Ch86 - Tong Guiyu x Chou Yongzhou

Editor: Sahloknir

“He taught me to turn back from the sea of suffering. He made me realize the impermanence of marriage.”

Chou Yongzhou said these sentences lightly. He remained warm and polite, the righteous gentleman known by all.

But his reputation came into question hundreds of years ago. His past affairs with Hun Yuan Xianjun became an example at failing, despite his best intentions. Everyone had an opinion on his ambiguous relationship with Tong Xianjun, but they didn’t dare to directly criticise a Xianjun of the Hollowed Cave stage.

The scattered clouds around the Endless Sky Watchtower concealed it from view.

Jiang Yinghe had slightly rolled up his sleeves in order to serve tea. Then he glanced at the young child beside Huai Qing Zhenren.

Although the boy was not very old, vestiges of his original remarkable handsomeness could be seen in his features. He looked somewhat ignorant, but his eyes darted about faster than anyone. He seemed like an enigma, one that might come up with weird, yet brilliant ideas at any time.

Jiang Yinghe looked at him for a moment before smiling. “I haven’t seen him like this before. It’s good for him to remain by your side, but why haven’t you awakened his memories yet?”

Chou Yongzhou used both hands to accept the teacup from the Sword Immortal. His eyes lowered momentarily in thought. “In this world, love is often born through interaction. Raising him is enough for now. As for the future…”

“Both of you have such a strange way of thinking.” Jiang Yinghe seemed to sense something and glanced behind him. He took the heterochromatic white cat coming over into his arms before continuing, “He refused to agree, because his Dao heart didn’t let him and because he didn’t want to tarnish your reputation. And you refuse to awaken his memories because you fear his rejection. Why are neither of you willing to give things a shot?”

As he spoke, he flicked the little white cat on the forehead, as if to reprimand him for being so insecure all the time as well.

“To Hun Yuan Xianjun, I am but an obstacle on his cultivation journey.” Chou Yongzhou looked down, the motion revealing his slender, pale neckline. His clothes were simple and thin, a light green outer cloak encasing a snow white shirt embroidered with bamboo. At the moment, his hands were lightly clenching at his sleeves.

“He may not…”

Chou Yongzhou couldn’t continue.

The boy beside him seemed to sense his distress. He stared at him intently before reaching out and giving a small tug on Huai Qing Zhenren’s fingers.

Jiang Yinghe rarely saw Tong Guiyu like this. Even in his youth, this person had always been flamboyant and capricious. He mulled over this gesture before replying, “In that case, you and I should make a bet.”

Chou Yongzhou said, “Please speak, Sword Immortal.”

“If it is really as you say, that he may not return your feelings in the future, when I reawaken his memories, I will send him back to He Huan Sect and have Wang Mengzhou explain everything to him.

…But if he still loves you when he grows up,” Jiang Yinghe paused a beat, “I will be the witness at your marriage ceremony.”

Chou Yongzhou was silent for a long time before nodding quietly and rising to his feet. “…As you wish.”

—-

The clouds and mist shrouded all.

This was always the case at the Endless Sky Watchtower. Mist perpetually surrounded this remote and desolate location. Only a few knew that above it was the palace residence of the Dao Ancestor.

In reality, however, the Dao Ancestor was often not here but at Qing Jing Peak of the Peng Lai Sect.

After Chou Yongzhou left, he took the reincarnated Little Yu back to Yao Wang Valley. Since he was a long time member of the Sect, the few opposed to his decision eventually settled down. Not everyone was so concerned about past affairs.

Only he and Wang Mengzhou reminisced about before.

That junior was very bright and mature for his age. He didn’t forcefully take the child away, instead giving his sincere blessings. Thus, Chou Yongzhou was able to smoothly raise little Tong Guiyu by his side. He instructed the child in cultivation arts, techniques and how to build his foundation, but Tong Guiyu always had the final say about what he learned.

Yao Wang Valley often refined pills and medicines. The faintly bitter fragrance of herbs that constantly surrounded them could be detected on Chou Yongzhou’s body.

Little Tong Guiyu sat on a futon, frowning and squinting at each recipe like they were written in some heavenly cipher. When his mind grew jumbled, he would tumble into Huai Qing Zhenren’s lap and ask for guidance.

The time seemed to pass both fast and slow simultaneously.

Blinding daylight shone down on this land. Sometimes, Chou Yongzhou wished that this moment would last forever so that he could stop worrying over their impending separation, like he had for so many years.

Little Tong Guiyu gradually grew older, until he couldn’t tumble into Huai Qing Zhenren’s lap whenever he wanted. When he was in his teens, he was the splitting image of his past self—a dashing youth.

Clad in pink, with peach blossom eyes, and so beautiful that his gender became ambiguous…

Sly like a fox, but still brimming with the eagerness of youth…

Chou Yongzhou had never seen this side of Tong Guiyu before.

The first time he saw Hun Yuan Xianjun was at the Sword Conference. Then, the man was surrounded by countless pets, his eyes filled with cynicism and frivolous banter. He barely glanced at the young heroes below.

But he casually untied his cloak and draped it over those unnamed pet furnaces of the He Huan Sect. Many in He Huan considered the furnaces little more than cultivation tools. Only Hun Yuan Xianjun treated them like people.

Chou Yongzhou should not have gotten close to him.

In the eyes of many, Huai Qing Zhenren was best described as the clear wind blowing under a bright moon, while Tong Guiyu was the unconventional demon king with both prestige and cultivation abound. They were complete opposites of each other.

But he happened to meet…

Chou Yongzhou.

While he was reminiscing over these past events, the youth in front of him suddenly twitched. The pill furnace in his hands immediately exploded, sending black smoke pouring out. But the youth didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he might’ve deliberately blown it up. He asked, “What is Zhenren thinking about?”

Chou Yongzhou: “I’m thinking of a friend.”

“No you’re not.” Tong Guiyu suddenly declared.

Even though he had not grown up cultivating the Harmony Path, he had a keen intuition for reading the emotions of those around him.

“You were thinking of someone you like.”

The youth’s words were so straightforward that Chou Yongzhou was momentarily left at a loss. It was quite a while before he rolled up his sleeves, pouring out the dark ash in the pill furnace and refilling it with herbs. “Nonsense.”

Tong Guiyu propped his chin on his hands, his peach blossom eyes narrowing as he scrutinized the other. His features were naturally charming, and even the corners of his eyes could convey some unspeakable emotion. He could create an illusion of deep affection just by glancing at others.

Many people had suffered under this gaze of his

But Chou Yongzhou wasn’t one of them. Hun Yuan Xianjun rarely looked at him like that. That man had willingly…nearly succumbed to a qi deviation. He had fallen in love at first sight.

Chou Yongzhou was actually a little embarrassed to say that out loud. He had confessed in the first place so that he wouldn’t regret it later. He never thought that Tong Guiyu’s Dao heart would become unstable because of him.

The youth’s incessant staring made him somewhat distracted. His finger paused for a moment by the pill furnace. That was all the time it took for a light burn mark to appear on the underside of a pale digit.

High temperatures needed to be maintained during pill refining. Even those from Yao Wang Valley needed to be careful.

Chou Yongzhou retracted his hand and briefly looked up. Before he could do anything, his wrist was seized by the youth across from him. The wound was quickly treated and banadaged with evident skill.

Tong Guiyu’s incomparably beautiful peach blossom eyes returned to Chou Yongzhou the moment he was done. There seemed to be only a single desire lurking deep within.

“Shoot…I forgot to blow on it earlier. Then it won’t hurt.”

Chou Yongzhou’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t know what was wrong with him, but his mind was too frazzled to even complete a single train of thought.

He twisted his wrist to free his fingers. “It’s fine…”

Despite his reassurance, the other person insisted on leaning over.

Tong Guiyu realized very early on that he was good looking, as well as how to fully use this to his advantage. Chou Yongzhou could only watch him come closer and drawl, “Have I met Zhenren before, long ago?”

‘Met’ was too light a word to describe it.

Chou Yongzhou stopped breathing. He slowly replied, “…No.”

“I don’t believe you.” This person was very straightforward, even refuting the answer to the question he had asked. He came closer and closer until they were almost face to face, until he could easily brush his lips against another pair.

Chou Yongzhou heard him ask softly, “Zhenren treats me differently from others… You must like me.”

He had never seen such an arrogant person.

…He had never seen someone who could read him like the back of his hand either.

All of his innermost thoughts, all of the days and nights he had waited for another person, all of the times he restrained himself endured, all of the pessimistic thoughts that plagued him…

All of it was meticulously laid out in the open by Tong Guiyu.

The other’s insight was simply too profound.

In the end, the youth carelessly tossed aside the pill furnace that had already cooled, before pinning Huai Qing Zhenren down on the bamboo mat. His eyes were slightly curved with an almost imperceptible sense of humour.

“How could we have not met?” Tong Guiyu said, “That Heart Cleansing Pill…”

His fingers moved from Chou Yongzhou’s neck to point at his chest before continuing downwards, finally pausing at a point.

“Zhenren should take it instead.” The smugness at being right in his voice was too harsh and grating. Even if his words were affectionate, they provided no comfort. “After all, you think of me every night.”

Outside, the wind could be heard blowing through the forest, scattering bamboo leaves everywhere.

—-

Three hundred years later, after the marriage ceremony.

Jiang Yinghe returned to Tong Guiyu the Hongyan sword that he had kept for many years. He remarked good-naturedly, “I really didn’t expect you to be so gutsy. Only you would be like this, only you.”

Momentarily speechless, Tong Guiyu took the excitedly ringing Hongyan sword. “If I knew back then about what would happen now, I wouldn’t have gone so far when scolding him.”

Jiang Yinghe’s gossip senses were tingling. He wanted to abstain at first, but Tong Guiyu’s expression was too tempting. “What exactly did you say?”

“Sigh…I was too foolhardy back then.” Hun Yuan Xianjun covered his eyes with his hands to collect himself before continuing, “I said that he secretly had a crush on me.”

That wasn’t too bad by itself. But he went too far afterwards, saying things like how the other person’s body thirsted for him, how he was a liar that clearly desired him and only superficially upright.

All in all, he unknowingly shamed his cultivation partner.

“That’s not too terrible.” Jiang Yinghe missed the deeper implications entirely. “Another thing, he taught you how to heal and save lives, so how did you learn a bunch of poison techniques? Are you considering cultivating that path for your Dao heart?”

Tong Guiyu thought for a long time before replying, “No, I will cultivate the Harmony Path.”

Jiang Yinghe paused, suddenly recalling the words Abbot Chan Qing had said before he passed away.

“My Dao heart is unstable because of my incomplete passion root. Its very foundation was flawed. Like you, only reincarnation was enough to repair it.” Tong Guiyu said, “The techniques of the Harmony Path have been stigmatized for too long.”

Jiang Yinghe understood what he meant, yet he still glanced up at Chou Yongzhou who was talking to Wang Mengzhou not far away. He pondered and said, “It will not be easy to go against the traditional Harmony Path and pave your own.”

“But maybe mine is the right one.”

After saying that, Tong Guiyu took out a medicine bottle from his Qiankun bag and handed it to Jiang Yinghe with a mysterious smile. “This is the fruit of all my research over the years at Yao Wang Valley. I’ve incorporated my experience at the He Huan Sect as well. It’s your only hope to turn things around.”

Jiang Yinghe was taken aback, but he quickly accepted it. Although he had eventually accepted his role in the relationship, tiny embers of rebellion still burned on the inside. A slight desire slowly rose in his heart.

“…Who is this for?”

“Naturally, it’s for Lord Dao Ancestor.” Tong Guiyu said in a serious manner. “How else will you be able to push him down.”

Jiang Yinghe nodded with understanding, his heart filled with trust for his long-time friend. He patted Tong Guiyu on the shoulder and asked, “Does it temporarily seal his cultivation? Or does it make him soft when aroused?”

Tong Guiyu: “You’ll find out when you use it.”

The two of them went on to have a good conversation. After they finished discussing these cough ideas, cough, they said their goodbyes and took their respective cultivation partners home.

Tong Guiyu was in a good mood the entire way back. When Chou Yongzhou asked him about it, he gave an account of the conversation he had just had with the Sword Immortal. He took out another bottle from his Qiankun pouch and handed it to Chou Yongzhou. “This is something else entirely. The Nine Yang Aphrodisiac Pill can…”

“Wait a minute.” Chou Yongzhou interrupted him and showed him the name on the medicine bottle. “That’s not the name written here.”

Tong Guiyu’s thoughts suddenly crashed to a halt. He immediately inspected the bottle only to see it contained a medicine with the opposite properties. His mind was buzzing.

…Did I give the wrong one?

…Did I just give a yang-enhancing medicine to Little He and instruct him to let the Dao Ancestor take it?

Hiss.

Tong Guiyu drew in a breath of cold air. Holding his partner’s hand, he calmly asked, “Do you have anything you want to bring? Go back and pack quickly. Don’t say a word to anyone. We have to leave today or else it’ll be too late.”

Chou Yongzhou didn’t quite understand for a moment. He asked, “…Are things really this serious?”

“Definitely.”

Tong Guiyu said extremely seriously, “If I make trouble for Li Junye, Little He will stop him from murdering me. But if I make trouble for Little He, he can chase and slash me with Wangchen and let Li Junye finish the job if he gets tired.”

He patted his cultivation partner’s hand and said painfully, “No friendship is more important than your life.”

Chou Yongzhou: “…”

Author’s Corner

For more details about the aphrodisiac see my Weibo: @晋江道玄 You have to follow to see.

Don’t give me the cold shoulder because I only have a bicycle. After sitting on my bike, you have to give me good reviews QAQ (five star glowing reviews for full marks, you can give a rating on the novel page after marking it as complete).

Rain

Ta-da! The final part is here! :3

Enjoy the rest of your weekend~

Sahl

It’s goodbye to Jiang Yinghe and his true love/s from Rain and I. We really hope you guys enjoyed this story! Don’t forget our other project if you like what we do!