Ch84 - Lifeline

Editor: Sahloknir

After the three of them fused physically, their memories gradually returned as well.

Jiang Yinghe wasn’t sure exactly what they ‘saw’, but he was almost overwhelmed by the strong scent of vinegar they were giving off.

He could still tell them apart at first as soon as they opened their mouths. But as this bastard tossed and turned him around while grumbling into his ear about how good he was to his ‘ex-wife’…

…Is there really a need to be so jealous of yourself?

Jiang Yinghe even lost track of what he was saying near the end. All he could remember was Li Huanhan pinning his wrist against the bed when it was his turn to take control. He didn’t say a word even as he ramped up the intensity.

Even if Jiang Yinghe didn’t listen to what he was saying, he could tell what Li Huanhan meant through his actions, and his entire body was going limp. This living vinegar jar even softly asked him a question when he raised his head to let him kiss him.

“…Why aren’t you saying anything…?… You…”

Jiang Yinghe wanted him to go slower, but he didn’t have the energy to even speak. He murmured incoherently, the words trailing off into confusion.

Li Huanhan lowered his head and kissed the reddened corners of his eyes, quietly demanding, “Say my name.”

“…Huan, Huanhan—”

Jiang Yinghe looked up at him, his dark, inky eyes wet with tears. His appearance made others only want to ravish him more.

It took him a long time to barely adjust to Li Huanhan’s rhythm, but then a fluffy tail encircled his waist. When Jiang Yinghe looked up again, it was his little disciple behind that face, biting down on his neck.

He didn’t use a lot of force, but those teeth still easily branded the spot a slight red. This little bastard licking there a few times didn’t help matters at all.

Jiang Yinghe was already exhausted. He could only sink into the other’s arms and let those soft cat ears nuzzle him. Then he heard Chang Ye ask petulantly, “Is Shizun not feeling well? Why aren’t you saying anything? Does Shizun prefer them after all…Shizun, your body is burning up…”

“…Shut up.”

Jiang Yinghe’s head couldn’t keep up with his incessant chatter. He pressed himself against Chang Ye’s shoulder and reprimanded him. But that only served to excite this bastard. Not only was he jealous of his past incarnation, he was also jealous of the other two.

And after they fused, the other two whelps seemed to be working together to torment him. Jiang Yinghe originally thought that he would be able to handle them after the fusion…

That was clearly not the case.

After fooling around for an entire night, Jiang Yinghe was too spent to pay attention to the soaring progress bar. At some point he fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes again, it was past when he usually woke up. Sunlight shone into the White Crane Jade Manor.

His mind went blank for a long time as he slowly recalled what happened last night.

Jiang Yinghe took a deep breath and decided to take the high road, chanting to himself, “I’m not angry” as he changed his clothes.

It seemed to work until a familiar arm circled around his waist and took him into another’s embrace.

“You’re awake?” The other man murmured quietly, “Does your waist hurt?”

…Oh, so you were aware?

Jiang Yinghe straight up wanted to kick him to the ground. Alas, he couldn’t do so because of how securely the other person held him. He could only shoot him a blank look and say, “You unfilial disciple. Let go and scram.”

Qin Jun nodded like he accepted his fault in the matter, but he didn’t let go. Instead, he began to massage Jiang Yinghe’s lower waist, bending down to kiss him as well. “Chang Ye made you cry yesterday.”

“…You did too.”

“That’s different. He doesn’t know how to control his strength.” Qin Jun replied, “It’s more comfortable with me, right?”

Before Jiang Yinghe could answer, the other two were already sarcastically snapping at Qin Jun in their mind—how wicked he was to drag Shizun into this.

Jiang Yinghe gave him a look. He didn’t want to be truthful, so he said nothing at all. He slowly hugged Qin Jun back for a moment before quietly whispering, “…My back hurts. And my legs too.”

“Anywhere else?”

“…”

Would this guy suffocate if he didn’t keep some of those infuriating thoughts to himself??

—-

Spring took the place of winter.

The snow on Qing Jing Peak gradually melted away as the spirit cranes wandered around.

When the fusion degree was in its final stages, the snow sword inside the sword casting furnace was successfully made.

Jiang Yinghe took out Wangchen when the fire inside the furnace subsided.

Wangchen’s body was crystal clear and of a neutral temperature. All its sharp edges had been gradually restrained as well. But it still didn’t react to Jiang Yinghe’s touch like it should.

Jiang Yinghe was not surprised. He brushed a thumb across the blade as he glanced at the system that had been maintaining the progress bar in a corner of his vision.

After a few moments of silence, the system left his divine soul and poured into the body of Wangchen, becoming the sword spirit once more.

At the same time, an additional mark appeared on the back of the snow sword. A display of the final percentages of the progress bar, showing the system’s stubbornness.

…As expected, it was the sword spirit. Everything had been arranged so that nothing else could take its place.

The snow sword suddenly shone brightly. A simple design emerged above the blade. A faint plum fragrance emanated from within as Wangchen merged with its original sword pendant.

Jiang Yinghe examined the sword for a moment before raising a hand to touch its surface. As soon as his fingertips came into contact with the completed Wangchen, the haze across his memories lifted.

Everything became clear.

Wangchen nestled obediently against him, as if it hadn’t been masquerading as a system all this time.

Jiang Yinghe tapped the back of the sword with a finger, saying lightly, “You really held back, didn’t you? Didn’t tell me a thing.”

A tremor ran through the snow sword. Its voice was different from the mechanical one of the system. It almost sounded aggrieved, “Master, you taught me to act that way. You said that I had to be as cruel and ruthless as a machine and as cold and unfathomable as the ultimate boss.”

Jiang Yinghe choked on his words as he recalled that exact phrase from his now clear memories. He coughed lightly. “…It must’ve been hard on you.”

The sword spirit immediately brightened after receiving his understanding. It obediently stayed inside Wangchen as Jiang Yinghe recalled the sword into his foundation.

It might just be his imagination, but the cold and ethereal aura around his body seemed to intensify after he recalled the snow sword. Even the spirit crane at the door became more clingy, nuzzling his sleeve and demanding to be petted.

After Jiang Yinghe settled the matter of reforging the snow sword, he went to Peng Lai’s main palace to give a lecture, as Yan-shijie had requested.

Since their fusion, whether it was the Tian Mo School, the Nether Realm or the Devil tribes, all of those factions were attended to simultaneously by using the doppelganger technique. The main body remained at Peng Lai to wreak havoc on his shizun.

As the Dao seed recovered and the fusion progressed, that person’s cultivation returned as well, becoming even more unfathomable. Jiang Yinghe too was making rapid progress since his bottleneck had been resolved.

With Jiang Yinghe’s status, it wasn’t uncommon for him to give lectures. For this reason, almost everyone in Peng Lai was present. Some of the younger generation were even more eager and full of respect than their seniors.

On the tall platform, Jiang Yinghe spoke from the very beginning of the Dao heart. His words were simple and concise, befitting his status as a famous teacher. Just as this famous teacher finally felt like he actually taught something for once, he suddenly noticed a certain white-robed youth in attendance, as well as the tiger by his side.

Little Yun-shidi came out of seclusion?

Yun Buxiu had been in seclusion for many years in order to settle his heart. There was a high chance that he hadn’t even informed Yan-shijie of his sudden reappearance.

The white-robed youth listened attentively to the lecture. He winked at his Jiang-shixiong. The tiger accompanying him napped at his feet, not acting like a carnivore should at all.

But that’s to be expected…After all, even the Devil King never acted like a carnivore either.

Jiang Yinghe put those thoughts aside and continued his lesson.

When he finished, the disciples present all rose, and saluted half of what they would give their own teacher to show their respect.

Jiang Yinghe nodded slightly and rose to leave. Just after he stepped out of the Peng Lai main palace, he saw an absolutely adorable little, white cat sitting on the road. It had one red and one gray eye. The tufts atop its ears twitched twice.

Jiang Yinghe knew who it was, so he deliberately pretended not to see him and walked straight past.

How could this little kitty give up so easily? It followed Jiang Yinghe on its short legs, circling around and lying down in front of him. Its big, fluffy tail hooked around his leg alluringly.

Jiang Yinghe lowered his head to give him a look. When he saw the sincere desire for hugs and kisses in the little kitty’s eyes, he stopped teasing him and picked him up.

It was so soft and fluffy that it was very pleasant to touch.

Jiang Yinghe contentedly stroked it a few times. But before he could knead the tail that exposed him as a cat lover, the little kitty in his arms suddenly changed form. The situation immediately reversed as he was swept into another’s arms.

The kitty he had been petting was nowhere to be seen. There was only his traitorous disciple here now.

Before Jiang Yinghe could speak, he was silenced with a tender kiss. He heard the other person quietly ask, “Is this how he seduced you?”

…Seduced???

Jiang Yinghe was taken aback. He needed to take out Wangchen to check the progress bar now, so he hadn’t paid it much mind until now.

…Actually, he couldn’t tell who this was?

“That cat.” The other person’s tone carried a bit of resignation due to the unsuccessful bid for favor. “He seduced my cultivation partner this way.”

Without waiting for Jiang Yinghe’s answer, the other person tightened his grip on his waist and pulled him close again. Prying his lips apart, they exchanged a tender and lingering kiss.

Jiang Yinghe recalled after the first kiss that they were still in public. He whispered, “What are you acting crazy for? Wait until we get back…Wu…”

This guy didn’t listen either. How familiar.

It was quite some time before Jiang Yinghe could catch his breath. With the corners of his eyes reddened, he was about to scold the other person when he heard a quiet and gentle call of ‘Crane Immortal’.

He paused and looked up, staring at the other person for a long time before softly replying, “…You’ve returned.”

“En.” Li Junye hugged him closer and he reviewed the memories of his split souls. He was drowning in vinegar, but he couldn’t say it outright, let alone show how jealous he was of that little kitty. He could only kiss Jiang Yinghe gently and whisper, “I want to embrace you.”

When Jiang Yinghe heard his voice, he felt himself relax all of a sudden. He even almost said yes without thinking but luckily managed to stop in time. He glanced around, wondering when someone would come over.

…

“You…Let’s go back first.”

The secretly jealous Dao Ancestor refused. A bizarre sense of paranoia seemed to radiate from his being as he looked straight into Jiang Yinghe’s eyes. “You did it with them in plenty of places…”

“They’re a part of you.” Jiang Yinghe lost his temper and grabbed him by the collar. “Jealous of even this…did water get into that head of yours? Behave yourself or I’ll draw up the divorce papers…”

Jiang Yinghe’s mouth was sealed by him, his lips bitten until they swelled. Only after he stopped saying these words did Li Junye reluctantly return to normal. He quietly relented, “I won’t make a scene anymore, so don’t say such things. Even a single sentence feels like a death sentence to me.”

The Crane Immortal was his lifeline. Any mention of parting was one mention too much.

Author’s Corner

Dao Ancestor: Aren’t I your most beloved person?? Why aren’t you saying anything—

HeHe: QAQ I was kissed until I couldn’t breathe so how could I say anything?!