A sheen of cold sweat covered JiYuanâs forehead.
Being swept left and right by Yun Chengâs interested gaze, JiYuan almost lost his control and break into a run. Must not be impulsive⌠it would be better not to run. If he started running, Yun Cheng would definitely attack. But the odd thing was why would this person come and look for him? And how did he managed to find him(JY)? Is it possible that he(YC) found out both his and Ye Junchiâs identity?
Then again, a large portion of people in the world doesnât recognize his face and Ye Junchi was wearing a mask. The âwanted noticeâ that the cultivators have been shouting in a frenzy, has the line âone male and one femaleâ as one of the requirements, that alone was way off the truth.
Unless⌠Jiang Miao Miao betrayed them.
This thought caused JiYuan to feel absolutely horrified. Just now Ye Junchi was called out to the Jiang residence via voice message talisman, and now this Yun Cheng appeared in his room, that really let peopleâs imagination roam wild.
Yun Cheng leisurely stared at JiYuan for a long time, then with a seemingly gentle smile, âLittle brother, are you here to join the Immortal Sword assembly?â
Not able to understand clearly what Yun Cheng actually wanted to do, JiYuan could only randomly nodded. He was still vigilantly staring at him(YC), praying for Ye Junchi to quickly come back.
Yun Cheng : âWhat a coincidence, same here. Iâm a casual cultivator from Ping Guang, what about you?â
JiYuan looked at him coldly, not saying a word.
âJust now passing by this inn, I detected an auspicious aura flowing from it. Thinking that there is an elite or genius staying inside, I couldnât help but went upstairs to check it out. Itâs this oneâs fault for being offensive.â
Yun Cheng spun nonsense without changing his expression, then sized up JiYuan in a glance, âThis one couldnât see how high or low level of your cultivation, it seems that the auspicious aura was emitted from this young brotherâs body.â
JiYuan was indifferent, ââŚâ
Hu hu, if he havenât meet Yun Cheng before, and knew that he was talking nonsense starting from the part where he claimed as a casual cultivator, JiYuan would believe in his words. As for the depth of his(JY) cultivation, he(YC) could even see it (whether itâs high or low) even though JiYuan has none to start with. My dear friend, you are also a special person, one in a million. Your ability to make something out from nothing is very strong, incredible.
JiYuan suddenly suspected that Yun Cheng doesnât know who he is actually, so he(JY) just have to pretend properly until Ye Junchi returns.
Yun Chengâs gaze was odd, âLittle brother should be a casual cultivator ba? Since both of us are the same, how about going together to the Immortal Sword assembly, at Jiang residence 3 days later ?â
Throwing a glance at him, JiYuan thought in his heart âWait until Ye Junchi come back, then youâre doomed, still trying to dupe someone?â but he still opened his mouth and lightly said, âAlright.â
Yun Cheng patted his shoulder. When he retrieved his hand, he looked a bit unconvinced and astounded. JiYuan looked at him quietly, knowing what he was thinking, he(JY) sneered in his heart; suddenly thinking that the pre-set gender as a lady with big âbirdâ was not so annoying anymore. Yun Cheng should be suspecting him but after he came over to test him, and found out that he(JY) is truly a man, he begun to have some doubts. Outsiders knew the original body as a girl, with the exception of those few people who already knew, no one should be thinking to the direction of âmale dressing as femaleâ.
Secretly feeling relieved, JiYuan stood up to see the visitor out, but his leg accidentally knocked down Gui Chi which was reclining by the side of a stool. Gui Chi was quite substantial, and was casually wrapped with a strip of cloth. When it fell onto the ground, it issued a dull sound, and a portion of the black hilt was revealed. Yun Cheng turned towards the sound to see, and JiYuanâs heart nearly leaped into his throat. He quickly picked up the sword and opened the door, not turning back as he leave, and went into Ye Junchiâs room.
Yun Cheng who was watching JiYuan leaving, sneered. Just as he wanted to follow, his body violently trembled all of a sudden. His shaking hand supported his forehead, and his expression was at a loss. Those dark clouds gathering at the space between his eyebrows dissolved like water ripples. As if wiping some water mist off glazed tiles, the youthâs beautiful and clean face resurfaced bit by bit. His expression back to normal, Yun Cheng froze for a moment. Then, he seemed to aware of what happened just now, his expression changed tremendously. He furiously roared a sentence âGet out!â, his whole body was slightly trembling.
Separated by a room, JiYuan furrowed in to the quilt, even buried his head inside.
Living in the inn for a long period, the quilt was full of a light rosin fragrance from Ye Junchiâs body. At this moment, his(JY)body was shrouded within this smell. It felt like snuggled inside âsomeoneâs armsâ, giving him an unmeasurable amount of peace. His rapidly beating heart caused by Yun Chengâs abrupt appearance gradually calmed down, JiYuan wiped away his cold sweats and asked, âSystem, what do Yun Cheng want to do?â
âIâm guessing he got the wind from somewhere which said that you are JiYuan. Although you are originally JiYuan, but he was not sure if you are JiYuanâŚâ
ââŚbreak it off here, donât say this one, say the bottom half.â
âUnder the circumstance of uncertainty, Yun Cheng didnât inform ZhaoHe about this but came to you alone. He was lucky to have avoided Ye Junchi. Then he found out that you âhave a stickâ and hesitated. He will probably stay near you and observe for a few days.â
âThen, Ye Junchi?â
âLooks like he(YC) doesnât know someone was here with you, to push people into the fire pit like this âŚâ
System thought for a while and said, âSpeaking of which, there is a casual cultivator previously who came to provoke you. He went missing by Ye Junchi? His sister almost cause trouble with you too, but was scared away by Ye Junchi⌠I guessed maybe those several casual cultivators saw that you looked similar to the painting of JiYuan. They are not sure but they wanted revenge, so they arranged for Ye Junchi to go away, then mentioned you in front of Yun Cheng.â
â⌠it seemed probable if you think hard about it.â
System proudly replied, âI know right.â
âThen, what is Yun Chen doing now?â
âHe is âŚâ System looked over for a bit, its voice was a bit weird, âIs he also a freak? You donât go and provoke him ⌠he is exerting his spiritual power to beat his own abdomen, seemed to want to spit out something, currently vomiting blood.â
JiYuan tried to imagine the scene, felt some vicious chill.
Listening to System analyzing the situation, JiYuan became slightly relaxed.
He wrapped himself with the quilt and leaned against the bed, idly chatting with System about everything that happened today. Not sure when, he started to doze off but all of a sudden, he was woken up by System, âItâs already in the middle of the night, Ye Junchi still havenât come back!â
JiYuan woke up with a quiver.
The spot beside him on the bed was empty, and the moon has risen up to the middle of the sky. Could it be Ye Junchi encountered some troubles? With Ye Junchiâs level of cultivation, there shouldnât be any trouble ah.
JiYuan was fairly calm earlier, but the more he thought about it, the more panicked he gets. Especially when he thought about the smile Ye Junchi showed him, after he kissed him. That panic abruptly turned into cold water, pouring all over him causing him to feel freezing inside out.
âSystem, Ye Junchi.. will he, will he ⌠â
Couldnât be that Ye Junchi was found out when he went over to there, and gets surrounded by thousands of cultivators ⌠in trouble? After all, âtwo fists couldnât win against four handsâ. Even if he has the ability to pierce the sky, facing so many cultivators at once, there could be only one possibilityâŚ
His throat became dry, JiYuan couldnât bring himself to say that word.
âRelax, Ye Junchi wonât be so easily get knocked down. Maybe he just got delayed by someone.â
System comforted with a sentence, then pondered for a moment, âYou should be careful, Yun Chengâs movements are kinda weird. Iâm afraid he would harm you.â
Not having Ye Junchi beside ⌠was really inconvenient.
JiYuan shivered. Under the moonlight, he gathered his courage and went down from the bed. He went to the table to light up the oil lamp and saw the tanghulu at the side of the table. JiYuan hesitated for a moment, but didnât eat the candy. The weather was cold anyway, so it wonât melt that easily in a short while. Just wait until Ye Junchi come back⌠then decide ba (what to do with it).
With the lights from the oil lamp to accompany him, JiYuan buried himself back into the quilt. He stared at the flickering light, was at a loss for a while. Feeling low, âSystem âŚâ
âHmm? What is it? Are you afraid? Do you want me to tell you some stories?â
âItâs nothing âŚâ
JiYuan tightened his hold on the quilt, only exposing a pair of light-colored eyes. His eyes reflecting the light on the table, looking like there were flames in his eyes. System patiently waited for him to open up slowly.
Everyone have their own old story, that they have been reluctant to tell other people. Then when they wanted to say it out, they couldnât find the words to speak at that moment. JiYuan thought for a long time, then slowly opened his mouth.
âIt was just like now when I was young. My mother didnât give birth smoothly to me so she treated me very coldly. She is a strong woman, and was disappointed with my loose father so they got divorced. She didnât take me with her â I have a miserable time from the start, always sitting along in the room. When I couldnât sleep and doesnât want to turn on the lights, I would lit a candle. Then I would cover myself with the quilt and stared at the candle slowly burning. When the candle burned until it left only the bottom wax, I would be able to fall asleep.â
Countless lonely nights, he could only watch silently as the candle slowly burned.
Like the candle, he burned away the excess of his mental power and energy, and when it melted to the end he was left with a condensate loneliness.
System was a bit stunned, it wanted to say something but doesnât know what to say.
Artificial intelligence could mimic human feelings, but it couldnât understand.
It only knows JiYuan at this moment should be feeling bad, it would be fine if someone could accompany him, and Ye Junchi would be the best choice.
â⌠later, someone came to accompany me. That was my half-younger brother, just that I didnât believe in him.â
JiYuan paused, his tone was calm and gentle.
âActually, I couldnât quite remember his face anymore, but I still remember he was a very sunny child⌠System, you are right. I just wanted to return to my own world, and continue acting like a âsick catâ. When the opportunity comes, I will seize the neck of those heartless people, and die together with them.â
After he finished his words, his expression has become colder and even looked a bit numb.
For the first time, System doesnât know what to say.
JiYuan doesnât need System to say anything either. After staring at the lamp light for a moment, he rubbed his forehead and sighed. He breathed in the fragrance that calmed his heart, and fell asleep.
â***
The situation is a bit grim.
There was no news from Ye Junchi after he left, he still didnât come back after a whole night. JiYuan was restless, especially when that Yun Cheng with some weird behaviors tried to get him in a conversation.
After a session of heartfelt talk, JiYuan resumed his lively self. He watched with a cold face as Yun Cheng leave the room after finished talking all by himself (because JY didnât reply). He quickly shut the door and leaped back onto the bed. Once he hit the bed, he hugged Ye Junchiâs quilt and tearfully called out, âBig bro, ah, big bro.â
System : âDo you know you looked very similar to âAmah Rockâ?â []
JiYuan thought for a while, then changed his tone to a melancholic one, âBig bro ahâŚâ
âStop howling already, you sounded like a young wife guarding an empty chamber. Nothing will happen to your big bro, relax.â
JiYuan replied with grief, âHe wonât, but I will ah!â
ââŚâ Canât refute that.
Three days passed by in a flash as JiYuan and System were âdeeply worried and sick at heartâ for Ye Junchi and he was still not back. The Immortal Sword assembly has officially started.
Yun Cheng smilingly looked for JiYuan to attend the assembly together, but JiYuan declined a few times. Seeing him so firm with his invitation, he(JY) afraid if he still refuse the invite, he would be directly grabbed and sent to the venue instead.
JiYuan was feeling helpless, he afraid that Ye Junchi would come back after he went out to the assembly. He could only secretly leave a letter, putting it under the tanghulu. Then, taking Gui Chi and that dagger with him, he went with Yun Cheng to the assembly.