Ch49 - A Noble and Great Profession

Thank you to FrostyMoka, Mo and an anonymous reader for the Ko-fis!

Editor: Sahloknir

Qin Jun’s footsteps approached.

The closer he got, the more he could sense Jiang Yinghe’s slightly turbulent breathing. He glanced at Li Huanhan, looking into eyes that were like stagnant pools of congealed blood.

“This is why Shizun is wary of you.” Qin Jun said, “Since there’s something wrong with your brain, you should’ve stayed away from him. Can’t you learn from your mistakes?”

The palace was silent. Only the sound of words spread out.

Li Huanhan gave him a chilled look filled with indifference. The dark red in his eyes became even darker. As the atmosphere thickened with tension to an almost suffocating degree, the person in his arms pulled at his collar. His voice was slightly raspy.

“Huanhan…”

Li Huanhan was not the only one who returned his gaze to Jiang Yinghe’s body. They heard him inhale deeply. There were still notes of discomfort in his words.

“…I’ll do it myself.”

Jiang Yinghe slightly loosened his hand, not noticing that his hand had left the other party’s collar damp. He tilted his head and took another slow breath. “Let me do it myself. You two…should both stay away from me.”

Li Huanhan remained silent for a moment. Just when Qin Jun thought he would act unreasonably, he saw him tidy Jiang Yinghe’s hair and wipe at his slightly sweaty forehead. Then Li Huanhan lowered his head, as if to kiss him, but he paused midway after seeing those furrowed dark eyebrows.

Qin Jun’s tightly clenched hands loosened a bit. He didn’t realize how tense he was just now. He could distinctly identify the emotions that suddenly burned inside of him – desire, jealousy and the desperate need to steal Shizun back to his side.

But he could also distinctly identify why he restrained himself. The corners of Jiang Yinghe’s eyes were red from the torment, and his voice was a bit shaky, but he was able to clearly express his rejection of the two of them.

If he was planning on taking advantage of him in a moment of weakness, Qin Jun would’ve made a move much earlier. He wouldn’t have held back until today.

Qin Jun let out a breath and stepped forward. He extended a hand towards Li Huanhan. “Give him to me. I’ll take Shizun to the bedchamber.”

Li Huanhan’s blood red eyes cut into him from below. He didn’t move.

Qin Jun raised his eyebrows. He clamped down on his rage with an iron fist as he twisted his fingers. “Or maybe I should try and correct that malfunctioning head of yours instead so you don’t slip up at the most crucial moments.”

Li Huanhan held Jiang Yinghe very carefully, but he was also the most aware of his Shizun’s current situation. He scrutinized Qin Jun. “Where is it? I’ll carry him there.”

Youming Palace was just the main hall. Qin Jun had to lead the way to the bedchambers in the back. Qin Jun narrowed his eyes and glared at him, but he relented in the end. He didn’t forcibly take the person from Li Huanhan’s arms again.

The two of them walked through Youming Palace without saying a word. They could hear Jiang Yinghe trying and failing to suppress his quiet moans and pants the entire time. In a way, this could be considered a form of torture.

Jiang Yinghe had been to these bedchambers before, but many new talismans and barriers seemed to have been added. There was a gauze canopy hanging above the very large bed, with several layers of pale gray curtains the colour of smoke surrounding it.

Li Huanhan placed him on the bed, but his fingers continued to comb through the other party’s hair. He asked beside his ear, “Do you need a jade dildo?”

After all, Shizun might not be in the right state of mind to take care of it himself. Letting things go on for too long would only cause more discomfort.

He had put that silver ring on Shizun when he was possessed by his internal demons. Although he took it off, he knew the side effects of those demonic runes would linger.

Jiang Yinghe’s eyelashes were a little wet. Even the knuckles of his fingers were a little red as he clenched them tightly. He didn’t have the strength to curse, but he still tugged relentlessly at Li Huanhan’s collar as he spoke. His hands were sweaty, and his breath felt like it was burrowing into his disciple’s ears.” …No need. Get away from me.”

Li Huanhan swallowed. After the fingers tugging at his collar loosened, he slowly got up. He tried to say something else before leaving, but he was pulled away by Qin Jun.

The three layers of the canopy drifted down, obscuring the person within.

Qin Jun stood in front of the gauze canopy for a while, consumed by his thoughts.

The canopy wasn’t soundproof. Even though the sounds inside were very quiet, some of them were still audible.

Qin Jun turned around and gave Li Huanhan a look. Then he sat on a chair to the side of the bed and stared at this heavenly demon with an abnormal mind.

Actually, after the curtain closed, Li Huanhan’s state appeared to improve a lot. His dark red eyes gradually returned to normal. By the time half the tea sitting on the table beside the bed had been drunk, he was completely his usual self.

Yet the internal demon patterns continued to pulsate with the beating of his heart.

Qin Jun poured himself a cup of cold tea from beside him while forcing himself to stare at him fixedly with hostility.

The only consolation of sorts was that he wasn’t the only one suffering right now.

The sound of the tea pouring into the cup was unusually clear.

When the sound of water stopped, he heard Li Huanhan’s dry inquiry.

“Where is Chang Ye?”

“I don’t know.” Qin Jun filled his mouth with tea after saying, “He probably went back to the demon tribes first to look for Yun-shishu.”

“En.” Li Huanhan remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly spoke again, “That bedding of yours…”

“Silver floss silkworm silk.” Qin Jun replied slightly faster than before. “It’s very soft and the same type used in the White Crane Jade Residence… The same material as the one you picked back then.”

This was probably the most peaceful the two of them had ever been.

Well, they couldn’t not be peaceful, or fight, or leave.

Their hearing was too keen. Listening to the one you love ‘taking care of himself’ was almost too much to bear.

There was some more silence. Qin Jun toyed with the teacup and hesitated a bit before saying, “Hasn’t it been too long?”

Li Huanhan glanced up at him without immediately answering. Only after a long while did he quietly reply.

“…I can’t hold on much longer.”

“How many times does that thing of yours need?” Qin Jun swept a glance at the silver ring in his hand. He watched as this person inspected the demonic runes inscribed on it with a blank expression.

“…Twice.”

“Twice… ” Qin Jun sucked in a breath. In the end, he was too restless to sit down. He headed over to the bedside and paced aimlessly as he asked, “Shizun, are you…okay?”

It was quiet for a moment inside. The voice that came out was breathy, but it insisted on pretending to be strong.

“…I’m okay.”

Well you sure don’t sound like it.

Qin Jun couldn’t sit still. He continued to compulsively wander around the canopy. After a moment, Li Huanhan suddenly spoke, “Sit down. You’re bothering me.”

“…Instead of waiting here, why don’t you and I both go outside.”

“Tsk,” Qin Jun was slightly surprised, “So even you know how to let go sometimes.”

Li Huanhan lifted his hand and flexed his fingers against his forehead to knock, his tone unpredictable, “It’s better for you and me to go out and fight than to do so here.”

Just as Qin Jun was about to sarcastically insult his predictability, his sleeve was suddenly held by a hand that emerged from the curtains.

The hand was slender, lean, and simply beautiful. But its palm was covered by a thin layer of sweat that made it somewhat slippery. The outline of its bones were all clearly distinguishable, and faint blue veins could be seen under the thin white skin.

Qin Jun immediately grasped his fingers and nervously said, “What’s wrong?”

“…Clothes.”

There were no more replacement robes in his spatial ring.

Who would’ve thought that within a short period of time, he would either lose or destroy all of his artifact-grade robes.

Jiang Yinghe loosened his grip slightly and shrank back, taking a look at his soiled garments…

One of them belonged to Li Huanhan.

Although a cleansing spell or something like that would completely take care of the soiled area, it still didn’t sit right with him. Besides…he didn’t know whether to praise or curse this demonic artifact. It was the first time he felt like the protagonist of a little yellow book.

He felt that touching anywhere right now was overwhelming and stimulating enough for him to involuntarily shed tears. A grown man like him didn’t want to cry his eyes out, but it wasn’t up to him anymore.

Especially with this tail that Chang Ye had attached before…

It was a constant distraction.

Jiang Yinghe was still a little uncomfortable. He felt that there was still some residual effect that he hadn’t been able to let out, but he was too tired to care. It would burn out on its own eventually.

Thousands of years of being single and pure of heart had left his skills… He couldn’t be too hard on himself.

He still felt sorry for himself, though.

He cast a spell on the soiled clothes and put them aside before changing into the clothes Qin Jun handed over. Sitting on the bed, he spaced out for a while. His mind remained mostly blank with the occasional flash of some distressing ideas.

This had happened more than once.

Jiang Yinghe lifted his hand and tried to steady his mind before parting the curtains. He spoke to Qin Jun outside, “This…Give this back to him!”

Qin Jun took the dark-coloured cloak and stared at Jiang Yinghe for a moment. He suddenly said, “Shizun.”

“En?”

“Your face is a little red.” Qin Jun touched his fingers to the other party’s reddened cheeks, feeling his elevated temperature, “Are you still uncomfortable?”

Jiang Yinghe looked up at him, not knowing what to say. Everything he thought of in response seemed too embarrassing to say aloud. He remained silent even though Qin Jun hadn’t planned this and had potentially prevented something worse from happening.

He shook his head and silently shrank back, even the perceived sound of his breathing became suppressed and slow.

Qin Jun’s originally burning heart suddenly froze solid. It was as if his head had been split open and a pot of cold water was poured in. His mind immediately cleared as he tossed the cloak to Li Huanhan. His voice was chilly.

“Li Huanhan.”

Li Huanhan caught the cloak and looked up. “What?”

“I really can’t figure out why he’s always so good to you.”

Qin Jun turned around, his iron-gray eyes narrowing slightly. “Do you know how jealous I am of you?”

Li Huanhan looked back with his dark red eyes and asked, “How is he doing?”

“Don’t even bother.” Qin Jun laughed sarcastically, “…Shixiong.”

—-

When Jiang Yinghe woke up the next day, the phosphorescent candle outside was still burning. The feverish feeling in his body had receded a lot.

He sat up and slowly processed his situation.

Outside the canopy, the wavering phosphorescent fires resembled fireflies in the night sky.

He tried to look at them calmly and thoughtfully as he attempted to contact the system in his head that seemed perfectly content to linger in the background.

“I’ve raised my disciples wrong. Can I…just leave them as is?”

The long-silent system was slow to reply.

“Don’t give up. You haven’t messed up. There’s still hope.”

Jiang Yinghe raised his eyebrows, “…What hope is there? Don’t you know they all want to sleep with me? Aren’t you the Shizun System? How can you say there’s still hope?”

The system was silent for a moment before continuing its stereotypical reply.

“You can still be considered a good teacher…if you teach them in bed.”

Jiang Yinghe gasped. “…”

“None of your disciples are experienced in this area either.” The system methodically said, “This is also one of the teaching tasks.”

Jiang Yinghe felt each blow. “…”

“The education of sex, love and death. This is a noble and great profession, Teacher Jiang.”

Jiang Yinghe couldn’t accept the system referring to him like that. He let out a long sigh. “Although your words are honeyed, I feel like my hands are tied.”

The system was silent for another moment before continuing, “This is not only your mission, but mine as well.”

“What is your mission?”

“…Salvation.”

Jiang Yinghe sensed that this was an answer that was worthy of analysis despite its brevity. He immediately followed up by asking, “Whose salvation?”

The system, however, didn’t answer and started playing dead again.

Jiang Yinghe lowered his head and thought for a while, but he couldn’t come up with a more definite answer. He got up to wash up and change his clothes, wanting to change out of this shirt that he had temporarily borrowed yesterday. He steeled his heart to face those two, yet found that only the Golden Boy and the Jade Girl were guarding the bedchambers.

Neither of the two children dared to doze off. They just stood there, somewhat wronged like they had been scolded by Qin Jun, each more pitiful than the other. When they saw that Jiang Yinghe was awake, the Golden Boy presented the washing utensils that Qin Jun had ordered to be prepared and a set of pale green cultivator robes.

Jiang Yinghe asked, “Where are Qin Jun and Li Huanhan?”

“Patriarch-daren,” the Golden Boy deflated, “is working on the River Styx.”

“The Demon Lord is also there.” The Jade Maiden followed up, “They left early in the morning.”

Jiang Yinghe nodded. He knew that one shouldn’t judge ghost cultivators by their outward appearance, but to distract himself from the events of last night he asked, “Why do you two look so down? How old are you?”

The Golden Boy was already feeling down and Jiang Yinghe’s question only made him feel worse. He wiped his tears and wailed, “I’m only 841 years old! If the beauty lets me t-take in a big whiff of your scent, I’ll stop crying…”

Jiang Yinghe: “…”

—-

Wanyao City.

Devil Baron Sanqing swallowed dryly. He carefully peeked at his ancestor before shivering as he answered, “My brother, h-he didn’t come back…” The red-clothed young man in front of him played with his flute without any particular expression on his face. He just tapped the emerald green instrument against his palm. “He’s not here? Where’s my Shishu if Wu Chengyu isn’t here?”

“Um, this subordinate doesn’t know either.” Sanqing said with a bitter face, “I had already sent a letter to Chengyu asking him to release the hostage. It’s just that Chengyu said…that they already, um, became cultivation partners. He also said that Xiao Yun-shishu ate something bad and needed to recuperate.”

There was a crisp sound.

Chang Ye just lightly tapped the edge of the table and a portion was cut off. He then smiled icily as if he hadn’t noticed.

“If you don’t know,” he paused for a moment, “then I’ll drain you all of your blood and use the bloodline tracing technique to find Wu Chengyu.”

Sanqing didn’t dare to act out. He could only offer up the communication artifact he used to get in contact with his brother with trembling hands. He whispered, “H-he’s a tiger and I’m a bird. We’re not blood related, Venerated Ancestor…”

Chang Ye gave him a look and took the tablet that could transmit sound. He carefully probed the demonic energy on the other side.

…What a strong medicinal scent.

Author’s Corner

I worked through the night to revise this chapter. Does it look better now?

Rain

I would like to take a moment to thank Sahl. She is an amazing editor and her additions are on point

Seriously, this novel wouldn’t be the same without her

Sahl

I’d love to say thank you so much for the overwhelming approval on extra spice! 😘 Some lovely readers queried where I freely distributed the spice as they couldn’t tell. As a writer and an editor in real life, I strongly believe in not interfering with an author’s ‘voice’. So I am delighted that the effect is seamless. 😊

Also, just a note. Rain does all the heavy lifting on translating (so please support her). I edit (and add spice 😏 ). While I absolutely appreciate people acknowledging the work I do (editors need love too❣️), I just wanted to clarify.

Ahem…also because I can’t resist your concerns (and while I ❤️ Huanhan, I do love Jun-er and baby Chang Ye too)…Remember, this isn’t a harem novel…However, no one gets left behind… *winks heavily*