Ch43 - Even Those with Steel Backbones are Partial to Warmth

Editor: Sahloknir

Wangchen was embedded into the crevice on the ground as  freezing waves of intent enveloped the surroundings.

In the catacombs, Jiang Yinghe offered the cup of tea he poured before to the Golden Boy. The delicate child, who seemed to be carved from jade, was supporting his chin with his hands, like he was wilting.

“What’s the matter?” Jiang Yinghe pushed over the cup as he spoke, “Are you sad about leaving your sister?”

The Golden Boy accepted the cup and quickly gulped down all of the blue-green tea. His eyelids drooped. “Our soul is shared. She can’t be too far from me for too long.”

Jiang Yinghe grew more curious about the tastes of ghost cultivators after seeing him down the Nether Realm’s tea. However, he didn’t ask about that, instead saying, “The essence of heaven and earth condense into spirits. How can two distinct consciousnesses arise out of the same soul?”

“Twins are relatives,” the Golden Boy said, “but they are also opponents, even from before birth.”

He didn’t act in the slightest like a hostage that was trapped. Instead, the Golden Boy reached out chubby little hands to hug Jiang Yinghe’s arm on the table. He closed his eyes and fell asleep just like that.

Perhaps it was because the Jade Girl was away, but his presence seemed to become more insubstantial.

Ghost cultivators have no weight in their original forms. It was only when they created a solid form that they had mass. Jiang Yinghe could feel the weight of the child’s body.

Wasn’t he supposed to be the bad guy? Why was he coaxing children to sleep now…

Jiang Yinghe was a little distracted before he noticed the resentful energy stir and blow over like a storm. Qin Jun’s voice came from the sky, as if he was right beside his ear.

“An arrogant and foolish buddhist cultivator dares to mess around in the Nether Realm?”

An extremely potent wave of miasma swept over with malicious intent, but—

It came to a sudden halt before Wangchen.

The deep darkness contrasted with the blinding sheen of frost. It braked and swerved to the side to avoid collision.

The deafening sound stopped all at once. In the next moment, the entire tomb was split open by a sword light and reduced to ruins. However, none of the flying dust and gravel hit the area around Jiang Yinghe.

Qin Jun appeared from within the dark whirlpool and landed. His originally sharp and vicious aura vanished at once. He stood not far away from Jiang Yinghe and stared at him with eyes filled with disbelief. After being apart for so many days, he almost felt like he was dreaming.

The one on his mind all this time had appeared in front of him with his usual calm demeanour and white robes.

The little ghosts had already fled in all directions when the sword light pierced the tomb.

All was silent.

His anger and killing intent had already evaporated when the miasma hit Wangchen.

But just as Qin Jun took a step, Jiang Yinghe turned his head and glanced at him, gesturing for him to remain still. Qin Jun stopped at once. He was afraid that if he disobeyed him, he would frighten the other away—he was as careful as if a butterfly had fallen in front of him.

It’s hard to imagine that a person could still have so much self control when they believed themselves to be in a dream.

Jiang Yinghe carefully lifted the Golden Boy’s head to withdraw his sleeve from his hands. He slowly lowered the child before standing and looking at Qin Jun.

The Jade Girl followed behind Qin Jun. She looked between the beauty and the Patriarch with an inexplicable expression. Suddenly she had a thought, ‘The Patriarch is finally enamoured!’ She knew that no one could resist the charms of this astounding beauty.

But the current silence was unsettling. It made people’s hearts surge before falling into an illusion of near suffocation.

Qin Jun only spoke when Jiang Yinghe had retracted his sleeve, retrieved Wangchen and walked over to him. His voice was unusually hoarse, “Shizun…are, are you not leaving?”

Jiang Yinghe could hear a hidden plea within his words that revealed his pain.

Only then did he realize that this man, who has always been extremely conceited, had low moments like this as well.

Jiang Yinghe seemed to see the silhouettes of the other two overlap with his. Li Huanhan, who was more gentle, careful and restrained than Qin Jun, was the first one to fill the blackened status bar. Beneath Li Huanhan’s restrained and gentle facade was enough jealousy and desire to render him immobile. His heart was stretched to the breaking point and beyond.

And beneath Chang Ye’s cute and obedient demeanour was a whole era of violence and darkness. His bloodstained victories had warped him into a person with two faces. His intensity was enough to make others’ hearts become cold.

Jiang Yinghe raised a finger to his lips. “Shh… The Golden Boy is asleep. Let’s go somewhere else to speak.”

If it was the him from before, he would be angry at Qin Jun’s lies, and worried about how ghost cultivators cultivated by devouring souls. But now—

He has already sensed Qin Jun’s intentions and come to accept that there was something wrong with his own ability to reciprocate. Moreover, there was a pressing need to discuss repairing the River Styx with him. After several rounds of adjusting his own attitude, Jiang Yinghe wasn’t very angry at all.

Not only for the sake of his feelings or his request, the main reason was Jiang Yinghe’s own character. He showed no mercy to the demonic cultivators who opposed him, but he was unable to truly regard the disciple he had reared at his side for such a long time as an enemy.

Jiang Yinghe had always wanted to lead his disciples towards the light. He didn’t believe in the inevitability of fate, and he wouldn’t give up either.

The Jade Girl remained with her brother. After Jiang Yinghe withdrew Wangchen, he and Qin Jun set off. They passed by desolate graveyards, springs filled with the howling of vengeful ghosts and stopped at the riverside of the source of all reincarnations, the River Styx.

They could see the chasm in the center that seemed to split the sky in two from their current location.

Jiang Yinghe stared out for a long time before speaking. “Huanhan and Chang Ye are both in the Nether Realm?”

Qin Jun stared at the side of his face visible to him. “En.”

“Don’t tell them yet.” Jiang Yinghe recalled that, of the two, one was unpredictable due to being possessed by internal demons and the other was sweet outside and devious inside. He wanted to put off dealing with such a complicated mess for now. “They’ll make a fuss if they know. Let me have a few days of quiet. …There is more than just your sword light present in this wound…Wanwu Canxia was used as well?”

Qin Jun glanced at him again. “The sword Li Huanhan used wasn’t Wanwu Canxia, it’s called Jimie.”

“…En.” Jiang Yinghe sighed, “It was all lies. I should’ve known.”

Wanwu Canxia and Junzi Tie were both famed swords he had gifted his disciples from the Sword Viewing Scroll, but they weren’t enough for these two in the end. The Xuehe Demon Lord’s personal sword was called Jimie, and Qin Jun’s sword was even more well known. It was the infamous Zhanyun sword.

Qin Jun couldn’t bear to see him so dejected, but he was the number one culprit. There were no words of comfort he could offer.

“What about Chang Ye?” Jiang Yinghe thought back. He had never seen Chang Ye use the sabre even though he carried it everywhere with him, “Is his personal artifact that flute?”

“Yes.” Qin Jun looked at him as he said this, “It’s called Duanshe Li. But I heard from him that this wasn’t the original name. Besides, based on that devil’s personality, he’s not capable of leaving behind his emotions and severing bonds anyway.”

Jiang Yinghe nodded as he continued to look at the opposite bank of the river where a boatman was resting on his ferry. He was silent for a good moment as he considered the situation. It was impossible to tell how he felt about all this. Finally, he spoke again, “Why not fix the River Styx that governs over reincarnation? You already know that the heavens cannot tolerate you, and that actions that go against the natural order shouldn’t be taken, so why continue to rebel?”

Qin Jun reached over and carefully touched Jiang Yinghe’s fingers before enveloping Shizun’s hand with his own. “I’ve been preoccupied as of late. There was no time to tend to this matter.”

“Why be in such a hurry to find me? Am I really more important than this?” Jiang Yinghe didn’t protest, but he also didn’t look at him, “I’ve taught you all to not lie to yourselves. I have also always thought that our relationship was simply that of a master and his disciple, pure and untainted. But after I recently learned of something, I’m beginning to suspect that…maybe I have been lying to myself. It’s just that I can’t sense all of my feelings for now.”

His words were very implicit and roundabout, but Qin Jun noticed the unusual qualities in his speech. He slowly tightened his grip on the joints of Shizun’s fingers and asked quietly, “I was the one who wronged you first. It’s too late for me to turn back now, but Shizun was the victim of this undeserved catastrophe. What do you have to be ashamed of?”

Qin Jun left many things unsaid. He wanted to plead with the other to remain by his side and not abandon him again, but the words refused to leave his mouth.

Every second after Jiang Yinghe left, he felt like his mind was about to splinter. Half wanted to forcefully imprison him and make this person be with him forever, but the other half was constantly regretting how he treated Shizun.

Despite knowing he was in the wrong, why did he act so shamelessly after his identity was revealed? Did he forget how to respect this person like he used to do?

Only after learning how to respect could he learn how to love a person. These were the words that Jiang Yinghe once imparted to him. But only when Shizun reappeared before him did Qin Jun truly understand what they meant.

Jiang Yinghe did not notice his revelation. He sighed: “Jun-er, if you are in the dark and see a ray of moonlight before you, it is natural to feel possessive towards it. However, you need to head towards the place shone upon by the light, not pull it towards the darkness around you. Do you understand?”

It had been a long time since he was called that. It reminded him of the distant past.

“I…” Qin Jun’s words came to a stop. The tension in his voice gradually seeped out, “This disciple understands…but it’s too late now.”

“It’s not too late.” Jiang Yinghe shifted his gaze over to the crystalline surface of the lake, “…It’s never too late to understand this.”

He seemed reluctant to speak more about that topic, saying instead, “Fixing the River Styx would be a monumental task, even for you. But please consider this my request for…for myself.”

“Not for the sake of all living beings?”

Jiang Yinghe was amused by his question. He laughed before lightly coughing. “I’m no messiah or philanthropist. This is simply repaying my debts. I am also to blame for the trouble you guys have caused. Think of it as a part of my duty as an educator… Luckily, you didn’t stuff me in a small dark room again to talk.”

Qin Jun asked, “What if, what if I really did do that. What would happen?”

Jiang Yinghe didn’t really want to answer this question, so he didn’t reply. Instead, he somewhat relaxed and began to lighten up. “Let’s talk about how I can help while you repair the River Styx. Or maybe about whether you would stop fighting with the Tian Mo School and recall all your troops in the Human Realm if I asked you. …But even if you listened, there’s nothing I can promise in return.”

He turned to meet a pair of deeply focused eyes. The other person spoke in a serious voice.

“…There’s no need for anything else. Shizun only needs to remain by my side, and I will repair the River Styx and stop fighting with the others.” He paused before continuing, “But if you don’t mind…could you kiss me? Just once?”

Jiang Yinghe was taken aback.

That feeling appeared again. It was like a melody building up to its crescendo, the notes resonating with the deepest parts of your soul, before suddenly screeching to a halt. It was like a pot of water coming to a rolling boil before being flash frozen. He could feel everything and nothing at once. He could hear the reverbing echo within the chamber and the fireworks launching from the tip of his heart…but it was all very distant. Everything, upon reaching a climax, was lost to an all-encompassing emptiness and calm.

In the end, there was nothing left.

He took in a slight breath, like it was his first time doing so. It was the first time he had searched for the missing part of himself. He reached out to hold Qin Jun’s shoulder.

He quietly asked one thing.

“Is this…what you want?”

Qin Jun heard his gentle and restrained voice. Then, that pair of slightly cool lips made contact. They were as light as water, like the cold dew on branches and leaves in late autumn, as they enveloped his in a tender kiss.

His steel backbone was always partial to warmth.

Qin Jun’s palm pressed against his waist, but he didn’t dare to do anything more. He was always arrogant, self-centred and even unruly. Only when kissing him would Qin Jun lower his head.

The wings of a dragonfly skimmed over the surface of the lake.

Jiang Yinghe could clearly sense each individual ripple on the water surface. But their motion was halted by the barrier in his heart. He had lost the right to feel emotions. He closed his eyes and distanced himself from the other, taking a step back. “…I can’t do this.”

“Can’t do…what?”

“Peng Lai has always been righteous and just. I—”

“I would rather remain as a master to you all forever then to do something I will regret for the rest of my life.”

“Shizun?”

It was just as Qin Jun had once imagined. Jiang Yinghe’s waist was narrow and far too light when he covered it. A single spin would allow the other person to break free from his grasp.

He stared at Jiang Yinghe’s back as he looked out into the glittering emerald surface of the lake. His eyes and heart only had room for this snow white figure.

Qin Jun knew he had been wrong, but this was the first time he felt how much of a mistake he had made.

The silence lasted for a very long time. Who would’ve thought that such a tranquil and peaceful scene could exist in the Nether Realm? Qin Jun stared as Jiang Yinghe sat by the riverside. His flawlessly white sleeves drifted into the lake.

He heard the other person’s soft words.

“I can’t trample over the feelings you three hold for me.” Jiang Yinghe said, “If I could feel love, I could only give my heart to one person, and not…”

He didn’t want to admit to himself that he had felt that split-second surging storm of emotions at some point for all of them. He just didn’t know what to look for at the time. But now that he knew what it meant, he felt ashamed.

Qin Jun’s eyes were fixated on his back for a long time. A fragment of something seemed to flash by in his mind too quickly to catch. He didn’t give much thought to it as he asked, “What do you mean by ‘feeling love’? Can Shizun not…experience that emotion?”

He didn’t hear Jiang Yinghe’s reply. He only saw the other person’s fingertips that shone with the sheen of frost dip into the River Styx. The water parted as ripples radiated outward, scattering the light reflected within.

At the bottom of the river, the scattered fragments of souls that could not reincarnate drifted. The dust of mortal affairs was gradually washed away by the ebb and flow of the waves.

Jiang Yinghe still had turned his back to him as he said, “You all have the right to know about this…but I haven’t had the chance to ask about the details myself. This place is quiet, so I’ll do it now.”

He retrieved that transmission tablet and redirected his spiritual energy into it. The destination was on the western continent—Peng Lai.

Author’s Corner

The end of your ponytail, which I had once kissed, was the softest liquid I had ever touched. –Lyrics from ‘你是我写的那首诗’

Qin Jun: sry, the one who went too far was me. I know my faults Shizun…

Rain

Many revelations await in the next chapter… Also, we are just about half way through this novel! Thanks for joining us on this journey thus far

Sahl

Did everyone pick up on the foreshadowing hint of what some of our lovely readers have already said?