Ch52 - Why Won't You Even Pet Me

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Editor: Sahloknir

Lan Ruo Temple

A cluster of orchids that were not yet in bloom grew outside the meditation room. A few ants crawled beneath their leaves.

As the faint breeze entered the window, the slow and steady chanting within stopped.

Chan Qing looked at him silently, taking in how Jiang Yinghe’s black hair was tied up with a silver crown and a long hairpin. His pastel coloured cultivator robes gave off an air of extreme remoteness.

“Jiang Xianjun.”

Jiang Yinghe came out from his thoughts. He apologized for spacing out, “I couldn’t immerse my troubled mind in the mantras. Apologies for disturbing you, Abbot.”

“Xianjun is too polite.” Chan Qing bent down and poured him a cup of bitter tea. He looked at him carefully before saying, “Do you remember the words that this one spoke when telling your fortunes last time?.”

Of course Jiang Yinghe remembered. He also remembered the inconsistency in the senior’s attitude back then. It seemed so obvious in hindsight how strange and suspicious the identities of his disciples were.

When Chan Qing met his eyes, he knew what Jiang Yinghe was thinking about. He continued, “Now that you know everything, I will be frank.”

Zhangmen-shixiong was the one who told Jiang Yinghe to come to Lan Ruo Temple. He assumed that it must be because the Abbot had something important to discuss, so he looked at the other man with a calm mind.

“This one said that the souls of Xianjun’s three disciples, the three evil cultivators of today, were too light.”

“What does this mean?” Jiang Yinghe did remember this, and a strange premonition suddenly rose in his heart. He felt like the other party’s next words could be life changing.

“The archdevil from 10,000 years ago was born in the era when the Devil God was at his most powerful. He used his unmatched talent to suppress Hundun and sealed them both away.” Chan Qing’s gaze turned to the chessboard. The white piece he set down cut off a possible formation. “A wraith—the patriarch of all ghost cultivators—was born 3000 years ago. Then the Xuehe Demon Lord with the heavenly demon physique followed 2000 years after that.”

The more he went on, the more Jiang Yinghe felt his heartstrings tremble with an inexplicable anxiety.

Abbot Chan Qing was a longtime friend of Zhangmen-shixiong, and he was also Jiang Yinghe’s elder in terms of seniority. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for him to know these things, but…

“This one often recalled that day afterwards.” Chan Qing said, “Such light souls almost seemed incomplete…or in other words, only all three of their souls combined would equal Xianjun’s soul.

Jiang Yinghe couldn’t look away from the Abbot. He didn’t answer immediately, because he had no idea what to say. He clasped his teacup with one hand, as the other man’s words echoed through his mind. The tea seemed to become scalding hot in an instant.

A light rain began to fall outside the window. The raindrops created a soothing ambiance as they fell onto the leaves of the orchids and slid to the ground, where they shattered.

Chan Qing lowered his head, glancing at the chessboard and issuing a reminder, “Xianjun, it’s your turn now.”

Jiang Yinghe looked down and placed his piece before taking a sip of Lan Ruo Temple’s tea… This cup wasn’t Morushui. In fact, it was so bitter that it numbed his tongue.

He put down the cup and placed his long fingers on the table, slowly tightening his grip.

“Abbot…”

Chan Qing muttered a Buddhist prayer, picking up his unsaid question. “The details of what this one saw that day cannot be shared with Xianjun. I can only tell you that the three of them are most likely three parts of the soul of a single person. And the only one that can hold such power even after being split in three is most likely the Dao Ancestor.”

Jiang Yinghe also understood this, but what he knew even more clearly was that, if what Abbot Chan Qing had said was true, then the reason that this person divided his soul was probably just to further his cultivation.

Perhaps he, Jiang Yinghe, was just…a stepping stone for someone else’s path to the Dao.

Jiang Yinghe took another sip of tea. His tongue was numb to the bitterness, as though taste buds had been burnt away. The flavour on the tip of his tongue felt as if he had been scalded.

But the porcelain walls of the teacup in his hand were merely warm.

The warmth flooded his throat as he swallowed.

“The path to the Dao is treacherous and filled with hardships, for the world is ever changing.” Chan Qing quietly looked at him, “Yesterday, the Peng Lai Sect Master sent word to this one, saying that you were troubled by a tribulation of love. But how can you be in such a predicament with your passion root severed?”

He watched as Jiang Yinghe put down his tea cup and gazed at the chess pieces.

“It is only now that this one understands. This so-called love is the one between a teacher and his disciples.”

Chan Qing looked out the window at the rain.

“This one would like to give Xianjun a word of advice. Regardless of whether you are successful in killing Hundun and retrieving your passion root or not, a tribulation of love can be just as deadly as a heavenly one…” he paused, “When their three souls realign, their currently deep feelings may be dispelled, as if it were all a dream on the path to enlightenment.”

The downpour slowly became heavier. The orchid leaves were beaten down, like a sea of bright green throughout the paths.

What Elder Chan Qing said would be the first reaction of any cultivator.

My calamity is but someone else’s dream.

“There are many cultivators who wander the mortal realm. To us, decades pass in the blink of an eye. And to him, your thousands of years are just a few passing clouds.”

When Chan Qing saw him falter, he didn’t continue but said instead, “Jiang Xianjun, the tea is cold.”

“…En.”

He put the cup down as his hand fell on the edge of the table, near the basket of chess pieces.

Even though Jiang Yinghe appeared the same as always on the outside,  Chan Qing could still sense a hidden sadness within him.

“The fog is heavy.” Jiang Yinghe sighed lightly and stood up, walking over to the wooden window where the sound of the rain was clear, “Is the Abbot saying that I won’t find love even if I retrieve my passion root, that it would all be a farce?”

Chan Qing was silent for a few moments. The words became stuck in his mouth as he looked at the other’s back. It was only some time later that he spoke, “For any action, willingness is reason enough to act.”

Jiang Yinghe pushed open the other half of the window. The previously vague and muted sound of the downpour outside rushed into his ears.

One of the orchid’s leaves glimmered with rainwater like scattered jewels. It remained distinct even amongst a crowd of its brethren.

“Thank you, Abbot.”

The Abbot’s willingness to say those words meant he already knew of Jiang Yinghe’s decision.

Jiang Yinghe heard the sound of him getting up and leaving. His footstep gradually faded away. In the quiet room, only the sounds of the rain and wind reached his ears, as well as the falling ashes of the lit incense.

However, the peaceful setting only made Jiang Yinghe drift deeper into his thoughts. He recalled the past little by little.

The atmosphere became more and more depressing and silent.

He stared at the orchids under the window for a while before noticing the handful of ants hiding under the rain-soaked leaves.

There was a time when he also thought that he could protect others and shelter them from the rain.

Withdrawing his gaze, he closed the window.

—-

Jiang Yinghe stayed at Lan Ruo Temple for a period of meditation.

During this time, he met with Abbot Chan Qing, as well as many other Buddhist monks and cultivator comrades to discuss the Dao. He seemed to lead a very peaceful life.

But that was only true on the surface.

Devil Baron Jiuying, who had been sweeping the grounds at the Lan Ruo Temple for half a year, sat across from him, painting his eyebrows while muttering, “Losing half my devil core was such a damn shame. If that ancestor didn’t have designs on you, we could’ve unified the cultivation realm under his flag by now.”

Jiang Yinghe sat beside him and listened with amusement while flipping through a book. “The Devil King was very fierce that day. Without Chang Ye’s interference, a fight between you and I would’ve been inevitable.”

“Hiss…” Jiuying made a mistake again. Throwing the eyebrow stone away, he grumbled, “If you didn’t want to fight me, His Majesty wouldn’t have treated me like that.”

Jiang Yinghe gave him a faint glance. “If not for that encounter, you wouldn’t have swept the floor until you started to covet a Buddhist cultivator. Although you have atoned for your wrongs, there is still an inherent difference between your identities.”

“What does it matter if he’s a monk or not? Isn’t this lord also considered a monk since I’m here?” Although Jiuying did wear the robes of a monk, his full body tattoos, devilish aura, and the crack on his forehead where his devil core was extracted showed what he really was. He might be handsome, but it was in a savage and inhumane way.

While this guy swept the floors at Lan Ruo Temple for half a year, he actually fell in love with one of the monks here and insisted on courting him. His efforts to study these makeup products showed his lack of understanding of what beauty meant to a Buddhist cultivator.

Jiang Yinghe’s attempts to persuade him were ineffective since the devil seemed to live in a world of his own.

He flipped the page and happened to see something related to the devil race. He asked, “If a cultivator happens to take the Yin-Yang Fruit by mistake and wears a devil core accessory to regulate the balance of their energies, can they one day recover fully with rest and medication?”

Jiuying put his head on his hands to think for a while. His haphazard braid draped over his shoulder as he asked a question in return. “If he’s wearing a devil core accessory then sure. But only if it’s from a devil with pure yang energy… A devil cultivator’s realm drops when their core is removed. In the more serious cases they’ll even revert to their original form or worse. What dumbass would let someone cut out their core…?”

He seemed to realize that he was insulting himself as well. Jiuying slyly leaned over and sniffed the ends of Jiang Yinghe’s sleeves. “Xianjun—”

A shiver went down Jiang Yinghe’s spine. He swept his sleeves towards himself and said, “Say what you want to already.”

Jiuying looked up at him. Maybe he had changed for the better after his time at the monastery, or maybe it was just an inherent habit of the demon race, but his voice when pleading seemed uncanny, like a wild beast that had turned into a housecat.

“The Abbot gave the other half of my core to Xianjun, so if Xianjun has no use for it, why not return it to Jiuying?”

The sound of his voice made Jiang Yinghe somewhat nauseous. He didn’t know why the same behaviours that Chang Ye exhibited would be so intolerable when it was someone else.

He shifted away and said, “This master has spoken with the Abbot about this, and the Abbot said you are still harbouring impure thoughts. When you repent sincerely, I will naturally return it to you.

The archdevil beside him seemed to deflate sadly. He sat back down with a weary look and was quiet for a moment. “Forget it then. I’m not the only one unhappy these days. I really can’t understand how His Majesty fell in love with a righteous cultivator. I would ask but… Someone like Tianhou, who dared to rebel in the Devil God’s heyday, to settle the conflicts within our tribes with blood and steel… A valiant and manly hero like that…”

“Cough!” Jiang Yinghe choked on his tea. He couldn’t reconcile the words ‘valiant and manly’ with the Chang Ye he knew. He thumped his chest and said, “Go on…”

Jiuying nodded. “Drink slower. Did you know? Yesterday, Sanqing sent me a letter saying that the devil tribes were running around trying to help His Majesty learn the language of love and how to pursue a righteous cultivator and seek his forgiveness. All the energy that used to be used to wage war amongst themselves is now being used to recover His Majesty’s wife.”

Jiang Yinghe continued reading, but he was a little distracted. He gave a slightly perfunctory hum of agreement.

“Even if I’m in a Buddhist temple, it’s hard for me to escape the fate of being manipulated.” Jiuying sobbed for a moment. In just half a year, he’s been reduced from a hostile, vicious and wicked devil to this simpleton in front of him. He rummaged around in his sleeve for a while and pulled out a small note. “Look… Okay, what’s so good about that book of yours? The Abbot said you’re here to relax, so you should try to relax! You can read books anywhere!”

Jiang Yinghe could feel the beginnings of a headache from all his pestering. He had no choice but to put down his book. “You also know that I came here to rest because I sensed my next heavenly tribulation approaching, so can’t you leave me be?”

His words were cold, but his temperament was always mellow. Jiuying had confirmed this through gradual testing. He couldn’t let go of the half of his core that was in Jiang Yinghe’s possession, so he naturally wanted to get closer to him.

Jiang Yinghe took the small note and slowly unfolded it. He saw many immature suggestions written in a child-like scrawl on it. It was obviously a list of ideas that only Jiuying could come up with.

He swept his gaze down and noticed Chang Ye’s handwriting at the bottom.

“I made a mistake. I promise I’ll never do it again. Can I come to you?”

A kitten’s paw print was next to the words like a signature.

Jiang Yinghe raised his eyebrows in surprise. He looked at Jiuying’s face. When he couldn’t see anything suspicious from his expression, he knew that this silly demon was unwittingly used by Chang Ye as a messenger… His little disciple has always had a mind like a maze and excelled at swindling people until they didn’t know left from right.

Jiang Yinghe read the contents and returned it to Jiuying, commenting indifferently, “How underhanded.”

Jiuying stared at him, “How can you say that the solutions I wracked my brain for are underhanded? No, you have to compensate me for this slight with the other half of my devil core…”

Before he could finish, a book smacked him on the head. Jiang Yinghe’s words were like arctic frost.

“I’m talking about your master.” His words trailed off, “His methods are underhanded.”

As soon as the words were spoken, Jiang Yinghe could clearly feel the blow that a certain foolish cat suffered. The irritating feelings in his chest settled down.

He had been resting here for a long time, and those three were nearing the limits of their patience. Jiang Yinghe just knew that Chang Ye would be the one that broke first.

The surroundings suddenly became silent.

Before Jiuying had recovered, he heard a soft knock on the door. A small monk’s voice rang out clearly.

“Devil Baron, the Abbot has asked you to sweep the backyard.”

Jiuying stood up and stretched out the kinks in his back like he was used to this. He said to Jiang Yinghe, “What would Lan Ruo Temple do without me? They even need me to sweep their floors. No wonder everyone says that the most enlightened of cultivators are also the most spoiled…”

Jiang Yinghe rubbed at his temple, “…Just go.”

He reasonably suspected that this silly devil had been cooped up too long in the temple and suffered some brain damage, but it was better for people to be a bit silly than to be hostile.

Right after Jiuying left, the little monk peeked in and saw Jiang Yinghe looking at him. He skipped over and pounced into his lap. His voice was soft and sweet. “Jiang Xianjun!”

The little monk seemed to be only four or five years old. His voice was high pitched and his pronunciation was still a bit off, like his mouth was filled with mochi. He appeared more obedient that Chang Ye was as a child.

“I came!” The little monk said with curled eyes, “Jiang Xianjun, teach me how to be an immortal cultivator like you! Shifu doesn’t teach me anything, he just makes me do exercises and bring water all day! He doesn’t even let me have any candy!”

He was assigned to look after Jiang Yinghe recently. Although that was technically true, it was more for the next generation of the Lan Ruo Temple to acquaint themselves with their elders.

But the little monk really thought that he was ‘looking after’ him and established a deep and revolutionary friendship with Jiang Yinghe.

“Do you have any more sweets, Xianjun? Kong Jing really wants some!”

The little monk’s face was round and so were his eyes. Jiang Yinghe still had some food stored in his personal dimension from feeding the kitten before.

He took out some sweet pastries and instructed the little monk for a while. Little did he know that, on the roof of his room, an abandoned kitten was so furious that all of his fur was standing on end.

The little white cat almost cried out of aggravation. He anxiously stomped and rolled around the roof. He wanted to keep looking, but every second was like drinking aged vinegar.

Wu….

Those things were supposed…supposed to be mine…

He bit his tail to muffle the choking noises coming out of his throat.

The sweet pastries are supposed to be mine, and Shizun as well… How can…how can someone else eat it…

The claws in his paws had worn out a long time ago. He had endured for as long as he could before coming over, and the sharp hooks within had all broken off during his fits of rage.

The white cat licked the blood off his claws so he could be a clean and good kitten, but his Shizun said that ‘his methods were underhanded’ and didn’t want to see him. He even gave the cakes he had prepared for him to other children!!

The cat’s ears drooped as he sobbed quietly on the roof in a small heap.

I’ve been waiting for you, ah… Ye-er will never lie to you again….

But w-why won’t you even pet me on the head…?

Author’s Corner

Oh Your Majesty, the proud and overbearing Demon King-daren, please cry a bit louder. Mommy can’t hear you.

Rain

Sharing is caring. Hehe.

Sahl

So our lovely readers can relax now the truth is out. Extra sweet pastries from Shizun’s personal dimension to those who knew or guessed what was going on with our three boys. Now waiting online to see what this Dao Ancestor is like…

Happy New Year’s!!