes in the divine favor bestowed upon Great Yun. He will never admit that fate stands on the side of the ‘catastrophe to the nation’.”
*(真龙天子) Term used referring to the emperor. Back in the old days, it was believed the emperor was a real dragon that descended from the sky (the Son of Heaven).
The old man sighed.
“Just now, there was another life around this child. He must have encountered a troublesome master—using the body of a great monster to protect him and using blood instead of water to apply to his forehead. That master acts obsessively and won’t easily let go of this matter. Fortunately, I was prepared in advance… Qi Zhe, come here.”
Apart from the old man and Jiang Youyue, only a child remained among the three.
That child was about the same age as Shi Jingzhi, dressed in the robes of a disciple of the Imperial Preceptor. He was clever and bright, with round and shining eyes.
“Master?” The young child looked up, smiling innocently.
A tinge of sadness flashed in the old man’s eyes.
His withered hand pressed against the child’s neck, and the child collapsed softly, instantly losing his breath. Without even looking at the body, the old man walked to the monster corpse, pointing at a piece of flesh dripping with blood with one finger.
Numerous visible and invisible magic formations floated up from the monster’s corpse, gradually converging into two clusters of red light. After a while, the clusters of light dispersed like ghostly flames, enveloping Shi Jingzhi and the child’s corpse separately.
In a matter of a few breaths, the clusters of light burst open.
In an instant, the dirt on Shi Jingzhi’s face and the clothes on his body were exchanged with the child’s remains. Apart from the terrifying blood streaks covering his body, he instantly appeared much cleaner.
The old man personally lifted Shi Jingzhi while the child’s remains were dragged by the dog demon and placed in Shi Jingzhi’s original position.
“Huo Luo, eat.”
The dog demon trembled in fear of the great monster’s corpse, whimpering as it picked up its tail, wanting to retreat quickly. The old man shook his head and cast several spells, causing the dog demon to lose its sanity and madly tear and devour the child’s remains.
Although his mind felt dull, and at this moment, he was horrified and chilled to the bone, the young Shi Jingzhi hadn’t lost consciousness—
In less than half an incense stick’s worth of time, there were only tattered cloth fragments left on the fallen leaves, along with unrecognizable flesh and shattered bones. There was no trace of the head remaining. The tiny stomach had been bitten off for the most part, revealing undigested grilled fish and crushed fruits.
Even the residue in the stomach had been exchanged by the spell.
“In this way, that person shouldn’t investigate further.”
The old man spoke indifferently.
“Just in case, the surrounding mountain households should also be taken care of properly to prevent that person from digging deeper.”
Jiang Youyue respectfully lowered his head and said, “Master’s foresight is admirable. However, regarding this child’s fixed desire—”
“This child is young. It would be enough to seal him here. I will have a detailed discussion with the Emperor. As for the future…”
In the next moment, the group of people disappeared on the spot, leaving only a sentence drifting with the autumn leaves.
“…Obey the heavenly mandate. Let’s wait and see what fate has in store.”
Fresh blood flowed over the fallen leaves, covering the fabric stained with Yin Ci’s blood, which gradually turned cold.
The autumn scenery remained unchanged in this place, except that there was no trace of vitality left.
In autumn, the sky was high and the clouds faint, while the maple forest was dyed red.
But the three-year-old brat didn’t know how to appreciate it. He only knew how to cry and walk and was on the verge of crying himself breathless.
The sensation of becoming a human-shaped kite was quite mysterious, as the adult Sect Master Shi had realized long ago. Perhaps it was the effect of breaking through the ban, but this place was somewhat similar to Yan Budu’s “state of mind”. He was being dragged along like a wandering ghost, following his childhood self.
All the thoughts and feelings of that young child were transmitted into his consciousness. There weren’t many chances to relive the past. Compared to lamenting the past, Sect Master Shi found some amusement in it—after all, he knew the outcome in advance; this child wouldn’t die no matter what.
So Sect Master Shi focused his attention and carefully observed his past self.
For some reason, at that time, he couldn’t make a sound, only gasping for breath and sniffling. The young Shi Jingzhi stumbled among the fallen leaves, and with a slight misstep, he would fall and struggle to get up on his own.
After crying for a long time, he finally realized that silently shedding tears was of no use; no one would come to rescue him.
So he had to suppress his panic and concentrate on dealing with his fears—not far from him, something let out a terrible howl, clearly the sound of a beast with claws.
Three-year-old Shi Jingzhi had cried for so long that his head was spinning, and his legs were weak. Not to mention escaping, he couldn’t even walk far. Instinctively, he found a tree hole and squeezed his whole body into it, using fallen leaves to block the entrance and not daring to breathe too loudly.
The beast stopped howling, and he didn’t dare to peek. At that time, he was both tired and scared, so he quietly curled up in the hole, half asleep and half unconscious, throughout the night.
The next day, it was hard to say whether he woke up due to hunger or thirst.
Children would get hungry quickly, let alone go a whole day without food or water, while also exerting a considerable amount of physical energy. He was like a naive young cub that strayed too far from its nest and was destined to die from thirst.
Under “object addiction”, the torment of hunger and thirst was a hundred times harsher than usual.
This time, he realized the value of water and dared not cry anymore. Awkwardly crawling out of the tree hole, the young Shi Jingzhi found a moderately sized tree branch as a makeshift cane and began walking unsteadily.
It wasn’t like there weren’t any brightly colored fruits in the forest; he had tasted them. The fruits were bitter and numbing in his mouth, clearly not edible. Some fruits pecked by birds hung on the branches, but the trunks were too sturdy, and the branches were too high, creating an insurmountable barrier.
After walking on an empty stomach for a few hours, he found a slightly rotten mouse. The will to survive prompted him to open his mouth, but the smell of the dead mouse was so foul that he couldn’t eat much before vomiting.
With great difficulty, he mustered the courage to open his mouth, but instead of alleviating his hunger, it almost made him vomit all the water out, leaving him seeing stars.
He had to find some water to drink first, then search for something to eat.
Otherwise, he would die here.
At that moment, he still didn’t understand what “death” meant, but that intense craving was already active and forced him to maintain his fear. Guided by the will to survive, the young Shi Jingzhi steadfastly moved in a certain direction.
Even if he didn’t know what lay ahead, he didn’t dare stop there.
To stay alive, he had to find something. Like a river, a path to escape, or better yet, the scent of a living person.
He didn’t know how long he had been walking; blisters formed on the soles of his feet, his lips were cracked and bleeding, and his stomach rumbled like a drum. The young Shi Jingzhi’s vision gradually filled with stars, and he wavered in place, barely having the strength to stand upright.
It was at that moment that he caught a whiff of food.
Not the smell of fresh blood or ripe fruits. He smelled the tantalizing aroma of roasted oil, kissed by fire, so delightful it felt like a dream.
Overwhelmed with astonishment and joy, his legs, like two soft noodles, regained strength. So he mustered his last bit of energy and moved on all fours toward the direction of the scent, fearing that it might suddenly disappear, leaving him stranded in this perilous forest.
The surrounding fallen leaves fluttered, appearing as a blur of gold and red. His eyes were fixated on that thin thread of vitality —
“Little brat, do you not value your life to come to a place like this?” a voice sounded.
Although the person’s tone was icy, to the young child at that time, it was like heavenly music.
Not far away, that thread of “vitality” pierced straight into his eyes.
In that instant, Sect Master Shi felt a layer of cold sweat form on his body. Forget about spectating and seeking amusement; the scene before him was absurd to the extreme, as if a bucket of icy water was poured over his head.
The face of the black-clothed person was no longer blurry.
This “vitality” that arrived at his moment of death had the exact same face as Yin Ci.
In an instant, the fully grown Shi Jingzhi felt a chill run through his body, a tingling sensation on his back, and he was on the verge of trembling. Deep down, it felt as if someone was pushing him in circles, returning him to the starting point.
That person leaned against a resting tiger demon, exuding an aura of alcohol and blood. He played with an empty wine jar, grinding the fallen leaves into fine and crisp sounds. His long hair, resembling silk, cascaded over his loose black clothes.
The voice had the same tone, with an identical demeanor. The aura was as icy as snow, and the chilling hostility was awe-inspiring.
Even if they were father and son, or master and disciple, there would never be such an identical display of power and aura. Shi Jingzhi had accompanied Yin Ci for many days and understood in his heart that he couldn’t be mistaken.
It turned out that this karmic bond had been planted more than twenty years ago.
For twenty years, Yin Ci’s appearance hadn’t changed at all. Had he drunk immortal wine, or was there… some other reason?
If there was one difference, it was that the current black-clothed person seemed noticeably colder than the Yin Ci Sect Master Shi knew.
The black-clothed figure in front of him was more like an empty paper shell, with a touch of madness evident in his features. He exuded a heavy sense of death, resembling an old man on the verge of decay. Although he smiled at this moment, there was no trace of laughter in his dark eyes.
The specter from the future stood still in the fading light, with a lingering cold sweat on his back. He stared at the person so close yet seemingly far away, his lips slightly trembling. “A’Ci…?”
However, the Yin Ci from his memories didn’t respond to his call, and the past version of himself didn’t continue to examine the other person.
The three-year-old child had no understanding of appreciating beauty or analyzing situations. The young Shi Jingzhi stared intently, completely ignoring Yin Ci’s mocking remark—it went in one ear and out the other. He had no mind to pay attention to the “stranger” in front of him and immediately pounced like a tiger, heading towards the remnants of roasted snake not far away.
He anxiously tore off a bit of meat that remained on the bones and stuffed it all into his mouth, wishing he could chew the bones into pieces and swallow them. When the burning sensation in his stomach subsided a bit, he grabbed an empty wine jar with a remaining bottom and didn’t care about the overwhelming smell of alcohol; he just wanted to get some water for himself.
To his surprise, as he was about to stick his head into the jar, Yin Ci pulled him away. With just two fingers, Yin Ci lifted him up and, incidentally, finished off the remaining wine in the jar.
“This is poisoned wine. Don’t drink it,” Yin Ci casually remarked.
The child didn’t understand the difference between “real wine” and “fake wine”. The young Shi Jingzhi, unable to find any water, had tears welling up in his eyes. He pitifully clung to the hem of Yin Ci’s clothes, making dry “ah ah” sounds in his throat.
Yin Ci glanced at him expressionlessly and pulled out a wild fruit from his sleeve, tossing it casually. The action was more like dismissing a small animal that had accidentally strayed into this place than taking care of a human child.
“Finish eating and then get lost.”
The voice was low and carried a sense of roughness, like a blade with bloodstains rubbing against it, giving off an ominous coarseness.
The wild fruit was moist and sweet. The young Shi Jingzhi gobbled it down, even sucking the fruit seed clean. Then, disregarding the massive tiger demon, he happily toddled over to Yin Ci’s side and began tugging at his clothes.
When he grew a bit older and learned some martial arts theory, he would understand that this behavior was essentially equivalent to courting death—
Yin Ci’s state was clearly abnormal.
He stood in front of the tiger demon, his eyes fixed on emptiness, with a mixture of hostility and bloodlust swirling around him, almost overflowing. His once beautiful face was pale, tinged with a distinct blood color in the whites of his eyes.
A typical manifestation of pent-up anger and madness.
An abnormal pressure surged, causing the tiger demon to open its six eyes and all its fur to stand on end. It struggled to get up and ran away.
Yin Ci’s bloodlust grew even stronger.
He paid no attention to the fleeing tiger demon. Instead, he leaned against the large maple tree behind him, sitting on the ground again and adjusting his qi and calming his breath. With only a child by his side, Yin Ci didn’t bother hiding his emotions. His face held a mixture of hatred and sorrow, as if all his thoughts were filled with despair.
For a moment, sword qi scattered, dispersing countless red leaves.
The sword stance vaguely carried the aura of the Bone Sweeping Sword technique, yet it was completely out of control, filled with madness.
However, the bold little kid wasn’t afraid of anything. Since he hadn’t managed to obtain more fruits, he simply changed his strategy.
Adhering to the principle of “as long as the green mountains are preserved, there’s no need to worry about firewood”, he tightly grasped Yin Ci’s robe and nestled against Yin Ci’s waist. He acted as if the immense evil and fierce sword qi beside him didn’t exist, squinting his eyes as if ready to fall asleep.
Yin Ci’s evil qi was also suppressed by this fearless little thing.
He glanced at the dirt-covered child beside his leg and a hint of bewilderment flashed across his face. Then, he grabbed the back of the kid’s clothes and lifted him up, seemingly wanting to shake some courage out of him.
The three-year-old child had a face covered in dirt, licked his lips a few times, and laughed at Yin Ci fearlessly.
The young Shi Jingzhi’s mind was filled with the sweet taste of the fruit from earlier, and there was still a lingering sweetness in his mouth. He felt that the person in front of him was a kind and familiar living Bodhisattva. So he opened his short arms and flapped them with all his might, expressing his extreme fondness and desire for peaceful coexistence.
If there were more fruits, that would be even better.
Yin Ci gazed at the child in front of him with a dazed expression, completely subdued by this young and reckless fugitive—he seemed to regain some clarity, no longer going mad, but furrowing his brow and handing over another wild fruit.
The little brat devoured it eagerly, then used the edge of Yin Ci’s sleeve to wipe his mouth.
This time, the young Shi Jingzhi wasn’t satiated, but he was no longer famished either. He had finally escaped the torment of “objection addiction” and the boundless fear that accompanied it. With great difficulty, he found a moment of peace, maintaining the posture of being held by Yin Ci and dozing off on the spot.
Yin Ci: “…”
He put the little brat aside, but the person suddenly rolled over and snuggled back to Yin Ci’s leg. Clinging to that warmth, afraid that the living Bodhisattva would abandon him.
Yin Ci lowered his eyes with a complicated expression.
He quietly watched the young Shi Jingzhi for a moment, as if giving up something, then slowly rested his head against the trunk of the maple tree and closed his eyes. The latter didn’t think much about it and simply hugged Yin Ci’s leg, falling asleep peacefully.
The sunset sank, and silence enveloped the surroundings. If it weren’t for the sword qi and marks left on the ground, the previous madness would seem like a mere illusion.
The next day, Yin Ci’s bloodshot eyes became even more intense, but compared to yesterday’s frenzy, he seemed to maintain his sanity.
He began to talk to the young Shi Jingzhi. However, his tone was more akin to studying a completely new species than the warmth and kindness of an adult.
“Your voice… Hm, you accidentally ate poisonous grass, but it will recover after some time.”
Yin Ci seemed to have made up his mind to shift his focus, finding something to say.
“Are you a child from the mountains? You don’t look like an abandoned child, so how did you end up in Juyi Valley? Where are your parents?”
Shi Jingzhi tilted his head and pondered for a moment, but apparently couldn’t come up with an answer suitable for outsiders. He didn’t even manage to gesture, only vigorously shaking his head, almost shaking it off.
Yin Ci suddenly realized. With a look of pity, his face was saying, “It turns out you’re a mute.”
He lost interest in communicating with the mute and continued to sit cross-legged, closing his eyes and focusing on regulating his breath. However, while dealing with his possession*, he didn’t forget to prepare some food for the little brat by his side.
*The term being used (which is also the title of this chapter) is (入魔) which means “falling into demonic possession”. It’s commonly used to describe a state in which a person, usually in the context of cultivation, becomes overwhelmed with negative emotions, loses control, and succumbs to darkness or evil influences. It signifies a state of being possessed or influenced by evil forces, leading to erratic behavior, loss of rationality, and potential harm to oneself or others. || In terms of cultivation, it means succumbing to your inner demon (which causes qi deviation that leads to “possession”).
On this day, the young Shi Jingzhi not only got sweet fruits but also had the fortune to eat a few grilled fish. The fish was rich in oil, with crispy skin and fragrant meat. He ate with such delight that he almost swallowed his own tongue.
Having eaten his fill, his tense nerves relaxed slightly. Shi Jingzhi took advantage of the situation and stuck close to Yin Ci, trying to gather more sense of security.
He leaned closer, and Yin Ci didn’t avoid him. Yin Ci only opened his bloodshot eyes slightly, quietly gazing at the child beside him. His expression held a subtle solemnity, revealing neither joy nor anger.
“Juyi Valley is a place where monsters gather, and suddenly a three-year-old child appears… Are you destined to bring me answers?”
As the young Shi Jingzhi stuffed his mouth with fish, he struggled to show a face of confusion.
Yin Ci sighed lightly and tugged at his own face. “Kid, after you finish eating and drinking, how about giving me some answers?”
At that moment, Shi Jingzhi was afraid of hunger and worried about not having his next meal. His whole being was consumed with eating, and he had no space to ponder Yin Ci’s words.
On the other side of time, the adult Shi Jingzhi stood silently. Unable to resist, he reached out his hand but couldn’t touch Yin Ci, who was only a step away.
Having been together all these days, he had never seen Yin Ci display such an expression—filled with sorrow and melancholy, almost fragile.
What destiny? What happened to you? …Why do you wear such an expression?
Each question clenched at his chest, causing a sour ache, but memories were just memories. No matter how vivid the recollections, the real “him” didn’t exist in this time and place.
The initial excitement of experiencing memories had faded away, leaving Shi Jingzhi with a bitter taste in his mouth.
On the second day of their encounter, Yin Ci suppressed his killing intent, and the two of them coexisted peacefully.
Unfortunately, on the third day, calamity struck.
Since ancient times, possession was never a state that could be easily quelled—no matter how hard Yin Ci tried to maintain his clarity, that clarity was only temporary.
Unresolved knots of the heart led to possession; it was only a matter of time. Yin Ci still teetered on the edge of madness, just one step away from crossing the threshold.
On this day, Yin Ci seemed to have lost interest in conversing with the young Shi Jingzhi, or perhaps he simply lacked the energy to speak. Apart from preparing food for the child by his side, he spent most of his time in a daze or in a state of drowsiness.
At noon, Yin Ci leaned against the maple tree as usual. He was afflicted by some torment; veins bulged on his neck and forehead, and his eyes completely turned into an ominous dark red.
He gradually hugged his arms tightly, with his ten fingers deeply embedded in his own flesh. Fresh blood instantly dyed his black clothes even darker. Around Yin Ci, the sword qi, filled with killing intent, began to disturb the surroundings, reducing all the nearby wine jars and bones to powder.
Once again, the young Shi Jingzhi approached. This time, Yin Ci ruthlessly opened Shi Jingzhi’s hand, struggling to form words.
“You… Wait for me here. Don’t wander… There are monsters.”
Yin Ci fell silent for a moment; his voice was tinged with a hint of paranoia, each word carrying traces of blood. It was partly an order and partly a plea.
“As long as you… wait here, I… will come back… Please wait for me… okay?”
Perhaps the emotions were too despairing. Even though the young Shi Jingzhi was only three years old at that time, he finally began to grasp the meaning. He hesitantly looked at Yin Ci and nodded cautiously.
Yin Ci sighed with relief, enduring immense pain as he unsteadily stood up. His gaze had started to become unfocused, forcibly squeezing out the last bit of clarity, and he forced himself to leave the big maple tree.
However, this was a memory from the young Shi Jingzhi. Even if the adult Shi Jingzhi wanted to follow Yin Ci, he couldn’t truly accompany him. He could only be trapped alongside his younger self, listening to the distant cries and howls of beasts and watching the flock of birds startled by the out-of-control sword qi.
Yin Ci struggled to resist the state of possession.
But possession stemmed from an ailment of the heart. Without breaking free from obsession and resolving the heart’s troubles, no matter how tenacious the struggle, it would only be a delay. Even though they were separated by a great distance, the adult Shi Jingzhi could still discern the despair that filled the air.
As a child, he didn’t fully grasp such emotions, but he could sense the pain and suppression in the person’s tone. Shi Jingzhi looked worriedly in the direction Yin Ci had left and began to wait obediently.
One hour passed, then two.
The distant cries became increasingly agonizing, but Yin Ci didn’t return. Shi Jingzhi sat with a furrowed brow for a while, feeling as restless like ants on a hot pan, and the worry on his face grew heavier.
After all, a child’s mind didn’t have many deep thoughts. He hesitated on his tiptoes for a moment, then clenched his teeth and ran out. The direction was opposite to the cries, resembling an escape.
As Sect Master Shi was dragged along, he was almost infuriated by his past self.
Did he have a special fondness for poking the tiger’s behind? Did he have to provoke his benefactor, who was halfway into possession?
Little did he know, he wasn’t simply running around for fun—following the path Yin Ci had taken to find him, the young Shi Jingzhi discovered a meadow full of wildflowers. This flower field wasn’t far from the big maple tree, a round trip that could be completed within the time it takes an incense stick to burn.
…Children’s thinking was truly simple.
If the other person was feeling uncomfortable, just give them something beautiful, and they would feel better.
The three-year-old firmly believed in this ironclad rule. Shi Jingzhi specifically chose the most beautiful flower, carefully tucking it into his embrace, his face filled with pride that said, “I’m going to repay the favor.”
However, as he walked back, something went wrong.
No matter which way he went, he couldn’t find the way he came from.
Gradually, the sun set in the west, and the mist thickened, carrying a strong demonic aura. Shi Jingzhi carefully held onto the flower while uncontrollably starting to sniffle.
Despite only being half an incense stick’s distance away, he walked for two or three hours and still couldn’t find his way back. It seemed that he was spinning in circles on the same forked path, and with each turn, the scenery along the road grew increasingly desolate.
In the end, he stepped on black mud formed by decaying leaves, and the forest in front of him turned into bare, decaying wood.
The fog was so thick that he couldn’t see the path ahead. The young Shi Jingzhi’s legs grew weak as he walked. He didn’t dare to stop or look back—whether it was an illusion or not, he always felt the sound of friction following him from behind.
The sky gradually darkened.
Finally, the young Shi Jingzhi couldn’t walk any further. He felt afraid and wronged, on the verge of giving up, so he turned around.
Behind him was a large cluster of writhing flowers.
Those flowers were as vibrant as blood, the same as the one he had just picked.
They bloomed one after another, with petals overlapping and forming a nearly perfect giant sphere. The sphere was as tall as a person, and below it were limb-like roots, supporting it as it moved slowly. In the mist, filled with shades of black, white, and gray, the flower ball shone with a dazzling red, occasionally pulsating like a freshly dissected heart.
The intoxicating floral fragrance spread, embracing like a warm, open hug.
At the first sight of the flower ball, at the moment when he smelled the fragrance, the young Shi Jingzhi was enchanted. He tottered towards the flower ball, getting closer and closer until he could see the animal corpses beneath the flowers.
His instinct screamed to escape, yet his body insisted on moving forward—
As if sensing the struggle of its prey, the fragrance of the flowers grew stronger. They were sweet and comforting, enveloping people in a drowsy state, making even the decaying flesh and bones appear lovely.
Three steps, two steps, one step.
Just before he embraced the flower ball, the mist instantly dissipated.
An extremely evil sword qi slashed through, slicing the flower petals into countless blood-like specks.
It was Yin Ci.
The flower ball was quite savvy. It suddenly let out a miserable scream, abandoning the tender flesh right in front of its mouth and slithered away, leaving behind a tangled mass of roots.
The sun had just set, and the stars were sparse in the sky, with the glow of twilight still lingering. The golden-red leaves returned to their places one by one, and the black mud underfoot turned back into soft fallen leaves.
The young Shi Jingzhi was extremely excited. Just as he turned around, he was startled by the increasingly intense killing intent from the other party.
Yin Ci’s whites of the eyes were still a crimson red, filled with surging blood. He lifted the young Shi Jingzhi’s collar and spoke in a dreamlike voice.
“Didn’t I tell you to wait for me?”
Not far away, the adult Shi Jingzhi trembled. It was the first time he had heard Yin Ci speak in this tone, and it was also the first time he had seen someone express such overwhelming killing intent with such gentleness.
Yin Ci didn’t come specifically to save him. This person had obviously suffered from an undeserved stimulus and was now in a semi-mad state where reason was lost.
The young Shi Jingzhi was also frightened and stunned. He could only stare blankly at Yin Ci, his eyes showing a hint of panic and confusion.
Yin Ci stood there, holding him up for a long time. His whole body trembled, and blood seemed to flow from his eyes. His dark eyes gradually became concealed by the color of blood.
At the same time, the sword qi around him didn’t stop. Its coverage grew larger and its speed faster, destroying everything in a nearly frantic manner.
“If you were going to betray me from the beginning, why did you nod in agreement? Ah, I understand now. So it was the will of heaven… You only came at this critical moment to accompany me to the edge of the cliff for the last time…”
Before Shi Jingzhi could react, Yin Ci’s tone became increasingly gentle.
Using only one hand, he held the young Shi Jingzhi suspended in mid-air, as if grasping a fragile bird. Yin Ci’s eyes were almost entirely blood-red, and his pupils were shattered.
“You came specifically to tell me that even the most innocent child has an inherent nature of ‘harming others’. The world is already so murky, and a human heart is useless… What a great answer. I like it very much.”
Yin Ci exerted some force with his fingers, each word dripping with blood, and his pupils were completely submerged in red. His voice became softer and softer, and the killing intent grew stronger.
“I should have learned from Yan Budu, taking lives and killing the innocent without hesitation. Perhaps I would be struck down by divine retribution—a thunderbolt that would cleanse me completely, bringing relief… Or maybe I should start with you.”
Instead of snapping Shi Jingzhi’s neck in one breath, he slowly closed his fingers, his hand trembling slightly.
The young Shi Jingzhi was being choked and couldn’t breathe.
He was naturally intelligent, but at this moment, he had the mindset of a child of only five or six years old. He couldn’t understand those words and sentences, and in his mind, there was only one simple thought—he had failed to keep his promise, and his benefactor was angry.
If this was someone else, he would probably have bitten down. But this was his benefactor who had saved his life, and he was the one who had wronged him first, so he couldn’t bite.
The young Shi Jingzhi scratched his chest hard, struggling to find the flower. He tightly grasped the wilting flower branch and passed it to Yin Ci’s arm, trying to give it to Yin Ci properly.
Despite it being increasingly difficult to breathe, he kept his gaze fixed on Yin Ci’s eyes, trying to make him understand his intentions.
This is the flower I’m giving you. It’s really beautiful.
I won’t run around like that again next time.
Don’t be sad.
Throughout, he didn’t scratch or pinch his own hand. The child’s eyes were pure, filled only with apology, concern, and a hint of instinctive panic.
Utterly pure.
Yin Ci’s hand pressed against his neck, but ultimately couldn’t tighten his grip.
After releasing Shi Jingzhi, for some reason, Yin Ci appeared even more desolate than before. He held the deformed wildflower, slumping onto a pile of fallen leaves.
The raging sword qi gradually dissipated, and Yin Ci exerted force with his hand. The flower was almost crushed, oozing a liquid that resembled blood.
His madness slowly faded, leaving behind only a mess and a sense of helplessness.
The young Shi Jingzhi believed that Yin Ci hadn’t calmed down yet.
He, like a grown-up, gently stroked Yin Ci’s head, and his hand naturally slid down the side of his face, tidying up the disheveled hair. Then, like he was afraid he hadn’t done enough, the young Shi Jingzhi opened his arms and cautiously hugged Yin Ci.
The last trace of evening glow faded away.
Yin Ci didn’t move or respond. The adult Shi Jingzhi stood by, silently watching this memory from over twenty years ago that was sealed away in dust.
Through the long passage of time, he finally managed to touch a fragment of Yin Ci’s past.
It was incredibly heavy and extremely cold.
He could only stand a step away, like a wandering soul, watching Yin Ci slowly close his eyes, tears stained with blood streaming down his face.
The young him knew nothing, and the present him couldn’t even touch a single strand of hair.
Having lived in this world for twenty-seven years, Shi Jingzhi had experienced bitterness, grievances, and melancholy, as well as resentment, hatred, and despair.
But never before had he felt such pure “sadness” filling his heart.
Kinky Thoughts:
Ah… There are so many good chapters in this novel. This one made me quite emotional.
As soon as Elder Chen’s words came out, the whole place fell silent.
At this critical moment, everyone’s true nature was revealed. Shi Zhongyu clenched her teeth, and her face was filled with anger. Yan Qing was still young, so all he could do was grip the hilt of his sword tightly, at a complete loss.
Yin Ci wasn’t panicked. He began to calculate coldly—even if he had to reveal his indestructible body here, even if it meant damaging the Arcane Arts, he could do it.
Cleaning up afterwards wouldn’t be a problem either. He could force Chen Qianfan to erase the memories of everyone present.
But destroying the Arcane Arts would create a grudge between the Kushan Sect and the Mishan Sect. And even if he managed to destroy the Arcane Arts, he wouldn’t be able to stop the massive horde of monsters alone. The others would still have to escape.
Instead of adding another problem, it would be better to simply run away with Elder Chen.
…But would the matter of breaking the ban be left unresolved like this? Yin Ci didn’t know whether he should feel fortunate or regretful.
A few steps away, Shi Jingzhi showed no signs of confusion. He asked only two questions.
“Do you really need to use ancient human corpses to make Miss Shi’s talisman and break my ban? Can’t we use other powerful monsters as substitutes once we escape from here?”
“Do you think burning tree branches can replace burning coal?” Chen Qianfan rolled his eyes.
Shi Jingzhi sighed regretfully.
The Mishan Sect members were always elusive and isolated from the world. Those willing to help would be even fewer. With less than a year to live, he still had to find the Shirou and didn’t have time to search for someone to break the ban.
As the saying went, “First effort brings success, then decline, and finally exhaustion*.” Shi Jingzhi instinctively resisted the matter of breaking the ban. Now that he suddenly encountered a disaster, the courage he had built up over several days instantly vanished.
*(一鼓作气, 再而衰, 三而竭) Idiom referring to doing things all at once. If tried a second time, it will decline, and the third time will be exhausted. It highlights the importance of enthusiasm and momentum and being aware of their subsequent decline so as to avoid reaching a point of exhaustion or depletion if the effort isn’t sustained. || This comes from Gao Gui, who rallied his fellow countrymen of Lu, which was being attacked by the army of Qi. He says, “Fighting depends on courage. The first time the drums sound, courage will be lifted. The second time the drums sound, courage will be low. The third time the drums sound, courage will be exhausted. Once courage disappears, you will be conquered!”
It was as if the heavens wanted him to choose “erasing his memories”.
A wild sense of loss of control surged within Shi Jingzhi, but he recited the “Purifying Words” several times to keep calm.
He still had something more important to confirm.
“Senior, if there is only this one choice, shouldn’t you have started making the artifact already? Why are you still talking to us here… Do you have any other methods?”
Chen Qianfan laughed loudly. “Right, you have sharp eyes, kid. But you might not like my method.”
“Senior, please tell me.”
“The formation outside the room can probably last for three or four days. During this period, I will make a bold move and break your ban.”
Yin Ci: “…”
Wait a minute, this old man doesn’t seem like the type to rush to do good deeds, right?
Sure enough, Chen Qianfan had a sly smile on his face, as if a weasel was wishing the chicken a Happy New Year. “Once your ban is broken, I only need to make a slight modification to the remnants of the formation, and I can turn it into a living puppet curse.”
Shi Jingzhi’s smile stiffened.
The term “living puppet curse” sounded ominous, and this old man was talking about it with such joy.
Chen Qianfan noticed Sect Master Shi’s tension and considerately added, “You have astonishing inner force but lack skill. As for me, I have the skill but cannot match your inner force and physical abilities. I will use you as a living puppet, and together with your disciple, we might be able to dismantle the Arcane Arts entirely.”
“The most difficult part of the living puppet curse is implanting the techniques into the consciousness, which cannot be accomplished quickly. But you are different. You already have a ready-made ban in your head. Let’s break it first and make some adjustments to make it work. Don’t worry, once you’re finished with the Arcane Arts, as the caster, I can easily remove the remnants of the formation.”
Yan Qing suddenly realized. “The difficulty of the living puppet curse lies in poking holes in a living person’s mind, and the Sect Master already has a hole in his mind that can be conveniently used. Is that what you mean?”
Shi Jingzhi almost lost his temper with his servant. No wonder the Sword of Compassion chose this brat. It seemed he had some understanding of the Yin-Yang wisdom of the Jianchen Temple.
But the most important thing now wasn’t to maintain the proper decorum of the sect. Shi Jingzhi swallowed hard. “But you said the success rate of breaking the formation is fifty-fifty. What if I die—”
Chen Qianfan stroked his beard and smiled even more kindly. “If you die, you die. It also works out, as you’ll be good material. You look like a monster at first glance—more useful than those two corpse hands, and we can escape faster.”
Yin Ci and Shi Jingzhi: “……”
So, it seemed this old man wouldn’t suffer any losses, no matter what.
“The preparations for breaking the formation inside the house are just right. If you want to break the ban, this is the final opportunity.” Chen Qianfan continued to promote. “Actual combat is the best teacher. If I control you for a while, you can also learn a lot.”
He tactfully omitted the part about “burning you as fuel if it’s a failure”.
Yin Ci: “To break the formation, we need three ancient corpses, but we only have a pair of hands now.”
Chen Qianfan: “It will be consumed gradually. Isn’t the Arcane Arts outside? Swing your blades as hard as you can. Even if you can only remove a finger, it will accumulate. There’s at least a formation blocking the outside, so a little dirty trick won’t matter.”
From his words, it was as if the Arcane Arts of the Milan Queen wasn’t some demonic guardian outside but a field of common chives ready for harvest.
Everyone lost their temper completely.
Even if they escaped, those pairs of corpse hands would be consumed. For Shi Zhongyu, staying behind was the only way to save her Sect Master. But it was Shi Jingzhi who had to take the life-threatening risk. She eventually pursed her lips and didn’t plead.
Taiheng remained the same unyielding Taiheng.
Yin Ci wasn’t as composed as before.
He could accept doing everything humanly possible and leaving it to fate for Shi Jingzhi to break the formation in the most prepared state. However, everything now had to be done in haste. The ancient corpses that would have taken ten days to prepare were now needed on the go. It was absurd.
Even the basic materials for breaking the formation might not be available on time. No matter how he looked at it, the risks were too great.
…Wait, ancient corpses?
Yin Ci slowly lowered his head and looked at his own hands.
Did he count as a “monster” as mentioned by Chen Qianfan? If he did, then…
Thump, thump.
Just as this thought flashed through, something rang in his ears. That sound was completely different from his heartbeat, and a sudden, inexplicable pain followed in his neck.
In the dim light, a blurry impression suddenly emerged from the depths of Yin Ci’s mind, forcefully interrupting his thoughts.
Thump, a head fell to the ground. Fresh blood dripped and flowed, and the floor was still warm and slippery. His body felt light and heavy, difficult to control. Occasionally, when he had the opportunity, he would exert all his strength and struggle to prop himself up, and then a loud thump would sound again.
He didn’t know how long it lasted before he stopped struggling.
Unfortunately, whether he moved or not, whether he knelt or fell, that sharp blade would always be timely in its descent. Yin Ci could even discern the process of the blade losing its sharpness.
Someone repeatedly beheaded him, and the cold despair mixed with the pain in his neck, almost drove him crazy.
At that time, his consciousness was blurred. His eyelids seemed to weigh a thousand catties, and he couldn’t open his mouth. So he could only listen to the sound of the blade falling, silently screaming in his brain.
At that time, he heard a familiar voice. Amidst the sound of his head rolling on the ground, that voice intermittently approached and receded.
[Store more… count up to three thousand… useful…]
His memory was too chaotic, and Yin Ci originally thought it was an illogical nightmare.
Now that he knew that “a monster’s body is the best material for casting spells”, that dream didn’t seem so absurd anymore.
But upon further consideration of this matter, a sense of madness crept into Yin Ci’s heavy mind. He instinctively looked at Shi Jingzhi, hoping to dispel the coldness with his fiery temperament.
Coincidentally, Shi Jingzhi also looked at Yin Ci inquisitively and said, “I still want to break the ban.”
Shi Jingzhi thought Yin Ci would say something, but to his surprise, Yin Ci remained expressionless and just stared straight at him without uttering a word.
So, disregarding the trembling of his teeth, Shi Jingzhi gathered his courage once again and said, “Senior, this junior chooses to give it a try to break the ban.”
He was afraid that if he waited any longer, he would impulsively choose the path of self-preservation and run away.
Chen Qianfan was very satisfied. “Alright, that’s settled then. You three go out…”
“Yan Qing, Miss Shi. The defense outside is up to you. I will stay here to protect the Sect Master.” Yin Ci retracted his gaze and interrupted Chen Qianfan.
Yan Qing: “Senior Yin, if you don’t go, then we—”
Before he could finish his sentence, Shi Zhongyu grabbed the back of his collar and dragged him outside. “Junior Brother Yin won’t harm the Sect Master. He has his own thoughts. Let’s go first.”
Even though he had left Taiheng, Shi Zhongyu’s authority still lingered. Being scolded by an elder, Yan Qing immediately shrank his neck and swallowed the rest of his words.
Yin Ci remained silent.
Shi Jingzhi was uncertain about Yin Ci’s thoughts. “A’Ci?”
“I have some knowledge of formations. At the very least, I’ll stay until the formal process of breaking the formation begins,” Yin Ci said lightly. “What’s the matter? Does Shizun want to face life and death alone?”
This struck a nerve with Shi Jingzhi, and he grumbled, “Hmm, you’re right. If I faint, you can go out then.”
Chen Qianfan gave Yin Ci a meaningful look. “You’re being overly sentimental. It’s fine if you stay.”
He threw the corpse hands towards the eye of the formation, and an invisible force twisted and crushed the corpse hands, turning them into a ball of bone fragments.
The ball of flesh floated above the eye of the formation, emitting a sizzling sound like burning. The large formation in the hall slowly emitted a faint light.
Granny Wei seemed accustomed to such things and continued embroidering her flowers not far away. With countless evil spirits outside the door and a strange formation inside, the scene was indescribably bizarre.
Shi Jingzhi took off his shoes and cautiously crossed the strokes of the formation, occasionally glancing sideways at the ball of flesh.
Elder Chen became impatient. “Hurry up. Don’t waste time!”
In the center of the formation, a wooden platform was placed. It seemed to be ignited by the formation, slowly emitting smoke, with dim green sparks flickering on and off. It sounded nice to call it a spiritual platform, but in less flattering terms, it resembled a barbecue grill.
Shi Jingzhi stopped just one step away from the wooden platform. “Should I write a farewell letter first…”
Originally, in such a solemn and grave life-or-death situation, with the interference of the Arcane Arts, it instantly turned into a chaotic marketplace scene. Shi Jingzhi couldn’t even summon the emotions of parting from life and death.
If he were to die in this predicament, it would be unbearably humiliating.
Chen Qianfan accurately guessed his thoughts and used the flesh ball in advance, making him not dare to hesitate for too long.
“I… um, I need to explain the arrangements of the Kushan Sect…” Shi Jingzhi stood motionless, standing on the threshold of fate, not knowing what he was saying.
As he expected, this needed to be done swiftly and decisively. At the critical moment, he only paused briefly, and the instinctual fear and panic grew stronger, almost devouring his rationality.
It was okay if he didn’t break the ban. It was fine to forget. So what if he was being controlled? At least he would still be alive. He didn’t want to die, not one bit.
Shi Jingzhi exerted all his strength to barely stay in place, and his mind even started planning an escape route.
“Go.”
A hand gently pushed him from behind.
“Since you’ve made up your mind, then go. I told you, I will protect you.”
At that moment, the warmth of that hand almost scorched him. Shi Jingzhi’s eyes instantly welled up with tears, but he didn’t dare to turn around.
“A’Ci, can I have a few more words with you?” he almost pleaded.
“Say it after you break the ban.” Yin Ci’s attitude remained the same.
“…Mm.”
It was much more difficult to resist instinct than he had imagined. It was as if he were strangling himself without relying on any external force, solely suffocating himself with bated breath. “Object addiction” deliberately magnified this pain and fear a thousandfold, forcing him to abandon everything.
The remaining warmth on his back was almost Shi Jingzhi’s last reliance.
In the end, he took that step forward.
After lying down on the platform, he listened to the crackling and scorching sound beneath him, unable to take his eyes off Yin Ci.
With flickering shadows and the smell of flesh and dust in the air, the other person’s presence was like a thread that kept him somewhat reassured.
He hoped this wouldn’t be his last sight.
However, Yin Ci turned out to be even more ruthless than he had imagined. The person crossed the faint light of the formation and covered his eyes with a hand.
“Sleep. You’ll be fine.”
Chen Qianfan saw the opportunity and didn’t give Shi Jingzhi any time for farewells. He sat down in front of the wooden platform, began to pinch a series of formations, and headed straight for the ban.
Shi Jingzhi immediately fell into a deep sleep, his brows still furrowed in pain.
“Alright, you’ve done enough sentimentalizing. You can leave now.” Chen Qianfan didn’t even lift his head as he spoke to Yin Ci.
Yin Ci ignored him. “Granny Wei, can you help me sew two charm bags? The light in the inner room is brighter.”
Granny Wei hesitated for a moment, realizing that he had something to say, and obediently went to the inner room.
“Sure enough, you have something to say, don’t you? If you have something to say, just say it. If you wait any longer, I won’t be able to focus.”
“I am also one of the ‘monster beings’ mentioned by Senior.”
“Indeed, and what? Do you want to sacrifice yourself to save your master? Unfortunately, with your physique, you won’t match three ancient corpses.”
“I have my own solution.” Yin Ci said calmly, “Senior has extraordinary courage, so I believe you can endure.”
“You’re still playing coy. Are you trying to protect your master, or do you want to kill him?”
Yin Ci took off his outer garment, picked up the Hanging Shadow Sword, and smiled at Chen Qianfan.
“I said I would ensure his long life.”
Then Yin Ci swung the sword horizontally, and blood splattered everywhere.
If Chen Qianfan hadn’t seen and experienced so much, he would have almost been frightened and trembled by this person—
Yin Ci’s sword qi was sharp as he mercilessly severed his own neck, causing blood to spurt out instantly. Then his entire body fell into a pool of blood, the head separated from the body, still with a smile on his face.
Next, a large number of blood-red, fine roots emerged from under the head. They quickly formed the outline of a human body, gathered together to form new flesh, bones, and organs, emitting a chilling rustling sound.
The headless body lay quietly aside, and a few blood-red, fine roots sprouted from the severed neck, but another head didn’t grow.
While the skin hadn’t fully healed yet, Yin Ci sat up and grabbed the Hanging Shadow Sword. With each swing of the sword, blood flowed, his movements displaying a chilling numbness and proficiency.
Once, twice, three times, four times.
In less than half a stick of incense, there were four headless bodies on the ground.
Only then did Yin Ci put on his outer garment, blood soaking through the fabric, clinging to his newly regenerated body. He looked like a painting, but Chen Qianfan had no mental capacity to digest the scene before him.
As the sword qi swept through, the four bodies were swept away from the eye of the formation. Just like the pair of corpse hands, they instantly twisted into a bloody, shapeless mass. This time, the formation on the ground no longer emitted a faint light, but a dazzling brightness.
“Is that enough?”
Yin Ci’s voice carried a smile, and the bloodstained Hanging Shadow Sword pointed at Chen Qianfan’s throat.
“If it’s enough, then forget about what just happened and focus on saving Shi Jingzhi.”
Chen Qianfan’s face still held a trace of confusion. “You… You’re the one with the immortal body? No wonder even your master stopped calling you. Who the hell are you…”
“Forget. Save him. You don’t need to find your little book; I will dictate it to you.”
Yin Ci exerted a little more force on the tip of the sword, and a drop of blood oozed out of Chen Qianfan’s wrinkled throat.
“Don’t worry, if you can break the ban and forget properly, This Seat will leave you a corpse to study.”
Chen Qianfan looked deeply at Yin Ci; his voice hoarse.
“With these driving formations, it’s enough. Who would have thought that I, as an old man, could have such an effortless day… This old man promises you.”
With a flash of white light, everything returned to calm.
Chen Qianfan turned around woodenly and began to break Shi Jingzhi’s ban in earnest.
Shi Jingzhi was still in a deep sleep, unaware of everything happening outside.
Contrary to what he had previously imagined, he didn’t lose consciousness directly. When he regained awareness, Shi Jingzhi subconsciously stomped his foot and found himself standing on soft, red leaves.
It was deep autumn, with golden red hues all around. The sunlight on his body brought a faint warmth.
This was the scene he had seen countless times in fragmented memories. Now, when he looked at it, it was complete and real, and the annoying headache didn’t follow him like a shadow.
Was this the key memory sealed by the ban?
Shi Jingzhi wanted to move forward but couldn’t take a step. Just as he was sinking into confusion, the answer came to him—
A child passed straight through Shi Jingzhi’s body, struggling to move forward.
The kid had a dirty face, as if he had just finished crying, and he was still sniffing hard. He wore old clothes typical of mountain villagers, covered in dusty and dirty patches that blended seamlessly with the fallen leaves on the ground.
He walked through the leaves, step by step, heading deeper into the forest. Shi Jingzhi was like an invisible kite, being dragged along with him.
The little brat hadn’t fully developed his features, yet his face still exuded the innocence of a child. However, when Shi Jingzhi saw those amber eyes, he could guess without a doubt—
Fireworks rose and fell, only in an instant. After the glow, the night remained pitch black, and the sky was still gloomy.
There were no mirrors outside. Yin Ci didn’t know what was on Shi Jingzhi’s mind, but he was wearing a bewildering smile on his face. Yin Ci used his sleeve to wipe off the snow and started rubbing Shi Jingzhi’s smoke-stained face.
At least it was New Year’s Eve. Shi Jingzhi didn’t have any new clothes to wear, but he looked peculiar and ethereal, overshadowing his shabby appearance. Now, he had to put on a stern face and walk into the house, not knowing if he would be mistaken for a beggar and kicked out.
The feeling of earnestly acting as an elder wasn’t so great. In just a few days, Yin Ci’s heart had pounded more times than in the past fifty years.
If it hadn’t been for his immortality, that blow just now would have cost him several years of lifespan.
Yin Ci thought to himself as he exerted a bit more force, wiping Shi Jingzhi’s face until it turned red. Finally, he managed to make Shi Jingzhi presentable, and the two of them returned to the house.
Little did they know that Shi Jingzhi’s festive addiction wasn’t over yet.
After everyone finished eating dumplings in a noisy manner, Shi Jingzhi neatly arranged a pile of fireworks and secretly prepared three red envelopes.
“Su Si, from now on, take good care of Lord Bai and don’t cause any trouble for me.”
Shi Jingzhi handed out the red envelopes and then gently patted Su Si’s head. He had a spring-like smile on his face, but his words weren’t very polite.
Su Si had just swallowed the last dumpling and almost choked on the spot.
But thinking about it carefully, it seemed that he hadn’t been of much use on this journey. Su Si, the young Patriarch of the Chigou Sect, reluctantly accepted the red envelope and opened it, only to find a small amount of money inside.
Su Si: “…”
Although he hadn’t been of much use, Shi Jingzhi wasn’t a generous person either.
He was just using this to get rid of a beggar!
“Yan Qing, take this money and keep it for now. When I break the ban, I will retrieve some of it. If I don’t… then you can take this money and accompany Su Si back to Huilian Mountain. The masters won’t make things too difficult for you, considering this sword’s importance.”
Upon hearing this seemingly entrusted tone, Yan Qing’s eyes reddened.
He carefully opened the red envelope and took out two silver notes. One note was worth one liang of silver, and the other was worth two liang of silver.
What about the monthly allowance and bonuses they had agreed upon? Weren’t they missing?
Yan Qing’s gratitude diminished instantly. He subtly said, “Oh,” turned around slowly, and decided to have another bowl of dumplings.
He suspected that the Kushan Sect was really here to freeload meals. Once they left, they would probably have to sleep and eat in the rough terrain, not even being able to afford the cheapest inn.
Finally, Shi Jingzhi walked up to Yin Ci. “A’Ci, this is for you. Take it. After all, I am your master, and I should give you something.”
With the tragedies of Su Si and Yan Qing before him, Yin Ci skeptically accepted the red envelope.
From the feel of it, there wasn’t a single copper coin in this thing. Who knew what tricks this fox was playing?
Well, he would consider it, playing along with his cheap master.
Yin Ci tore off the red paper expressionlessly. As expected, there were no silver coins inside, only a square piece of demon skin.
His eyebrows raised as he flipped the demon skin over. The demon skin was brownish-black, with a beautiful line of small characters engraved on it. The strokes were filled with cinnabar ink, making them very clear.
[Yidu Lantern Festival. Choose freely with this token.]
“A’Ci, make sure to keep it safe,” Shi Jingzhi said solemnly. “If you lose it, I won’t pay for it.”
A faint sourness surged in Yin Ci’s heart as he put the small piece of demon skin into his pocket.
“That’s only natural.”
Although it was a spontaneous idea, by midnight, the celebration was starting to feel more festive. Shi Jingzhi had gathered some cheap materials from Chen Qianfan’s collection and made some fireworks and firecrackers to set off outside the door.
Amidst the crackling sound of firecrackers, brilliant fireworks burst in the sky, adding fleeting stars to the gloomy sky.
Yan Qing held his Sword of Compassion and strained his neck from looking up. Lord Bai was frightened by the firecrackers and ran around honking, while Su Si had to chase after it with a bitter face.
Shi Jingzhi happily arranged two snow stools and pulled Yin Ci to sit down, watching the sparkling fireworks in the sky.
Shi Zhongyu was worried about her sect and couldn’t get into the festive mood. She didn’t want to disturb the others’ enthusiasm and found a corner to meditate on her own.
The smell of gunpowder in the air grew stronger. Chen Qianfan sneezed and shook his head helplessly. Granny Wei put on an extra coat and watched the fireworks with the members of the Kushan Sect.
The old woman leaned against the door as the fireworks twinkled in her cloudy eyes.
“The warm breeze loves the charming peach branches… The spring river is calm, whose home is filled with spring…”
She began to sing that festive and lively tune again. However, compared to before, her singing style was a bit strange—she became sharper as she sang. It was as if she had forgotten her age and forcibly raised her voice.
The old woman’s throat couldn’t handle the strain. What was supposed to be a gentle tune was turning into a mournful melody. Shi Jingzhi turned his head. “Granny Wei?”
Granny Wei’s expression became somewhat absent-minded. She looked at the fireworks in the sky, and a trace of fear gradually appeared on her face.
“It’s over, it’s over.” She pinched her voice and exclaimed like a young girl. “My voice is ruined, and I can’t sing anymore. On New Year’s Day, I’ll be beaten by the old master!”
After hesitating for a while, Shi Jingzhi was about to go forward and check her pulse, but Granny Wei snapped back to reality on her own.
She stood there in a daze for a moment, then gradually lowered her head. A slightly embarrassed expression appeared on her round face. “I’m getting old and confused. I scared you just now, didn’t I? I’ll go make tea…”
Before Shi Jingzhi could say anything, she had already entered the house, as if trying to escape.
With Chen Qianfan, an expert in healing, present, Shi Jingzhi was afraid of overstepping his boundaries in treating her, so he sat back down. When the last bit of fireworks burned out, everyone entered the house shivering from the cold. Granny Wei was already sitting in her usual spot, embroidering.
She had returned to her relaxed state and smiled apologetically at everyone.
Shi Jingzhi returned to Chen Qianfan’s side, busy watching him study scriptures. As the time for rest approached, he mentioned Granny Wei’s condition.
“Yes, I know,” Chen Qianfan casually replied. “She has been a bit scatterbrained lately. I’m working on a solution.”
Aside from that incident, this New Year’s Eve was quite perfect.
The battle on the first day of the new year was equally perfect.
The Arcane Arts seemed even more sluggish than the day before. Chen Qianfan didn’t even use any techniques; he just had Shi Jingzhi try his hand and personally directed him. With the three of them working together, they successfully severed the hands of an ancient corpse by sunset.
That night, Chen Qianfan started handling the body, claiming that he would be able to make the disaster warding talismans by noon on the second day. While Elder Chen was immersed in making the talismans, Granny Wei also came to help and cleared a large area in the room to set up a large-scale formation to break the ban.
The beginning of the new year went so smoothly that Shi Jingzhi became somewhat spirited.
The formation inside the house was slowly becoming complete, and amidst the tension, he even felt a faint sense of anticipation.
Everything was almost ready for breaking the ban, except for the three ancient corpses needed to power the formation. The next plan was stable and peaceful, proceeding step by step, which was rare and comforting.
…Unfortunately, this stability came to an end in the early morning of the next day.
Shi Jingzhi and Yin Ci were woken up by a terrified Yan Qing shaking them vigorously. Yan Qing, usually steady, had a look of fear in his red eyes. Shi Jingzhi rubbed his eyes and got up. “It’s not even the hour of the Tiger yet. What’s going on?”
“O-Outside! Outside!”
Yan Qing gestured desperately, regretting that he couldn’t pull out his memories to show them. After speaking for a long time, his tongue got tangled, so he could only drag the master with one hand and the disciple with the other, forcing them to the door.
In winter, the sun rose late, and there was only a faint light around. But this faint light was enough for them to notice something strange—
The vast and monotonous snowy landscape had disappeared, replaced by black things surrounding the house in a complete circle. In the dim light, countless green and red dots flickered and trembled, occasionally flashing. The cold wind carried a gloomy atmosphere, making people feel uncomfortable.
Yin Ci narrowed his eyes slightly and understood it clearly.
That dark mass was entirely composed of monsters. Most of them were small monsters, but they were enough to be horrifying. Judging from the situation, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that all the monsters from the Milan homeland had gathered here.
Monsters were already rare, let alone such a gathering of various types, coexisting peacefully. Yin Ci quickly scanned his gaze and found the “leader”.
The Arcane Arts was indeed among them.
It was about a hundred meters away from the house, kneeling at the edge of the encirclement. Its terrifying head was slightly lowered, facing the house’s entrance. Unlike during the previous battles, the Arcane Arts’ entire head was wide open, and from a distance, one could see thousands of pupils emitting a green light embedded in its huge skull.
Chen Qianfan’s house was most likely protected by spells, keeping them all outside. The horde of monsters couldn’t advance, yet they remained quiet and still.
It was hard to imagine what kind of fright Yan Qing had encountered when he went out to practice his sword early in the morning.
The commotion caused by the three of them waking up caught the attention of Elder Chen, who had been sleeping at the table. He grumbled a few times and pushed the three blocking the door to the side. “Move away, let me have a look.”
Seeing the situation outside the door and the Arcane Arts kneeling not far away, Chen Qianfan raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t expect that we would end up living in this godforsaken place and still have visitors coming to pay their New Year’s respects?”
The three members of the Kushan Sect: “…”
This old man was too audacious. He was probably quite wild when he was young.
After Chen Qianfan finished his sarcastic remark, he stretched his back with a big yawn. “Bring everyone here. Remember to close the windows. Don’t let Xiao Chun see. Don’t panic. I’ve set up quite a few formations, so they won’t be able to enter for the time being.”
People quickly gathered inside the house. Granny Wei didn’t join in the commotion and continued to prepare breakfast as usual. Shi Zhongyu saw the scene outside and furrowed her brows tightly, enough to crush a fly.
Yan Qing soon noticed something unusual—
“Where’s Su Si?”
“That tear mole kid? The goose beat him up in the middle of the night and then ran away. He went after it, but he said goodbye to me before leaving.” Chen Qianfan said, “Now it seems like Sai Weng has lost his goose*.”
*This is referring to the proverb “Sai Weng lost his horse” (塞翁失馬), except in this case it’s a goose since he’s referring to Lord Bai. The proverb means every misfortune or setback may turn into a blessing in disguise (AKA every cloud has a silver lining/a setback may turn out to be a blessing in disguise). || You can read the story about the proverb in my Kinky Thoughts.
It seemed that Lord Bai had sensed something, and time was limited, so it only managed to save Su Si.
“Senior, may I ask what’s going on?” Shi Zhongyu, who was in a hurry, was so nervous that it was about to overflow in her voice.
“Someone had the audacity to ‘awaken’ the Arcane Arts.”
Chen Qianfan coldly snorted.
“Don’t worry, I’m not referring to you all. That brat who chased the goose couldn’t do it either. Whoever played this trick is definitely more skilled than my senior brothers and sisters, and even my junior brothers and sisters.”
Yin Ci: “Awaken?”
“When the Arcane Arts was the ‘Queen’s Funeral’, it was much fiercer. The Mishan Sect placed thousands of restrictions on it, only suppressing it to its previous state… But now, it seems someone deliberately deactivated the restrictions and turned it back into the mad dog it was back then.”
It turned out that the Arcane Arts they fought a few days ago was a weakened version.
Shi Jingzhi broke into a cold sweat. “If they placed restrictions, why did they intentionally leave a solution?”
“Are you stupid? This is the Queen of Milan’s artifact. When faced with external threats, awakening the Arcane Arts to deal with the enemy is much more convenient than taking action themselves.”
‘That’s actually a clever move,’ Yin Ci thought. If they weren’t considered “enemies”, it would be even better.
Yin Ci spoke before Shi Jingzhi could. “Yan Qing wasn’t present that day, so I’ll have him escort you and Granny Wei away.”
Elder Chen, being elderly and not strong in combat, was indispensable in breaking the ban. If the Arcane Arts was coming after them, it would be best to send the old man away first.
Chen Qianfan snorted. “The ‘Queen’s Funeral’ is relentless and unreasonable. Don’t even think about it; once surrounded, no one can escape.”
Yin Ci fell silent.
“But that doesn’t mean we can’t escape.”
Chen Qianfan didn’t show much annoyance from being involved, and his face wore a cold smile.
“Using those two corpse hands as materials, I can create a temporary artifact to help us all escape. There is a downside, though—the Arcane Arts, even if sealed again, won’t give up its target. Once the target sets foot on Milan’s territory, it will relentlessly pursue and hunt them day and night. In the future, our group won’t be able to get a single step closer to the Mishan Sect.”
“In that case, the girl’s disaster warding talisman won’t be needed, and this kid’s ban won’t be lifted either. My thirty years of research might just end here.”
Kinky Thoughts:
Sai Weng lived on the border, and he raised horses for a living. One day, he lost one of his prized horses. After hearing of his misfortune, his neighbor felt sorry for him and came to comfort him. But Sai Weng simply asked, “How could we know it is not a good thing for me?”
After a while, the lost horse returned with another beautiful horse. The neighbor came over again and congratulated Sai Weng on his good fortune. But Sai Weng simply asked, “How could we know it is not a bad thing for me?”
One day, his son went out for a ride on the new horse. He was violently thrown from the horse and broke his leg. The neighbors once again expressed their condolences to Sai Weng, but Sai Weng simply said, “How could we know it is not a good thing for me?” One year later, the Emperor’s army arrived at the village to recruit all able-bodied men to fight in the war. Because of his injury, Sai Weng’s son could not go off to war and was spared from certain death.
Kinky Translations 