Ch46 - Losing His Mind Again

Editor: Sahloknir

Tian Mo School

The Blood Pool boiled and frothed as countless bubbles rose to the surface. A red eyeball slowly floated upwards from the depths.

The blind girl in red kneeling to the side seemed to notice the Blood Shadow. She inclined her head towards it and listened for a while. “You don’t know what to do either?”

She scooped up the Blood Shadow from the pond and placed the recently separated red eyeball on a snake body raised by the Tian Mo School. The eyeball gradually integrated with its new, twitching pitch-black body. It saw red as it spat out, “That thing is on a whole other level. We’re both internal demons, so why does it deserve special treatment while I have to be threatened by Li Huanhan every day… He even cut me out of his body!”

The blind girl asked, “Isn’t it good to have your own?”

“It’s not bad,” the Blood Shadow wavered and curled up in a coil, “but…”

As the two conversed, the pool suddenly again began to ripple and stir. A black-clothed figure emerged from within, spilling vividly red droplets everywhere.

One of Li Huanhan’s hands gripped the ice-cold boundary of the bond. The handprint radiated a chilling aura. His eyes were tightly closed as he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. Overall, he seemed quite haggard.

“Master,” asked the blind girl, “did the reabsorption of the internal demon fail again?”

The internal demon markings were still buried deeply within his heart, like vines that weaved through his blood vessels to constrict his entire body. They pulsed with a life of their own.

“En.” Li Huanhan raised his eyes and wiped the remaining blood from his lips. He stood up, and all the moisture from his body vanished, like it had returned to the pool.

“Where is the Blood Shadow?” Li Huanhan turned to look at the red-eyed black snake. He ordered expressionlessly, “Look for Shizun’s location again.”

“Um, my lord, it won’t change no matter how many times you ask. The Xianjun really is in the Nether Realm, ah.” The black snake hissed exasperatedly, “But with your current condition, maybe it’s better that you don’t find him. What if he awakens your internal demons again…”

Li Huanhan gave him a warning glance. He chose to ignore the latter half of its words as he turned to the blind girl. “Jimie, any news on your end?”

The blind girl in red rose and took out two letters. One was Qin Jun’s proposal for a ceasefire, and the other…was delivered by a devil.”

Li Huanhan accepted the letters and glanced over the proposal. He casually tore it open only to be greeted with Qin Jun’s illegible scrawl. He tossed it to the side before opening the other one.

Chang Ye’s proper and dignified handwriting stated the following:

Li-shixiong,

It’s been quite some time since our last meeting. Ye-er misses Shixiong a lot. Thinking about how Shixiong has been tormented by internal demons this whole time, your Shidi feels ecstatic deeply concerned for Shixiong. But Ye-er has learned of Shizun’s current location. If Shixiong is willing to fight Qin-shixiong above the River Styx, I’ll slip that information to you.

He signed off as ‘Your little shidi, Chang Ye’ with a crisp pawprint at the end.

Li Huanhan’s voice was cold, “Every one of Chang Ye’s actions are calculated. He’s up to no good again.”

The blind girl understood his implication. “Master, will you still go then?”

The palace hall was quiet for some time. Then the sound of the letter being crumpled and a deep sigh followed.

“…Yes.”

—-

Jiang Yinghe was pawed awake by a little kitten.

He was still half-asleep. He held its little paws and admonished it, “Don’t be naughty. Good little devils need to get lots of sleep. Kittens that stay up all night can’t get a good-looking human form…”

His soft voice stirred up Chang Ye’s heart. The kitten wrapped itself in his hands and licked his fingertips. Just when the skin was becoming slightly irritated, there was a sudden and violent shaking outside the pleasure boat.

Jiang Yinghe raised his eyes with urgency as he rushed out with a moon white coat. The sound of thunder resounded above the clouds, seemingly to the heavens.

Near the source of the thunder, two shadows collided. Their sword lights cut through the sky like a sharp blade, scattering the multitude of ghosts in shock. Many ghost cultivators surrounded the River Styx, quite eager to pounce. They were just waiting for their Patriarch to give the order.

But Qin Jun never gave the order. Instead, a furious shout came out from the clouds.

“Li Huanhan?! Did you come here to fucking die?!”

A silent and indifferent response came from back, “You’re the one who will die.”

One of them was born an evil wraith without a physical form, and the other could be revived countless times by the Blood Pool. No matter how many times they fought, the result would be the same. The only thing that would be obliterated was the surrounding environment.

From the moment Jiang Yinghe heard the words ‘Li Huanhan’, he became anxious. Although he knew there would be trouble if that person couldn’t find him, he didn’t expect it to come so soon.

He sighed and looked at the little cat beside him helplessly. “What did I do wrong to deserve them fighting here? If they like killing so much, why drag other people into their quarrels?”

He raised a hand to condense his sword. Wangchen soon manifested from his palm before violently flying into the clouds above.

In the next moment, the layer of clouds that were just trembling from the sound of swords and the abundant killing intent present suddenly became silent. Two figures emerged from the clouds and watched Jiang Yinghe from a distance.

The atmosphere abruptly became tense.

Qin Jun knew that this was Shizun’s way of dissuading them from fighting. Despite his uncontrollable anger, he could only indignantly reach out and grasp Wangchen in the end.

Wangchen allowed itself to be held by Qin Jun, who then descended with it and returned it to Jiang Yinghe’s hands.

“Shizun.” Qin Jun frowned, “He’s lost his mind again. He came here to pick a fight with me for no reason.”

Jiang Yinghe received Wangchen and swished the blade once. He then held it in his palm and looked up at the approaching figure of Li Huanhan.

His eyes remained steady as he looked at Li Huanhan, “Just there is fine. Don’t come over yet.”

The other party’s movement stiffened for a moment, but he still listened and stopped.

The wind was howling.

The little white cat behind Jiang Yinghe jumped up onto the tabletop and laid there like it was going to watch a show.

The corners of Li Huanhan’s coat were blown back by the cold wind, revealing the scarlet lining within. His blood-red eyes gazed over in silence.

He had already noticed the absence of the sword pendant on Wangchen.

That sword pendant had been stained with his blood, as well as Shizun’s. It had once been desired and cherished. It had also once protected his Shizun on his behalf. But now, everything had gone up in smoke.

He didn’t know when his feelings for his Shizun had begun to change.

Li Huanhan’s eyes were fixated on the other party. He watched as Jiang Yinghe took out that sword pendant from his spatial artifact. Its internal structure had been damaged, rendering it no different from any ordinary rock.

Just like their relationship.

Jiang Yinghe’s heart was filled with mixed emotions, and he didn’t know what to say. “It should have been treasured by me, but I have selfishly damaged it. Now I have no choice but to return it to its original owner.”

The mirror stone floated into the air and slowly returned to Li Huanhan’s hand.

“The person who should have treasured it was me.” The blood in his chest swelled, and the lingering pain overwhelmed him once again. Like a string stretched beyond its breaking point, it snapped and pierced through his fingertips.

This would be the second time this stone was drenched in the blood from his heart. How fitting.

Jiang Yinghe lowered his eyes, as if he didn’t really want to look at him. He felt as if his heart was also aching. Taking in a breath, he quietly sighed, “There is one more thing that you have the right to know about.”

Qin Jun anticipated what he was going to say. He remembered that Chang Ye was still nearby, “Shizun…”

“I’m a person who can’t reciprocate your feelings no matter what you do.” Jiang Yinghe said, “My passion root had been severed, and I have a tribulation of love ahead of me. Either way, it’s not worth it for you to continue being so stubborn.”

He recounted his conversation with Zhangmen-shixiong from a few days ago with a calm demeanour. He didn’t realize that, while Li Huanhan was startled, all of the fur of the kitten beside him stood on end.

The wind was howling.

It was quite a while before the other person replied.

Li Huanhan’s voice was extremely hoarse, as if he was straining to repress something. Every one of his words were deep. “It’s okay.”

His desires that could never be fulfilled were like a whirlpool that forever trapped him. An inevitable and inescapable pit that would suffocate him one day.

But it was like Li Huanhan couldn’t feel the danger he was in.

His start and end points were too low. It seemed like he really only had one goal — to make sure that Shizun stayed by his side.

In other words, Jiang Yinghe lacking his passion root was a good thing to him. It meant that he couldn’t like Chang Ye. Besides, he doubted his ability to make Shizun love a person like him.

Jiang Yinghe wasn’t the only person taken aback. Qin Jun and Chang Ye were also stunned.

Qin Jun was surprised that he had accepted it so quickl, and Chang Ye suffered two blows in quick succession.

How could there be someone like this? Li Huanhan was paranoia and caution blended into one. On one hand, he was willing to respect Jiang Yinghe’s wishes and stand at a distance to talk to him. Yet he was also driven mad to the point of forcefully imprisoning him in a place where no one else could find him.

Li Huanhan didn’t seem to feel anything was wrong. He continued, “Even if you had a passion root, you wouldn’t fall for me. From this perspective, the heavens have been kind to me.”

Qin Jun only heard half of his words before he exploded. “Have you considered Shizun’s feelings for even a moment?”

“I have.” Li Huanhan stared at Jiang Yinghe alone, “If Shizun is willing to take a chance, I won’t stop him. I would even go with him. But if Shizun refrains because he values the world, I would be fine with it because I’m included in that group.”

Qin Jun was speechless. He felt like what Li Huanhan’s words were similar to his own, but the meaning was completely different. He was about to go mad dealing with this heavenly demon.

Just as Qin Jun lifted his sword to kill this nuisance of a heavenly demon, the person beside him prevented him from doing so. Shizun grasped his fingers and held them in his palm, giving him a slightly reassuring pat.

Jiang Yinghe looked at Li Huanhan and said, “After the River Styx is repaired, I will go to the demons to look for Xiao Yun-shidi. You can come if you want to, but I must seal your cultivation. Just to prevent you from disrespecting your Shizun again.”

“Alright,” Li Huanhan didn’t hesitate at all, “I will listen to Shizun.”

He approached step by step from mid-air and landed on the bow of the ship. His calm and almost frozen gaze finally cracked at this moment.

Jiang Yinghe even felt that the other party didn’t see him, but rather a lifesaving rope on the edge of a cliff.

Li Huanhan stretched out his hand and grasped this rope. Although he was seconds away from death, he was still afraid of hurting him.

Jiang Yinghe lifted his hand and touched the place where the internal demon patternings had spread to. The temperature beneath his fingers was boiling hot, like there was blood flowing inside.

“Huanhan,” He sighed, “you hold on too tightly…to the sand between your fingers.”

“My obsession is too deep.” Li Huanhan’s eyes were still focused. His appearance remained unchanged, and his tone was heavy, “I…wanted what I could not have, giving my internal demons control over me.”

—-

Qin Jun never thought that he would be working with Li Huanhan to repair the River Styx one day.

His silver hair was down and only half-tied. His steel gray eyes revealed an extremely fierce air and the true nature of an evil wraith. He glared at Li Huanhan who was sitting nearby.

The heavenly demon in red on the other side dispassionately gazed back with his bloodshot eyes.

All of the sword energy at the point where the River Styx had been cut off had been removed, leaving only one last repair to be done. Qin Jun looked at Li Huanhan again. He felt like this guy was sometimes a genius and sometimes just insane. Even more unpleasantly, Qin Jun had a hidden suspicion that Li Huanhan had affected him in some way.

“You came here to fight.” Qin Jun licked his teeth. Unbridled aggression radiated from him. “You must be tired of living.”

Li Huanhan lowered his eyes and indifferently tossed the letter from Chang Ye onto the table. His face was blank. “I was just beating him at his own game.”

Qin Jun took the letter and glanced at the dignified handwriting. He snorted, “Chang Ye? He’s just trying to use you to test the waters with Shizun for his own benefit.”

“I know.”

Li Huanhan’s blood-red eyes were cold. “He’s by Shizun’s side?”

“He’s that cat.” Qin Jun’s tone was dripping with disgust, “He only knows how to attract people with a cute face, but there’s a crafty schemer beneath his facade.”

For the first time, Li Huanhan agreed wholeheartedly with Qin Jun’s words. He nodded his head slightly, “Indeed.”

Qin Jun looked at him and the internal demon patterning that covered his body. He suddenly said, “Li Huanhan, don’t you think that the two of us…are influencing each other?”

Li Huanhan was silent for a moment, “Somewhat.”

“The desire to monopolize always comes first,” Qin Jun raised his hands to cover half of his face as the miasma around his body stirred, “but…there are moments where my attitude becomes similar to yours.”

The corners of Li Huanhan’s mouth twitched. “Mind taking on some of my internal demons then?”

“…Not a chance in hell.” Qin Jun’s previous anger towards him had completely dissipated. He continued, “I had a suspicion before, but I never had the chance to confirm.”

Li Huanhan looked up, “Tell me.”

“How could such a coincidence be possible? Three Half-step Golden Immortals who fell to heavenly lightning reviving almost at the same time before all gathering by Shizun’s side… They also happen to all be historically renowned evil cultivators too.” Qin Jun pondered for a moment, “Doesn’t it seem like this situation was purposely arranged?”

Li Huanhan looked over quietly with a trace of humor in his red eyes. “Are you trying to say that it was fate? Or are you trying to say that someone had a hand in this?”

Qin Jun smirked mockingly, “You believe in fate?”

Li Huanhan didn’t answer immediately. After a moment of consideration, he answered calmly, “I don’t.”

“Although I think that people like Shizun easily attract evil cultivators with sinister intentions,” Qin Jun spoke as if he was not an evil cultivator himself, “but it doesn’t have to be that kind of attraction.”

Li Huanhan remained silent.

“When I was at Sword Saint Taichu’s old residence, my identity was only exposed when protecting Shizun from the sword energy of a Half-step Golden Immortal the Kanmi Mirror revealed… But that sword energy was fake. Only the Kanmi Mirror was real.” Qin Jun said, “Sword Saint Taichu was a sword cultivator from an era before even Chang Ye was born. Before we entered his old residence, Shizun recited the incantation to unlock the main entrance.”

“I know what you’re trying to say.” Li Huanhan said indifferently, “You mean that Sword Saint Taichu had anticipated us interacting with his future incarnation before disappearing, so he made preparations in advance?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Huanhan leaned forward. His words were filled with a chilling air: “Qin Jun, if you suspect, even for a moment, that you might not be absolutely sincere, I suggest that you should withdraw. Don’t get in my way.”

Qin Jun met his eyes straight on. He even shot Li Huanhan a cocky smirk.

“I should be the one saying that. If you let go of your obsessions, your internal demons would immediately resolve themselves.”

The situation became a stalemate once again. Neither was willing to give an inch.

Regardless of whether or not their Shizun was truly the reincarnation of Sword Saint Taichu, the two of them could clearly recognize that their feelings towards him were their own. A third party might have caused them to revive at Shizun’s side, but their infatuation was genuine.

A successful reincarnation required a catalyst to awaken the memories of the reincarnated individual. But it has been far too long. To find someone from Sword Saint Taichu’s era to be the catalyst would be like searching for needles in a haystack.

The palace was silent for a long time. Then Li Huanhan’s voice rang out quietly.

“His passion root…”

“Tsk.” Qin Jun hooked up his lower lip, “Didn’t you accept it quite well before? You even looked so willing.”

Li Huanhan raised his eyes to glare at him darkly, “Did you really think that Shizun would make us wait for a love calamity that might never come?”

He wasn’t that kind of person. Qin Jun knew that in his heart.

But Zhou Zhengping’s words did make sense.

He was somewhat…afraid as well.

The two knew exactly what they were afraid of. There was no need to elaborate between them. They were reluctant to say more to each other.

“If Shizun really wants to retrieve it, I naturally have nothing to say.” Qin Jun said, “We’ll kill Huntun, take back his passion root and…end things once and for all?”

The last two words were light and almost sacrificial in nature. But Li Huanhan could commiserate with Qin Jun’s reluctance in his heart.

He would only choose one person.

It didn’t have to be him.

Li Huanhan closed his eyes and sighed heavily, “What about Chang Ye?”

“He’s still considering the right time to confess,” Qin Jun glanced outside the palace, “but there’s no need. Tonight is good.”

He felt the other party’s blood-red eyes land in him. He raised his lips in a careless smile, “Shizun asked me if I had any live fish to feed to that cat, so I gave him some that were laced with dispelling pills.”

Li Huanhan raised an eyebrow. “What if he loses control of his size? Tianhou’s original body is large enough to clog the River Styx.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Qin Jun tapped on the table occasionally, “Wouldn’t it be fun to force him to show his true self for once? It’s about time our little Shidi got a taste of his own medicine.”

Author’s Corner

San-er, you’re not going to enjoy what comes next.