Ch71 - His Beloved

Editor: Sahloknir

Although Jiang Yinghe had always known that Li Huanhan was a living jar of vinegar, it was the first time he had faced such a humiliating dilemma.

He couldn’t sense even a hint of obedience in his eldest disciple. The closer he came to his limits, the tighter this person held on to him, like he was afraid of Jiang Yinghe running off. He held his shizun in a tight embrace.

On the other side, Chang Ye was still whispering words of comfort, urging him in a spoiled manner to quickly refuse the disciple. Jiang Yinghe had to admit defeat. He tried hard to steady his voice before he turned away the child outside the door.

The person outside paused for a moment, but there was no disappointment in his voice, as if he had expected this outcome. The disciple then boldly asked about Li Huanhan and Qin Jun, saying that those two were role models that he strived to emulate.

Role models…

Emulate…

Jiang Yinghe looked up at Qin Jun, who leaned over and kissed him. He felt Jun-er quietly chuckle.

“Me, a role model?” He seemed to think it was outrageous, yet novel. “A righteous faction junior that thinks of demonic faction figures as his role models… I’m not sure whether to remark on the quality of the younger generation or ourselves…”

He paused for a moment, “…Perhaps this is the light of the righteous path.”

Jiang Yinghe was so overwhelmed by this ‘light of the righteous path’ that his mind could not recall any of its benefits. He vaguely hummed in a suppressed tone, his brows furrowed.

“But I guess he won’t have a chance to achieve his goal anyway.” Qin Jun’s fingertips touched the crest of his brow and slowly stroked it. “He doesn’t have…such a good shizun.”

His words were half-joking, but Jiang Yinghe still flushed after being called ‘Shizun’ in such a sincere tone. He was reluctant to agree.

The young disciple outside the door did not hear a response from his senior. He seemed to think about something in silence for a while. Then, after saying a few more words, he left Qing Jing Peak.

After his footsteps faded away, Jiang Yinghe finally breathed a sigh of relief. The plush tail that had been supporting his waist came around and wrapped itself around him so sweetly that it was hard to refuse. It seemed to be a very ominous omen.

…It vaguely reminded him of…a large devil beast courting their mate.

—-

A cold candle burned on a dark night.

The rain outside washed away several days worth of dust and ash. The clouds hid the moonlight, leaving only sparse stars flickering in the sky.

A few strands of long, inky hair were draped across the soft quilt, spreading out sinuously. They were brushed away from the side by a hand which gently tucked them behind another person’s ear.

Jiang Yinghe was so tired that he couldn’t sleep anymore after resting a few hours. He looked up to see a pair of bright, red eyes tinted with darkness watching him.

The black snake on Li Huanhan’s shoulder seemed to be waking up from its long hibernation. It lazily curled up under his clothes and yawned, flicking out its blood red tongue in Jiang Yinghe’s direction in a sort of greeting.

Jiang Yinghe shuddered, …Fear has jolted me awake.

Actually, he wasn’t particularly afraid of snakes. On the contrary, he quite liked to observe the reptiles in a safe and controlled environment, preferably separated by a layer of glass. This was his first time seeing one so close.

Li Huanhan seemed to notice his gaze. He turned to look at the Blood Shadow draped over his shoulder and shoved the black snake’s head back. He asked in his usual tone, “Do you not like it?”

Jiang Yinghe thought for a moment. “It’s not that… My throat hurts.”

Halfway through his sentence, he noticed how hoarse his voice was. After recalling how much of a headache Chang Ye had been in the latter hours of the night, even Li Huanhan’s fierceness could be momentarily disregarded.

Besides, with how attentive Li Huanhan has always been afterwards, how could he stay mad?

As soon as he uttered those three words, a cup of warm tea was presented to him. Jiang Yinghe took the cup and habitually drank half of it to moisten his throat. Then he heard the quiet sounds of rain again.

He turned to look out the window at the slightly windy and drizzling night. He also saw the little white cat he had kicked several times last night lying next to the lampstand, its dark eyes glowing slightly.

“…Where’s Jun-er?”

Li Huanhan’s only reaction was a brief frown, like he had tasted something sour when Shizun brought up Qin Jun. But this emotion only persisted for a moment, passing so quickly that even Jiang Yinghe didn’t really notice it.

“He’s gone to instruct his juniors.” Li Huanhan said in monotone, “To…refine the rising stars.”

Jiang Yinghe was taken aback. The statement made him slightly suspicious. He asked, “What did he take with him? Did he take his sword?”

“Yes.” Li Huanhan answered, “Zhanyun is still here in the White Crane Jade Manor. The blade he took was Junzi Tie.”

Junzi Tie was the sword that Jiang Yinghe had once given to Qin Jun. At that time, he had really thought that their relationship was purely that of a master and his disciple. His dedication to teaching was apparent in how he had prepared suitable weapons for each of them.

Turns out that he was teaching the wrong things all along.

At first, Jiang Yinghe was relieved. Then he realized that Qin Jun could still beat his juniors up no matter what sword he used. He gave Li Huanhan a look and suddenly said, “But how could this be..? Jun-er is always tricking me, but he can be considered the calmest one among you three. Why was he the one who…”

“I wanted to go originally,” Li Huanhan said calmly, “but Qin Jun stopped me and told me to accompany Shizun.”

…That makes more sense. It would be a massacre if you went.

Jiang Yinghe slowly sipped his tea and listened to the rain falling outside. As he gradually grew drowsy again, he caught the kitten that was previously obediently lying by the lampstand trying to sneak closer to him.

Jiang Yinghe didn’t move a muscle. He watched the little bastard test his limits with his tiny paws.

His little paws were soft and fluffy, like mini mangosteens with claws hidden inside. Chang Ye came to Jiang Yinghe’s hand, resting on it and trying to appease him while also acting spoiled.

Jiang Yinghe raised his eyebrows at him, ready to watch this little green tea cat’s performance.

When the little cat saw that he had Shizun’s attention, his tentative movements came to an abrupt halt. He mewled quietly a few times. Upon seeing no reaction from Jiang Yinghe, the kitten waved its tail and turned on the waterworks.

Jiang Yinghe was stunned. Then he slapped the cat’s head and spoke coldly, “Get off and stay away from me. Otherwise I’ll have you neutered tomorrow.”

How could this little green tea cat have the face to cry in front of him? Was he not the one acting so spoiled yesterday? And he was particularly talkative too, constantly asking things like, “Does it hurt?”, “Am I in too deep?”, “Does Shizun feel good?” …etc.

There was no filter on that little mouth of his.

…I’m going to stop thinking about it before I get angry again.

He pushed the cat that came over to him onto the cold floor. Then the tea in his hand was replaced with another.

Jiang Yinghe sipped his tea and checked the unification progress bar. Finally, this thing that was going to be the death of his rose by more than one percent at a time. With a push from Unification Task Four, it had broken through the twenties in one fell swoop, reaching twenty-two percent.

This was probably the best news Jiang Yinghe had seen in days.

On top of that, increasing the unification level meant that more pages were unlocked in that journal…

As he was thinking about it, he was suddenly cupped and kissed on the face.

The kiss was very light and devoid of any lustful feelings, like it was just meant to bring him back to his senses.

Jiang Yinghe did come back to his senses. He felt the other’s gentleness and care from the light brush of their lips. Then, Li Huanhan’s voice rang out beside his ear.

“You seem to be happy. Care to share?”

Although he was now aware Jiang Yinghe had a ‘system’, he was not quite able to understand this tool’s existence.

“The unification level,” Jiang Yinghe raised his eyes to look at him with bright and glittering eyes, “it’s gone up a lot.”

Li Huanhan was silent for a few breaths. He smiled and said, “What good news.”

Good news…..

Jiang Yinghe’s mind suddenly cooled, as if it was covered with autumn frost. He looked intently and seriously into the other party’s blood-red eyes, barely able to discern how Li Huanhan truly felt from his words alone.

How could this be good news for him? Even Jun-er said before that…

It was hard for anyone to predict what it would be like after the fusion. Li Huanhan had once posed a question to him in the carriage. If he was just a fragment of a god’s soul, then his past, his experiences, what was their worth?

Li Huanhan’s expression rarely changed. He was often calm and steadfast, and occasionally crazy and unpredictable. Even Jiang Yinghe thought that he rarely smiled.

Jiang Yinghe hesitated. “…Are you, aren’t you afraid?”

“Afraid of what?”

“Fusion.” Jiang Yinghe said, “…There is a chance that…you will—”

“That won’t happen.”

The other party answered so crisply that Jiang Yinghe was stunned into silence. Li Huanhan rested a hand on his shizun’s forehead and said in a calm tone, “For the body to remain, we must overcome the trials we experience from birth to death. For the soul to remain, we must overcome the dangers and hardships on the path to immortality.”

“I did have scruples at one time, fearing that my experiences with Shizun would be lost after fusing into one. Just like when Qin Jun became your disciple, I was truly terrified that he would steal your attention away, depriving me of the only care I have ever received.”

He paused for a moment, his breath slowly dispersing and mingling subtly with the cold fragrance of Jiang Yinghe’s body.

“My existence will always remain in this world. Not in Peng Lai sect, much less Tian Mo school, but in Shizun’s heart.”

His tone was so calm that if Jiang Yinghe hadn’t been paying attention, he would have thought that the other man was just saying something inconsequential like “good morning” or “good night”.

Jiang Yinghe was kissed on the eyelashes by him.

“I met Shizun on a day in April,” He whispered, “a spring day in the mortal realm.”

Jiang Yinghe clearly felt his heart stirring. He was surrounded by the other’s scent, as if wrapped in a soft and slightly cool breeze.

He did not say anything for a long time. When the other brought his arms around him, Jiang Yinghe returned the embrace. He was completely at peace as he burrowed into Li Huanhan’s chest and quietly said,

“…I’m going to sleep a little longer.”

“En.” Li Huanhan kissed his forehead. With a slight gesture of his hand, the distant candle in the lampstand suddenly went out.

All that remained was the pattering night rain and the cold moon obscured by dark clouds. The spirit cranes at the door were already fast asleep under the sparse stars.

The entrance gate opening became very soft amidst the sound of the rain. A tendril of mist coalesced into human form, taking off his raindrop-stained outer cloak.

His footsteps dispersed the silence in the space behind the screen. Qin Jun glanced at Li Huanhan and saw him tucking Shizun in. They didn’t need to communicate for him to know that Jiang Yinghe was resting.

The two had gradually increased their level of integration and tacit understanding. Without saying a word, Qin Jun casually lifted the cat off the floor by the scruff of his neck with one hand and dropped him on his lap after retreating a fair distance from the bed.

The night was silent. The bright moon hid her face as the stars faded from sight. Finally, even the sparse drizzle stopped.

His beloved was asleep.

Author’s Corner

That was the warmest spring I had ever encountered.