Ch17 - Plum Blossom Kiss

Qing Jing Peak.

The wind was howling in the dead of night.

Several lit candles shone their dim light on Jiang Yinghe’s pale sleeves that occasionally shifted in front of Li Huanhan.

“What happened?” Jiang Yinghe removed the silver hairpin holding up his hair, allowing an inky black curtain to cascade down his shoulders. He affixed a stern expression to his face and continued. “You will only make enemies by being so ruthless to others.”

Li Huanhan stood before him clothed in black. His eyes were as vibrant as fresh blood and completely closed off unless they were looking at Jiang Yinghe. Only then could a trace of something resembling warmth be seen.

“Shizun.” His voice was very heavy. “That person dared to say such things about you, so I…”

Just that one word alone was enough to soften Jiang Yinghe’s heart.

When Li Huanhan saw his Shizun’s long and narrow fingers under the candlelight, an audacious thought suddenly rose in his mind.

This pair of hands were suited for holding a sword, but they were even more suited to be pressed down on the softest bedding that the Tian Muo school had to offer. Tiredly grasping the blanket….Littered with marks from kisses…Covered inch by inch by his hands….

His eyes darkened for a second. Li Huanhan took in Jiang Yinghe’s disheveled appearance but also the image of himself reflected in those warm eyes.

“How can you lose control of your rationality for me? You’ve always been so headstrong.”

Although he said a word of reprimand in the end, Jiang Yinghe was not very angry anymore. He had browsed through the Sword Viewing Scroll in front of him many times, but he was still unable to find a suitable match.

“Was it really just an accident?” He asked, “Huanhan, do not lie to your Shizun.”

Maybe it was the word ‘lie’ that deeply affected Li Huanhan. He frowned and did not say anything. Instead, he reached out to grasp Jiang Yinghe’s hand.

The last time they had held hands was on the way to He Huan sect in the crane-led carriage. Even if Jiang Yinghe felt cold, he could feel his heart pound out a heated rhythm while touching him.

Jiang Yinghe did not understand at first until he sensed the irregular forces within his body- this was one of the side effects of the heavenly demon’s physique, albeit one that hasn’t appeared for several years.

“Was it because of this?” Jiang Yinghe was no longer concerned with punishing his disciple after discovering this. He tightly grasped his hand and sent a wave of spiritual energy through it.

His three disciples all had very weak constitutions. Jiang Yinghe had made his peace with this fact since he took them in. It was only after he entered Li Huanhan’s nascent soul that he learned that even his meridians had become impacted.

He was unable to not shoot a sharp look at Li Huanhan, so aggrieved that his breathing quickened. “You and Jun-er have the same temperament… No, you are even more stubborn than Jun-er. You know that you can tell me anything. Are you really going to wait until the day you fall to a qi deviation to inform me?”

Li Huanhan’s blood-red eyes silently watched him. “Shizun cares greatly for Chang Ye shidi.”

He couldn’t hide the vinegar in his voice even if he tried. This person was able to touch the deepest, most sensitive crevices of his heart with every encounter, luring him into a beautiful dream only to cover his body with stinging wounds while he slept

There were too many layers of deceit between the demon and the immortal, the disciple and the teacher.

Li Huanhan tightly held his hand, the impurities in his body running rampant. The skin on his arm even began to split and bleed.

“Of course I care about you.” Jiang Yinghe’s first reaction was to retort. He felt like he had been reproached by his disciple. He fumed, “This master hasn’t even asked why you insist on enduring alone, and you already feel that I am biased and have wronged you?”

Blood dripped from Li Huanhan’s arm onto Jiang Yinghe’s light-coloured sleeve. Dark stains soon blossomed across it.

Jiang Yinghe has gained a reputation of remaining distant from the dirty affairs of the mortal realm. Only to the disciples he has raised for so many years would he become so warm and soft-spoken.

He has sullied Shizun.

Li Huanhan stared at the traces of red on his sleeve. When he looked up again, he suddenly said, “Shizun.”

“En?”

“When did you replace that tea set?”

He was referring to the emerald green set on the nearby jade table. Everything in Jiang Yinghe’s residence was carefully added by him. He would be the first to know if something didn’t come from his hands.

Jiang Yinghe followed the direction of his gaze. “Jun-er sent it over before.”

Qin Jun…

Li Huanhan took in a deep breath and resentment flashed through his eyes. Remembering that he was in front of Jiang Yinghe, he quashed all of the violent feelings in his heart. He slowly followed his Shizun’s guidance to remove the impurities in his body.

In reality this ‘side effect’ was harmless to Li Huanhan. His true level of cultivation would immediately become apparent as soon as he threw away his human foundation, but he did not dare to do such a thing.

How could he? The more warmth he experienced at Jiang Yinghe’s side, the more he desired it. On a certain level Qin Jun and Chang Ye’s suspicions about his intentions were correct. He did want to hold Jiang Yinghe in his arms and spirit him back to the Tian Muo school. Not as a furnace, but as a cultivation partner.

So he continued to endure even while he was going insane out of jealousy. He watched as a strand of Jiang Yinghe’s hair fell from his thin shoulders, curving through the air in a graceful arc.

It was like it fell straight onto the deepest part of his heart.

“Why are you asking about that?” Jiang Yinghe had calmed down by the time he fixed the forces within his body. He raised his head and said, “I stored your tea set in my personal dimension. Jun-er said it was too precious and likely to be damaged by ordinary water.”

…Qin Jun you son of a bitch.

Li Huanhan showed no traces of his thoughts on his face. He replied dismissively, “En.”

Of course the set he gifted was precious, his Shizun deserved only the best. But the set Qin Jun brought back wasn’t much better; the slightest speck of dust would ruin the entire piece. How shameless was that wraith to spout such boldfaced lies?

“Shizun,” Li Huanhan retracted his gaze and began to massage his fingertips. “out of all you disciples….who is the most important to you?”

Jiang Yinghe didn’t think he would be so fixated on this subject. He sighed with exasperation, “I have great expectations for all of you. You are the future of the immortal path.”

Li Huanhan’s eyes were gloomy. He looked at him for a long time before nodding. “The future of the immortal path…”

He has never resented his identity as a demonic cultivator more than in this moment.

Jiang Yinghe had no way to discern the other person’s thoughts. He could only see the progress bar provided by the system fluctuate over the past hour before stopping at a relatively stable value.

Jiang Yinghe let out a sigh of relief. Who knew that those impurities could have such a big impact on the progression of his task? He continued to soothe his spiritual veins. After a while, he admitted, “There is actually another reason, a small but selfish wish of mine.”

Candlelight illuminated his bright black eyes.

“For the sake of this wish, I want to pave a smooth path of all of you on your cultivation journey and to teach you to be morally upstanding individuals.” Jiang Yinghe said, “The more all of you change for the better, the closer I will be to fulfilling it…..Huanhan, no matter how cruel the cards fate has dealt you are, you will be able to find your way home with Shizun here.”

“I won’t give up, so neither can you.” He softly held Li Huanhan’s hand. “Humans must struggle to get what they want.”

Jiang Yinghe poured another cup of chicken soup for his disciples, using all he has learned in both his lifetimes to better them. His mind was filled with the responsibilities of a teacher and he was very satisfied with the guidance he provided.

Reconditioning spiritual veins was a very delicate task. All three of them needed it, and yet there was only one of him. More importantly, most of the challenges could only be overcome by themselves.

It began to rain at midnight.

Jiang Yinghe was unused to staying up. He continued to work on his task until he fell asleep,

Li Huanhan stayed by his side, silently watching him. He guarded him the entire night.

He only slowly extracted his finger from his Shizun’s loose grip when the sun began to rise.

Under the sound of the rain, tender feelings were hidden away in those blood-red eyes. The legendary Xuehe Demon Lord from a thousand years ago had no experience in the matters of love, so he didn’t dare to do anything else.

But when he left, he planted a fleeting kiss on the back of his hand.

It was as tender as a snowflake falling on a plum blossom.

Author’s Corner

Mr. Hugo said that the first sign a man is in love is if he is afraid.

So what if he’s a demon lord? Wouldn’t you be scared to death if he frowns in his sleep?