chapter 39

However, events would soon prove that impulsive actions often create rather unpleasant consequences. The system was about to practice what it preached: just because Jiang Xunyi swore and yelled, reality would treat it as if nothing had happened?

Martial arts practitioners were particularly fastidious about training in all types of weather, from the coldest of winter to the hottest of summer. But this morning, perhaps because of tiredness or some other reason, Jiang Xunyi slept all the way until the sun had risen high in the sky1. He did not wake even when Yun Xie walked into his room.

Yun Xie’s pace was initially hurried, but upon entering the inner room he discovered Jiang Xunyi was still lying in bed and couldn’t help but freeze. He subconsciously lightened his footsteps as he moved closer to the bed, to see that Jiang Xunyi’s eyes were shut and his wool blanket tightly wrapped around his body, so that only his eye-catching face was revealed. With his current posture, he actually appeared several years younger, extraordinarily lovable and pitiable.

The morning light softly illuminated his body. His long eyelashes, akin to the wings of a butterfly, trembled slightly, and the sunlit shadows trembled with them, like something out of a dream.

A gentle and warm smile appeared on Yun Xie’s face, but his heart felt a twinge of sour sorrow. As he remembered that unmentionable episode of chaotic and crude delirium, he suddenly felt as if a sharp hook had pierced the bottom of his heart. He watched as Jiang Xunyi’s body move slightly, spreading the blanket open a fraction to reveal a slender neck. Seeing this, Yun Xie could not help but reach out and tuck the quilt in for him.

After tucking it in, he froze and remembered that his original intention in coming here was to wake this person up. He instantly smiled and shook his head, lightly patting Jiang Xunyi as he called: “Ah-Xun, Ah-Xun? Get up! Look what hour it is already!”

Jiang Xunyi’s eyelids flickered. His head ached as if it was splitting open, and his eyelids seemed to be weighed down by something. He impatiently pulled Yun Xie’s hands off him, and turned over so his back was facing Yun Xie.

For no reason in particular, Yun Xie felt his actions were very cute and he couldn’t help but laugh. After laughing, however, he immediately felt something was wrong. His brows furrowed and he increased his strength:”Ah-Xun? What happened to you, hurry and wake up!”

His clamorous voice wormed its way into one’s head, and Jiang Xunyi finally opened his eyes with great reluctance. He lifted half his body up from the bed to see Yun Xie, very dissatisfied: “It’s so early in the morning, what are you doing!”

Yun Xie’s expression was grave. He pressed one hand on Jiang Xunyi’s shoulder while the other hand held his chin, and turned Jiang Xunyi’s head towards the high sun outside the window: “Early morning? Look outside, see what time it is already.”

Jiang Xunyi slapped Yun Xie’s paws off, and clutched his forehead as he sat up. He looked out the window in confusion, then looked back at Yun Xie, before his mind finally started to clear up: “How could I have slept for so long? When… When did you come here? Why didn’t I hear your arrival?”

Yun Xie’s heart clenched in worry, to the point where he didn’t even have the spirit to joke with him. He placed two fingers of his right hand to the side of Jiang Xunyi’s neck and sensed his pulse for a moment, then pressed Jiang Xunyi’s temple and forehead respectively. He hesitated: “No abnormalities. It doesn’t look like you’ve fallen into any trap. How do you currently feel? Are you uncomfortable?”

Jiang Xunyi pulled the quilt off himself and took two steps off the bed. Yun Xie reached out a hand, intending to support him, but Jiang Xunyi shook his head: “I am fine, there’s nothing wrong.”

Given his level of skill, this was a very strange occurrence. The two men gazed at each other in helpless dismay, a tinge of uneasiness in their eyes. Jiang Xunyi’s heart was troubled by certain things, making him feel even more apprehensive. He could not speak of those things to Yun Xie, so he could only treat it as if nothing was bothering him: “What did you come to find me for?”

Yun Xie suppressed his worries, while his heart secretly recorded down this matter. He said: “I saw you were sleeping until now and hadn’t eaten anything since last night, so I was calling you to wake up and eat something before going back to rest.”

When he finished speaking, he didn’t hear Jiang Xunyi’s answer. Finding this strange, he looked towards him, only for Jiang Xunyi to suddenly speak: “Say, if…”

Yun Xie: “If what?”

Jiang Xunyi paused, before continuing: “Say, if I don’t want to drink congee this morning… is that alright?”

“…Sure, it’s no problem even if you want to eat human flesh.” Yun Xie’s lips put on a false smile: “If you don’t want to say what’s on your mind, fine. Why should I bother?”

Jiang Xunyi knew that despite those words, Yun Xie in fact still wanted to ask him what was wrong. He sighed. In the end he still did not say a word, only patted Yun Xie’s shoulders: “Let me change clothes, and then let’s go out.”

Because of the recent fierce battle, almost half of the entire cultivation world had gathered here at Hidden Spirit Mountain. In this bright and fresh morning, groups of cultivators could be seen along the road. From time to time, people would come forward to greet the Yun and Jiang duo. As Jiang Xunyi grew increasingly vexed, he poked Yun Xie and was just about to speak when he suddenly heard a person in front angrily rebuking: “You disgraceful bitch, you’re an embarrassment to my family! What are you still alive for? Who was the man2, are you going to say it or not?!”

Hearing these words, as the current host here in Hidden Spirit, Jiang Xunyi could not remain aloof and indifferent. He hurriedly strode over and immediately put away his impatient expression. Seeing the old man currently turned away from them about to swing down a fist, he cleanly blocked the blow, protecting the woman who had fallen trembling on the ground behind his solid back: “Family Head Feng, what are you doing?”

Feng Xue’s mood was originally horrible. Now seeing the newcomer was Jiang Xunyi, he resentfully took his hand back, his expression colored by a bit of both fear and disdain: “Young master Jiang, this is personal business within my Feng family. You should not interfere.”

The person he was attempting to strike, was his own daughter Feng Qiu.

Jiang Xunyi could never bear to see Feng Qiu being wronged. Without caring that the other party was her father, he unceremoniously waved Feng Xue’s hand aside and turned around to help Feng Qiu up.

His hand reached out, but Feng Qiu suddenly let out a scream and shrank back. Jiang Xunyi froze for a moment, while Yun Xie had already walked over from the side. He intentionally or unintentionally blocked Jiang Xunyi, instead supporting Feng Qiu up himself. This time Feng Qiu did not sidestep or dodge—the onlooking Jiang Xunyi did not feel particularly happy at this sight.

But though Yun Xie helped her up, he never gave a proper glance in Feng Qiu’s direction—he just didn’t want her and Jiang Xunyi to come into contact. He then continued the trail of Jiang Xunyi’s words to speak to Feng Xue: “No matter what, this is the territory of Hidden Spirit Mountain. Family Head Feng, since you do not want to let others know this business, why chide your daughter in such a public place with numerous people present? If you go back and shut the door, no one will know even if you beat her to death.”

Yun Xie’s words fired a nuke that truly attacked indiscriminately. Tears immediately began to trickle down Feng Qiu’s cheeks, and Jiang Xunyi frowned. In the end, he did not open his mouth to speak out of concern for Yun Xie’s momentum, but instead secretly kicked his calf from behind.

Feng Xue was also rendered speechless by Yun Xie, and realized that his behavior had been somewhat inappropriate. He could only say: “It was this old man who forgot propriety in the face of anger. May young master Jiang please forgive me.”

Jiang Xunyi asked: “So in the end, what monumental event happened to make Family Head Feng so furious?”

“Jiang Xunyi, you actually have the nerve to ask?!” A voice came from the distance. A black-clothed young man slowly walked over, numerous disciples lining up behind him. He wore a loose and light robe, and had a long sword strapped to his waist. His looks could be called handsome, but there was a faint aura of irascible vanity between his brows. His gaze carried a touch of condescending arrogance that made one feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Jiang Xunyi: “…..Who’s this?”

Yun Xie laughed: “The Tranquil Night3 Sect Head, Chen Yuanxin. He inherited his dad’s position just a couple years ago, and hasn’t amassed much fame. Though the way I see it, he seems to hate you quite a bit.”

When he said this sentence, the volume of his voice did not decrease at all, and Chen Yuanxin’s expression instantly became very ugly. Jiang Xunyi said: “Now he probably hates you more than me.”

Yun Xie smiled: “Who am I doing this for?”

Jiang Xunyi had nothing to say in response. Yun Xie suddenly lowered his voice: “Ah-Xun, why do I get the feeling that there has been an extraordinarily large number of people trying to make trouble for us recently?”

Jiang Xunyi did not answer. In his mind, he felt he could be dragging Yun Xie down, plus Yun Xie’s mouth always seemed to attract the dislike of others. In the end, there were still more people specifically trying to make trouble for Jiang Xunyi himself. As for a possible reason, it was probably because…. he was a villain, and about to die.

Having been stimulated by Yun Xie’s comment, Chen Yuanxin was not in the mood to continue leaving people hanging, so he coldly announced: “You are so outrageously debauched in your lust that you raped Feng Qiu! Such shameless and ignominious behavior, you are unworthy of your fame! All men have the right to punish one bearing such immense crimes4. Standing on this Hidden Spirit Mountain today and facing the heroic souls of the Hidden Spirit Sect ancestors, Jiang Xunyi, are you not ashamed?!”

Jiang Xunyi really wasn’t ashamed at all. His heart was as calm as still water, and he even had the urge to laugh——Chen Yuanxin had read his stage lines flawlessly, but the point was that Jiang Xunyi clearly remembered having gone to sleep right after yelling at the system. He had done absolutely nothing, so Chen Yuanxin trying to jam storylines together like this was more than a little too far-fetched!

On his side, Yun Xie directly burst out laughing: “Sect Head Chen, are you not fully awake yet? Or have you not eaten breakfast and thus grown dizzy from hunger?”

Jiang Xunyi’s lips had not yet curled up, when he suddenly saw Feng Qiu raise her head and look in his direction. Her eyes were as clear as limpid autumn waters, tinged with melancholy and heartbreak. Jiang Xunyi froze for a moment, and an ominous premonition rose in his heart.

Feng Xue grew angry: “Feng Qiu! Speak, was that man Jiang Xunyi or not?!”

These words passed into Jiang Xunyi’s ears and seemed to crash heavily into his heart. For a moment, his soul and spirit was entranced and trembled from the shock. His body wavered and took a step back, as he said: “Qiu-Shijie, you were actually…..”

His voice was hoarse as he spoke, so the sound was extremely quiet. This feeble and powerless sentence was very quickly suppressed by the angry or excited voices of the others.

As more and more people clustered around to observe, countless gazes were concentrated on Feng Qiu’s body. Her voice quivered, and she stuttered out: “Everyone… Everyone, don’t ask any more, I can’t say… I can’t say… I was originally a bringer of misfortune, I don’t deserve…”

Feng Qiu was on the verge of being unable to continue speaking any further. The turbulent waves of terror in her heart were currently roiling against their constraints, yet her lips remained sealed. All those cold-eyed onlookers had no way of understanding, instead seeing her struggles as a joke to be told after a meal. She almost had the sensation that everyone was mocking her, was judging and discussing her, using their gazes and tongues as knives to torture her to death by a thousand cuts.

“Yes, it was him!” Feng Qiu finally couldn’t help but burst into tears. She covered her face with her hand and wailed: “It was Xun… It was Jiang Xunyi, he forced me, he destroyed me! I thought… I thought I was still qualified to dream about being together with Ah-Xie, but now everything is ruined! You all had to force me to say it, now I’ve said it, are you satisfied?!”

Feng Qiu had always been gentle and warm, and the number of occasions on which she lost her composure could be counted on one hand. The previously noisy surroundings instantly fell into utter silence. Even Yun Xie stopped speaking. His hand was still firmly supporting Feng Qiu’s arm, but upon closer inspection it was extremely stiff.

Footnotes:

1. 日晒三竿 lit. “until the sun rose to the height of three bamboo trees” basically means late in the morning.

2. 奸夫 is usually used to refer to a male adulterer (ex: a husband asking his cheating wife who was the other man). Here the situation is a little bit more nuanced than that, so I just went with the simplest term.

3. 晦宁: 晦 = “night, dark, last day of a lunar month” while 宁 = “tranquil, peaceful”

4. 人人得而诛之 is a saying modified from a quote of the philosopher Zhuangzi’s work 庚桑楚 Geng-Sang Chu.