Chapter 92

CW: Suicide, which will be bracketed by ***** CW start ***** and *****CW end ***** ; also, non-graphic mentions of brotherly incest in this chapter

Like this, with all the vicissitudes of life and the cold quiet of the old tomb, Qi Zhao’s disbelief, heaven-defying rage and almost imperceptible ecstatic joy all turned to nothing when he heard these words.

Millennia of locked up emotions, when was the time he had been calm and clear headed? The ways of the world had changed, things have remained the same, but the people had changed. Like this Qi Zhao, no, Ji Zhao reincarnated dozens of times, looking forward to stepping foot in this old tomb. His sorrowful grievance was that reincarnation made the search difficult.

Ji Zhao still remembered the first time he’d clearly awoken. While there was peace and prosperity, the country’s dynastic name had changed. Cast into obscurity but without regret in his heart, he searched unsuccessfully for dozens of lifetimes looking for Ji Kang. After searching for a long time, he found out that his skeleton hadn’t even been buried in Ji Kang’s tomb. Ji Zhao pointed to the heavens and cursed, but it was no use.

The sea of people was boundless. Where should he go to find Ji Kang’s reincarnation?

In order to enter the tomb and set up the spell again, he had to bring with him one with the blood of the Guifang, but the Guifang had already been massacred. Where could he go to find the Guifang remnants? However, ultimately the Heavens provided a way for Ji Zhao. Indeed, in this generation he found a descendant of the Guifang – Feng Yuan.

Entering the old tomb, Ji Zhao was agitated and excited to see that man on the bed looked the same as when he’d first left. Ji Zhao was

about to evaporate Feng Yuan so that he could use all the blood in his body to divine the location of Ji Kang’s current incarnation and see him again.

However, Ji Zhao absolutely didn’t expect that Ji Kang would have stayed here!

Ji Zhao suddenly turned around. As before, only Zhao Feng and Feng Yuan were behind him. But Ji Zhao knew that Ji Kang was here! He was by his side!

For a long time, Ji Zhao was unable to speak. Only after quite a long time did he hear himself say, “….Gege ¹ .”

Zhou Feng and Feng Yuan’s faces had long turned pale. They’d also heard that voice but, other than that millennia old corpse on the bed, there were only the three of them in this tomb. So who was it that had spoken? Now, they looked again at Qi Zhao. Not only were they wondering about the source of the strange voice, since it also seemed as though he knew the man who had spoken, the men felt uneasy. Feng Yuan tugged at the lower hem of Zhou Feng’s clothes. Zhou Feng clearly understood what Feng Yuan meant to convey and he soon after drew Feng Yuan back several steps until they had retreated all the way back to the entrance of the main grave room.

Ji Zhao finished calling for his gege but no one inside the room responded. In a daze, Ji Zhao felt that perhaps it had simply been a figment of his imagination just now.

“Oh, I know! You’re the other person in those reliefs!” Suddenly there was a sharp and clear voice. With a dawning realization, the men present looked over, unaware that, at some unknown time, Mo Laoda and Yin Xiaoxiao had followed the three humans into the main grave room.

Zhou Feng knew that the vipers here could speak, but Feng Yuan hadn’t know this before now. Now Feng Yuan’s complexion had paled even further, and Zhou Feng had to support him so that he didn’t fall to the ground.

Ji Zhao also looked at Yin Xiaoxiao and naturally also saw Mo Laoda, who was next to Yin Xiaoxiao. Eyes narrowing slightly, a part of a powerful aura assaulted his senses.

Yin Xiaoxiao didn’t mind that Ji Zhao didn’t answer. Instead, he tilted his head and thought for a bit about what Ji Kang had said. Then he said, “You are Ji Zhao, I presume. Ji Kang’s didi ² .”

Ji Zhao’s expression once again returned to the same expressionless state it’d been in when he’d entered. Only when he heard Yin Xiaoxiao mention Ji Kang’s name did he say, “That’s right.”

“So it really is like this,” Yin Xiaoxiao muttered. “You really look exactly the same as the man in the reliefs. When I first saw you, I wondered where I’d seen you before.” After a pause, Yin Xiaoxiao seemed to remember something and he continued, saying, “So Ji Kang didn’t let us attack you just now because he recognized you. But why hasn’t Ji Kang appeared even though you’ve already entered?”

Ji Zhao’s body and voice trembled, “You, what did you say? Could it be that gege is still here?”

This time, Yin Xiaoxiao didn’t answer because Ji Kang’s figure had already manifested a little in front of the humans and snakes. Ji Kang’s expression was complicated. He looked at Ji Zhao for a long while and then said with a sigh, “You should not have come.”

Ji Zhao’s body trembled again. “How are you here? You shouldn’t be! You shouldn’t be here!”

Ji Kang was silent for a good while before opening his mouth to say, “Zhao’er, you were deceived.”

Ji Zhao stared blankly, seeming as though he didn’t believe what Ji Kang had said.

Ji Kang organized his thoughts and said, “This spell, it absolutely doesn’t do what you think. Instead of what you think, burying two people together doesn’t cause them to stay together forever. Rather, burying the two people closes the boundary and destroys the hun po ³ , ending  reincarnation.” Then he said, “Feng Hongming was originally of the Guifang. I took the Guifang’s ghost shark egg and then you massacred the Guifang. How could you trust Feng Hongming to be truthful? Zhao’er, after I left, how could you be so muddled?! To go so far for the love affairs of children, you buried with me lifetimes of the Great Zhou’s vitality and fortune, uncaring for the country and its people!”

While Ji Zhao initially seemed stunned, he seemed to become resentful at Ji Kang’s words, yelling, “What does the Great Zhou have to do with me?! All I know is that Father King made you take part in an expedition against the Guifang and made you leave me! It was the country and its people who made it so that we couldn’t be together!”

Ji Kang was infuriated by Ji Zhao’s words. “Ji Zhao! It’s been how many millennia and you still think that what you did was right?! You really disappoint me greatly!”

Like this, Qi Zhao made Zhou Feng and Feng Yuan entirely consumed with fright. They were aware that Qi Zhao was a cold and ruthless man, but this….in front of whoever this was, it was as though he’d regressed to being a child, with emotions that were completely out of control.

Ji Zhao raved, “I don’t care about the country and its people and I don’t care about right or wrong. I only want to be together with you! Gege, at that time you did so much, but who was grateful to you? You didn’t turn your back on the country and its people, but the country and its people turned their backs on you! Why do you still think about them when it should be enough for you to think about me!”

“Shut up!” said Ji Kang, angrily. “What are you saying?! I am your gege!”

“I know you’re my gege. Blood is thicker than water so even more we shouldn’t be separated, we are destined to be together!” A fire burned in Ji Zhao’s eyes. He raised his chin, his expression turbulent. “Feng Hongming, that piece of shit, actually dared to deceive me! However….” Ji Zhao, with sinister eyes, stared towards Feng Yuan and Zhou Feng. “I found his descendent.”

Feng Yuan and Zhou Feng, dumbstruck, looked at Ji Zhao, and unconsciously retreated a couple of steps. Descendent? Who was Feng Hongming? Who was Feng Hongming’s descendent? Only, the surname Feng…Zhou Feng unconsciously looked at Feng Yuan. Feng Yuan swallowed.

“I asked Feng Hongming, made him tell me the true way to reincarnate so that after we could be together.”

Ji Kang, in a daze, looked at Ji Zhao who seemed to have a demonic expression on his face. Suddenly, he wanted to cry. It wasn’t that he wasn’t aware of Ji Zhao’s feelings, but brothers loving each other went against proper ethics and societal mores ⁴ . At that time, he and Ji Zhao were princes and, later, he would become the Zhou Wang. How could this kind of relationship be tolerated in the Great Zhou? Ji Kang resigned himself to not shaming the people of the Zhou, but he’d turned his back on his didi, his lover.

Ji Kang softly said, “I already asked. I am incapable of reentering the cycle of reincarnation. It seems that leaving here would be the same as ashes scattering and smoke dispersing ⁵ …at that time, it was fortunate that you weren’t buried here otherwise, the moment the boundary opened, you and I would have disappeared forever from this earth, to say nothing of the continuation of our eternal love.”

Ji Zhao’s eyes widened. “That can’t be! How can there be no way to salvage this?! Feng Hongming must not have been speaking the truth!”

Ji Kang, in a daze, looked at Ji Zhao and sighed. “At that time, he even told me what he’d lied about. He learned that you weren’t buried here and was even happier. He said that it was better like this. I would stay in this old tomb forever, unable to die and unable to leave, and you would be outside looking for me each time you reincarnated, never able to see me again in any life.” He spoke again, “The two lovers ⁶ existing but, from life to life and from age to age, unable to see each other again, it’s even more heartbreaking than completely ceasing to exist….Zhao’er, I am very happy to be able to see you again.”

Ji Zhao gritted his teeth, but didn’t speak. He felt that his entire heart was breaking. Every time he reincarnated, he went all over to make discreet inquiries about Ji Kang’s whereabouts. Although each time he was disappointed, he was still hopeful. But knowing the truth, that Ji Kang could only remain forever in this small space, he despaired.

However, Ji Zhao didn’t regret building this place. Ji Zhao only regretted that he originally didn’t force Feng Hongming to speak the truth about the spell!

“Is there really nothing that can be done?” Ji Zhao asked, voice grave.

Ji Kang stared blankly and said, “There isn’t.”

Ji Zhao’s eyes narrowed imperceptibly. He didn’t miss that Ji Kang just now unconsciously looked at Feng Yuan.

“I am going to personally ask Feng Hongming!” Ji Zhao finished speaking and, without waiting for Ji Kang to say anything, immediately operated a mechanism to go below ground.

– This was a mechanism that only Ji Zhao knew about. Even Ji Kang didn’t know about it.

Ji Kang watched Ji Zhao descend, sighed lightly and then turned to face Feng Yuan, pity and regret in his eyes. “You are Feng Hongming’s descendent?”

Feng Yuan looked at Ji Kang but didn’t speak.

Ji Kang carefully took in Feng Yuan’s appearance, seemed to think of something and said, “It’s surely unlikely that Zhao’er made a mistake. I know this lineage of yours. Nevertheless, Feng Hongming isn’t aware. Back then, there was a maid in Feng Hongming’s main residence. She wasn’t a beauty, but she was quite capable and became Feng Hongming’s concubine. Later, Feng Hongming’s wife was injured in the competition for favor. That wife’s family was quite influential. Of course, dismissing a concubine wasn’t done lightly, and while Feng Hongming reminisced about old affection, the concubine was driven out with nowhere to go. In fact, my people brought her back, and she was found to be pregnant. It was a turbulent period, and I was too busy to spare her much time. I pitied this woman who had no one to rely on. I gave her some silver so that she could find a place to settle down, and I remember that someone informed me that she had given birth to a boy. By the time I remembered her and sent someone to look for her, that woman was no longer there. I didn’t think much of it and allowed her to leave since it wasn’t a bad thing that she had left. Looking at you, you and that woman have some resemblance to each other so just now I recalled this matter. You are surely the descendent of that woman’s son.”

Feng Yuan still didn’t speak, but his mind was whirring. This situation now, whether or not he was a descendent of Feng Hongming wasn’t something he had to worry about. Instead, listening to what these two had said, overall there wasn’t anything good about his situation. He could assume that, when Ji Zhao had saved him, it was because he was still useful to him ⁷ . However, even though things had reached this stage, he still didn’t want to die.

‘ I have to find a way to escape!’ Feng Yuan secretly thought to himself.

Ji Kang spoke again, “Feng Hongming absolutely didn’t know about the existence of your branch of the family ⁸ . Surely he thought that, on this earth, there were no remnants of the Guifang. In all likelihood…” Ji Kang looked at where Ji Zhao had recently descended. “Feng Hongming, in order to attack Zhao’er, will surely deny him.”

Ji Kang had barely finished speaking when, from below, Ji Zhao operated the mechanism and returned. Before the mechanism could close, the faint sound of someone’s voice came up from below. “Ji Zhao, give up already! There are absolutely no remnants of the Guifang left in this world! You will forever be apart from Ji Kang! Hahahaha….”

Coming up, Ji Zhao did not have time to listen to what the human head below was saying. With both eyes open in excitement, he walked towards Feng Yuan.

Feng Yuan wasn’t stupid. Looking at Ji Zhao’s expression, he knew that he didn’t have long to live. He hurriedly abandoned Zhou Feng and ran to the entrance to look for the mechanism to open the door. Only, unfortunately, Ji Zhao was the one to operate the mechanism when they entered and, in that moment, Feng Yuan simply couldn’t find where the mechanism was located.

Just as Ji Zhao was about to reach Feng Yuan, Ji Kang blocked Ji Zhao. He looked hesitant. “Zhao’er…”

Ji Zhao extended a hand, wanting to touch Ji Kang, but his hand went through Ji Kang’s body. Both parties were stunned. Ji Kang didn’t look away, and Ji Zhao’s hand remained raised. Softly, he said, “Gege, do you actually not want to be together with me?”

Ji Zhao stopped speaking and, without waiting for Ji Kang to respond, directly reached out a hand towards Feng Yuan in front of the door.

Hearing the sound of miserable screaming, Ji Kang once again went to save Feng Yuan, but he was already too late. Whether it was because he really didn’t react in time or because, deep in his heart, he actually didn’t want to save Feng Yuan, we will never know.

With Feng Yuan’s head in one hand and Feng Yuan’s body in the other, Ji Zhao once more went below.

Stunned, Yin Xiaoxiao stared at the scene in front of him, feeling like his head was spinning a little. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand what had happened, it was that this didi of Ji Kang had killed a man too easily. Had he really just gone right up to the one called Feng Yuan and pulled his head off his body? Holy shit, wasn’t this a little too bloody?! Obviously the scene had been one of those melodramatic plots of the forbidden love between brothers, who had been searching for each other for millennia. But all of a sudden it had turned into a murder scene? This transformation was a little too fast!

Mo Laoda expressionlessly used his tail to close Yin Xiaoxiao’s mouth.

Zhou Feng’s complexion had already turned deathly white from fright. Lacking strength, he dropped to sit on the floor. Only at this time, there was no one to care about him – in fact he was a background character.

After only a short while, Ji Zhao returned from below. He stood in front of Ji Kang. With a gentle and soft expression, he stared at Ji Kang. He went to reach out a hand to gently stroke the ends of Ji Kang’s hair but his hand stopped before he could make contact. “Gege, from now on we will always be together.”

Ji Kang’s gaze also stayed on Ji Zhao’s face. “Yes.”

‘Feng Yuan, sorry. You had actually been the most innocent. However, after so many millennia, the Great Zhou had already disappeared in the long river of history, and Zhao’er had searched for me for dozens of reincarnations. Here, I also missed him for so many millennia. We have already suffered so much, I want to be together with him. I don’t want to care about the nation or people, I don’t want to think about going against morality, I only want to be together with him.’

***** CW start *****

Ji Zhao smiled, took out a knife he had previously prepared and used it to slice open his wrist. In that moment, blood bubbled out. Ji Kang’s tears, likewise, flowed down.

***** CW end *****

How much blood did one person have? Yin Xiaoxiao didn’t know, he only knew that a flood of blood had already filled their vision. Yin Xiaoxiao suddenly raised his head to look at Mo Laoda. While Mo Laoda looked on, puzzled, Yin Xiaoxiao pressed a kiss to Mo Laoda’s mouth.

‘Really good. We don’t need to wait for each other for millennia, don’t need to suffer through untold hardships to be together. We love each other, but our road is peaceful. This is really good.’

Mo Laoda stilled, seeming to understand what Yin Xiaoxiao meant to convey and immediately deepened this snake kiss.

Ji Kang’s blood finally stopped flowing. The moment the blood flow ceased, the mountain and the ground shook. Mo Laoda and Yin Xiaoxiao were startled. Mo Laoda at once steadfastly protected Yin Xiaoxiao.

Ji Kang hurriedly said, “It’s nothing, don’t worry. It will be fine soon.”

Sure enough, as Ji Kang said, calm was soon restored.

“What just happened?” Yin Xiaoxiao asked, confused.

Ji Kang only said with a serious voice, “This time we are truly in our own world.” On his face was a somewhat lonely expression which immediately transformed into one of happiness and anticipation.

After only a moment, Yin Xiaoxiao, Mo Laoda and the neglected Zhou Feng saw Ji Zhao’s figure slowly appear in the air. Ji Zhao had shed his corporal body in order to transform into the same type of hun po as Ji Kang.

Ji Kang extended a hand. This time, he really, finally touched the hair on Ji Kang’s temples. His voice shook, “Gege, we can finally be together forever.”

Already it was difficult for Ji Kang to cover up his emotions and involuntarily cried. Ji Zhao pursed his lips, moisture also beading at the corners of his eyes.

T/N:

Footnotes

<ol>哥哥: elder brother 弟弟: younger brother 魂魄: in Chinese culture, the soul is divided into the hun and po. There are three hun that form the ethereal soul and seven po which form the corporeal soul. From what I understand, the hun is similar to the Freudian concept of the Superego and the po is similar to the Id. By balancing the two, you get the Ego or self https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E9%AD%82%E9%AD%84/1342436 伦常: literally translates as common human relationships; it refers to the ethics of feudal patriarchal society https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%BC%A6%E5%B8%B8/8388644 灰飞烟灭: idiom meaning to disappear entirely added for clarity Ji Kang added for clarity</ol>