The white mist rose and dispersed a light, but long lasting scent that entwined with the air in the room. The window was half-opened, letting in a faint breeze that gently lifted the gauze curtains around the bed.
Jiang Yinghe was woken up by the curtain tickling the back of his hand. For the second time in the past few days, he woke up in a daze in his bed.
In front of him was that little white cat again. Its big fluffy tail waving around in front of him, revealing a cute and harmless attitude. The tip of its tail rubbed against the back of Jiang Yinghe’s hand, along with the curtains.
Wow, how cute. I want to sit on it until it suffocates.
Jiang Yinghe expressionlessly thought.
It was this fluffy tail that had captured his cat-loving heart, but he couldn’t get it off when it strangled his waist. Not to mention this cat’s tongue that was covered in soft barbs…
Every patch of skin he licked was irritated.
Feeling hopeless, Jiang Yinghe looked at the little white cat in front of him for a moment. Then he fell further into despair once he glanced at the progress bar that had slowly advanced a bit overnight.
The unification level was now twelve percent.
It seemed that, out of his system and his waist, one would have to die today.
How unreasonable. Jiang Yinghe just recently rebuilt his foundation, but there was no way he could tame his cultivation partners and guide his disciples in bed even if he was in his prime.
And this was when they hadn’t merged yet. Each one has stranger ideas in their head than the last.
Hiss… It hurts.
Jiang Yinghe took in a cold breath. He maliciously extended a hand to push the little white cat sleeping beside him off the bed.
The cat flipped in mid-air and landed on the ground. He looked over with those big, dark and seemingly harmless eyes.
Who would’ve known by looking at those eyes that the little beast called Chang Ye liked to bite the back of people’s necks…
Jiang Yinghe looked at the harmless kitten expressionlessly until he guiltily jumped back on the bed and presented his tail to Jiang Yinghe.
As expected, the other two must’ve woken up earlier than him. Jiang Yinghe had only moved a little when the curtains were lifted by a hand that secured them with ribbons. He was presented with a familiar cup of throat-soothing tea.
Jiang Yinghe took the warm tea from Li Huanhan’s hand, not wanting to pay him any more attention than necessary. He drank half the tea because there was no need to cut his face to spite others. Then he spoke, “Have you prepared well?”
Li Huanhan was silent for a long time before he said, “I…”
“Don’t apologize.” Jiang Yinghe was familiar with his little routine. This leader of the Tian Mo School was calculating, sly, and always used that look to coax him.
“I should have recognized your nature a long time ago. You’ve never behaved yourself when it came to this matter. You’ve learned everything you shouldn’t have from Qin Jun, despite supposedly being his shixiong…”
His throat grew parched halfway through. Jiang Yinghe paused to take another slow sip of tea before calmly continuing. His demeanor was somewhat cool. “…That pisses me off.”
Jiang Yinghe wondered inside why he didn’t manage to teach anything related to cultivation and sword techniques. Instead, he was the one who learned all sorts of maneuvers in bed.
And Qin Jun, was that guy even human? That heartless bastard said a whole bunch of lies before going to town while holding Jiang Yinghe’s waist. Did he even understand how deep he was going? This bastard ended up messing around with him for two hours.
…Thinking about it only fueled the flames of Jiang Yinghe’s anger.
Jiang Yinghe took another sip of tea to suppress the fire in his heart. Then he remembered that foolish hope he once had… In the end, it seemed like the big ups in life were always followed by reciprocal downfalls…
He sighed. He knew that Li Huanhan was always good at admitting to his mistakes so there was no point in scolding him. He asked, “Where is he?”
Li Huanhan took the empty tea cup and started to make a new pot. “He went to get the medicine.”
Medicine, huh…
Only then did Jiang Yinghe remember that Tong Guiyu had only sent over a few bottles of this kind of moisturizing medication. He had already used most of it last time.
Jiang Yinghe didn’t say anything for a long time. When he remembered that he needed to ask after Zhangmen-shixiong, he heard the door at the entrance opening.
Only half the curtain had been parted, and there was a long screen divider outside with illustrations of a sun rising over five mountains and rivers. It was usually not out here. Someone had brought it out recently.
Qin Jun’s figure was vaguely shown through the screen. He arrived at Jiang Yinghe’s side in a flash.
Jiang Yinghe watched as another hand pushed aside the remaining curtains. He saw the newcomer place the medicine bottle aside and reach out to lift the blanket.
“Don’t.” Jiang Yinghe subconsciously stopped the other man. He watched as Qin Jun paused and looked at the other two.
He glanced at the fusion level that had only risen by one percent, then at the culprit in front of him. “Get out. I’ll do it myself.”
That was what Jiang Yinghe had said last time. He expected everyone to behave and not bother him in his home for a few days, but to his surprise, Qin Jun raised his eyebrows slightly and said in a very sincere tone, “Not this time.”
Jiang Yinghe gaped. “…What are you trying to do?”
“It’s too deep this time.”
“…”
There was no change in Qin Jun’s expression, as if he wasn’t embarrassed at all by what he was describing.
“Shizun wouldn’t be able to apply the medicine himself.”
Jiang Yinghe blushed. “…”
How was he able to say it in such a heartfelt and refreshing way? That being said, if the creator of this world was completely normal, why would he divide his soul?
…No wonder he didn’t have a cultivation partner.
Who could put up with this?
Jiang Yinghe took a deep breath and said, “Whose fault is this?”
“It’s this disciple’s fault.” Qin Jun followed up smoothly, “I shouldn’t have tested Shizun’s boundaries. Naturally, Shizun has…unfathomable depths.”
“…Have you no shame?” Jiang Yinghe felt his blood pressure rising, “All you know how to do is lie to me. I just knew that evil cultivators were all bad seeds… Hiss, my waist hurts.”
Just as his words fell, Li Huanhan immediately encircled his shizun from behind, pulling him into his lap and massaging Jiang Yinghe’s waist.
It was way too hard.
Jiang Yinghe raised a hand to stop his twitching eye. “If I fall for your tricks again, I might as well change my surname to yours… Help me apply medicine or get out.”
Qin Jun’s eyes have always been fixed on Shizun. He swallowed dryly and responded, “Okay.”
As his hand lifted the quilt, the kitty on one side came over to offer his fluffy body. Although Jiang Yinghe was angry, he wasn’t too distressed and just a bit overwhelmed and embarrassed.
That big tail wrapped around him teasingly for a while. He couldn’t help but stroke it a few times. That was, until he felt the ice-cold ointment touch his most intimate area.
That area was red and swollen from reverse barbs repeatedly rubbing against it.
There was also a slight tinge of pain.
Jiang Yinghe was distracted for a moment. “Be more gentle.”
Qin Jun paused in applying the medicine, like he remembered something due to those words. Then he dunked on his rival with a straight face, “If Chang Ye didn’t shift into his animal form last night, there would be no need to apply medicine here.”
The cat tail in Jiang Yinghe’s hand suddenly stopped being so appealing. He silently let go of the fluff.
The little white cat stared at Qin Jun with wide eyes. To his disbelief, he discovered evidence suggesting the two of them had integrated slightly.
Chang Ye shifted back into human form and firmly linked Jiang Yinghe’s hand with his. He said quietly, “Shizun, I was wrong. If Qin-shixiong hadn’t egged me on, I wouldn’t have been led astray…”
As the two experts exchanged blows, the fragrance of tea filled the room.
There would always be a taller mountain.
While Jiang Yinghe was looking at the culprit in front of him and getting a little angry again, a re-warmed cup of tea was handed to him from the side. His waist was being massaged even more softly now.
Li Huanhan’s quiet and gentle voice sounded by his ear.
“We agreed beforehand that Qin Jun was to keep an eye on him and stop him from using his beast form. In the end, Qin Jun didn’t watch him and he didn’t listen.”
He continued, perfectly composed, “Anyways, Chang Ye has never listened to anyone.”
Chang Ye gasped in outrage, “You…!”
His words came to a stop. Chang Ye couldn’t figure it out, even after half the tea was gone. Just how were his techniques lacking? Why did he sense the three of them reunifying only on weird topics like this?
Jiang Yinghe slowly drew his fingers back from Chang Ye’s hand. He didn’t want to pay too much attention to the cold, tingling medicine, but the sensation was too uncomfortable to ignore.
He subconsciously lifted his foot and stepped on Qin Jun’s wrist. He hesitated before saying, “…You’re hurting me.”
“…At this point, it would hurt no matter how I touch it.”
“Oh, so now you know that. Why couldn’t you have such an epiphany last night?” Jiang Yinghe lightly sucked in a breath and quietly said, “If every time increases progress by one percent, there’s still eighty-eight percent to go. If every time leaves me in this half-dead state, I’ll be in my grave by the time we finish.”
“One percent?” Li Huanhan asked by his ear.
“It’s what that system, that intelligent spiritual artifact that can show your fusion progress, shows.”
“…Qin Jun, it hurts…”
Qin Jun immediately stopped once he was called by his full name. He looked up at Li Huanhan. “Having fun pretending to be gentle?”
“Like you’re really a reliable guy.” Li Huanhan gazed at Jiang Yinghe’s slightly furrowed brows and continued to rub his waist. “Yesterday, Sect Master Zhou sent new life plates and soul lamps over. They need to be rebranded.”
After messing around doing extremely intimate things with these guys for two days, Jiang Yinghe finally got a chance to get down to business. He turned over in Li Huanhan’s arms and whispered, “My back still hurts.”
Li Huanhan used a little more force and kissed him on the forehead.
“Everything will get better once you recover your cultivation.”
—-
Jiang Yinghe recuperated for another three to five days. After resolving himself to not be so easily fooled next time, he was finally back to being healed and relaxed.
Being rolled over repeatedly by a truck was really too exhausting. And painful. It wasn’t something an ordinary person could stand. Not to mention three…
Thinking about doing it with any one of them made Jiang Yinghe feel faint.
Luckily, he wasn’t tricked again.
He rebranded his soul lamp and life plate, sending them back to Peng Lai’s main palace. On the way back to Qing Jing Peak, he ran into Tong Guiyu who was here to visit him.
In terms of their cultivation levels and ages, this Hun Yuan Xianjun was really coming on a bit strong. He immediately slapped a brand new novel on the table and asked, “Is it true?”
Right now, Jiang Yinghe was flipping through a book on recasting swords. Boundless spiritual energy and an aura of ice and snow surrounded his body. He appeared as cold and distant as he did before his reincarnation.
He raised his head and directed an indifferent look at Tong Guiyu. “Is what true?”
“Today, the author of this book told the bookstore that he got the inspiration from you.” Tong Guiyu looked at him with suspicion, “It’s being said outside that Li Huanhan, Peng Lai sect’s Da-shixiong, is secretly harbouring his…female lover inside the White Crane Jade Manor while his shizun is in seclusion?”
Jiang Yinghe’s fingertips froze on the cover of the book for quite some time. He recalled those two disciples that delivered the soul lamp and life plate that day.
“As far as I know, you stayed on Qing Jing Peak during your seclusion. But that means…” Tong Guiyu surveyed him for a moment, “Li Huanhan’s matter is but a baseless rumour?”
Jiang Yinghe raised his eyes to look at him and said, “He’s not hiding a woman, but…that rumour is not entirely baseless.”
He looked away.
Jiang Yinghe wanted to ask Tong Guiyu about recasting his sword. While idly flipping through the book, he lightly said, “If the outside world wants to think the worst, then let them. But if you try to take someone else’s cultivation partners, I’m going to butcher you.”
Tong Guiyu stared at him before saying, “…I feel kind of disillusioned when you say such words while looking like an ethereal immortal.”
Jiang Yinghe set the page he wanted to ask about on the table without changing his expression. “There’s plenty more to be disillusioned about. Do you want to finish talking business or should I tell you first?”
As a calm, sensible and handsome man who knew that there was a time and place for everything, Tong Guiyu naturally replied, “Let’s get the business out of the way first…”
Jiang Yinghe nodded and pointed to a line on the page. “I need many ice and snow attribute treasures to recast Wangchen. I have searched the cultivation world, but there are still not enough materials. Has anyone tried this method of using one sword to cast another described here?”
Tong Guiyu took the book and pondered for a long time. As the Deputy Sect Master of the He Huan Sect who collected swords and held Sword Conferences, he could naturally deduce the authenticity of the aforementioned method. He answered truthfully, “Nothing seems strange at a glance and it does seem possible. It’s just that, as far as I know, no one has ever tried this.”
Jiang Yinghe’s own insight was also very accurate, but he just wanted to ask Tong Guiyu’s opinion because his cultivation hasn’t fully returned yet. He nodded at the other’s words, “It seems I have to be the first.”
Tong Guiyu said, “First? So you have already chosen a sword to work with? Recasting Wangchen is no small matter. Have you really…”
“What do you think of using Wuchen?”
Tong Guiyu’s words stalled. He rose abruptly, as if he had been greatly shocked. Only after a long time did he say, “Isn’t that Sword Saint Taichu’s sword?!”
Jiang Yinghe nodded with an unchanged expression. “It is said to be sealed under the snowy plains.”
“Sealed is putting it too lightly. The snowy plains exist solely because of Wuchen…”
Tong Guiyu sucked in a breath. As expected of a sword cultivator like his friend, he was planning on using the sword of a Half-step Golden Immortal to reforge his own. There were few people other than sword cultivators who would dare to dream of such a thing.
Jiang Yinghe seemed unbothered. “Maybe it’s more like taking back what once belonged to me. There’s no harm in testing my hypothesis. We can think of other ways to restore Wangchen if it doesn’t work.”
Tong Guiyu sighed, “Good luck with that then. So can we talk about personal matters now? Tell me something improper so I can catch my breath.”
“Improper?”
Tong Guiyu gave him a look while propping his head on his hand. “That’s right. If I’m deprived of juicy and scandalous gossip for a day, my foundation will surely become unstable. Next thing you know my cultivation will scatter and I’ll die. Since our Xuan Wei Xianjun is known for his maganamity, won’t you help a fellow cultivator out?”
Jiang Yinghe was pretty sure he was joking. He thought about it before speaking, “…En. Actually, the other person was me.”
Tong Guiyu remained silent for a long time. He gave Jiang Yinghe a meaningful look before speaking, “That…sounds even more ridiculous than the rumour about Li Huanhan having a secret female lover.”
A great blow was dealt to Jiang Yinghe’s self-esteem. What was he supposed to say when he really was the other person?! He could only repeat himself sourly.
Tong Guiyu was once again silent. He finally spoke up, “…Little He, why don’t you just butcher me after all.”
Author’s Corner
Tong Guiyu: Little He, I really can’t accept this…
HeHe: …Can’t you expand your narrow-minded way of thinking?!
Sahl
I love how Tong Guiyu has suddenly become a reproving maiden aunt. So cute!