Ch85 - His White Crane Flew Back to the Clouds

Editor: Sahloknir

The candlelight was bright.

Jiang Yinghe felt like he had been tormented enough by him these days. He grew tired as soon as the sun went down and wanted to do nothing more than sleep the night away. He wasn’t interested in giving that guy a single chance.

But the other person had different ideas. Li Junye had gone through the memories of his split souls over the past few days, before imprinting them into his divine soul. Even though he knew that they came from him, that they represented parts of himself, he still couldn’t help feeling jealous.

As the candle was rekindled, the heart of the flame flickered, illuminating the room much brighter than before.

Jiang Yinghe knew he was coming, but he really was too tired lately to deal with him. Thus, Jiang Yinghe remained silent even when he sensed him rekindling the candle.

Then Li Junye’s hand reached under the blanket and gently clasped his fingers.

Jiang Yinghe closed his eyes and drew back his hand silently.

But the other person persisted, chasing down his hand and holding it even tighter.

A familiar voice drifted to his ears.

“…Shizun?”

Jiang Yinghe was taken aback by this voice. When he looked up, his lips were immediately sealed by another pair. He was fiercely kissed before being bitten all the way down to his neck. The other person’s tone abruptly darkened.

“Do you like him more?”

It was Li Huanhan’s voice just now, almost exactly as he had sounded before. However, there were still the slightest of differences.

Jiang Yinghe frowned at his biting frenzy. His fingers brushed past Li Junye’s hair to the back of his neck. This bastard’s words made him angry again. “They’re all you, the parts of your divine soul that you personally split and made arrangements for. Why are you instead getting more and more restless when your Dao heart has stabilized and the Dao seed has revived..?”

His words trailed off as he turned and met the other’s gaze.

As they looked into each other’s eyes, all their thoughts of the past few years suddenly spread and intertwined like threads. And every memory from this life gradually melded and spread into the other person’s consciousness.

Li Junye’s hand clutched at his sleeve before reaching in. He interlocked all ten fingers with Jiang Yinghe.

“…I was afraid you wouldn’t want me to come back anymore.”

Jiang Yinghe was caught off guard. He didn’t know what he was on about.

“I was afraid that you would think I wasn’t good enough.”

This person was the Dao Ancestor who brought this entire world into existence, its one and only creator. Every move of his had the potential to affect the countless lifeforms living here.

He was the one closest to being God.

But this person had fallen long ago, from the clouds above the Endless Sky Watchtower to the side of a lone crane who had strayed from the flock.

He was afraid that the crane wouldn’t like the air above the clouds.

He was afraid that the crane would reject him.

His words softened Jiang Yinghe’s heart. He let him hold his hand and whispered, “How could you not be good enough? There is no one greater in my heart.”

Jiang Yinghe leaned over and took the initiative to kiss this nervous wreck of a cultivation partner. He gazed into the other’s heterochromatic eyes as he continued, “…Welcome back. Can’t you see I’ve obviously been waiting for you for a long time?”

The candle’s flame flickered slightly as a refreshing night breeze blew in through the open windows of the White Crane Jade Manor. The wisps of smoke melded into the subtle fragrance lingering in the room.

Every word Jiang Yinghe said was truthful. He had indeed waited a long time. His disappointment and warmth swirled together into a concoction reserved only for the other party. Since he loved every part of Li Junye, he loved the whole of him as well, including the moments of jealousy that left him speechless.

That was, until his dream became a reality.

Jiang Yinghe stared at this guy who was unbuttoning his shirt while asking, “How many people would you like?”

His head was buzzing.

…Isn’t, isn’t just one possible? Don’t you think you’re going overboard with these questions? Why are you so insistent on proving yourself to me on this aspect??

Jiang Yinghe didn’t even know how to begin to respond. He felt very complicated after seeing the look in those black and red eyes that seemed to say, ‘I’ll do anything that the Crane Immortal likes’.

…Please stop, you’ve done enough…

Jiang Yinghe’s eyebrow twitched. He massaged them and sighed,”…You don’t have to…I actually…”

Before he could finish, he felt a plush tail wrap around his waist. Jiang Yinghe froze for a moment as soft, fluffy cat ears assaulted him. A rich, luscious fragrance filled his arms.

“Ye-er…” Jiang Yinghe only managed to react after his waist had been encircled. So Li Junye thought that he would like the part that knew how to act spoiled the most.

“Shizun.” Chang Ye scooted over to lick the corner of his lips. He spoke directly on behalf of the main body. “Do it with just Ye-er, okay?”

Jiang Yinghe covered his hand with his own. He asked, exasperated, “So he let you out alone. How does it feel?”

“About the same as always.” Chang Ye stared at him. “Seems like the other two will wake up as well, but there’s only one body still.”

When Jiang Yinghe heard that the other two would also wake up, he had a bad premonition about things. Then he heard his little disciple say with the utmost seriousness, “They’re clamouring for us to do a group exercise together…”

“…”

—-

After experiencing his cultivation partner asking him ‘how many people he wanted’ and his disciple’s ‘group exercise’, Jiang Yinghe felt a marked increase in his resilience…especially that kind.

Li Junye’s unsettled state of mind originated from tens of thousands of years of separation. It was not a wound that could be healed immediately.

Additionally, he could freely split his divine soul now that his Dao seed had completely recovered. He could literally argue with himself.

For example, one day Jiang Yinghe returned from a visit to Lan Ruo Temple and saw that Qing Jing Peak’s neighbouring peak had been cut off again. Confused, he had to ask around before a messenger disciple told him, “Li-shixiong and Qin-shixiong were exchanging pointers again.”

…Exchanging…pointers.

Jiang Yinghe took a deep breath. He felt like Li Junye’s mental state really needed some serious work done. Ever since their first meeting prior to his reincarnation, this person had been only wearing a mask of sanity.

Jiang Yinghe had ignored him all day that day. As a result, just before bed that night, a small heterochromatic kitten pounced in his lap and acted all cute and spoiled. It broke through his feigned barrier of anger with ease.

But he only heard Li Junye’s quiet apology after the kitten turned into a man and made him cry in bed.

“I wanted to make you like me more, even just a little bit.” He said.

“It was you that I fell for in the first place.” He closed his eyes and allowed the other to kiss away the tear stains on his face. His voice was husky but warm. “How must I say it for you to understand?”

The other person held him close.

A kiss forever sealed the deep affection in the words.

The Crane Immortal was his most important person. At this moment, his beloved was a warm presence, a perfect fit in his arms. With the utmost tenderness, he whispered to him that his love and affection were all for one person.

Him.

Just like snowflakes, every love was unique. There would never be another like this.

—-

One hundred and seventy-five years later, the Peng Lai Sect Master, Zhou Zhengping, crossed into the Hollowed Cave stage. The various sects came to offer their congratulations.

Then ten years later, Abbot Chan Qing of Lan Ruo Temple passed away. He left his artifacts to Kong Jing, who succeeded him as Abbot and continued to maintain friendly relations with the Devil tribes. Through Kong Jing Chanshi’s intervention, Devil Baron Jiuying was able to retrieve the half of his devil core at Peng Lai. He subsequently converted to Buddhism and became a monk.

In another fifty years, He Huan Sect Master Wang Mengzhou entered seclusion, leaving the sect elders to manage all affairs. That same year, Yao Wang Valley’s Huai Qing Zhenren took in a child healer as his disciple.

As the years went by, Qing Jing Peak had become even more sparsely populated. The spirit cranes guarding the door had long since achieved human form. In the guise of youths, they skillfully took care of the peak’s affairs.

Inside the White Crane Jade Manor, a youth in white robes changed out the lampshade while speaking to his playmate, “The Sword Immortal and Dao Ancestor went on vacation again. I wonder if the other worlds out there are interesting.”

His bored playmate was seated, organizing the news coming back from the Nether Realm and adding them to the ever growing mountains of reports neglected by the Lord Dao Ancestor. “Maybe not. They’re only visiting that place because it’s Master’s homeland and he wanted to research something there. What was it again…a mobile phone?”

The white crane girl who was dusting the bookshelf turned with brightly shining eyes. “Yes, yes, yes! I heard Master tell Lord Dao Ancestor about it before.”

They chatted for a while about all the strange things Jiang Yinghe had brought back, like crayfish hot pot, to the things he was working on next, like phones, computers and the internet. Although none of them really understood the specifics of technology, that didn’t stop them from having fun discussing it. They eagerly speculated on what new and exotic products their master would bring back this time.

Meanwhile, in another world—

Jiang Yinghe lifted a hand to straighten out any wayward locks of his long hair. Then he took his cultivation partner’s hand and graciously let the young girl passing by take a couple of pictures.

He was dressed in snow-white cultivator robes made from high quality fabrics and adorned with exquisite embroidery. His entire figure radiated wealth, not to mention his beauty that transcended monetary description. Everyone he passed couldn’t help but stare.

It was truly a beautiful sight at the anime convention, especially since there were two peerless beauties side by side.

Ever since Li Junye had completely regained his cultivation, the two of them had started working on orienting the world they inhabited with respect to other ones. Eventually they were able to return to Earth, so Jiang Yinghe could accomplish the things on his wish list—the last few pages of the ‘Observation Journal’ were all filled with things he still wanted to do, a wish list of sorts.

Just as Jiang Yinghe was posing as casually as can be with Ultraman for a picture, the Lord Dao Ancestor staying silently by his side suddenly gripped his hand tighter.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Yinghe turned to look at his cultivation partner.

“Some of them are staring.” Li Junye frowned. “Their gazes are too…”

“Too intense?” Jiang Yinghe moved closer and gave him a look. “If only you had half of your current sincerity and attitude before, then things wouldn’t have to have been so convoluted. Do you see how the people of this world all have the courage to pursue others? Why do you still worry about me leaving or moving on, even after I’ve reassured you so many times?”

The other party remained silent. He just lowered his head to place a gentle kiss on the corner of Jiang Yinghe’s lips.

Jiang Yinghe was a little embarrassed by all the clicking of camera shutters around them that followed. He gently tapped the back of Li Junye’s hand and said, “Don’t be like this.”

“…Why not?”

Jiang Yinghe thought for a moment and jokingly said, “This might make it on the news or become a Weibo headline.”

“So?”

Jiang Yinghe was stumped by his retort. He thought about the extreme difference in the flow of time between the two worlds, and how coming here occasionally didn’t seem to have any significant impact.

He lifted a finger as if to say something, only to eventually relent.

Jiang Yinghe turned to hold the other person, whispering, “…You’re right. It doesn’t matter. Kiss me if you want.”

Their breaths slowly intermingled.

When this person came close to him, their messy past and the bustling place in their present seemed to fade away, leaving only the sensation of softly touching lips and his unparalleled warmth.

Jiang Yinghe was gradually held tighter and tighter by him.

He heard a quiet call by his ear. It merged with the countless memories of their past and all that they had experienced throughout the course of this story.

Until finally, it changed back to the one in his memories.

“Crane Immortal…”

His white crane flew back to the clouds.

(Main story end)

Author’s Corner

Ah! I’ve finished writing! It’s so nice to have the plot pretty much all wrapped up.

HeHe really is an exceptionally good  person, and so is the Dao Ancestor.

I’ll write an extra to show what happens with Tong Guiyu’s relationship. Then I’ll happily end things there. Little angels that have read to this point, please give this story five stars! The next story I’ll be working on is called ‘The Sickly Beauty in My Heart’. Please bookmark it if you’re interested~

Rain

I’m so glad that HeHe and the Dao Ancestor got their happy ending. Our three disciples seem to still be in there too (thank goodness I was worried about that).

Still, it was kind of hard working on this chapter because I just didn’t want this story to end, you know? XD

Anyways, thank you guys for coming along on this journey with Sahl and I.

Thank you for reading!

Sahl

One final chapter to go. To those who’ve joined us on this journey, and those who’ll binge read now it’s complete – I really hope you fall in love with this story as much as Rain and I have. In fact, we enjoyed working together so much, we started a new project, to help ease the hole left behind by our Peerless Immortal and his disciples. Thank you for reading and commenting and we’ll see you one last time next week with the extra.