Chapter 14

Junior Brother, I’ve Inconvenienced You.

In the evening of the first day of the twelfth lunar month, Wen Jing changed his clothes and thoroughly inspected the things that he carried for night patrol. Communication stone, stealth talisman……

On the bedside were a few spirit gra.s.ses. They were the result of him searching the mountain during the day, but he wasn’t sure if he should take them with him.

The large tortoise was on the bed. Motionless, it watched him.

Wen Jing opened the door. Heavy snowflakes drifted into the room. While covering his head, he faced the large tortoise on the bed and said: “Haven’t you been away from home for several days? Senior brother Jun doesn’t mistreat you, why are you always running over here? He seems very refined, does he bully you behind our backs?”

Naturally, the tortoise doesn’t respond and neither nodded nor shook his head.

“……I haven’t mistreated or bullied him.”

A deep and low voice came from behind him. Warm and genial, it held neither joy nor anger.

Startled, Wen Jing swiftly turned his head, smiled, and said: “Senior brother Jun, why are you here?”

……looks like he’d been caught red-handed. One really shouldn’t talk badly behind a person’s back.

Heavy snowflakes fell on black garments. Although he seemed frail, that person didn’t seem to notice the cold. Wen Jing helplessly looked at him and said: “So much snow and senior brother Jun isn’t cold. I’m very envious.”

“After you build your foundation, you will stop feeling the cold.”

“Yeah….” Wen Jing rubbed his hands together and adjusted his head cover.

Jun YanZhi said slowly: “You’re on night patrol tonight?”

“Yes.”

“Senior brother asked me this morning to come and see if you needed anything.”

“No, I’m fine.”

Wen Jing bowed his head in thought for a moment, then asked in a questioning manner, “Senior brother Jun, if I wanted to find a demonic beast in Xun Yang mountain, how would I go about it?”

“……what kind of demonic beast?”

“A python.”

“Why are you looking for it? Are you wanting to tame it?”

Wen Jing was excited for a moment, but then remembered the python’s temper and remembering past trauma shook his head: “I wouldn’t dare try to tame it, that python has a bit of a temper.”

Jun YanZhi’s expression didn’t change, but his lips thinned into a straight line.

Wen Jing said to himself: “……a little temper is fine. It’s rather cute, I’ll just coax it a little.

The problem is I can’t find it, so there’s no way to talk it into anything.”

“What are you trying to talk it into doing?” His voice was coldly indifferent.

“……I’m trying to repay a kindness. It seems intelligent and it saved my life.”

On the surface it was to repay a debt of grat.i.tude, but not really. In the end Wen Jing couldn’t explain his reasoning either.

Jun YanZhi was silent for a long time, then at last stood up to leave: “……Since you don’t need anything, then I’ll be going.”

“Ah……then farewell fourth senior brother.”

The sky was fully dark and it was now very cold and pitch black outside without even a single trace of moonlight. Familiar with his route, Wen Jing slowly flew through the utter darkness of the night.

The whereabouts of the python was difficult to find as it appeared and disappeared at random. In addition, that animal had no desire to see him. Wen Jing was a little disheartened. He didn’t want to impose and his urge to continue searching was beginning to fade…but he had to keep going.

Not far away he heard a series of faint thumping sounds.

Wen Jing’s heart leaped.

In his hand was gathered a ball of spiritual energy. By means of the faint blue light, he looked into the distance and saw more than a dozen steps away a large boulder. The faint thudding sound was coming from behind it.

Was it the python?

Wen Jing softly and quietly walked forward and looked intently only to see absolutely nothing behind the stone.

Wen Jing’s heartbeat slowed down. If it wasn’t the python, then what was it?

He carefully looked around for a while and then finally saw a snow covered patch of dark green softly thump against the stone.

……as it turns out it was a snow mountain jade ginseng. While half asleep it randomly moved as he pa.s.sed by. Did it still believe it was completely covered by snow?

Wen Jing launched the ball of spiritual energy at his target. All around him, the darkness slowly returned.

He slowly returned to his flight to continue his night patrol.

The wind mixed together with the snowflakes as it blew into his face like the cut of a knife. A solitary person moving aimlessly in the dark.

This level of cold really made him want to return to his room to sleep. At least the tortoise would be there waiting for him, even though it didn’t belong to him.

Proceeding further and further, he arrived at the far side of the mountain where he had first seen the python.

In the distance, he heard a soft familiar thumping sound.

……was it another snow mountain jade ginseng?

Wen Jing gathered a ball of spiritual energy into his hand. This time in the dim light, he at last saw the python curled in an immense ball, shivering in the snow.

Wen Jing froze.

The python raised its head to look at him as if it was expecting him. It didn’t attempt to drive him away nor did it acknowledge him. It merely lowered its head again as it lay curled up and trembling.

Wen Jing crouched down and stroked its skin. In his hand he had gathered a ball of spiritual energy. As he stroked back and forth he pushed the spiritual energy into the snake’s body.

Radiating a pale blue light, the python suddenly raised its head. An ice-cold gaze swept across Wen Jing’s face. Somewhat angrily, the snake exposed its fangs and made a hissing sound.

At once, Wen Jing stopped the movement of his hand and without thinking took out two spirit gra.s.ses from his storage bag.

“I understand. You don’t like people touching you. I found these two spirit gra.s.ses in the mountain. They’re not high levelled, and they don’t have much spiritual energy, but maybe you can make do with these instead. I’ll come again to find you tomorrow.”

The python pulled away and refused to acknowledge him.

Wen Jing placed the spirit gra.s.s at its side: “You saved me last time. I’m very grateful. You can replenish yourself……ok. I’ll just get going.”

After speaking, he withdrew the spiritual energy in his hand and feeling happy at heart, he hastily ran away.

He turned to look back and saw the python seemed to somewhat anxiously raise its head.

♦

Very late at night on the next day. He previously had left behind two spirit gra.s.ses which were lying in front of the boulder, still untouched. Wen Jing bowed his head to look, feeling a little disheartened.

The python was curled up in a ball and continued to determinedly ignore him.

Wen Jing stroked the python’s skin: “Why are you being so difficult? It’s only two spirit gra.s.ses and you won’t even accept that much……look what I brought you……”

Saying this, from his storage bag he took out a few pieces of red fruit.

“Can you smell what this is? Ah, it’s very fragrant……” Wen Jing took one of the pieces of fruit and a.s.sumed a stance as if he were going to bite it.

The fruit in his hand was called hongfan fruit. (1)

It was said that the pulp of the hongfan fruit was fragrant and juicy and was loved by most demonic beasts. Wen Jing asked Gui XinBi for several pieces of fruit with the hope that he could use them to soothe this unruly python.

The snake’s head slowly lifted up to attentively watch Wen Jing and it flicked its tongue out.

Wen Jing peeled the fruit. Sure enough, a nice fragrance dispersed into the air that tempted a person to take a bite. Wen Jing waved the fruit in front of the python, trying to tantalize it: “If you don’t eat it, I’ll eat it, ok?”

Saying this, he took a big bite and immediately felt like an idiot. The juice was astringent yet sour and difficult to swallow. He almost spit it all back out.

Wen Jing’s heart was filled with bitterness.

Gui XinBi had repeatedly said that this hongfan fruit was favored by demonic beasts……but maybe it wasn’t edible by humans? This was awful……

His complexion was half blue and half white but he didn’t dare spit it out. He forcibly swallowed it down and grimaced: “Delicious…really delicious. If you don’t eat it, then I’ll eat it all……”

He paused for a while after saying this but even if he were dying, he couldn’t force himself to take a second bite.

The python coldly stared at him.

Slowly it rested its head again on its body as it miserably shivered.

Feeling somewhat sad, Wen Jing gathered a ball of spiritual energy and pressed his palm onto the snake’s skin. Spiritual energy rapidly pa.s.sed into its body: “I’ll help you out a little. Don’t fight it……”

The python lifted its head. Even though it was in pain, its mood was no longer agitated. It slowly pushed open Wen Jing’s hand, swept up the two spirit gra.s.ses he had brought from last night, and slowly at them.

Wen Jing slowly stroke the snake’s skin: “Tomorrow I’ll try to find some more spirit gra.s.s for you……”

♦

The python’s att.i.tude had relaxed somewhat and it occasionally accepted spirit gra.s.s from Wen Jing but it still refused to allow him to get too close. Afterwards, Wen Jing had realized that the python didn’t suffer every night, it was just on those moonless nights that he shook all over.

Every night someone from the Qing Xu sword sect would patrol the mountain. The chance that someone else could come across the python was very high. He was continuously on edge.

In《A Calamity for All Living Things》, after Jun YanZhi had exposed Mu ZhiQiu’s ident.i.ty, the mountain’s night patrols had completely stopped. However, the novel hadn’t revealed when Jun YanZhi had exposed Mu ZhiQiu. He seemed to recall it was sometime during the end of winter?

On the 18th day of the twelfth lunar month, Wen Jing was half asleep. In his mind flashed a sudden notification of a mission a.s.signment.

[System notification: Topic Jun YanZhi, cla.s.sification 「Major Evil」, advising host to take immediate action.]

Major Evil? Murder? Arson?

Wen Jing was immediately wide-awake and changed into his clothes. The large tortoise lying on his bed wrapped entirely in a heavy quilt poked his head out and looked at Wen Jing. Wen Jing stroked the large tortoise’s head, calmed himself, and quickly rushed out the door without thinking too deeply.

After hitting 「Automatically Find Route」, Wen Jing felt somewhat doubtful: What could possibly happen to Jun YanZhi? He didn’t remember anything coming up in the novel. Don’t tell me it was a sudden emergency?

Following the system’s direction indicator, he travelled through the mountain for some time until at last he arrived at a valley in the boundary of Tian Heng peak and Hui Shi peak.

This night the moonlight was bright and the North Star was visible in the night sky. Within the valley he caught a glimpse of spiritual light. Along with the white spiritual light, Wen Jing at last saw the ice-cold body of an individual off to one side. He came closer for a look.

Elegant features as gentle and soft as moonlight, his blue clothing (2) was covered in bloodstains. Still unconscious, it wasn’t clear if he was dead or alive.

Wen Jing became somewhat panicky.

He tightly clutched Jun YanZhi’s hand, his voice trembled: “Senior brother Jun, are you alright?”

Jun YanZhi didn’t answer, his whole body radiated a faint spiritual light, his eyes were tightly shut.

Wen Jing checked his breathing. It was weak and almost undetectable.

Gritting his teeth, he immediately pulled Jun YanZhi up, his arm wrapped around the other person’s neck. 《A Calamity for All Living Things》 hadn’t mentioned Jun YanZhi getting hurt in the twelfth lunar month. What on earth was going on?

He was the protagonist of this world. What would happen if he died?

Just as he was worrying, from the sky suddenly dropped a ray of violet light.

Wen Jing looked up to see fluttering clothes and skin as white as snow. An absolutely beautiful woman floated to the ground. Under the clear cold moonlight, she was magnificent and peerless, she was out of this world. The young woman looked at the two people and coldly opened her mouth: “I’m Ji KeQin from w.a.n.g Yue peak. I’m patrolling the sixteen peaks tonight. Just now I saw there was a white spiritual light, has this fellow disciple been injured?”

Wen Jing blinked as he stared with wide eyes at her. Suddenly he had a bad realization.

Ji KeQing had unexpectedly appeared, then this was……

Jun YanZhi had sustained injuries while on patrol. Ji KeQing had rescued him in time and then later both individuals had jointly rooted out Mu ZhiQiu……this was a cla.s.sic scene in《A Calamity for All Living Things》. It was the turning point in Jun YanZhi and Ji KeQing’s feelings!

Why? This was two months earlier than the book?!

Ji KeQing looked indifferently towards Jun YanZhi: “You’re both from Hui Shi peak?”

Wen Jing hastily nodded.

“You go ahead and send him back for healing, I’ll return to patrolling.”

Saying this, Ji KeQing’s clothing fluttered as she floated into the sky.

“Noー!”

Wen Jing suddenly shouted anxiously into the sky, “I can’t help him! You send him back and I’ll look around!”

The relationship between the male and female leads was directly related to the development of the plotline. If this chance was missed, Wen Jing didn’t know what the consequences would be.

While he was saying this, he pushed the man in his arms towards Ji KeQing but then felt a hand tightly grip his own.

Pulled by him, Wen Jing promptly turned his head and said: “Senior brother, you’re awake?”

Ji KeQing had a cold disposition, she disliked emotional situations. Seeing Jun YanZhi not willing to release his grip, she immediately flew higher: “It seems he has awakened. In that case his life isn’t in danger. Quickly return him home to rest, I’ll patrol the area.”

In a flash, the violet figure had disappeared into the sky.

Wen Jing turned his head towards the man at his side, tears in his eyes: “Senior brother, you……” That was Ji KeQing!

Jun YanZhi leaned his head leaned against his neck and was silent.

Author’s notes: None

Translator’s notes:

1. I gave up on the meaning. It’s red and then something. Maybe proliferation… dunno.

2.I’m never certain if his clothes are blue or black, the author sometimes uses different characters at different times. One is definitely black, and the other is maybe blue or maybe black or even green. But since he can see the bloodstains, then maybe it’s blue this time?

I was reading the latest BL spoiler threads on NUF. Not much of a fan of the PWP (plot, what plot?) types, or abuse the MC storylines either. On the other hand, if you fade to black instead of providing the long awaited s.m.u.t on a good story… I’ll definitely curse the author.