Key point: Wuhuan has confessed~ (Although it was a confession that

didn’t want to make itself known to the other party)

Scholar Tyrant Song: I never ever thought I could be a ‘shou’.

Yue Wuhuan: I suspect that Master’s desires have all been directed to a
white mouse spirit.
Chapter 35: Turn Heaven and Earth Upside Down

Yue Wuhuan’s newly established school was beyond the peach forest, quite
a distance from the laboratory. Next to it was a huge new medicine
storehouse, which housed most of the common drugs in both the mortal and
immortal realm which the students could apply for use of. The highly toxic
drugs and precious medicinal ingredients were placed in the original
storehouse and can be taken out only after securing Yue Wuhuan’s approval.

Next to it was a library. There were many low-level cultivation books, basic
medical books and other miscellaneous books. There were a lot more books
than there were before. They must have been collected during the past ten
years.

Song Qingshi was holding a copy of “A Record of Strange Stories about

Spiritual Fires” and almost didn’t want to leave.

“The books here were all selected by me. They’re not too harmful and are
suitable for apprentices to learn the basics.” Yue Wuhuan smiled and placed
the book in his arms, indicating that he could take it back to read.
“Although Master is superb in both medicine and poisons, all apprentices
need to hone their skills here for a few years and their character and
conduct must be examined before they can come into contact with precious
medicinal ingredients and poisons.”

Song Qingshi expressed his approval. He was not stingy in teaching

medical skills, he also didn’t want his poison skills to be used by someone
who wanted to do harm. Yue Wuhuan arranged for Medicine King’s
Valley’s apprentices to learn medicine but not poison. This was in line with
his idea that although poison skills needed to be passed on, potential
students needed strict assessment and gradual teaching. Some of the
extremely vicious prescriptions, he didn’t even want to teach to anyone save
Yue Wuhuan.

Yue Wuhuan spoke an incantation and a strange man with lifeless eyes and
limbs that moved woodenly, walked out of the forest.
Song Qingshi looked it over and found that it was a corpse. He said in
surprise, “You were the one who made this poison puppet?”

Poison puppets were highly poisonous puppets that he made from corpses.
Because manipulating the magic array was very troublesome, he didn’t
make many of them. Although each poison puppet only had the attack
power of a Foundation Building cultivator, it was covered from head to toe
with highly-toxic poisons. It could kill people with just a touch and would
blow up after being destroyed, spilling an extremely poisonous blood mist
to its surroundings. These were guards Song Qingshi had hidden within the
Medicine King’s Valley and it was also one of his trump cards.

Otherwise, this domain that was filled with precious medicinal ingredients
and had no one except one Nascent Soul cultivator and a bunch of
Foundation Building valley servants would long have been annexed by the
bandits of the immortal realm.

The poison puppet in front of him was not one created by Song Qingshi.
Although the poison on its body had not changed, the manipulation array on
it was more meticulous. There were a lot more mechanisms and hidden
weapons that had been added, making its attacks more vicious.

“I found the notes on how to create the poison puppet in Master’s

laboratory.” Yue Wuhuan explained nervously, afraid that he would be
angry. “After Master fell in a coma, the original poison puppets broke and
could not be repaired. The Medicine King’s Valley lost a defensive barrier. I
took some complete corpses from the autopsy room and tried to refine new
poison puppets. After many attempts, I succeeded. Because Master’s notes
were not written in full, I remade part of the formation. It’s a bit different
from the original.”

Song Qingshi thought about his original notes that were filled with illegible
writing. He just haphazardly wrote whatever came to mind. Stuttering, he
praised, “You have improved a lot. How many of these have you made?”

Yue Wuhuan obediently replied, “Sixty-four, most of them are deployed in

the poisonous fog array. A small number are guarding the treasure house
and laboratory in the valley. There are a few that do not appear quite as
scary. They can be placed inside the mustard seed bag and can be taken
when you go out to serve as bodyguards.”

Before he got the Blood King Vine, he had a serious lack of helpers. He did
not have enough strength to contend with the cultivators in the immortal
realm. Left with no choice, he could only find alternate means and rack his
brain for a solution.

Song Qingshi was dumbfounded and couldn’t help asking. “The arrays on
the poison puppets are extremely complicated and there are eighty-two of
them, each one different. Not even a single line can be drawn wrong. How
did you…”

Yue Wuhuan said, “As long as I have drawn something once, I can replicate
it without any mistake.”

This blow sent Song Qingshi reeling. Although he had been the one who
put together the various arrays and researched the poison puppets, his hands
were not skillful enough. When making them, he often accidentally painted
the wrong arrays. Every time he made one, he would fail four or five times.
Add to that the fact that he was not very interested in making this kind of
things and so he had only made a little more than 20 poison puppets, just
barely enough to get by.

He quietly took a look at his useless hands and then at Yue Wuhuan’s
dexterous and stable hands…

Realizing how big the gap was between people was quite the mental
blow…

Both runes and formations needed careful and steady hands. In the future,
Yue Wuhuan would definitely be able to surpass his achievements and
become a great master.

Thinking about this made Song Qingshi very happy.

These past years, Yue Wuhuan has thoroughly studied the poison puppets.
The poison puppet designed by Song Qingshi looked scary but in fact, it left
a lot of openings. As long as there was no malicious intent in the intrusion,
it would not easily hurt people.

However, he didn’t care about the life and death of anyone besides Song
Qingshi and the poison puppets in his hand were all instruments designed
for murder.

Over the years, during the times he had to go outside to find medicine,
countless cultivators have died in the hands of these poison puppets. He was
afraid that Song Qingshi would think he was overly-malicious and so, he
didn’t dare explain clearly. He was secretly observing the other party’s
reactions. He saw Song Qinshi’s expression changed several times, before
finally returning to happiness. He finally felt relieved.

Song Qingshi praised his family’s little angel, “The color blue is made out
of indigo but is more vivid than indigo.”

Yue Wuhuan smiled and said, “Master gives too much undue praise.
Without the poison puppets you created, I wouldn’t have been able to
protect the Medicine King’s Valley.”

Song Qingshi thought for a while, and asked, “An Long must have suffered
huge losses at the hands of your poison puppets, right? Otherwise, he
certainly would have broken in in just two years.”

“An Xianzun has a long history of friendship with Master. After a few
attempts, he figured out the weakness of the poison puppet Master
designed. When he thought he had successfully cracked it, I replaced it with
the modified poison puppet and magic array. Xianzun retreated after being
injured by poisoning. He stayed away for half a year but he regrouped and
came back even stronger. I used the Blood King Vine and the terrain to set
up new traps. Although I have temporarily forced him to retreat, he has
completely grasped these attack methods…” Yue Wuhuan grew frustrated
as he recounted these matters.

The Myriad Gu Sect was warlike and in this aspect, An Long was a man of
truly outstanding talent. He was an expert in all types of combat; he has a
beast-like intuition for danger; has a high level of cultivation and under
Song Qingshi’s tutelage, was proficient in various methods of poison. He
has avoided his traps to poison him to death and all his careful calculations
were powerless, dismantled in the face of absolute force.

Song Qingshi’s good habit of taking notes on everything meant that he had
found a lot of information about Gu’s left in the laboratory. Aside from this,
Heaven’s malice towards him seemed to have vanished along with the
Lightning Tribulation, producing good fortune out of extreme misfortune. If
it weren’t for these things, An Long would have long killed him in
retribution.

Song Qingshi comforted, “An Long is a genius. Being able to stop him
twice is also an amazing display of your talent. This is an achievement that
most Core Formation cultivators in the immortal realm could never hope to
achieve. Now, I am awake and the misunderstanding has been resolved. He
won’t attack you again.”

Yue Wuhuan thought about the conflict between the two of them and smiled
softly, “En, An Xianzun will definitely understand me.”

The two talked and laughed as they walked into the school. It was noon and
the apprentices were all going to the cafeteria to eat. Song Qingshi took the
opportunity to look all around.

The school was a square compound. The compound was also decorated
exquisitely according Yue Wuhuan’s style. The principal room was a place
for collective study. There were podiums and bookshelves, as well as
various experimental equipment, many of which are built by Heaven Craft
Pavilion. Some of them were even items Song Qingshi had wanted to have
custom made before he fell into a coma. He had never placed an order for
them since he had no money. On both sides of the compound were
individual refining rooms. Each has a magic array to prevent any explosion
from harming others.

Song Qingshi looked at this expensive school and felt his spiritual stone
pockets were probably now bare and empty.
“Master, we are no longer as lacking in funds. The Medicine King’s Valley
and Night Rain Pavilion have reached a cooperative agreement.” Yue
Wuhuan explained. “In the past, Master developed an herbal plaster for
patients with facial disfigurement. It can improve skin texture and eliminate
all scars. I added some precious perfumes and pearls to this plaster,
renamed it Yurong Ointment and sold it at a high price. Yurong Ointment
not only removes scars quickly, but also makes the skin delicate and
spotlessly white, causing beauty to flourish even more. There are many
fights in the immortal realm and it is very easy to receive injuries. Because
of these reasons, the female cultivators snatched them all up. Ye Lin
Xianjun urges the Medicine King’s Valley to add more stock every day…”

Song Qingshi was dumbfounded. He had never made money from selling
medicine in his entire life, but in the end he made a lot of money from
selling skin care products? He felt that there was something strange about
that…

“Master’s condition was critical and I needed a lot of money to buy

medicinal ingredients so I chose the fastest way to get money.” Yue Wuhuan
handed the account book to Song Qingshi for his review. “In the past few
years, I spent a lot of money on purchasing medicinal ingredients and
repairing the Medicine King’s Valley. Now there are still 3.2 million
spiritual stones on the account.”

Song Qingshi originally still had a bit of a knot in his heart but when he saw
this glistening monetary figure, he instantly bowed down in submission.

He’s even refined an Ever Young Pill, what was the Yurong Ointment
compared to that? If he has money, he can continue to do research, study
medicines for curing diseases and benefit society. This was a win-win
situation!

Yue Wuhuan added thoughtfully, “I asked Night Rain Pavilion to say that
the Yurong Ointment was a formula left by ancient immortals and was not a
product specially researched by Master. The porcelain boxes it’s sold in are
also marked that it’s medicine to treat scars and restore the best skin
condition.”
Skin medicines are also medicines!

Song Qingshi felt that the Medicine King’s Valley’s face had been saved
and was very satisfied. He knew that he didn’t have the brains for managing
money and was prone to squander away a family fortune so he pushed the
account book back to Yue Wuhuan and said generously, “From now on, you
will be in charge of the money. It’s enough if you just give me a monthly
allowance.”

The corners of Yue Wuhuan’s lips ticked up into a beautiful curve as though
he heard some happy news. He agreed to shoulder this task, “Okay, I will
buy you everything you want.”

Song Qingshi was more than satisfied.

After taking a look around the school, he put away the red lotus fire and sat,
looking all dignified on the wooden armchair on the podium.

Yue Wuhuan summoned all the apprentices and asked them come pay their
respects to the Master one by one.

Song Qingshi was afraid that people would see his nervousness so he
imitated the appearance of his former university professor, assuming on a
serious expression but his heart was filled with wonder. Who were these
people in front of him?

He hadn’t taken a serious look at everyone’s faces at the time and now he
can only recognize Qing Luan and Ming Hong. Qing Luan’s appearance,
due to the Acacia Seal, had not changed but her delicate temperament has
completely faded. She walked with style and all about her was an aura of
keen-wittedness and capableness, reminding him of his senior sisters from
the other world.

Ming Hong had turned into a young man. He was dressed in red. Not only
was his style of dressing similar to Yue Wuhuan’s, he also behaved very
similarly; only that he was a bit taciturn and didn’t like to talk.
Song Qingshi thought for a long time before he recognized the brawny man
walking behind as the sunny boy who was helping his companion do his
stretches on the martial arts training ground. Now he was tall and dark-
skinned. He was muscled from head to foot, except for his well-
proportioned facial features, no trace of his good looks back then could be
seen.

Qing Luan explained with a smile, “His name is He Qingyun. Now he

mainly studies herbal planting and works daily in the fields and so he has
become like this.”

He Qingyun scratched his head embarrassedly and gave a simple and honest
smile. “I thought about becoming like this. This way I won’t always have
bastards coveting my beauty, right? I used to be a farmer and I could do
nothing but serve plants. Master saved my life and I can’t not repay that
debt. Although the prospect aren’t great for mortals who choose to cultivate,
going to the village to plant all sorts of medicinal materials for the master is
still possible, right?”

Song Qingshi smiled and nodded, determined to later on pile them all with
medicine until they reach Foundation Building.

Suddenly, he saw a beautiful boy of seventeen or eighteen years old behind

everyone. He had the most romantic and unusual peach-blossom eyes. He
was lethargic and languid. While no one was watching, he covered a yawn
with his hand. In his hand, there was something that he kept flipping over
and over.

Song Qingshi felt that he had caught the bad student who hid at the back of
the class to play on his mobile phone. He couldn’t hold on to his serious
expression. He smiled and waved at him to come over.

Qing Luan gave the teenager a fierce look and introduced. “This is Rong
Ye. He was in the same group of children as Ming Hong. He’s never
suffered any hardships and is the naughtiest one here. But he’s very good
with his hands. Please don’t get angry with him, Master. I’ll be sure to teach
him well.”
Rong Ye remembered Qing Luan’s usual reprimands and was also a little
frightened. After a momentary delay, he stepped forward and handed over
the toy in his hand.

Song Qingshi heard Qing Luan’s outward censure but inward praise. She
was guarding these children who had suffered the same miserable fate she
had. Song Qingshi wasn’t about to argue with her.

He smiled and took what was in Rong Ye’s hand. He inspected it carefully
and found that it was a small handmade hourglass. It was quite exquisite.
He turned the hourglass and set it on the table. He used his experience in
alchemy to judge the time and confirmed that the sand in the hourglass was
about one minute’s worth.

Qing Luan explained, “Rong Ye is careless and keeps messing up the time
when refining pills so he made this thing to assist him.”

Rong Ye quibbled, “Qing Luan Jiejie, I haven’t gotten the time wrong ever
since I started using this. Don’t just always bring up that time I failed.”

Qing Luan scolded, “Quiet! So many people have failed but only you’ve
managed to blow up a pill furnace!”

Rong Ye felt aggrieved, “I just want to see what adding Dan Huang would
do…”

“He is indeed very good with his hands. This thing is very well-made.”
Song Qingshi thought about his professor’s attitude towards students and
tried to give positive encouragement. “The most difficult thing for
beginners when it comes to alchemy is controlling the heat and the second
is the timing. Your plan to use tools to reduce the difficulty of grasping the
timing is a very good idea but it is not suitable for long-term use. I think we
can find Heaven Craft Pavilion to customize a batch of timers to assist in
alchemy.”

Yue Wuhuan smiled and said, “What Master says is right. Alchemy
workshops should be equipped with timers.”
Qing Luan glared at Rong Ye once again. Low-level alchemy can use
timing devices to control the time but high-end alchemy techniques were
erratic and one needed experience to adjust the timing. How can it be
hammered into inflexible and invariable uniformity? If Rong Ye kept using
these quick fixes to move up, he will never be an alchemy master, he can
only be an alchemy worker.

Rong Ye was young, good-looking and honey-tongued. Everyone liked to

spoil him and he’s been spoilt into being ignorant of the height of the
heavens or the depths of the earth.

She must give this silly boy another lesson later!

Song Qingshi didn’t want to embarrass these apprentices. He returned the

hourglass to Rong Ye and smiled at him again. “Work hard.”

Song Qingshi looking at him made the tip of Rong Ye’s ears turn a little red.
Before he came to Medicine King’s Valley, he always heard Qing Luan
Jiejie say that the Medicine King Xianzun was a great figure in the
immortal realm and that his cultivation base was very powerful. His
slightest touch killed Xie Que, leaving that brute without even a corpse.
However, Qing Luan had been responsible for all matters related to their
subsequent resettlement. He never managed to see the Medicine King
Xianzun in the flesh. He thought he was a fiendish cultivator. He never
expected he’d be so good-looking and that he didn’t appear to be much
older than they were. His personality was even gentler and kindlier. There
was not the slightest ferocity when he spoke.

The Medicine King Xianzun liked Senior Wuhuan so much; they must be in
a relationship, right…

He heard that some mortals in the immortal world have gained lots of
resources from winning the favor of cultivators. Their status reached the
heavens in a single bound.

Was Senior Wuhuan the same?

Rong Ye secretly glanced at Song Qing and then at Yue Wuhuan standing
by in attendance behind him, letting his imagination run a bit wild.

……

The author has something to say:

The author’s irresponsible mild ridicule towards her protagonists:

Yue Wuhuan: Although he likes to kill people, has a mad personality and
his belly is full of black water, he is still a well-behaved and gentle little
angel.

Song Qingshi: A good man must first transfer financial power to higher
authorities before talking about other things.
Chapter 36: Qing Luan’s Wish

Song Qingshi checked everyone’s classwork and determined their level and
ability.

Yue Wuhuan did indeed choose very good seedlings. Moreover, their
subject were distributed according to each of their expertise. Everyone’s
grades were very good. There was no need to mention the two top students,
Qing Luan and Ming Hong but even the lazy-looking Rong Ye, had his own
distinctive quality; only that his interest lay not in medicine but in the
creation of devices.

Yue Wuhuan smiled and said, “Qing Luan is very smart and capable. When
Master was in closed door cultivation, she handled many troublesome
matters for me.”

Song Qingshi understood his explicit hint and signaled Qing Luan to come
over. He focused on checking her cultivation base and found that this girl
had already reached Foundation Building. She had dual wood and water-
based spiritual roots. Her aptitude was not bad. He nodded with satisfaction
and decided to assign her by his side later on and take a more careful look.
If everything was fine, she will be accepted as an ordinary disciple and
handed over to Yue Wuhuan as his assistant.

Qing Luan prostrated herself on the ground and bowed to show her respect.

Song Qingshi thought of the Acacia seal on her body and turned around and
asked Yue Wuhuan, “The Quintessence of All Soul is just a medium. After
being branded with the array, it can be used to remove the same seal, right?
Why haven’t you removed this thing yet?”

Yue Wuhuan explained, “They are Master’s people and it is up to Master to

decide whether to release the Acacia Seal or not.”

Song Qingshi smiled and said, “What’s there to decide about this broken
thing? Bring the spirit bead and I will remove it for her.”
Qing Luan raised her head quietly. She glanced at Yue Wuhuan and didn’t
dare answer.

Yue Wuhuan said gently, “She probably doesn’t have it on her. This matter
is not urgent. Master has just finished his closed door cultivation. Let us
wait to deal with it tomorrow.”

Song Qingshi readily agreed and took Yue Wuhuan to see his white mice
and laboratory. On they way, he asked, “You have done so many things in
the past ten years. It must have been hard on you, right?”

Yue Wuhuan brushed it off. “It’s nothing. Master need not concern himself
about it.”

Song Qingshi asked, “I remember that Blood Silkworm Grass is needed for
refining the Blood Flower Powder. This ingredient has long since
disappeared. How did you get it?”

Yue Wuhuan said, tone very relaxed, “By a mere stroke of luck.”

Song Qingshi didn’t doubt him and sighed, “You’re so lucky. I’ve searched
for many years but never found it.”

Yue Wuhuan laughed and said, “Since I met Master, I’ve always been
lucky.”

Upon hearing this, all sorts of feelings welled up in Qing Luan’s heart. Her
eyes couldn’t help but redden. She felt very conflicted if she should say
something.

Yue Wuhuan noticed her unusual change and glanced back at her warningly.

Qing Luan immediately hid her tears and swallowed down all the words
that were threatening to spill out.

Song Qingshi had her undying gratitude for saving her life but the most
important one in her heart was still Yue Wuhuan.

She still remember the first time she saw him when she was six…
It was late autumn, in a forest, atop a branch of a golden phoenix tree was a
green-clothed boy with a white jade flute in his hand, playing the song
“Feng Qiu Huang“.

The music from the flute sounded lonely. It wound around the golden red
autumn scenery, as though struggling to find something.

The youth’s phoenix eyes were soft and gentle, enough to daunt the beauty
of the world. The wind blew and the golden phoenix tree leaves and the
fiery red maple leaves, seemed to turn into his clothes. He was like the most
noble phoenix on heaven and earth, with splendid vermilion rays,
matchlessly resplendent; using the most beautiful music to attract the birds
one after another to come and worship, hoping to win his favor.

Skylarks, orioles, cuckoos, kingfishers…

More and more birds fell perched on the tree, perched next to him, listening
to the world’s most moving music.

Qing Luan too couldn’t help but draw near. She stopped beside him along
with the birds until she lost herself.

According to legend, the Qing Luan was one of the Phoenix’s subjects. It
was born to follow and surrender to the Phoenix’s light…

This feeling was indescribable, as if it was a memory carved into her very
bones and infused in her blood, it made her understand that this was the
person she should be loyal to.

She hoped that he could find the happiness that was missing in his music.

She hoped that he could soar happily in the sky forever.

Later, Qing Luan broke free from her shackles. She was like a happy bird
and she brought the children to the Medicine King’s Valley. She was
bursting with things she wanted to tell Yue Wuhuan, things like how that
person asked her questions about him, how he looked like when he got the
box.

However, the first time she saw Yue Wuhuan once again, she realized that
this person had already changed.

Yue Wuhuan had wounds on his body and he was so exhausted that he
could hardly suppress the madness and restless anxiety in his eyes. He
recognized her but showed no interest at all, there was even faint
loathing. He forcibly braced himself and patiently took them in but only
because this was the order of the Medicine King Xianzun.

His eyes were no longer gentle nor kind. Although he patiently made the
proper arrangement for the children, Qing Luan found that every command
he gave was cold and every arrangement was made with indifference.
Afterwards, he disappeared, days went by without anyone seeing him.

Qing Luan was astutely aware that something bad must have happened to
the Medicine King’s Valley.

She immediately persuaded most of the children who were still harboring
fantasies about taking the path of cultivation to return to the mortal realm.
As for the remaining few children who had nowhere to go, she took the
responsibility of taking care and teaching them herself.

For a long period afterwards, the Medicine King Xianzun went into closed
door cultivation and Yue Wuhuan became very busy. He stayed cooped up
in the study and laboratory for days on end, barely making any
appearance. Qing Luan took the initiative to become a valley servant, taking
charge of sweeping around the gate of the Medicine King’s Valley during
the day and taking the children to read their medical textbooks at night.

The next time she saw Yue Wuhuan, Yue Wuhuan’s face was ruined, stained
with multicolor splotches, ugly to the extreme.

Qing Luan was so scared that she almost screamed.

However, Yue Wuhuan smiled at her and left Medicine King Valley,
wearing that kind of face.

Everyone’s tongues wagged in gossip. Now that he’s lost his beautiful face,
they felt he would fall out of favor once the Master comes out of closed
door cultivation.

Qing Luan thought about the gentle Xianzun. She shook her head. In her
heart, she had her own guess.

Yue Wuhuan began to come back with injuries — major injuries, minor
injuries, stabs and slashes; all kinds of injuries. He didn’t allow anyone to
touch his wounds and every time, he would go to the treatment room and
deal with them himself. While recovering, he would read books and study
frantically. Once he recovers, he would leave the Medicine King Valley
again, off to places unknown.

He maintained the calm of the Medicine King’s Valley and no one noticed
the hidden crisis inside.

Qing Luan realized that she had to do something…

For Yue Wuhuan, for Song Qingshi, for the Medicine King’s Valley, for the
children behind her.

No matter how weak her wings were, she needed to protect everyone from
the wind and rain.

That day, Yue Wuhuan once again came back injured. Armed with
determination, Qing Luan broke the prohibition and snuck into the
treatment room. She was met with a sight that was hard to believe.

In the treatment room, Yue Wuhuan was sewing the wound on his abdomen.
In order to stay clear-headed, he did not use anesthetics. He bit down on a
cork strip in his mouth and then repeatedly pierced his skin with the needle,
making layer by layer of stiches. The severe pain made cold sweat break out
all over his body and yet he made no sound save for a few muffled groans.
Yue Wuhuan noticed her prying eyes and quickly closed his robe. He asked,
voice hoarse, “Who’s there?”

Feeling pained, Qing Luan closed her eyes and then slowly walked out of
the dark.

Yue Wuhuan drew his sword and looked warily at the intruder.

Qing Luan immediately knelt down. From her bosom, she took out the
spirit bead she had prepared beforehand. She respectfully offered it to him
with both hands.

Yue Wuhuan looked at this familiar red bead and immediately understood
her intentions. His expression turned unreadable, dark and gloomy.

“I know that something has happened to Master and I dare not pry. I also
know that Wuhuan Ge has misgivings and I dare not ask for trust. But the
Medicine King’s Valley is the only place of safety for Qing Luan and the
only refuge for these pitiful children.” Qing Luan’s voice was very soft but
very firm, “So, please accept Qing Luan’s life. As long as the bead is
marked with spiritual consciousness, I can never hurt my master and I will
never be able to go against your will. Please make use of me. I am willing
to do anything…”

“Anything?” Yue Wuhuan couldn’t help laughing after hearing such naïve
words. “Even if I am no longer the person you remember me to be? Even if
your clean hands will be covered with blood? Even if you lose your life?
Even if you will fall into eternal damnation?”

Qing Luan raised her head. “Yes!”

The Luan was always willing to serve at the Phoenix’s feet, all its life,
following after the Pheonix’s shadow as it soared in the sky.

Although her strength was small, she was willing to give all that she had.

Yue Wuhuan watched her for a long time and thought for a long time.
Finally, he took her spirit bead and accepted her allegiance.
Since that day, Qing Luan has become Yue Wuhuan’s most loyal
subordinate. She has handled many public and secret matters in the
Medicine King’s Valley. She has seen Yue Wuhuan’s cruelest side.
Countless times, she has cleaned up the terrifying pieces of flesh in the
torture chamber and washed the blood off on the ground. From the very
beginning, when she was so afraid that she would vomit to now that she
could handle everything with nary a change in her expression; she has
helped Yue Wuhuan madly transform the Medicine King’s Valley, turning it
into a giant spider web, controlling everything and trapping everyone. She
tried to maintain Yue Wuhuan’s perfect image, pretending that nothing ever
happened, preventing the children from discovering the truth and
preventing the Master from realizing that something was wrong once he
woke up.

However, these things were far from enough…

Yue Wuhuan pushed himself to the extreme every day. His body was so
covered with scars, they were strung together like beads and he hardly even
had time to sleep. He frantically studied killing techniques, frantically
researched poison and formations, frantically fused all knowledge into his
own bones and blood. He overcame countless obstacles. He calculated
people’s hearts, calculated everything.

The most precious medicines were in the most dangerous places and every
step was fraught with peril. Obtaining them required a huge price.

Sometimes he succeeded and sometimes he failed. After every failure, he

would start over again.

However, no matter the hardships, no matter the difficulties, he never

stopped moving forward.

Qing Luan was responsible only for the internal affairs of the Medicine
King’s Valley, most of the time she didn’t know where he went or what he
did.

The only thing she knew was that five years ago, Yue Wuhuan was brought
back personally by the master of Night Rain Pavilion himself. 60% of his
bones were broken and no part of his body remained intact. All that was
keeping him alive were his wood-type spiritual root and the medicine pills.
He had something clutched tightly in his hand, unwilling to let go.

Qing Luan could no longer remain silent and she asked Ye Lin for the
reason.

After hearing this, Ye Lin Xianjun couldn’t help cursing. “This Foundation
Building cultivator dared to go onto the Life and Death Stage. He is really a
death-seeking lunatic.”

The Life and Death stage was a dark gambling game in the immortal realm.
They gambled on rare and exotic treasures and on the lives of cultivators.

There were so many wealthy cultivators in the immortal realm. They were
tired of betting on cockfights and dogfights. And so now, they were finally
betting on people.

On the Life and Death Stage, fights were to the death. The cultivator who
wins in the end can take away the treasure of the gambling match.

Although Yue Wuhuan had barely had any breath left, he was alive and he
was the winner of Life and Death Stage.

He obtained the Blood Silkworm Grass that has long been extinct in the
immortal realm.

Ye Lin Xianjun was a man of his word. He handed Yue Wuhaun and the
Blood Silkworm Grass to Qing Luan. Recounting the tragedy on the Life
and Death Stage, he slapped the table in anger and cursed, “Hmph, even if
Xuany Yu Xianzun was a waste who ascended by piling his body with pills,
a Nascent Soul cultivator has a spiritual power suppressive effect on a
Foundation Building cultivator. What’s more, he had cultivated a Diamond
Body. Ordinary cultivators couldn’t even break through his skill, let alone
attack. They just wanted Xuan Yu Xianzun to torture Wuhuan Gongzi to
death for their amusement. How can someone as smart as Yue Wuhuan fail
to understand what those people were thinking? He was willing to court
death for the Blood Silkworm Grass. For the sake of our partnership over
the Yurong Ointment, I already prepared the coffin for him! Tell me, just
how long is Song Qingshi planning to stay in closed door cutlivation? He’s
actually willing to let his treasure he spent two hundred thousand spirit
stones to save do something like this!?”

Qing Luan said sternly, “I ask Xianjun to please not speak like that.”

In the immortal realm, it was common for cultivators to go into closed door
cultivation. Some had broken through their level and needed to consolidate
their power. Some were finding it hard to breakthrough and so needed to
devote themselves in study. Song Qingshi was exceptionally talented and
focused on cultivation. A hundred years ago, he was close to having reached
the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul. He was a cultivator who had a
good chance to break through to Fen Shen. Now that the opportunity was
close at hand, everyone thought it only normal for him to go into closed
door cultivation to strengthen himself.

Ye Lin sighed and wrung his hands. “I have never seen such a tragic Life
and Death Stage. His hands and feet were broken, blood was everywhere.
He was motionless on the floor. I was ready to have people carry in his
coffin. I didn’t expect that at the last moment, he took advantage of when
Xuan Yu Xianzun, feeling proud of himself, lowered his guard. He shot a
poison needle from a mechanism in his mouth and into his opponent’s
waist, the chink in Xuan Yu Xianzun’s armor.”

Although the Diamond Body was impenetrable, there will always be chink
in the armor that cannot be cultivated away and can only be hidden.

Ye Lin knew the ending and understood the process by working it out in
reverse. He was certain that Yue Wuhuan was already well aware of Xuan
Yu Xianzun’s thoughts and he knew that he would be tortured to death. He
kept feeling him out and showing weaknesses, locating where the chink in
his armor was. He deliberately waited until he was so injured that he
couldn’t move, when his opponent relaxed his guard and made his final
attack.

He had but one chance and it was a fleeting one.

Yue Wuhuan shot without the slightest hesitation and Xian Yu Xianzun was
the one left dead.

The Life and Death Stage was in an uproar. No one could believe their eyes.
Ye Lin sold the coffin to Xuan Yu Xianzun’s disciple at a low price. He took
Blood Silkworm Grass for Yue Wuhuan and stuffed him with medicine to
preserve his life. He then found a stretcher to send him back to the
Medicine King’s Valley and clearly explained the entire matter.

Before departing, he repeatedly urged Qing Luan. “Forget it. Don’t cry. If
he dies, you can wait for the Medicine King Xianzun to come out of his
closed door cultivation to settle the money Night Rain Pavilion advanced
for his medicine and escort fees. Don’t let this affect the shipment of the
Yurong Ointment.”

Qing Luan suppressed the turmoil in her heart and nodded.

How to treat wounds was part of her usual studies and she would
occasionally treat the inconvenient wounds on Yue Wuhuan’s back. Before
leaving this time, Yue Wuhuan also had a hunch that he would be seriously
injured and he left various treatment plans and medicines in preparation.
Qing Luan properly handled all the injuries according to the plan and
according to what she had learned. She treated everything except for his
hand, that was clenched tight and that she couldn’t pry open. She vaguely
saw what seemed to be a white pebble in his hand.

Yue Wuhuan was in a coma for three days and three nights.

After regaining consciousness, he gently sniffed the stone in his hand. He

struggled to get out of the bed and pushed away the arm Qing Luan
stretched out to support him. Step by step, he tried climb up to Fuling
Palace, only to fall down once again. Their obscene gazes as he stepped
onto the Life and Death Stage; Xuan Yu Xianzun’s vulgar words; they made
him absolutely nauseous. Even the unavoidable physical touch as Qing
Luan treated his wounds made him extremely uncomfortable.

The air was so dirty that he couldn’t breathe. His mind was in utter chaos.
He had to quickly return to that person’s side so that be could rest and
breathe easy.

Qing Luan knelt down and said firmly, “Wuhuan Ge, I know that something
has happened to Master. Please let me help you to see him.”

Yue Wuhuan slowly turned his head. Phoenix eyes narrowed, he turned to
her with a dangerous look in his eyes.

Qing Luan persuaded with much difficulty, “You can’t keep the secret
alone. If you didn’t make it through the Life and Death Stage, what would
happen to Master?”

Yue Wuhuan fell into silence.

Qing Luan continued on, “If you die, who else can save Master?”

“There’s someone. Don’t worry.” Yue Wuhuan’s voice was tired and hoarse,
“I placed a Last Testament Array on my life plate. If I die, it will send a
message to him. He can easily find the Master’s location… But, I don’t
want to hand Master over to that person, so no matter how difficult it is, I
can’t die.”

Master’s injury was too serious and required a lot of prescriptions. They
needed to be tested one by one. Not every kind of medicinal material could
be bought and there was no time to slowly search for them. He had no one
to rely on. He knew he was betting his life, but he couldn’t not bet.

If he lost this bet, then the Last Testament Array will tell An Long know
about Song Qingshi’s situation. This was the last way out.

Song Qingshi has lost the ability to resist. The last of his remaining spiritual
power was all used to suppress the poisonous fire in his body. Anyone could
do whatever they wanted to him. Even with his eyes closed, Yue Wuhuan
could guess what An Long, this vicious wolf would do. Thinking about that
scene pained him to the point of wanting to vomit.

He had lost too much blood on the Life and Death Stage. His consciousness
was beginning to blur. He relied on the content of the Last Testament Array
and the stone in his hand to push himself to keep breathing. He couldn’t die.
If he died, he would have nothing. Among the Gu’s, there was a type that
could erase memories. An Long would take what he wanted, by hook or by
crook. He would surely eliminate him from Song Qingshi’s mind.

He even felt that what he had gone through in the Golden Phoenix Manor
wouldn’t be the most painful experience of his life.

Being forgotten by Song Qingshi would be…

No matter how hard hell was, he must climb back. No-one was allowed to
take his Master away.

Yue Wuhuan finally accepted Qing Luan’s proposal. He did not absolutely
trust her, but he realized, after going through the Life and Death Stage, that
there was a danger of him being seriously injured and falling into a coma
himself. If he was unconscious for several years, Song Qingshi might
encounter a mishap because there was no one to take care of him.

Qing Luan finally helped him step into the secret room and saw Song
Qingshi sleeping in the milky white medicinal liquid. She also saw the
simple furniture beside the bath.

Qing Luan asked incredulously, “Wuhuan Ge, have you been sleeping
here?”

It was cold, damp and dark underground. If normal people stayed here for
too long, even their bones would ache. How could someone injured stand
it…?

“He likes me to be by his side. Otherwise, he’ll be lonely,” Yue Wuhuan lay
down beside the bath, his tense body finally relaxing. The light in his eyes
also softened. All his being was tied to the person in the pool; he didn’t
leave even a trace for himself. He took Song Qingshi’s hand, smiled and
lightly kissed the back of the wet hand. He made his voice as melodious
and moving as possible. “Qingshi, I got the Blood Silkworm Grass. We can
try a new medication now.”

“Qingshi, I’m still alive and I didn’t get sick…”

“Qingshi, it’s spring now. May I plant some flowers and plants in your
yard?”

“Qingshi, they say that Jasper Tower has really delicious peach blossom
cakes. Shall we go eat there later?”

“Qingshi…”

He talked endlessly to someone who couldn’t hear.

He held that unfeeling hand that as though he was holding the whole world.

Qing Luan quietly exited the secret room. There was no room for any
outsiders here.

In her memory, the song atop the phoenix tree, “Feng Qiu Huang” finally
lost its last color.

Qing Luan recalled the suffering of the past ten years like a nightmare.

Now Song Qingshi woke up and she too woke up from the nightmare. The
heavy burden on her shoulders disappeared and her heart relaxed.

She also understood Yue Wuhuan’s meaning. All this suffering was now in
the past. There was no need to make the Master feel guilty and sad. They
should look forward. Everyone’s life will be better and brighter in the
future.

As for the relationship between the Master and Wuhuan Ge…

Qing Luan couldn’t help smiling. She was going to pray extra hard to the
Moon god, praying for a good ending.
The moonlight was dim, and there was a young man in red sitting in her
courtyard earnestly practicing playing the tune, playing “Feng Qiu Huang”.
Unfortunately, this young man didn’t have a talent for music. No matter
how hard he tried, he couldn’t play well. His notes came intermittently and
some seemed to have run away from home, off to places unknown.

The young man was a little embarrassed and quietly gave her a look.

Qing Luan couldn’t help but smile as she sat beside him, listening quietly.

She wished for everyone to be happy.

Chapter 37: The Breaking of the Poisonous Fog Formation

Dirty rats, sterile rats, clean rats…

The breeding room for mice has now expanded to eight rooms and
thousands of mice have been bred in strict accordance with the breeding
manual. They could now immediately move on to breeding mice with
specific pathogens. In the laboratory, there were also several kinds of
equipment that he’d mentioned before but had no funds to have custom
made. The medicinal materials have been replenished and a lot of the
researches that have been discontinued can now be continued.

These blessings came too quickly and suddenly. He’d just fallen asleep and
when he woke up, he had everything.

Song Qingshi looked at the white mice cages and felt his heart beating so
fast. He pulled at Yue Wuhuan’s sleeve, wanting to express his excitement.
But the words in his stomach was like a kettle full of dumplings, the more
anxious he was, the more he couldn’t pour it out. This stupid mouth of his
almost brought him to tears. After holding it in for a long time, he finally
squeezed out, “You did a very good job. Thank you.”

Meeting such a good little angel was truly his blessing of three lifetimes.

Smart and beautiful, kind and lovely, considerate and gentle…

Later, he will write all this down in a small notebook and read it three times
a day to remind himself of how lucky he is.

Yue Wuhuan said, “The mice bred extremely fast and I had to control their
breeding speed in the later stages. I had taken some of the mice to do some
pharmacological experiments. Of course, I still don’t fully understand the
experimental methods that use these mice so I just tried using them for
simple toxicity tests… after the experiment, the mice were all put to death.”

He found that using mice to do preliminary poison experiments was very

useful. He only needed a fifth of a percent of the full dose. This saved a lot
of precious medicinal materials.

Over the years, he has thoroughly read the “Nie Clan’s Poison Scriptures”
and all the poison-related books. He had also taken a bit of the various
poisons in Song Qingshi’s collection to conduct research. He had
strengthened the toxicity of the Thousand Chance Poison, developed many
new highly toxic poisons and came up with many methods of poisoning that
are impossible to defend against.

On the Life and Death stage, he had dealt a killing blow with a single
needle. Now, no one dared to threaten him lightly.

Yue Wuhuan smiled and glanced at Song Qingshi, who was frantically
taking notes on the table. He knew that Song Qingshi was a research
fanatic. After entering the laboratory, all thoughts aside from research had
been swept from his mind.

Nine fiery red vines stretched out quietly behind him. Two went to clean the
mouse cages, two went to feed the white mice, two fetched cakes and spirit-
refreshing tea, two went to read books and the last one quietly wrapped
around Song Qingshi’s ankle. Yue Wuhuan then sat next to him and handled
the Medicine King’s Valley’s various matters.

After Song Qingshi finished his observation diary, he also wrote a guide to
breeding mice with specific diseases. It took him a long time before he
noticed the vines that were working around the room and on him as well.
He stared at his ankle for a long while and couldn’t help asking Yue
Wuhuan, “They’re sentient?”

“No,” Yue Wuhuan stopped writing and said with a smile, “Their
consciousness is my will. They’re like an extension of my limbs. Wherever
I go, I can use my mental probe to view the surrounding environment. It’s
very convenient. I have used it to deal with many things these past years.”

Song Qingshi looked at the vines reading the two books then at Yue
Wuhuan who was holding the ledger in his hands and was confused. “So,
are you doing these things at the same time? You’re taking on the role of
several people by yourself?”
“En, because of the shortage of manpower, there are too many things I need
to deal with. If it’s not particularly important, it will be faster to just
multitask,” Yue Wuhuan explained in a few words. He suddenly realized
that it might not be good to say it like so. He tried to remedy the situation
and had the vines take both books to him. “I’m only seriously reading this
book “Ling Danzi Sutra”. The other is the experimental data made by the
apprentices. I’m just casually looking them over for errors.”

He really didn’t think there was anything difficult about dividing his
attention between different things. It was just like breathing and drinking
for him and he didn’t quite know what to say…

This was the first time in two lifetimes that Scholar Tyrant Song’s IQ was
steamrolled and crushed. All sorts of mixed feelings welled in his heart.

It was like when he explained how to solve elementary school application

problems to his cousin. They were simple problems that clearly could be
understood with a single glance. He gave several kinds of problem-solving
methods derived from calculus to advanced mathematics to algebraic
geometry and despite all that his cousin still cried and kicked up a fuss,
saying he just couldn’t get it.

He shouldn’t criticize his cousin for being ignorant…

Just like now, Yue Wuhuan worked very hard to explain to him the methods
and tips on how to doing several things at once.

Scholar Tyrant Song felt so very wronged. He really couldn’t understand

nor could he do it. When he was doing one thing, he couldn’t do anything
else. When he was looking at one thing, he simply didn’t have the capacity
to look at something else. When other Nascent Soul cultivators went out,
they surveilled all of their surrounding and listened in every direction. As
for him, as long as he saw something novel and interesting, he immediately
forgot about everything else. The fact that he could live up to the present
was all thanks to his special skill, his particular physique and his tendency
to avoid going out.

Yue Wuhuan smiled and comforted, “You’re also great like this.”
He liked the way Song Qingshi looked at people, looked at people so
seriously, it was as if the whole world only had this person in his eyes.

Scholar Tyrant Song decided to salvage his smart image. He took the “Ling
Danzi Scripture” and flipped through it. He remembered that the
mathematics of the immortal realm was not very good, at most, it was high
school level. This book was about solving three-dimensional linear
equations and applying trigonometric functions.

The overwhelming majority of cultivators didn’t pay much attention to

mathematics, which was actually very wrong.

The arrangement of many of their arrays were calculated using

mathematics. Especially since he’s undergone studying in the other world, it
was even more abundantly clear to him that the arrays were similar to an
electrical motherboard, each line must be arranged in the most appropriate
position. Spiritual energy was equal to electricity. Combining different
motherboards could bring about long-distance communication, security
functions, surveillance and even offensive weapons.

Of course, there was no mechanization in the immortal realm and the arrays
could not be mass-produced. They were all made by hand and precise
calculation was especially important.

It would be very difficult if Yue Wuhuan were to rely solely on himself to

understand these theories.

Song Qingshi’s mathematics scores were very good. He was very happy to
explain the various mathematical formulas and application methods. Later,
he will write down all he knew of calculus and the various number theories
and analysis. These were all necessary skills for science students!

Yue Wuhuan listened very carefully. He stopped all the surrounding vines
and was immersed himself in the fun of doing the problems.

The two of them answered problem exercises in the laboratory until dusk.
Suddenly, there was a slight quake in the Medicine King’s Valley’s array.
The poison puppets also turned to attack mode. Yue Wuhuan noticed the
abnormal movement. He raised his head from the sea of problems ​questions
and displeased, looked out the door. He put away the books on the table.

Song Qingshi was unfamiliar with the newly-modified defensive formation.

He was a little slow to react. After his momentary failure to react, he asked
belatedly, “Someone is invading?”

Yue Wuhuan smiled a little, “Not quite. He just snuck in and damaged the
house.”

Song Qingshi hadn’t figured out what he meant when in the blink of an eye,
the door of the laboratory was knocked open. The two poison puppets
guarding the door were eaten away bit by bit by the countless Gu’s.

An Long was full of murderous aura as he fiercely rushed in. His hair had
grown long and he kept it in a few casual long braids behind his head. His
whole body was covered with dirty mud, his lips were dry and cracked,
oozing a little bit of blood. His eyes were red as he stared at Yue Wuhuan.
He was followed by an equally as dirty Luminous Snake, whose scales have
lost its luster. It spit out a letter in Yue Wuhuan’s direction. It obviously
wanted to swallow him in one bite.

“What’s happened to you?” Song Qingshi asked, dumbfounded, “Did you

go rolling in the mud?”

Yue Wuhuan calmly explained, “Master, the Poisonous Fog formation in the
swamps has been broken.”

Song Qingshi instantly understood. Wracked with a guilty conscience, he

lowered his head and shrank his shoulders, curling up into a ball.

An Long gritted his teeth and looked at the guy he had been constantly
worried about to the point that he wasn’t able to eat or sleep properly. He
looked at the refreshments on the table and thought about that letter he
received after he had finally, after much difficultly, broken the formation.
He wanted to tear off this fool’s flesh off.
Song Qingshi looked at his expression and his lips. He felt like he
understood what he was thinking. Song Qingshi picked up the untouched
spirit refreshing tea on the table and offered it up with both hands, “Would
you like a drink?”

An Long was so angry he began to smile instead. He took the spirit-

refreshing tea in his hand and drank it all in one go. He then, with arms like
iron clamps, grabbed this fool who was confused by the situation. He
carried him over his shoulder and walked out of the laboratory with large
strides, looking for a place to completely sort this person out.

The valley servants along the roadside cast them sidelong glances. The
ruckus An Long was kicking up completely embarrassed Song Qingshi but
he knew that he was in the wrong so he didn’t have the face to burn him
either. He kept materializing and scattering the alchemical fire on his palm.
He hesitated for so long that he was already carried far away.

The Gu’s at the entrance of the laboratory spread out and then gathered
back together like a tide, trapping Yue Wuhuan inside.

An Long went all the way to Fuling Palace. He found that the scenery that
had remained unchanged for hundreds of years in the Medicine King’s
Valley had all been changed. Many of the things he had been familiar with
had been erased. Everywhere was ostentatious beauty, everywhere was a
shadow of that evildoer.

The site where he had left his traces had been violated, dyed in a flavor that
should not be there. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He
ruthlessly threw down the man from his shoulder.

Even for an ordinary, non-body-refining cultivator, it would be no problem

to land steadily on their feet from such an attack.

However, Song Qingshi couldn’t muster up any energy. He couldn’t stand

steady and fell to the ground. He didn’t get up for a long time.

Seeing his sorry appearance, An Long was shocked, suspicious and

regretful of his action. A great part of his anger immediately disappeared.
The Luminous Dragon didn’t understand so many things. It simply felt very
distressed when he saw Song Qingshi tumble to the ground. It immediately
crawled over and straightened up, turning itself into a walking cane.

“Xiao Bai, you are so kind.” Song Qingshi used the Luminous Dragon’s
support to slowly stand up. He limped to An Long’s side and complained,
“If you’ve got something to say then let’s discuss it slowly. I don’t want to
fight with you right now.”

“What? Your injury hasn’t healed?” An Long rudely took him from the
Luminous Dragon. He turned from side to side, repeatedly checking him
over. He finally raised his sleeve, pinched his left arm and asked, “You’re
unable to move this side?”

Song Qingshi replied honestly, “Half of my body was burned by the

lightning. All my meridians and skin were regrown. For now, I can’t move
it.”

“It looks softer than the original skin.” An Long squinted his eyes, carefully
stroked his arm several times. He licked his lips and ground his teeth.

Song Qingshi suddenly realized that the situation was turning far from
reassuring. He quickly tried to pull his hand back.

However, An Long’s hands were so strong that he couldn’t move it at all.

Song Qingshi gave up all hope. “You’re only allowed one bite. If you bite
more than once, I’ll set you on fire.”

An Long raised his eyebrows and asked with a smile that was yet not a
smile, “Why don’t you just burn me directly?”

“You’re not to blame for this matter,” Song Qingshi never liked to justify
his mistakes and was brave enough to take responsibility for them.
“Although it was an accident, I made you worry about me, after all. It’s my
fault so it’s fine to let you take a bite to vent your anger.” Furthermore, he
shouldn’t have drawn the dog head on the envelope. It was too disrespectful
to the other.
A smile began to appear at the corner of An Long’s lips. His hostility was
slightly reduced, his hold slightly loosened and his teeth were feeling less
itchy.

Song Qingshi struck while the iron was hot. “I’m the one who’s in the
wrong. If you’re angry, you can come and settle accounts with me but don’t
blame Wuhuan…”

Before he could finish his words, the white and tender flesh on his arm was
bitten with such force that his flesh was almost torn off.

Song Qingshi screamed in pain and tears were about to come out.

This Alaskan Malamute’s bite was really painful.

The author has something to say:

Yue Wuhuan’s tale of striving for favor (future edition):

Today, Song Qingshi took a look at the little evil spirit in Cage C and
praised it for its bright colored coat and for being especially healthy.

Oh, tomorrow, he’ll take it out for a toxicology experiment.

Chapter 38: A Peculiar Slow-Acting Poison

An Long let go and began to question him closely about the Heavenly
Tribulation.

Song Qingshi was also very depressed. “I don’t know, the lightning just
came suddenly.”

“Did you do any research that violates the laws of Heaven? Or did you
refine any pill that went against the natural order? Did you wrongfully
frame an enemy?” An Long has made countless speculations about this
matter but no matter what, he never ever thought of the unheard of
possibility that a Foundation Building cultivator, like Yue Wuhuan, could
have encountered this Heavenly Tribulation. Moreover, based on his
investigation, the Lightning Tribulation then had been equal in power to one
meant for a Nascent Soul breakthrough. And so this pot could only fall on
Song Qingshi. “Could it be you were trying to break through to Fen Shen?”

Song Qingshi firmly denied it. “Nothing of the sort! It’s Heaven who made
some sort of mistake!”

As a rigorous scientific researcher, he did not think at all that this matter
was related to Yue Wuhuan. Jin Feiren and Xie Que, these absolute garbage,
had not met with the wrath of Heaven. Yue Wuhuan was just a mortal; kind
and gentle. How was it possible that he was being punished by
Heaven? This Lightning Tribulation was purely coincidental!

He made a guess, “Maybe a demon cultivator failed the tribulation and used
a Life Borrowing Technique of to transfer the Lightning Tribulation to me.”

The Life Borrowing Technique was a lost forbidden technique of the

Demonic Sects. It was said that it could transfer fatal damage from oneself
to someone else. However, the activation conditions were very harsh. Aside
from needing a person who shared one’s fate, it also needed the right time,
place, so on and so forth.
Yue Wuhuan had been sold to Golden Phoenix Mountain Manor for many
years and had absolutely no status. It was not difficult to obtain his birth
chart.

Both of them made numerous conjectures but could not reach a

conclusions. They could only put the matter aside for the time being.

Song Qingshi tried again to reason things out with the unreasonable
Alaskan Malamute. “When the incident happened, it happened too
suddenly. I had no time to leave any sort of explanation. Yue Wuhuan is
unfamiliar with you and even has some grudges against you. How could he
dare ask you for help? If he didn’t seal the Medicine King’s Valley and this
matter got out, I really wouldn’t have made it out live.”

An Long sneered. “You really have no idea of that kid’s tricks. I thought
you had fallen into his hands after being seriously injured and was being
controlled.”

Song Qingshi was baffled. “If he wanted to seize the Medicine King’s
Valley, he could have just killed me outright. Why bother to treat me and
then control me?”

An Long wanted to dunk his head in water to get him to wake up. “You
don’t understand how a man’s mind works!”

Song Qingshi felt that he was humiliating him. “How can I not understand
how a man thinks when I’m a man myself?”

An Long said angrily, “Have you never thought that he’s lusting after your
beauty?!”

Song Qingshi was silent. He stared at An Long’s eyes for a long time,
suspecting something might be wrong in it. Otherwise it would have been
impossible for him not to see that Yue Wuhuan’s beauty was ten times
greater than his. Not to mention that Yue Wuhuan was the protagonist shou,
beautiful enough to cause the fall of a city, gentle and kind. It’s others who
covet him, okay?!
An Long also realized that he had made a slip of the tongue. He turned his
head, bitterly refusing to speak any more.

Song Qingshi pondered what he had just said and found new questionable
points. “Why would you think that Yue Wuhuan would want to harm me?”

After An Long began to suspect that the Medicine King’s Valley had met
with a mishap, he began investigating Yue Wuhuan’s movements. Whether
it was in the secret realm or the Life and Death Stage, his actions were far
beyond that what a Foundation Building cultivator could do. He used any
means be it fair or foul. He was cruel to others but even crueler to himself.
Neither his behavior nor way of thinking was normal.

The immortal realm no longer called him by the name Wuhuan Gongzi but
referred to him instead as ‘that lunatic’.

“Listen to me,” An Long organized his words. He was preparing to accuse

Yue Wuhuan behind his back to Song Qingshi, asking him to be on guard
against this dangerous person. “That guy, in the secret realm…”

Suddenly, someone broke into the protection range or his mental probe and
interrupted his narration.

Yue Wuhuan brought in new refreshment, gracefully appearing in front of

the two of them with a smile. He personally poured a cup of tea for An
Long, “What interesting thing is An Xianzun talking about?”

An Long didn’t expect those Gu’s, used merely to scare people, to keep him
trapped for long. Seeing him appear so brazenly, he was about to speak with
contempt.

Yue Wuhuan asked with a smile, “It can’t be that you were worried about
my condition?”

An Long’s stomach-full of words were blocked all at once. He looked at

Song Qingshi beside him whose face was showed a completely perplexed
expression and then at the lunatic evildoer in front of him. He suddenly
realized that he could never say all the insane things that Yue Wuhuan had
done. Otherwise, wouldn’t he just be saying that he was still unwell?

Song Qingshi attached exceedingly great importance to his mental illness. If

he knew that his illness had not been cured, he would never shun him. He
would only love and take care of him in every possible way…

An Long gritted his teeth and once again decided to reorganize his words to
say that Yue Wuhuan wasn’t crazy. He was purely sinister, black-hearted
and rotten to the core.

Yue Wuhuan turned around and poured tea for Song Qingshi. He glanced at
the tooth marks on his arm and asked with a smile, “Master has just
recovered from his serious injury. How about I prepare some medicated
food for you? I got some Purple Cloud Ginseng from the secret realm a few
days ago. It is most suitable for nourishing the body.”

An Long’s stomach-full of words were blocked once again. Looking back at

it now, he remembered that most of what Yue Wuhuan had done seemed to
really have been to find medicine for Song Qingshi to heal his injury. If he
decided to lie, this matter couldn’t be hidden. It would have been fine to say
it if Song Qingshi really had been harmed. But seeing how Song Qingshi
was sitting here in perfectly good condition and it was all thanks to this
evildoer, was he lodging a complaint against him or was he asking for him
to be rewarded?

The rest were small matters like murder, which, in the immortal realm, were
things not worth mentioning.

He himself had killed far more people…

As for being injured by traps as he charged into the Medicine King’s Valley;
he could bicker even less about this matter. It would simply be too
disgraceful for this dignified Nascent Soul cultivator…

An Long tasted the same unspeakably bitter suffering whenever he

frustrated Song Qingshi into turning into a pufferfish. Gnashing his teeth,
he said, “This guy hasn’t done anything special in the secret realm. In any
case, it’s just the usual treasure grabbing. He was very good.”

Yue Wuhuan sat down with a kind and honest expression on his face and
nodded, “Thank you to An Xianzun for the praise.”

“You’re welcome,” An Long held up the cup and couldn’t help taunting
him, “There isn’t any poison in this tea, right?”

Yue Wuhuan said unflinchingly, “An Xianzun really loves to jest. I haven’t
used this kind of vulgar technique for many, many years.”

Song Qingshi hugged the well-behaved Luminous Dragon. He looked at An

Long to his left and Yue Wuhuan to his right. Even he, who was slow on the
uptake, knew that the two were completely incompatible with each other.
The atmosphere was terrible. However, he didn’t know how to reconcile the
two. After all, Yue Wuhuan’s traps had hurt An Long and An Long couldn’t
let Yue Wuhuan off easy.

The best way to deal with fighting was to isolate the parties first.

Song Qingshi was about to ask a valley servant to take An Long back to
Jingxin Courtyard and he himself would accompany Yue Wuhuan back to
Fuling Palace.

Suddenly, he looked at An Long’s leather armor and felt something was

amiss. Song Qing studied medicine for many years and was a little obsessed
with cleanliness. He usually wore white clothes and didn’t like getting
dirty. An Long knew this and so every time he comes to the Medicine
King’s Valley, he will clean himself up. Even when he played pranks or got
handsy, he would never torment him in this regard.

Now An Long’s body was covered in stinky mud. An Long had carried him
all the way here and he made several dirty stains on his vestments.
The cleansing spell was a basic spell that every cultivator in the immortal
realm knew. It could instantly remove the dirt on one’s body.

Why doesn’t An Long use it?

Song Qingshi thought for a while and then sent out his mental probe to
investigate. His face changed slightly. He immediately forced himself to get
up with the help of the Luminous Dragon. He limped towards An Long,
pulled at him and said solemnly, “Xiao Bai has some injuries, I’ll take you
two to rest and get some medicine as well.”

An Long saw the way he looked and his heart softened instantly. He
stretched out his hand. “Hey, do you need me to carry you on my back?”

Song Qingshi shook his head and stepped on the red lotus. “I’m not
crippled. If I let you give me a piggyback ride now then what next?”

He was more accustomed to doing what he can do himself…

Yue Wuhuan lowered his eyes and quietly picked up the tea set on the table.

Song Qingshi pulled An Long along and took him to his permanent
residence in the Medicine King’s Valley, the Jingxin Courtyard. He ordered
him to lie down and then used his fairly flexible right hand to check his
injury. An Long saw that he had already found out his actual situation and
no longer tried to put up a front. He finally took off his black leather armor.

How could someone who forcibly broke the Poisonous Fog Formation of
the Medicine King’s Valley get through unscathed?

He had been trapped in the Poisonous Fog Formation for several days.
Under the leather armor, dried blood mixed with the dark swamp mud,
sticking to his flesh. There were black spots on his chest and abdomen,
signs of the poison’s corrosion. It had spread through much of his body over
time and had gradually seeped into his bones. The name of this poison was
“Bone Intoxication” and it was the most terrifying slow-acting poison in the
“Nie Clan’s Poison Scriptures”. At first, it was just numbness and then as
the toxin enters the bones, it becomes more and more painful, until the
bones in the entire body would crack and the whole body would transform
into mud.

Song Qingshi disliked this poison as being too cruel. He had never used it
before nor had he set it in the Poisonous Fog Formation so he didn’t notice
it right away.

Although An Long used Gu’s and special detoxification pills to delay the
onset of the poison, after so long, the poison had already reached the
surface of his bones and the pain was severe. At first, he was anxious to ask
about all these matters he’d been worrying about and then Yue Wuhuan
suddenly appeared. For the sake of face, he forcibly endured and said
nothing.

“You always do this,” Song Qingshi used his spiritual power to seal the
spreading poison for him. He then used the ghost fire to draw the poison
out. He couldn’t help cursing, “If you cut your finger, you come find me
and make such a fuss but when you’re seriously injured you won’t breathe a
word about it. You just have to insist on pretending to be fine. Don’t you
know pain? If you let it drag it on and all your bones get broken even I can’t
save you!”

An Long remained silent, allowing him to detoxify and heal his injuries.

With Song Qingshi’s special physique, there was no need for him to be
afraid of all sorts of poisons. He can also absorb other people’s poisons into
himself and then dissolve them.

The black ghost fire kept turning, sucking all the poison bit by bit.

“He changed this poison in the poison array because he wanted my life.”
The pain in An Long’s body gradually disappeared and he said solemnly, “I
don’t blame him. Battles in the immortal realm have never been reasonable.
Battle are a matter of life and death. Since I broke into the Medicine King’s
Valley alive and saw you two, he was the one who lost. Qingshi, I just
thought of twenty-eight ways to kill him, eight of which you absolutely
wouldn’t have been able to stop.”
Song Qingshi stopped the ghost fire in his hand. He raised his head and
looked at him warily.

“I know. You want to say that I’m a Nascent Soul cultivator.” An Long
knew what he wanted to say, and interrupted him. “But Yue Wuhuan is no
ordinary Foundation Building cultivator! No Foundation Building cultivator
has a physique closer to a Core Formation cultivator’s. There’s the Blood
King Vine. His whole body is highly poisonous. He has so many of these
strange formations and these unthinkable hidden weapons. He has sword
skills that he never could have even if he started practicing in the womb! He
has all sorts of schemes! If he’s allowed to develop, he will definitely
become my hidden danger!”

What he originally thought to be an ant, turned into a serious situation. He

had misjudged him.

Although it wasn’t a big deal now, all cultivators knew that danger should
be killed in its infancy.

Song Qingshi murmured, “But, you didn’t kill him.”

An Long closed his eyes and took a deep breath: “If I killed him, would you
forgive me? Would you not fight me to the death?”

“No,” Song Qingshi shook his head firmly, “He saved my life.”

An Long slowly raised his left hand. He lowered his head and looked at the
skin on it that was more delicate than elsewhere. His voice was a little sad,
“If…I had been the person next to you, you wouldn’t have been hurt at all. I
would have given everything to protect you. But… you never gave me the
chance.”

He was very powerful. He was fierce and tough. He was rough-skinned and
heavily muscled. He was brazen and unreasonable. He wasn’t meek and
compliant. He wasn’t the type to do what he’s told.

He was a wolf who stubbornly wanted to pretend to be a dog. But no matter

what he couldn’t keep up the pretense.
Song Qingshi knew what he should say some words of comfort but no
matter what he says, he felt that they would all be pale and feeble.

“I don’t blame you. It’s my fault. I can’t let it go. This is the punishment I
deserve.” An Long pulled him into his arms and buried against his neck,
lightly sniffing the scent he was reluctant to let go of. He finally let out an
injured whimper, “Qingshi, it hurts…”

The author has something to say:

An Long: I thought you were locked up in a small black room!

Song Qingshi: I was in a small black room. How did you know?
Translator’s note: The author has a lengthy note at the end but I think you’ll
all want to read it.

Chapter 39: Greedy Ambition

Song Qingshi had never seen An Long like this. He was a little
overwhelmed, clueless as to what to do. After he removed all the poison, he
spent an hour acting as a treasured teddy bear. He didn’t dare speak or move
and finally he was reluctantly let go.

The Luminous Dragon was not injured but it was thoroughly exhausted
from excessive exertion. He asked the kitchen to prepare a lot of raw eggs
as food for the Luminous Dragon. He then repeatedly warned An Long not
to drink alcohol; even medicinal liquor was not allowed.

When he returned to Fuling Palace, it was already midnight.

His newly-recovered body was tired; his heart was also tired.

Yue Wuhuan was sitting on the steps of Fuling Palace, waiting for him.
Seeing his appearance, he was stunned and didn’t say anything.

“Were you waiting for me?” Song Qingshi was a little happy when he saw
him, but it was a pity that his whole body was smeared with An Long’s
mud. The cleaning spell couldn’t get rid of the smell of the swamp. He just
wanted to take a bath.

Yue Wuhuan took a fresh unlined robe for him and sent it to the bathroom
door.

Song Qingshi was soaked in the warm hot springs, thinking about how An
Long had looked and what he’d said and done today. In his heart, he felt a
little perplexed.

It couldn’t be that An Long likes him, right?

Song Qingshi quickly gave up this absurd conjecture. Although he was no

expert at relationships between friends; he might not have seen pigs running
but he has eaten pork. His sister in the other world was a goddess-level
Baifumei, the line of suitors who came to court her could take up several
whole streets. Everyone employed all sorts of gimmicks to win her favor.
Some even tried to get to her through him, giving him all sorts of books and
practice exams, begging him to put in a good word for them.

How could there be such a chaotic and infuriating wooing method like An
Long’s?

This was obviously the bad-friend model that everyone talks about, right?

His brothers in school were also a lot more troublesome than this. They
hooked arms around each other’s shoulders, hugged each other, cursed at
each other, gave each other terrible nicknames, drank together, soaked in
public bath together; he even heard that they would jeer and ridicule each
other… And somehow, it hasn’t prevented them from finding girlfriends at
all. And they were different in front of their girlfriends, each becoming
more well-behaved and thoughtful than the other.

More than five hundred years ago, every time he was kidnapped by An
Long to go out to play, An Long would always be first to find a beautiful
woman. He would whistle to attract the attention of the beautiful woman
and he would tell him to come and watch, saying he’ll teach him how to
seduce a woman. He was not interested in these things and had refused
many times. An Long, though, still kept tirelessly doing these foolish
things. What ‘pure and gentle, sexy and enchanting’; what ‘delicate and
lovely, dignified and lofty’; what ‘exotic bearing and classical grace’; what
‘daughter of a noble house, jewel of wind and dust‘ …

Thanks to An Long, he has seen an unprecedented number of beautiful

women.

There was no one who disliked beautiful things.

Song Qingshi wasn’t against the appreciation of beautiful things. But one
had to use respectful eyes to look. You must treat them with due respect. He
absolutely hadn’t wanted to be taken as a lecher by these beautiful
women! He had wanted even less to be treated by these beauties as An
Long’s accomplice because of An Long’s shameful actions, being chased
down the street by these ladies up in arms and him not daring to fight back
because he was in the wrong!

This incident will always rank first in the most shameful things in his life.

He couldn’t get rid of his anger even when he beat An Long’s dog head into
a pig head.

An Long still hadn’t known to repent and asked cheerfully, “You don’t like
women. Is it possible that you like men?”

Song Qingshi was dumbfounded by his question and he pondered over it for
a long time. However, he was obsessed with cultivating and research. He
was uninterested in self-indulgence and didn’t understand the feeling of
being roused by desire. He never thought about his own orientation. How
could he possibly know the answer to this question? He tried to draw an
outline of his type in his mind but he could only draw a blank.

He pondered for a long while and found that An Long has once again made
his thinking grow crooked. He was someone who was going to cultivate the
Way of the Heartless. What was he doing thinking of this kind of thing?

An Long wouldn’t give up and kept asking, “What kind of man do you
like? Men from our Western Forest are very good to their Daoist
companions. Don’t look at how fierce we appear on the outside. In fact,
we’re the henpecked sort. If she makes us go east, we would never go west.
If she makes us kneel on the washboard, we would never dare kneel down
on the nail board… Do you want to think it over? I’ll find a good one for
you. I guarantee he’ll be very obedient.”

His expression was actually very lowly and humble, like he was waiting for
him to make a fool of himself.

Song Qingshi didn’t like this topic very much and he felt like he was being
tricked again. He didn’t want to pay any more attention to this silly dog
who knew nothing but to joke around. He ran back to the Medicine King’s
Valley, shut himself in his study and immersed himself in many obscure
texts, until An Long swore with his ancestors as witness that he would
never do something so foolish again. Song Qingshi barely managed to get
himself to forgive him once he promised never to bring up this topic again.

An Long knew that he was in the wrong and he behaved for a long period
after that.

Later, he successfully formed his Nascent Soul and cultivated the Way of
the Heartless.

The Way of the Heartless didn’t actually affect life and friendship. It simply
cut off passions and abstained from desires; concentrating on seeking the
Way, freeing one from any worries about love. After Song Qingshi
cultivated the Way of the Heartless, he never again suffered from the
troubles of the heart demon. There were no more bottlenecks on his road to
cultivation and he made progress at lightning speed. Obviously, his choice
at the time had been the right one. This was the Way that suited him best.

An Long, however, lost his temper like crazy. He cursed out a lot of words
that were unpleasant to hear, slammed the door and left.

Song Qingshi was angry about this for a long time.

When his anger subsided, he was a little worried. He asked Ye Lin to

inquire about any news of him. However, Ye Lin reported that An Long was
outside toying with flowers and grass; he spent his days very happily. After
the two finally reconciled and after much difficulty, resumed
correspondence, he even dared to provoke numerous immortal ladies and
female cultivators to come make trouble at the gate of the Medicine King’s
Valley. It added chaos to his research and he was so angry that he wanted to
hit someone. He was simply a thoughtless, straight-man bastard!

Song Qingshi got up from the hot spring. He felt that he was thinking too
much!
How could An Long abandon the allure of beautiful women? And for dull
and boring man like him? He also wasn’t a beauty like Yue Wuhuan. Was
there something wrong with his mind?

It was most probably that his self-esteem had been hurt by being severely
injured by a Foundation Building cultivator and he was now too
embarrassed to say it and so he was just feeling depressed.

If he were to put himself in his shoes, if he had lost out on an exam to a

younger junior brother, he too would feel so depressed, he would want to
cry.

He’ll be a little gentler to An Long during this time. He won’t carelessly

burn him. He’ll let him cool his temper and he’ll find a way to solve the
issue of the Bone Intoxication

Song Qingshi straightened out the logic in his mind and got up from the hot
spring. He put on his unlined robe and walked out of the bathroom,
prepared to go back to his room to rest.

Yue Wuhuan had been waiting outside the door early on. He looked for a
long moment and suddenly stretched out his hand and wiped two unfaded
tooth marks on Song Qingshi’s neck. He said awkwardly, “It’s easy to leave
marks on Master’s body. It can’t be wiped off. I’m afraid you might be
made fun of if you go out like this…”

“I’ll apply medicine on it later. It should be gone by tomorrow.” Song

Qingshi promised, feeling depressed. “That dog of a brute, he’s like this
every time he loses his temper. In the future, he will definitely not be
allowed to bite indiscriminately.”

Yue Wuhuan asked, “An Xianzun likes to bite people?”

“Yes. It’s nothing,” Song Qingshi couldn’t help ridiculing him. “You
haven’t seen him go mad and bite off an enemy’s neck…”

Yue Wuhuan smiled and softly hummed in agreement. He supported him to

walk slowly back to the room. He controlled the Blood King Vine to
retrieve the ointment to remove bruises and then gently smeared a thick
layer on the bite mark. The mark was completely covered before he
stopped. He then carefully massaged Song Qingshi’s stiff limbs.

He had already taken off his golden mask and under the light of the
luminous beads, his beautiful phoenix eyes were concealed with a dark
luster. The corners of his mouth were tightly pursed together. After
hesitating for a long time, he lowered his head and slowly said, “It was
wrong of me to use the Bone Intoxication in the Poisonous Fog Array. It
was wrong of me not to say anything even though I knew An Xianzun was
poisoned. Provoking An Xianzun and implicating Master in this trouble was
even more wrong of…”

Song Qingshi immediately refuted. “It’s not your fault.”

Although the fight between the two was caused by a misunderstanding,

fights in the immortal realm were always a matter of life and death. What
sense was there to admit fault for this kind of thing? And under An Long’s
violent attacks, how could Yue Wuhuan possibly have retreated
unscathed? Only after he had woken up, he saw that Yue Wuhuan was safe
and sound, so he didn’t think much about it.

Thinking of this, he suddenly had a realization and hurriedly examined Yue

Wuhuan’s body with his mental probe. As a result, he found a lot of injuries
that had yet to fully recover, as well as traces of old wounds that had
already completely healed. Especially eye-catching were those traces where
something had bored in through his leg and wound along his meridian,
snaking towards his heart. This was obviously the work of An Long’s
Heart-Eater Gu.

The Heart-Eater Gu was small in size, moved extremely quickly. It was

hard to pin down its tracks and it left you no time to use anesthetics.

At the moment the Gu invades, you need to act decisively. You will need to
cut open your body with your own hands, open up your meridians little by
little, and fish it out. If you hesitate even for a moment or if you were struck
with bad luck and allowed the Heart-Eater Gu to crawl to your heart, you
will be met with an even more painful way to die.
This was one of An Long’s cruelest Gu’s. It may seem like this Gu leaves
you hope to escape with your life, but very few cultivators actually survive.

Yue Wuhuan refused to say anything.

Song Qingshi almost exploded with anger. He wanted to tear that Alaskan
Malamute to pieces. He had just stood up when he remembered the even
crueler Bone Intoxication on An Long’s body. His mind cleared up once
again. He sat back down and took two deep breaths. He calmed his angry
mood and tried to be rational, pondering the problem.

Bone Intoxication and the Heart-Eater Gu, neither was something that could
be forgiven. They could now be regarded as mortal enemies.

In order to save him, a deep misunderstanding occurred between the two.

They attacked each other, causing the current situation…

Song Qingshi did a round of reflection and found that the main culprit was
he himself. Now, he was feeling a bit guilty.

He looked at Yue Wuhuan and thought about An Long. He had never faced
such a complicated situation before. He felt more pained than when he had
been struck by lightning. He wished that he could take these two things
onto himself and have that be the end of the matter.

The little angel’s well-behaved and sensible appearance made him want to
be partial towards him.

But, no…

If he forcibly shielded his faults, An Long will be even more furious and
will never let the matter go. If news of this matter spreads, that he master of
the Myriad Gu Sect had been grievously harmed, it would be a dispute
between the sects for their honor and dignity. This matter can no longer be
measured by right or wrong. It will be even more unfavorable for Yue
Wuhuan. Therefore, this will be used only as a last resort. It would be better
to find a way to calm An Long’s anger and get him to give up pursuing this
matter and let this matter remain secret. Then he would keep the two apart
and use time to dilute everything…

But what about the grievance that this little angel suffered?

Yue Wuhuan saw through his troubles and softly comforted him, “Master,
there is no need worry. Wuhuan will admit his error to An Xianzun and ask
for punishment, bringing an end to this matter.”

Song Qingshi immediately refused. “No! You’re not at fault. There’s no

need for you to beg for forgiveness!”

He knew how ruthless An Long was towards people he found displeasing.

He can’t let the little angel suffer this grievance.

Yue Wuhuan lowered his head. He tucked his slightly wavy hair behind his
ear. He dropped his phoenix eyes, gently kissed the palm of his left hand.
He said sincerely, “Your troubles are my fault.”

Song Qingshi felt as though his palm had been brushed by a feather. It
tickled and his ears were a little hot for some reason. Fortunately, his long
hair hung down and covered it. He retracted his hand uneasily. The beating
of his heart went slightly disordered. He insisted, “You’re not at fault.”

Yue Wuhuan smiled. “You can admit to a mistake even if you’re not at
fault. I’m used to this kind of thing.”

When he was at Golden Phoenix Manor, he had to admit his mistakes no

matter what he did. Even if he had been forcibly held, he had to kneel
down, admit his mistakes and be punished.

Now he could no longer tell what was good and what was evil, what was
right and what was wrong. Strong was right, weak was wrong; living was
even more right, dying was even more wrong. In order to achieve one’s
goal, there was no means that could not be used. .

He can kill anyone and he can also offer up an apology to anyone.

He couldn’t feel any difference between the two…

Everyone said that his mental state was abnormal and that he was a lunatic.

He had killed everyone in the Medicine King’s Valley who knew he was a
lunatic and couldn’t control their mouths.

Hush. He must hide it. How bad would it be if he were discovered by the
Master?

He can lock the demon of desire in his heart. He can restrain the crazy
thoughts in his mind. Naturally, he can put up with this dirty wolf, hide his
murderous intent into the darkness and cover it up with a smile. He can
pretend to be harmless and then wait for the right opportunity. He wants too
many things, so he mustn’t be too eager to act. He must slowly weave the
net, slowly laying out preparation, never showing his true colors before the
prey completely falls into the trap.

When he looked at Song Qing with a smile, his eyes were full of doting
tenderness…

“Wuhuan,” Song Qingshi was so moved by the way he looked at him. He

thought for a long time before he said, “You don’t need to do these things
for me. I am your master, although…I am an incompetent master who
knows nothing except medical skills and research and one who hasn’t done
anything worth presenting. I was even so irresponsible as to abandon you
for ten years, causing you a lot of suffering.”

Yue Wuhuan immediately cut him off. “No, this is because you blocked the
Heavenly Tribulation for me…”

Song Qingshi knew that he was clumsy with his words. Afraid that he
wouldn’t be able to out-speak him, he stretched out his hand and blocked
his mouth. Unyielding, he said, “It is the master’s responsibility to protect
his disciple! It’s because I didn’t properly anticipate your Foundation
Building crisis. I didn’t make thorough preparations. I hadn’t been able to
guage the strength of the Heavenly Tribulation and I wasn’t able to adjust
my Nascent Soul well and I made my move in a flurry, which led to being
seriously injured and falling into a coma.”
Yue Wuhuan was stunned by him. When that warm palm touched his lips, it
brought a secret faint joy.

Seeing him honestly keeping quiet, Song Qingshi smiled with satisfaction.
“Wuhuan, let me resolve this matter.”

It was time for him to climb out of the ivory tower and learn how to deal
with complicated interpersonal relationships.

Yue Wuhuan looked at him for a while and said, voice hoarse, “Okay.”

He put down the blue silk canopy screen for Song Qingshi and extinguished
the luminous beads. He put on the mask once again, got up to take his
leave.

Within the dark canopied bed, a shy voice came from under the quilt.

“Wuhuan, don’t be afraid, I… will do everything to protect you…”

He kniew that it will be difficult to get Yue Wuhuan to get rid of the
shackles of the past and find happiness, but he will do his utmost best and
do it bit by bit.

His intelligence might not be first-rate and he wasn’t the best when it came
to EQ. He was also a bit clumsy when communicating…

However, no matter how difficult the problem was, he would never give up.
No matter how many times he fails, he still has to find the correct answer.

Yue Wuhuan looked at the figure in the canopied bed. He had accompany
this body day and night, bathed it and changed its bandages. Every contour
of every part of his body, the sensation of every inch of his skin, have
already been engraved in his mind. There was no need to witness it with his
own eyes. He can easily imagine how alluring the person behind the curtain
was. He used the Emotion Locking Gu to forcibly suppress the crazily
burning desire in his body. In contrast, his voice was extremely soft and
steady, “I know.”
The long red vine slowly stretched into the canopied bed, gently wrapping
around his pale ankle, like a rope that could easily be loosened.

“Good night. Let it accompany you. It’s difficult for you to move about
right now. If you need to summon me, you can just pull this vine.” Yue
Wuhuan couldn’t help but indulge his greed for a while. This was his most
precious stone, pure and flawless. He must watch it closely, guard it, let no
one take it from his arms.

The author has something to say:

Because my characters are comparatively controversial, I’d like to say a

few words.

First of all, don’t just say that the author doesn’t understand Wuhuan as a
character. His psychological problems are very complicated — he has a
highly-retentive memory, he’s clever and perceptive, prideful, a
perfectionist, has strong desire for control, serious mysophobia, etc., taken
together, they cause a variety of serious mental illnesses (at the same time,
its part of his charm). If I was even slightly off in my understanding and
control of his character, the Wuhuan who would have appeared would no
longer be the one you’ve seen and liked.

Love and doting affection might resolve the psychological trauma of

ordinary people.

This is not possible for Wuhuan. I have already given the answer in the
chapter regarding his fantasy. Right now, doting affection will only cause
him suffering when he is sober and awake. The love given by Qingshi will
only make him feel inferior and he will be trapped in the cage that is the
Medicine King’s Valley. He will pretend to have recovered. He will
carefully play the role of a happy character that everyone wants to
see. (Patients with mental illness hide all their symptoms, which represents
a refusal to be treated.)
The title of the first volume is First Meeting. It’s just the preliminary
treatment for his physical wounds and giving him a reason to stop trying to
kill himself.

The title of the second volume is Madness. It is necessary to expand

everyone’s psychological problems to the largest extent and to expose their
hidden problems, igniting them all.

Only when the sea of ​blood and mountain of corpses is initiated and
Wuhuan’s unbridled hatred completely released, allowing his mentality to
change, will the real road to redemption begin. (Wuhuan in that period was
super liked by all my friends who had read the spoiler outline. The plot
would also gradually become sweeter.)

Qingshi’s psychological problems will also be gradually revealed in the

second volume.

An Long is an important trigger. His feelings are by no means simply to

create some hellish scene or to have a lady-killer character design. I don’t
like to making meaningless set ups. Every step was done thinking about
how the next few steps will be. (It can’t be helped that I write slowly.)
(Although the unrequited love is miserable, there is no possibility of
multiple angles in the story.) (An Long’s final ending is still good though so
don’t worry too much.)

In all psychotherapy, the doctor is only an aid and ultimately it is necessary

for the patient to seek his own cure and to stand up by himself.

So the story has to go til the end to solve all the problems.

If this really bothers you, you can choose to abandon this story, or wait until
the end of the story to read the final answer.

PS: When I decided to write this story that runs counter to mainstream
stories, I had already prepared myself to have absolutely no regrets. I will
not compromise for commercial viability nor would I change the outline
just because someone disliked it.
Chapter 40: Acting Competition

In the middle of the night, Qing Luan came quietly to Zixuan Hall.

Zixuan Hall was an old study not far from Fuling Palace. The Medicine
King Xianzun had abandoned it because it was too small. It had then been
used to store sundries. After Yue Wuhuan took charge of the Medicine
King’s Valley, he reorganized and repaired it, restoring its use as a small
study. Here, he handled the affairs of the valley.

Yue Wuhuan was sitting at the desk, reading letters. Under the golden mask,
there was a somewhat joyful smile at the corner of his lips.

However, after having misjudged many times before, Qing Luan no longer
dared to use Yue Wuhuan’s facial expressions to guess what he was
thinking. Behind his smile may be a cold killing intent and anger may be
just a facade for scheming. He merely plays out the image he wishes to
show you and the craziness that is occasionally revealed is real.

No one dared to face his madness.

Qing Luan nervously bowed in greeting. She then stood there obediently,
waiting for her new orders.

The Blood King Vine twined around a small wooden box. Inside the small
wooden box was a spirit bead that had never been used.

Qing Luan took the spirit bead. She knew that Yue Wuhuan didn’t need to
rely on it to control people’s hearts. Keeping it had only been for her share
of loyalty. Today’s Medicine King’s Valley had been woven into a spider
web, guarding Fuling Palace and the treasures within it. He had already
removed all danger. Everything was under his control and no secret could
be hidden from his eyes.

Yue Wuhuan raised his head and saw that she was still standing there. He
asked, voice low, “Is there anything else?”
Qing Luan thought for a while and answered carefully, “How should I
handle An Xianzun? I ask Wuhuan Ge to instruct me clearly.”

She knew about the devious trick of changing the Poisonous Fog
Formation. She also knew the source of An Long’s rage. It made her very
uneasy.

Yue Wuhuan put down the letter in his hand, “Treat him as you would a
distinguished guest.”

Qing Luan tactfully described her worry, “An Xianzun came charging in so
menacingly. He doesn’t seem like he’ll be easy to deal with.”

Yue Wuhuan laughed, “Are you afraid that he will kill me?”

Qing Luan bowed her head, not daring to answer.

“Your thinking with regards to An Long is too simple,” Yue Wuhuan treated
this loyal and capable subordinate with a little more patience. “The way of
succession of the Myriad Gu Sect is like refining Gu. After the master’s
death, his nine direct disciples will fight each other to the death; until only
one last person remains who can obtain the inheritance of the Wu Gu god.
Of his martial brothers, he was the last one to enter the sect and yet he
managed to kill all his eight fellow apprentice brothers. After obtaining the
inheritance, he bathed the Myriad Gu Sect in blood, wiping out all the
voices of dissent. Afterwards, he, bit by bit, grasped the entire Western
Forest in his hands.”

Qing Luan shuddered at hearing this. She couldn’t accept this kind of
brutality between fellow disciples.

“So, people like him won’t let their emotions affect their decisions,” Yue
Wuhuan analyzed. “If he, after he had broken into the Medicine King’s
Valley, had killed the people in it, especially me who is Master’s senior
disciple, it would have meant trampling on the dignity of the Medicine
King’s Valley. Master would not be able to let the matter go. His body had
been heavily poisoned at the time. He was an arrow at the end of his flight.
Given that kind of situation, what use would there have been provoking
Master’s anger by insisting on taking me down with him?”

Qing Luan muttered to herself, “However, Master has removed his

poison…”

She wasn’t a stupid person and she suddenly understood. Since, An Long
hadn’t done anything even when he had charged in in a fury, now that his
anger has calmed down, he was even less likely to do anything.

“Can’t he kill me whenever he wants to?” Yue Wuhuan shook his head and
smiled coldly. “In the immortal realm, the strong are as numerous as the
clouds. What need is there to personally kill someone? Wouldn’t it be better
to hire someone to kill me? Better to give the impression of weakness now,
pretend to behave, get Master’s wariness towards him to subside, get the
poison undone. Once he leaves, then he’ll set about in secret; maybe
employ assassins. If I were him, I would definitely do this…”

Afterwards, he can even get rid of the killer and use the killer’s head to
please Master.

It would be killing two birds with one stone. Why not do it?

Just as when the Master woke up, he too gave up the devices and
formations to deal with the incoming An Long. He aborted the poison
puppets lying in ambush. There was no need to upset the Master over these
trivial matters and destroy the good mood of their reunion.

Yue Wuhuan shook his head regretfully. “An Long is a clever man…”

The Blood King Vine that he had wrapped around the Master’s foot was
still moving to and fro. Master was obviously still troubled about this,
tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. Since Master is so worried about
their “misunderstandings”, they must “solve” them. He had originally
thought of several ways to provoke An Long into killing people in the
Medicine King’s Valley, but now this had to be considered as a loss; better
to give it up.
Pity……

Before Qing Luan left, she hesitantly asked, “Wuhuan Ge, are you not
afraid of danger?”

“I’m afraid, deathly afraid.” Yue Wuhuan remembered this funny thing, and
couldn’t help but laugh. The deep laughter in the quiet darkness carried
with it restrained madness, “If I encounter danger, Master will certainly be
very worried. He still stick closely by side to protect me day and night.”

Such a life was truly one that people couldn’t help but look forward to.

Qing Luan looked at his smile and couldn’t help shivering.

In Fuling Palace, Song Qingshi tossed and turned. All night, he moaned and
groaned but he just couldn’t solve this difficult life-and-death problem.

He could not naively hope the two to let bygones be bygones and become
friends. He merely hoped that the two would not insist on fighting to the
death.

Despite that, it was still very difficult…

An Long was the type to seek revenge for just an angry look. There was no
way he would have mercy on anyone. He would often agree overtly but
oppose in secret. In case, he agrees with him for the moment and then later
on, kills Yue Wuhuan, first decapitate then present your trophy, even if he
slaughters this Alaskan Malamute, it would all still be too late. Yue Wuhuan
was a little angel who was willing to endure anything for him. He was
inexplicably made to suffer the Heart Eater Gu. He must certainly also be
holding back fury in his heart; otherwise, he would not have taken out the
Bone Intoxication poison in retaliation.

He can’t just always be made to suffer a grievance and expected to obey

and behave, right? It can’t be the he can’t even hit back when he’s been hit
or answer back when he’s scolded, right?
The master was responsible for his disciple’s mistakes. Not to mention that
his disciple wasn’t even wrong and thus couldn’t admit to any fault.

He should just simply let An Long beat him up to vent his anger…

He was a Nascent Soul cultivator. In any case, he could definitely bear a

beating more than Yue Wuhuan.

Song Qingshi thought for a long time and felt that there was no way this
unreliable plan would succeed. He wondered whether he had anything good
to move An Long and get him to give up on his hatred. However, the
Myriad Gu Sect was much richer than the Medicine King’s Valley. Except
for medicinal pills, he had nothing else that was presentable…

The next day, he struggled to get out of bed and found that the Yue Wuhuan
hadn’t come. He simply did a quick washing up with the assistance of the
Blood King Vine and then decided to go to An Long and lay his cards on
the table. He’ll go see what price he needs to pay to get An Long to
completely let this matter rest. If that doesn’t work, then he’ll have to
prepare their defenses.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he walked to the garden, he saw An Long and Yue

Wuhuan sitting in the pavilion playing Go. The two were talking and
laughing and the atmosphere between them was very good.

Song Qingshi rubbed his eyes, feeling life was like a dream.

Yue Wuhuan glanced at his messy hair and nodded in greeting. He smiled.
“This morning I should have gone to wait upon Master first, but An
Xianzun pulled me in to play Go.”

“You pulled me in first, alright?” It was An Long who was staring intently
at the Go board. After thinking for a long time, he finally set down a piece,
“It’s your turn.”

Song Qingshi walked over suspiciously and looked at the Go board. An

Long held
the black pieces and Yue Wuhuan held the white ones. He wasn’t any good
at Go. The only thing he could see were twin dragons strangled together.
The black dragon slightly had the upper hand.

An Long asked delightedly, “It’s boring to play for nothing. Should we put
in a little bet?”

Yue Wuhuan set down a piece and asked with a smile, “What does An
Xianzun want to bet?”

“No gambling in the Medicine King’s Valley!” Every time Song Qingshi
played Go with An Long, An Long would slaughter him within an inch of
his life. Knowing his prowess in Go, he rushed to answer for fear that the
little angel would be made to suffer a losses due to An Long’s luck in
matches. “Whoever loses gets slips of paper stuck on their head!”

He had seen his senior brother do it this way when playing cards!

Both of them looked at him blankly…

Song Qingshi unyieldingly rapped the gavel. “This is my house! I have the
final say!”

He sat between the two of them, lying on the stone table. He didn’t like
watching Go matches. He absently watched them taking turns placing down
the white and black pieces. His mind was filled with thoughts of whether
An Long was planning on lying and deceiving him again or whether Yue
Wuhuan, afraid that he would worry, was hiding something.

The situation of the Go match suddenly took a turn.

The black dragon was led into a trap and was about to be strangled by the
white dragon.

An Long looked at his method of arranging traps. This was just like in the
Poisonous Fog Formation, every step seemed harmless and only when he
thought he had the advantage, did the hidden killing move bare its fangs. An
indescribable anger broke out in his heart. The more An Long thought about
it, the angrier he became. The look in his eyes turned fiercer and fiercer.

Yue Wuhuan noticed the murderous intent and smiled at him.

Song Qingshi looked vigilantly at An Long and warned, “Refusing to

acknowledge one’s loss is not allowed!”

“Your disciple is bullying me,” An Long rolled his eyes. He pulled him over
and placed him beside him. He then said cheerfully, “We brothers must
enjoy blessings and endure misfortune together. Since you were the one
who proposed it, if I lose the paper will be stuck on your forehead!”

Song Qingshi had been planning to coax him into having a good time and
so he readily agreed.

Yue Wuhuan was stunned and the Go piece in his hand turned towards a
different direction.

The two of them had been at it for more than half an hour. The match went
into a bitter struggle. In the end, the black dragon narrowly defeated the
white dragon…

Song Qingshi was as good as one’s word. He took the small red strip of
paper and walked towards Yue Wuhuan. “Where would you like me to stick
it?”

Yue Wuhuan laughed and said, “I will be happy no matter where Master
sticks it.”

“Okay,” Song Qingshi thought for a while. He didn’t want to put it on the
mask, so he decided to put a cat’s whisker on him, “I’ll paste it properly so
it looks a bit better.”

He leaned in closer to Wuhuan’s face, trying to find the best position.

Yue Wuhuan kept moving this way and that. He laughed and said, “Master,
it tickles.”
Song Qingshi’s pasted it on crooked and it didn’t look pleasing to the eyes.
And so he quickly tore it off and stuck it on once again. “Don’t move
around.”

An Long looked at the shameless evildoer on the left and the brainless fool
on the right. As he listened to this exchange that sounded somewhat like
flirtatious banter, he grew so angry that he could eat the Go pieces! Song
Qingshi had never been in a relationship with anyone and was clueless
about romantic matters! He never thought that he could still play like
this! This was a huge loss!

Song Qingshi stuck on the piece of paper and voiced out his doubts,
“What’s with you two?”

An Long instantly withdrew his anger and said cheerfully, “We’re the type
to not make friends unless we fight. We decided to call it even between the
Heart Eater Gu and the Blood Intoxication Poison.”

Yue Wuhuan bowed in salute once again. “Wuhuan greatly admires An

Xianzun’s magnanimity.”

“Forget it. I don’t blame you,” An Long waved his hand and said
graciously, “You were trying to save Qingshi. It was I who let my
imagination run wild. I was rash.”

Yue Wuhuan smiled and said, “An Xianzun was also saving my Master. If
Wuhuan had known your intentions, I would have thrown open the doors of
the Medicine King’s Valley to welcome you.”

An Long praised, “It’s amazing that you are so skilled at scheming at such a
young age.”

Yue Wuhuan boasted, “It was An Xianzun who let me off easy, allowing me
to escape with my life by a fluke.”

The two smoothly performed their exchange, laughing endlessly, as though

they felt like old friends at first meeting.
Song Qingshi, standing to the side, suddenly became the outsider to their
exchange…

He became more aware of his lack of knowledge when it came to emotions

and relationships. He decided that he was in need of remedial lessons.

Whenever Song Qing encountered things he didn’t understand, he would

look for the answer in books. However, subjects such as interpersonal
relations, psychology or making friends didn’t exist in the immortal realm
and the Medicine King’s Valley didn’t have any books related to these
matters.

After pondering for a long time, he suddenly remembered that in this world,
depictions of emotions between people was most often found in novels.
Perhaps he could use them as a reference.

So, he wrote to Ye Lin and attached a high-grade spirit stone to the letter,
asking him to find some books about men’s camaraderie for him. He must
ensure that it was close to life, the kind with sincere feelings.

Ye Lin was quick handle paid orders. He immediately took the books by his
own bedside and sent it to Song Qingshi, boasting that it was the best-
selling novel in recent times. The depiction of brotherhood in it was written
marvelously. It could even be described as ‘knives piercing both sides‘,
‘supremely honorable and righteous’, ‘to offer one’s life in sacrifice’.
People who read it simply couldn’t put it down. They just couldn’t tear
themselves away.

Song Qingshi, as though he had found priceless treasure, picked up the

copy of “The Three Tiger-Fighting Brothers” that was sent with the letter.

He was extremely satisfied with Ye Lin’s ability to handle matters.

The author has something to say:

The acting level of the three:

Yue Wuhuan: Oscar-winning Film Emperor

An Long: Domestic Film Emperor

Song Qingshi: I once played a tree in our kindergarten stage play!

Translator’s note:

How to play Go: Link

Chapter 41: Tiger-Fighting Brothers

The author of “The Three Tiger-Fighting Brothers” was called Xun Fang
Zhenren. It was an on-going series, currently on its third volume.

The story went as follows: When a kind-hearted and lovely rune cultivator
had ventured out of his home for the first time, he met a reserved and black-
bellied sword cultivator and an unrestrained and dissolute demon cultivator
in the secret realm. The three men shared weal and woe as they fought and
defeated the Nine Lives Demon Tiger. From adversaries who couldn’t stand
the mere sight of each other, they became good brothers and afterwards,
they became heroes travelling around the world.

Xun Fang Zhenren’s writing style was excellent. He filled this simple
adventure story with one climax after another. In between he mixed in
enchanting beauties and precious and exotic animals. It was brimming with
manly romance and each character was portrayed to be true to life. This
story about how the three forgot their former enmity and turned to being
able to drink and chat merrily together was written with overflowing heroic
spirit.

Song Qingshi was nestled under his quilt. He held up the luminous bead,
ignoring the vine that had tightened around his ankle several times already,
urging him to sleep. He simply couldn’t stop reading.

He finally understood the joy of reading adventure novels.

In the story, the rune cultivator had been seriously injured by the demon
tiger. The sword cultivator, bathed in blood, came to his rescue. He scaled
many peaks, faced countless swords, was so oppressed that it broke one’s
heart…

Song Qingshi was very keyed up as he read when something cold and moist
slid beside his feet. He lifted the quilt and found that the Luminous Dragon
had crawled over. It was trying to bite off the irksome Blood King Vine,
attempting to reclaim its territory.
Its teeth were extremely sharp and it forcibly pulled open several wounds
on the Blood King Vine.

“Don’t make trouble,” Song Qingshi hurriedly separated the snake fangs
from the Blood King Vine. It then picked up the Luminous Dragon and
scolded it, saying, “This is not a rope. You are not allowed to bite it.”

The Luminous Dragon immediately wrapped around his waist. It coiled

around a few times then snuggled against his chest, refusing to leave.

“You’re a lot heavier than before.” Song Qingshi found it both funny and
infuriating. “Forget it, I’ll allow you to stay tonight.” Then he shook his
foot and ordered, “Wuhuan, don’t wind around so tightly. I’m fine.”

The Blood King Vine slowly loosened. It then continued to gently loop
around his ankle.

Song Qingshi didn’t understand why Yue Wuhuan didn’t just settle the
Blood King Vine by his bedside and instead, insisted on wrapping around
him. However, when he had asked during the light of day, Yue Wuhuan’s
expression was embarrassed. He looked like he was hesistant to say,
repeatedly opening his mouth to speak then stopping mid-way. Sing
Qingshi’s guess was that during the ten years he was in a coma, Yue
Wuhuan had gotten used to staying by his side and taking care of him. Now
that they were going about separately, he felt uneasy and so he wanted to
use the Blood King Vine to act a little like a spoiled child.

Even if his family’s little angel had a bit of a strange hobby, he must also be
doted upon.

What’s a mere tendril of Blood King Vine? It is absolutely no problem even

if he wants to twine seven or eight tendrils!

Song Qingshi patted the Luminous Dragon’s head and continued to read the
novel. He was very excited. He even got out of bed to grab a notebook and
a charcoal pen. He carefully marked the key points and made notes. While
taking down notes, he told his impressions to the Luminous Dragon. “The
characters in this novel are written so well; very close to life. I think Yue
Wuhuan must be the kind and lovely rune cultivator. An Long is the
unrestrained and dissolute demon cultivator and I am the aloof and black-
bellied sword cultivator! Everyone started out having conflicting views and
are the type to make friends with their fists. Afterwards, they went on
adventures and…

Yue Wuhuan who was eavesdropping using the Blood King Vine: “???”

An Long who was eavesdropping using the Luminous Dragon: “???”

Song Qingshi quickly determined his future course of action. He’ll drag the
two of them out to an adventure and all the interesting things they encounter
during their journey will be used to deepen their brotherhood. He
remembered that Nanhai City, not far from the Medicine King’s Valley, just
happened to be holding a flower festival. Although Nanhai City was small,
it was teeming with beautiful women and strong liquor, just right for An
Long’s tastes. There were often precious gems for sale brought in by their
sea trade. This was just perfect for Yue Wuhuan’s hobby. As for him, Wolf’s
Bane flowers were in full bloom right now. He could buy some medicinal
materials along the way.

Even if the plan fails, no one will be unhappy about going to such a good
place to have fun, right? Of course, before going, he was going to have the
both of them read this novel so that they could experience for themselves
what deep brotherhood was like. In this way, they could understand his
painstaking efforts.

The next day, Yue Wuhuan agreeably and sensibly accepted his copy of the
novel. “Since Master says its good, it must be good.”

“I’ve read this book a long time ago.” An Long thought about what he had
heard yesterday. After thinking about it all night, he was still completely
puzzled. Unable to get it out of his mind, he couldn’t help but ask, “You
think I’m like the demon cultivator which is understandable. But why is he
the rune cultivator and you, the sword cultivator?” Just what about this
wretched evildoer was kind-hearted and lovable? And how was his family’s
little Qingshi aloof and black-bellied?
Song Qingshi boldly and confidently said, “Because the sword cultivator is
the oldest and is responsible for handling matters. He is the eldest brother.
The rune cultivator is the youngest and needs to be looked after. He is the
youngest brother. Among the three of us, I am the oldest, you’re the second
and Wuhuan is the youngest. Isn’t that right?”

His answer was logical and well-founded.

An Long actually couldn’t find anything to refute…

“How do you know these things?” Song Qingshi noticed a flaw in his words
and realized that this guy was asking him about things he had said while he
was alone in the middle of the night. He thought for a bit and grabbed the
Luminous Dragon. Checking it over, he caught a minute eavesdropping Gu
between its scales. He was so angry that the alchemical fire ignited in his
hand. He smashed it against the Alaskan Malamute, “You wanted to listen
in to me talking in my sleep again!”

He had done this before. Not only did he peek at him sleeping, he also made
fun of him for hugging his quilt while he slept! And that he recited medical
scriptures in his sleep! He told him that he should hug something warm
instead! Like a man’s embrace!

He was not a girl, what would he hold a man for?

This was obviously An Long mocking him for being like a woman!

Song Qingshi got angrier the more he thought about it. The red lotus in his
hand burned fiercer and fiercer. In any case, there were still some days
before their departure. He didn’t mind letting the Alaskan Malamute
accompany him to recuperate from his injuries!

An Long was burned into covering his head and sneaking away like a rat,
with his head in his arms. He turned around and saw Yue Wuhuan standing
to the side, acting like an unconcerned party. He immediately ratted him
out. “He also eavesdropped! Why are you only burning me?!”
Yue Wuhuan put down the novel in his hands and said with a smile, “I have
already reported to Master early on about the Blood King Vine.”

“You’re even thinking of dragging others down with you!” Seeing that he
didn’t know to repent, Song Qingshi grew even angrier. He refuted, “It’s
difficult for me to get around right now. Wuhuan left the Blood King Vine
so that it would be easier to take care of me. What’s your excuse for using
Xiao Bai to eavesdrop?”

An Long felt wronged. “I heard that before you got into that accident, this
guy slept with you every night…”

“Not like you haven’t!” Song Qingshi found his grievance to be totally
inexplicable. “Before when you were seriously injured and being treated in
the Medicine King’s Valley, you could barely move. Didn’t I also stay by
your side to take care of you? Because of your bad sleeping posture, when
your injury was just starting to get better, you kept tampering and fiddling
with your wounds. So, I had to have it changed to two beds.”

Isn’t it simply a matter of course to provide in-room patient care for

seriously ill patients?

His rebuttal made An Long choke on his stomach-full of words. He just

hated how much black history he had from when he was young and
experienced. Now, he couldn’t turn the tables on him.

Song Qingshi became suspicious once again. “How did you know that I was
accompanying Wuhuan to sleep?”

Over the past few years, Yue Wuhuan had completely removed his spies
within the Medicine King’s Valley which meant that he no longer received
any news from within the valley. However, he must never let Song Qingshi
know about this matter. Otherwise, if he were to be questioned too closely,
he wouldn’t be able to explain. It was very likely that he’d be blacklisted
and expelled from the valley.

The look in Song Qingshi’s eyes turned even more and more suspicious.
The alchemical fire began to take on an indistinct shape in his hand.
An Long made a decisive decision and dragged in Yue Wuhuan who had
been standing to the side, pretending to be all innocent. “He was the one
who said it!”

Yue Wuhuan glanced at him and smiled.

“After we agreed to forget our previous disagreements, we got so into our

conversation and this topic was accidentally brought up.” An Long’s face
was sincere but the force behind his fingers was so intense that he almost
snapped Yue Wuhuan’s shoulder blades with his grip. It brought with it a
heavy threat but his mouth still implored, “I misunderstood you two and
thought that you two were doing something interesting behind my back so I
sent Xiao Bai to eavesdrop. Isn’t that right, Wuhuan Xiaodi? Didn’t we
already discuss this?”

Song Qingshi was a first-class master when it came to performing

autopsies. There was hardly ever a case where he hadn’t found the cause of
death.

He was an expert at Gu’s and Wuhuan was an expert at poisons. It was

difficult for either of them to conceal their killing methods.

Neither of the two wanted to anger Song Qingshi nor leave any flaws…

Cultivators had long life spans and there was no need to scramble for every
minute. Even if they wanted to eat the other party’s flesh, they must choose
the right time to act. Otherwise, if they kill the other but leave a black
history becasue of it then the murder would have been meaningless. It
would only arouse Song Qingshi’s suspicion and if he were to investigate
the matter, it was very likely that their secrets would be exposed.

They had much too many secrets in their hearts…

An Long knew that Yue Wuhuan had the same idea. And so Yue Wuhuan
took the initiative to show goodwill and tolerated An Long.

Yue Wuhuan was even more cautious and careful than An Long, never
showing even a trace of his poisonous snake’s tail.
“An Xianzun is right.” Yue Wuhuan knew what he was thinking and didn’t
even take notice of the severe pain on his shoulder. He even joined up with
his narrative and backed-up his lie. “I must have mentioned it when we
were chatting. It was very kind of An Xianzun to remember. Now, my
condition has become a lot better and I no longer need Master to
accompany me and provide in-room care, let alone do any interesting things
with Master in bed. I would like to please ask An Xianzun not to do such
things anymore.”

Song Qingshi found it completely baffling. “Aside from sleeping and

reading, what else can one do in bed?”

Yue Wuhuan said dotingly, “What Master says is true.”

An Long looked helplessly at his clear eyes. For some unknown reason, the
anger in his belly completely disappeared. Even his anger at Yue Wuhuan
also dissipated by a lot. He shouldn’t have held out any hope for this idiot
who cultivated the Way of the Heartless. If even having a peerless stunner
like Yue Wuhuan in bed can’t provoke his desires then it probably truly was
hopeless…

If he wanted him to understand these things, he was afraid he had to do it

like how he had seen under the illusion of the Fantasy Gu before —
compelling, coericing, controlling…Using various means to forcibly instill
these things into him, forcing him to experience it for himself and taste the
flavor of desire. Only then would the green buds slowly bloom into a
beautiful form.

He thought of that scene in the fantasy and almost couldn’t help but want to
show his fangs and tear this thoroughly clean person to shreds…

But, he absolutely couldn’t do this. It would hurt him…

He could not make mistakes…

An Long closed his eyes lightly and restrained the evil thoughts in his heart.
He couldn’t destroy anymore everything he’s worked so hard for.
“An Xianzun,” Yue Wuhuan’s gentle voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
“Are you going to travel with Master to Nanhai City?”

An Long opened his eyes and looked at Song Qingshi’s expectant

expression. He smiled and showed the canine teeth at the corners of his
mouth. “If you want to go, then naturally, I’m going.”

Song Qingshi had been cultivating for nearly a thousand years. At least nine
hundred years had been spent locked up in his residence and most of the
remaining hundred years had been spent gathering medicine in the deep
mountains or in the secret realms. The number of times he had gone to
accompany him to go outside could be counted on his fingers and Song
Qingshi taking the initiative to invite him to journey together now was a
first. If he doesn’t go, wouldn’t he be giving up and presenting with both
hands this great opportunity to this evildoer?

An Long smiled and draped himself all over Yue Wuhuan’s shoulders.
“Wuhuan Xiaodi, what is the relationship between us? Don’t call me
‘Xianzun’, call me ‘Dage‘.”

Yue Wuhuan nodded slightly and said with a smile, “An Dage.”

Song Qingshi was overjoyed. He suddenly felt that the relationship between
the two was not as bad as imagined. The future looked promising. He must
arrange the itinerary of this trip well. He would have to ask Ye Lin to find
out more about the good food, good wine and beautiful sceneries in Nanhai
City. The more interesting things they find, the more they could converse
and maybe by the end of their journey, they would have each found each
other’s good points, completely undoing the knots in their hearts.

Everyone here is a scholar-tyrant. What need is there to fight over trivial

nothings? Isn’t it good to learn and study together?

The author has something to say:

Scholar-Tyrant Song will use his own power to pull this story in the
direction of a standard tale of brotherhood.
Danmei? Bah! Isn’t it nice to be brothers instead?

Song Qingshi: “Come on, let us sing Zhou Huajian’s “Friends” together~”

PS:

The author couldn’t help ridiculing her protagonist: “Qingshi ah…getting

tangled with seven or eight Blood King Vines, you’re probably going to cry
until you cry out like a cat.”

Song Qingshi: “???“

Chapter 42: Gold-Medal Tour Guide

If the trip was not arranged well, at best, they would be unhappy during the
trip and at worst, they would quarrel and have a complete falling out.

Song Qingshi was a serious and responsible person and would never allow
such a tragedy to happen.

He took all the materials related to Nanhai City in the library and re-read
them again. He also wrote to Ye Lin, asking him to collect more books on
the customs and culture, stories and legends and geographical knowledge
regarding the places en route to Nanhai City. He had to make sure to be a
gold-medal tour guide. The two group members must be given service to
achieve their utmost comfort; nothing must go wrong.

Yue Wuhuan had ordered that he was to receive a massage on the left side
of his body three times a day for his rehabilitation.

Song Qingshi was a good patient. Following the doctor’s advice, he was
lying on the veranda of Fuling Palace, holding a well-behaved Xiao Bai,
basking in the warm sun. While receiving a massage, he furiously wielded
his brush, writing notes.

Yue Wuhuan had an obsession with cleanliness. He should pay attention to

food hygiene during their journey. They would have to bring their own
bedding and tableware.

An Long liked to make trouble after drinking. When they go drinking, it

would be best to find a quiet place with no one around so as not to inflict
suffering on innocent people.

Yue Wuhuan hated being taken liberties with. He must be wary of lechers
and must dispose of them promptly.

An Long liked seducing beauties so he would have to be careful not to let

him go too far. As soon as he discovers the situation, he must keep Yue
Wuhuan far away from An Long so as not to implicate the innocent!
…

“Oh–” Song Qingshi felt a sharp pain on his arm. He turned his head back
and looked gloomily at the Alaskan Malamute, who he suspected, was
thoroughly amused by the whole thing. An Long had forcibly grabbed Yue
Wuhuan’s rehabilitation job. He grumbled to the culprit who had caused
him to fall from happy paradise, “Can’t you do it a bit gentler?”

His arm and thigh had been squeezed blue in several places. It was terribly
painful. He had wanted to refuse the Alaskan Malamute’s “caring” massage
but he was afraid it would result in another conflict between the two. If they
counted old scores and new grievances, Yue Wuhuan might suffer a loss so
he could only grit his teeth and bear it.

“Don’t act all aggrieved when you’re already enjoying the benefits.” An
Long happily abandoned his arm and pulled his leg. He placed it on his
knee and pinched his toes one by one. His expression was not at all like that
of a proper masseuse. “This magnificent master of the Myriad Gu Sect has
condescended to give you a massage. You should be happy. Just when will
you get better if you just rely on Yue Xiaodi who is all soft and gentle and
can’t bear to put any force behind his massages?”

Song Qingshi said sullenly, “I like his gentleness!”

“Really?” An Long paused. A wicked smile instantly appeared on his face.

He stretched out his hand to scratch the sole of his foot, “Let me give it a
try.”

Song Qingshi was particularly afraid of being tickled. He quickly retracted

his foot and shouted at him to stop. “Go away! You’re no longer allowed to
give massages!”

An Long said sternly, “Look, you’ve already got some strength back into
your left foot. Your massages need to be a bit stronger, don’t be afraid of the
pain. I fight a lot and have a lot of experience with this kind of injury.”

Song Qingshi felt that he was just trying to find an excuse to tickle him. He
jumped up and fled, refuting, “I’m also a doctor and I know these things
better!”

Yue Wuhuan was walking over carrying a bowl of carefully concocted

medicine. Seeing the scene before him, he took a deep breath and put down
the decoction. “Master’s injury has yet to completely heal and he needs to
rest. We’re not in a hurry. Taking this slowly won’t be any hindrance to him.
I would like to ask An Dage to not tease him.”

Song Qingshi clung to Yue Wuhuan and nodded like mad. His family’s little
angel was still better. He knew how to act properly and not cause trouble.

Yue Wuhuan took his arm and lovingly applied ointment to the bruises on
it. He re-massaged it using gentle force, lest it hurt him.

“Truly amazing endurance.” An Long curled his lips, disdainful of his act of
pretending to be well-behaved and clever. He had originally thought that
when Song Qingshi had fallen into a coma and fallen into this guy’s hands
that he’d been eaten so completely that not even dregs would remain. He
hadn’t expected the two of them would still be so pure and innocent.
Obviously, this lunatic evildoer’s ability to endure was superb, unwilling to
rashly mess around. This made his ability to put up with this lunatic
evildoer once again rise by a lot. At least for the time being, he could hold
himself back from killing him. He would look at the situation before
making a decision.

Song Qingshi continued to lie on the ground, taking notes earnestly. His
writing brush wouldn’t stop as he wrote tens of thousands of words.

He truly worked hard. He wrote in every detail of every scenic spot in the
trip. He made preparations for every possible accident. He firmly believed
that so long as you weren’t afraid to study, there was nothing in this world
that was difficult. He even secretly went to the anatomy room to practice
delivering his lines to the general teachers, so as to avoid stuttering when he
lectured on the road.

The two people who wanted to make trouble secretly glanced at the
notebook crammed full with notes. They were quite moved. Their eyes met
and they reached a tacit understanding. They decided to save all their
enmities to be settled later. They’ll bear with it for now and try to pretend to
be happy and harmonious during the trip so as not to let all his efforts go to
waste.

After a dozen days or so, the left side of Song Qingshi’s body could finally
move freely. He had cleared the remaining poison from An Long’s body,
nursed Yue Wuhuan’s body back to health, undid Qing Luan’s seal and
entrusted to her the Medicine King’s Valley’s affairs. He then left her with a
means to contact them in case of an emergency. Finally he packed his
luggage, found Yue Wuhuan to receive a huge sum of pocket money and
happily led the others to set off on their journey.

Normally, when they went out to do errands they would take their magical
beasts. The magical beasts were very fast and so they weren’t suitable for
sightseeing along the way. Moreover, magical beasts were rare and only the
big sects or high-ranking cultivators could ride them. If the three of them
went together, it would be too easy to attract attention. It was not conducive
to a quiet vacation.

After consulting with the two, Song Qingshi decided to go on horseback.

This was a common means of transportation for ordinary cultivators in the

immortal realm, suitable for low-key travel.

“This stone is Shuanglong Rock,” Song Qingshi peeked at the cheat sheet in
his sleeve, determined the location of the scenic spot and did his best to
recite the introduction. “It’s recorded in Yung Ying Zhenren’s “Nanyang
Mountain Mythology” that two dragons, due to a personal enmity fought
which caused heavy rain to fall. The Celestial Emperor sent Shenjun to
descent to earth and behead the two dragons. Their heads turned to this
rock. You have to watch it carefully and realize its appearance…”

Yue Wuhuan praised without hesitation, “What Master says is true, this rock
has obtained good fortune from Heaven and Earth. It possesses form and
spirit. It really is quite extraordinary.”
After listening to this shameless reply from right beside him, An Long
hurriedly swallowed the “Looks to me like a broken toad” that had already
been in his throat. After mulling it over for a long time, with much
difficulty, he finally stifled his conscience and said, “It really looks like a
dragon…”

After listening to their praises, Song Qingshi looked back at the stone in
satisfaction. But why was it that no matter how to looked at it, it looked to
him like a toad? He quietly glanced at the two people behind him who kept
admiring the mighty dragon. He was a bit suspicious of his own eyes and
afraid of being laughed at for his lack of artistic vision, so he didn’t dare say
it. He also delivered a few words of praise and finally made his concluding
remark, “What do you understand of this story?”

An Long’s wolf face slackened at this question. “Huh?”

Yue Wuhuan thought for a while and replied, “It is important for brothers to
be united and not to fight?”

Song Qingshi was extremely satisfied and as expected, his family’s little
angel understood his intentions best.

An Long turned to the heaves, looking as though he had nothing left to live
for. He suddenly remembered a certain time, while in the fantasy world
shaped by the Fantasy Gu, he had angrily remodeled the Gu, forcibly
distorting many of the fantasy settings. He had even changed Song
Qingshi’s character design a bit. After that, he coaxed dream Song Qingshi
into falling into his hands but in the end, while in bed, he was still asked
countless questions about social ethics and physical hygiene. He was
tormented with questions to the point of almost dying…

He’s really got it hard…

Although he hated Yue Wuhuan, he also had to admire his extraordinary

endurance…

He can’t do this kind of blind boasting…

“An Long, what are you thinking?” Song Qingshi saw that he wasn’t paying
attention to the lecture. He called out to get his attention, ready to explain
the next spot. But then, when he saw the scenery in front of him, he was
suddenly stunned. “Huh? This wasn’t like this before. Why’d it change?”

Yue Wuhuan followed his gaze and found that there was a majestic temple
on the mountain, with carved beams and paintings on the walls. It was
resplendent in gold and jade. Inside, incense was lighted in abundance. The
entranceway was a street, selling all kinds of incense sticks and food.
Faithful believers, both men and women as well as merchants and hawkers
came and went. It was truly unusually bustling.

He asked curiously, “Is there anything wrong with this temple?”

Song Qingshi was perplexed and said, “I remember this was a broken
mountain temple before. No one came here.”

Yue Wu laughed and said, “When did Master come?”

Song Qingshi thought for a while. “I lived in this ruined temple for a while
when I was in Foundation Building. It happened more than 800 years ago.”

“Given how many years has passed, it must have changed.” Yue Wuhuan
knew that he had no idea of changes in the outside world. Smiling, he
turned to a different topic. Puzzled, he asked, “Why did Master live in a
ruined temple?” There were many places to lodge at in the immortal realm
and the price was not expensive. Even a Foundation Building cultivator
wouldn’t have to worry about not being able to find a place to stay in town.

Song Qingshi realized that he had said something stupid, unintentionally

saying something he shouldn’t have. Embarrassed, he said, “I picked up a
seriously ill child at the time. It was not convenient to stay in the town so I
could only stay where there was no one else around.”

Yue Wuhuan was even more puzzled, “Why?”

Song Qingshi explained, “The child was an abandoned half-demon.”

Yue Wuhuan immediately understood.

In the immortal realm, the ones with the lowest status were mortals but the
most hated were those of the demon race. The demons were creatures bred
by evil thoughts in the endless land. Most of them had very monstrous
appearances. They did not understand human feelings. Within their body
there was only the desire for killing and greed. They created a reign of
terror wherever they went.

Occasionally, there would be women forcibly seized by demons and the

children born from that were the half-demons.

The half-demons would have some of a demon’s traits. When they grew up,
most of them would gradually be dominated by evil thoughts and turn into
complete demons.

In the immortal realm, half demons were taboo children and everyone hated
them.

An Long glanced at him and said with a sneer, “You just love meddling in
other people’s business. Weren’t you afraid you were just saving a white-
eyed wolf?”

Song Qingshi earnestly explained, “There were three kinds of poisons in the
child’s body. The toxins were clashing against each other. His whole body
was starting to fester. His condition was very complicated…”

He actually knew that saving a half-demon wasn’t good. But seeing the
child still struggling with barely any breath left, wanting so desperately to
live, he couldn’t help but carry him back. He didn’t dare let others see him.
So they hid in a ruined temple deep in the mountains. It took two full years
to completely cure the child.

Later, he wanted to send this child to Ci Bei Xianzun of the Ten Thousand
Way Sect to cultivate. Ci Bei Xianzun himself was a half-demon but he
restrained the demon nature in his body with his benevolence. He was of
noble character and was highly-respected by everyone. He didn’t hate the
half-demon children and was willing to take them in and raise them. Under
his influence, almost all these children maintained their human nature and
never committed evil.

However, this child ran away not long after.

Stumblingly, he told Yue Wuhuan about these past events. Yue Wuhuan
listened very attentively. He remembered that Ci Bei Xianzun had fallen
protecting the world in the battle to seal the demons three hundred years
ago. It was regrettable and truly worthy of respect. Most of his disciples had
been killed or heavily injured. Even that beast Jin Feiren didn’t dare to
disrespect him when he mentioned his name.

Song Qingshi sighed, “Fortunately, that child didn’t end up going,

otherwise he would have been caught in a very dangerous situation.”

Although he hadn’t directly participated in the war, he had treated many of

the wounded who had retreated. He knew that the situation on the
battlefield had been tragic. He felt guilty.

An Long sneered, not sparing him any face, “Was such a filthy thing worthy
of your attention?”

“That was my first seriously ill patient. I poured my all into treating him for
two years.” Song Qingshi thought of the past and felt particularly unhappy.
“But, at that time… I didn’t know how to talk to people. I couldn’t say what
I wanted to say. My words always failed to convey my ideas. I was very
cold towards him and I was terrible at taking care of him. And so he hated
me and he left without saying goodbye.”

Yue Wuhuan comforted him, “Maybe he was just inherently bad.”

An Long taught him, “This is what is meant by ‘a devilish nature is hard to

change’.”

“He wasn’t that bad. It was my fault,” Song Qingshi said guiltily. “When I
was refining medicine and researching, I forgot all about the things around
me. I even forgot about food. Oftentimes, I let the child go hungry to the
point that he had to hunt birds and catch fish himself. Later, he even ate the
Vermillion Snake Fruits I collected…”

Yue Wuhuan asked doubtfully, “The Vermillion Snake Fruit that appears
after three hundred years and looks very beautiful but is highly poisonous.
That fruit?”

“Yes,” Song Qingshi couldn’t help holding a hand to his forehead. He

couldn’t bear to look back on his past. “I was terrified at the time and the
situation was urgent so I used pretty forceful treatment methods, almost
driving the child half-dead. Afterwards, I didn’t dare let the child remain
with me. I was afraid I would just neglect him to death…”

The more he talked, the more depressed he became. He had been

inexperienced at the time and made many mistakes, which caused the
patient to suffer a lot.

Unfortunately, his communication issues had been much more severe then
and he couldn’t express anything.

An Long refused to spare his feelings and gave a hearty laugh. “I remember
when I first met you. You talked more like a fool than you do now!”

Song Qingshi was so angry that he burned him. “That’s too much!”

An Long repeatedly begged for mercy, “I was wrong. You talk so smoothly
now and you don’t stutter when you recite your lessons.”

……

Yue Wuhuan seemed lost in thought. He felt that he had caught the tail of
something.

The author has something to say:

Yue Wuhuan: I think there’s a problem with Master’s taste but I will help
him cover it up…
Song Qingshi: I think there’s nothing wrong Wuhuan’s taste in beauty. If I
go along with him, I definitely won’t go wrong…

An Long:? ? ? (I feel like an idiot.)

Chapter 43: Mo Yuan‘s Remnants

The Luminous Dragon spotted the rat in the grass and quickly climbed
down from Song Qingshi’s waist and slithered into the deep forest. The rat
was very quick and nimble. Seeing that the situation wasn’t good, it quickly
fled. An Long knew that his pet didn’t dare to eat any mouse in the
Medicine King’s Valley. It had been dying from holding back and now that
it has been let out to bask in the sun, he was afraid it wouldn’t return until it
caught the mouse. Better that he go with it to help it catch mice.

Song Qingshi walked into the temple first with Yue Wuhuan. He regretted it
as soon as he entered.

The people in the temple were all cultivators from various sects. They all
had anxious expressions on their faces and they were all arguing endlessly.
They looked as though they were discussing something important. Most of
them were disciples of famous sects such as the Five Peak Sect and the Fu
Sect; some of them were rogue cultivators and demon cultivators. There
were even a few cultivators wearing attire marking them as disciples from
Golden Phoenix Manor.

Song Qingshi was absolutely disgusted with Golden Phoenix Manor but he
felt that he shouldn’t try to avoid them. Otherwise, it would appear as
though he were afraid of these beasts. But if he didn’t avoid them, he was
worried that the Yue Wuhuan would feel uncomfortable. He hesitated for a
moment and threw a quiet look at Yue Wuhuan, indicating for him to decide
whether to stay or leave.

Yue Wuhuan glanced at the crowd, paused for a moment and said, “Master,
something interesting seems to have happened.”

Song Qingshi understood. The little angel wanted to stay and watch the
excitement.

The Medicine King Xianzun rarely went out. Even if Song Qingshi’s
reputation was fierce, very few people knew him. Yue Wuhuan was wearing
a mask. With only his temperament and the exposed half of his face to go
by, although he was beautiful, he wasn’t that eye-catching. Moreover, there
were many immortal cultivators who hid their appearance for various
reasons. His appearance was not unusual.

The cultivators from Golden Phoenix Manor were not very old. Their
cultivation bases were low and they seemed like newly-accepted disciples.
Based on Yue Wuhuan’s expression when looking at them, it seemed that he
didn’t have any previous hatred with them. The cultivators from the other
famous sects weren’t any of the elders who Song Qing had seen so there
was no need to worry.

Once Song Qingshi clarified the relationship between the cultivators

present, he took advantage of everyone being too intent on their discussion
to pay any attention, to pretend that he was a bored rogue cultivator passing
by and boldly approached to listen in with Yue Wuhuan. What they were
conversing about was a water monster that had appeared nearby and Mo
Yuan’s relics.

Few people knew how Sword Master Mo Yuan had died only that he hadn’t
left anything behind.

There are many pure water spirit orbs in the water monster’s body. These
orbs had many uses. It could be refined into Clear Water Powder to nourish
water-type spiritual roots.

The damage to Song Qingshi’s Nascent Soul had yet to heal and his need
for water-type elixirs was great. And so, he was a little tempted. However, it
was the prospect of finding Sword Master Mo Yuan’s relics that tempted
him more. Sword Master Mo Yuan was the role model that Wuhuan yearned
for. There may be sword moves, swords or secret manuals included in the
relics. If not, then traces of Sword Master Mo Yuan’s life can give them
insights into the glorious history of how a mortal cultivated to immortality
using swordsmanship.

Yue Wuhuan seemed to think the same way. He was very engrossed
listening to their discussion.
Suddenly, the cultivators screamed and pulled out their magical instruments
one after another. Song Qingshi looked down. It was the Luminous Dragon
who had come back after eating and drinking its fill. It slithered through the
crowd with a grin, crawling towards Song Qingshi. It wrapped itself around
his waist and legs once again, burying its head in the crook of his neck,
nuzzling against him. Song Qingshi had no choice but to take this snake
who loved to act like a spoiled child, hugging and embracing him at any
place and at any time. He warned in a low voice, “Xiao Bai, don’t make
trouble. There are outsiders here.”

This warning came too late…

All eyes followed the Luminous Dragon and then focused on him.

Being stared at like this, Song Qingshi’s social anxiety reared its head. His
body began to tense. His expression became colder and colder. The cold and
eccentric Medicine King Xianzun appeared in front of them once again. His
entire body exuded an arrogant and unapproachable air.

Western Forest’s Gu King went around killing and fighting. His fame was
widespread and the furious beast who accompanied him, the Luminous
Dragon, was equally as well-known. Seeing the Luminous Dragon taking
the initiative to twine around Song Qingshi and act like a spoiled child, the
cultivators were shocked and quickly began to analyze and judge…

The entire immortal realm knew that Western Forest’s Gu King had a very
bad temper but he had a soft spot for the Medicine King Xianzun, to the
point of obsession.

If there was an elixir suitable for the Medicine King’s Valley in a secret
realm, he will surely set about to get it. If he run across a treasure suitable
for Medicine King Xianzun, he can even kill and steal it. However, for
some unknown reason, the Western Forest’s Gu King never allowed anyone
to mention this. The words “Medicine King Xianzun Song Qingshi” were
taboos in his ears. If anyone were to say to his face that he liked Song
Qingshi, he would kill them. If anyone uttered even half a word of insult
against Song Qingshi, he’d kill them even harder.
He was the top existence among the Nascent Soul cultivators. It was said
that he had managed to escape unscathed from a fight with a Fen Shen
cultivator.

No cultivator dared to provoke An Long’s violent temper after seeing a

horrible scene where the worms devoured people.

An Long walked slowly into the temple, following after the Luminous
Dragon. With an ominous glint in his eyes, he cast a look at the messy
group of cultivators; as though he were disgusting that they were getting in
his way, dirtying his view. Everyone was so frightened that they didn’t even
dare to breathe too hard. They quickly retreated to both sides, leaving Song
Qingshi, who had not reacted, standing where he was, blankly holding the
Luminous Dragon, his whole body stiff.

Yue Wuhuan frowned slightly and stepped forward, quietly blocking part of
their view of Song Qingshi.

An Long was accustomed to having the attention of the crowd. He strode to

Song Qingshi’s side. His fierce face instantly turned into a shameless,
nagging expression. While teasing the Luminous Dragon on his shoulders,
he asked fawningly, “Qingshi, what are you listening to?”

Song Qingshi’s face was cold and he whispered, “You’re making trouble.”

An Long was delighted at being scolded. All smiles, he said, ingratiatingly,

“I didn’t do it intentionally.”

At this moment, who couldn’t guess Song Qingshi’s identity?

It was said that the Medicine King Xianzun had a perverse personality. He
was highly-poisonous from head to feet. He could drag a person he found
displeasing and turn them into medicinal ingredients without warning. And
the beauty in the golden mask who was attending to him must be that cruel
lunatic Wuhuan, whose looks had been ruined and whose mood could
swing from delight to anger. Add in the fierce and brutal Gu King of the
Western Forest…and the three most unreasonable villains in the immortal
realm have gathered together.
Among the cultivators present, the highest cultivation level was at Great
Perfection of the Golden Core. Who here would dare touch the inverse
scales of these villains? The people who had been saying all sorts of
irrelevant things just now all shrunk like quail. Those who were reserved
and held a bit of beauty, were especially frightened of Song Qingshi — he
was willing to disfigure and turn mad someone like Wuhuan Gongzhi who
was beautiful enough to cause the fall of a city. This Nascent Soul ancestor
with his ruthless methods simply wasn’t human.

Song Qingshi was made even more nervous by these gazes and his
expression turned even more unnatural…

In the eyes of others, he looked like he could kill at any time.

An Long knew his nature and couldn’t help but snicker for a good long
time. Then, he said quietly in his ear, “Qingshi, you’re so fierce.”

Song Qingshi was so angry that he sent the alchemical fire to scorch his
forehead.

An Long jumped away wailing, begging for mercy. He didn’t care about
losing face like this. He was even a little happy. Because in the Western
Forest, it was natural for a man to fear his wife, to fear his Daoist
companion. Beatings were kisses, curses were love. He especially liked
being beaten and scolded by Song Qingshi. Not only was it a way to declare
his territory to everyone but it also helped Qingshi relieve his nervousness.

Yue Wuhuan had seen through his stupid thoughts a long time ago. He just
thought it was childish and ridiculous and didn’t take it seriously.

As soon as he has passed through the door, part of his attention had been
attracted by an acquaintance standing in the corner. It was a foreign rogue
cultivator named Wu Jing. He had an imposing and impressive appearance,
quite out of the ordinary. Yue Wuhuan remembered some interesting past
events and wave after wave of malice rolled in his heart. He found himself
wanting to do something fun that he hadn’t done for a long time. He took
advantage of when Song Qingshi’s attention was not on him to gently let his
voluptuous lips tick up. He smiled at the rogue cultivator. His phoenix eyes
beneath the mask were shining, bringing out a bit of restrained beauty.

Wu Jing was almost knocked silly.

Yue Wuhuan immediately held back a smile. He retracted his gaze and
stood by Song Qingshi’s side to attend to him, all well-behaved, discreet in
word and deed. He carried himself with dignity so high he could not be
profaned.

He was obviously a man of great beauty but pretended to be a noble and

holy child. This kind of disparity created an unbearable temptation.

After Song Qingshi burned An Long, some of the tension left his body. He
coldly said to everyone, “Speak from the beginning.”

An Long knew that when he was nervous, his thoughts were prone to
jumping about and he often said completely baffling things. He stepped in
to complete the questioning for him. He directly called out a couple of
cultivators. “The idiot wearing yellow in the corner and the ox-nose with
the cockscomb on his head. Yes, I’m talking to you two. Weren’t you so
good at flapping your mouth just now? Come over and tell us the whole
thing! If you don’t speak well and Qingshi isn’t satisfied, Laozi will have to
replace you.”

He’ll have to replace you because you’d be dead.

How could the two singled out cultivators dare to disobey? They hurried
forward and explained the matter in detail.

It turned out that a water monster had suddenly appeared in the nearby Yue
Yan River. It swallowed a lot of fishermen and the whole Yue Yan River
could no longer be traversed. The fishermen had no choice but to ask the
nearby cultivation sect for help. However, although this sect named Red
Dragon Sect, had a domineering name, it was in truth a sect that studied
talismans. Their sect master, the one with the highest cultivation, was just a
Core Formation cultivator. He was of good moral conduct and normally
held himself aloof from the world. They made talisman for the bigger sects
and have accumulated quite a bit of goodwill among them.

Water monsters were not particularly strong monsters so the Red Dragon
Sect’s sect master had taken a few of his disciples to exterminate the
monster for the fishermen. However, he did not return. When the various
sects sent people to pick up their talisman orders, they learned about the
matter from the panicked little disciples of the Red Dragon Sect. At this
time, it had been three days since the Red Dragon Sect’s sect master had
disappeared.

As a result, several sects had thought it over and each sent a master to
examine the situation at the river.

Seeing that the situation was turning bad, the water monster had hidden in
the underwater cave. The masters chased in after it, only to find that there
was a different world inside the water cave. There were several sword
marks outside on the rock wall and an inexhaustible murderous aura was
found the entire way. It seemed like a place where Sword Master Mo Yuan
once stayed. It was pitch black in the depths of the underwater cave and
there were unknown dangers hidden there. The masters were afraid it was a
trap and didn’t dare charge in. They decided to just search around the
entrance of the cave and they managed to rescue a lucky Red Dragon Sect
disciple. However, this disciple was unconscious and wouldn’t wake up.
His black hair had turned white as though he had received a terrible fright.

The cultivators had been discussing for a long time. Some said that they
would go back to invite their Nascent Soul elders. Some said that they
wanted everyone to join the battle. Some said that they had to go in batches
to try it out several times… Finally, a few bold cultivators were unbearably
tempted by Mo Yuan’s relics and they took the lead to investigate the cave.
However, they too disappeared…

“Save the people first!” A Five Peaks Sect disciple cried, “My shixiong fell
inside. If he gets dragged in, I’m afraid it will be dangerous for him.”
A Miao Yin Sect cultivator said angrily, “Bah! Your shixiong’s life is
important, does that mean the lives of others aren’t important?”

The cultivators couldn’t help arguing once again.

Song Qingshi said softly, “Let me see the unconscious disciple first.”

His voice was drowned out by their quarreling and no one heard it. An Long
couldn’t stand it any longer. He waved his hand and paved the way with
thousands of Gu’s. Everyone was frightened into evading. He then seized a
young disciple of the Red Dragon Sect and had him lead the way to see the
patient.

The young disciple had just entered the path of cultivation and the ignorant
had no fear. He wasn’t scared of these villains. Hearing that his shixiong
was to be saved, he immediately led them to a back room. “Shixiong has
just been rescued and his condition is not good. It is inconvenient to move
him, so Master Zhi Hui placed him here, to be sent back once his condition
improves.”

Song Qingshi followed him into the inner room and saw that sure enough,
the patient on the bed really had white hair and beard. He stretched out his
mental probe and had it do a circuit through his body. He ascertained that
except for a few bruises, there were no major injuries that could cause a
coma. He then took out some golden needles and stuck a few needles on his
head. His spiritual power guided his mental probe and slowly stimulated the
acupuncture points. When he turned his head and saw that Yue Wuhuan
wasn’t there, he instead asked An Long to dissolve the Meditation Pill in
water and use a crane-mouthed pot to pour it in for him…

An Long complied with his instructions.

Under the stimulation of the golden needles, the patient woke up. He
suddenly opened his eyes and let out a cry of extreme horror, “Snakes! So
many snakes!”

When the Luminous Dragon heard him calling for it, it poked his head out
curiously.
The patient glanced at the incomparably huge snake head beside his bed
and his eyes rolled back into his head. Foaming at the mouth, he fainted.

The disciples of the Red Dragon Sect went from joy to sorrow, crying out to
Heaven and shouting down to Earth.

“It’s okay,” Song Qingshi was a little embarrassed. He took the Luminous
Dragon back and redid his mental outline several times. He then began to
recite the patient’s medical case. “The patient turned unconscious from
excessive fear which created confusion in his sea of ​consciousness. This is
the reason he remains unconscious. I’ve already sorted out his spiritual
consciousness. He should wake up again soon…I will leave some
Meditation Pills and Spirit Calming incense for you. He should be fine after
a few days of rest. In addition, the patient may suffer from a psychological
shadow towards snakes. He will, throughout his life, need to try and avoid
contact with the stimulus.”

The diagnosis of the number one doctor of the immortal realm was very
convincing.

The disciples of Red Dragon Sect went from sadness to joy once again. But
remembering their missing master, they once again began to cry.

“The underwater cave is filled with snakes?” An Long’s heart was in full
bloom. The Myriad Gu Sect was the ancestor of snake charmers. There
must be something magical about the snakes that can live in underwater
caves. He wanted to catch some, take them back and tame them. He pulled
Song Qingshi aside and consulted with him, “Will you accompany me? The
water monster will be yours and the snakes will be mine. If there’s anything
good left by Mo Yuan, we’ll divided those equally.”

Song Qingshi thought for a while and agreed, “It’s getting dark now, so it’s
not suitable for going underwater. We’ll prepare first and go tomorrow.”

Water monsters were not powerful monsters. But their bodies were nearly
transparent and it will be difficult to spot it at night, seriously increasing its
danger.
The disciple of the Red Dragon Sect expressed a thousand thanks. Their
tears overflowed and they kowtowed asking them to save their master.

An Long was completely uninterested with their master and happily ran
away to prepare the vessel for the snakes. After Song Qingshi determined
that the patient’s condition was stable, he was in high spirits as he went to
find Yue Wuhuan to talk about this matter. He’ll also ask him if he wanted
to go underwater with them. Having a big adventure similar to that in “The
Three Tiger-Fighting Brothers” will deepen their relationship.

He was a little puzzled why Yue Wuhuan hadn’t followed him. He let out
his mental probe and found him in a secluded corner talking with someone
unfamiliar to him.

Song Qingshi ran over and was stunned…

He saw Yue Wuhuan with a smile at the corner of his lips. He was leaning
against the tree with his arms folded, playing with a fallen leaf in his hand.
He seemed to be in a great mood. There was a tall and handsome male
cultivator, blushing and stumbling over his words as he confessed to him, “I
would be overjoyed if you would be willing…I, I don’t mind about your
disfigurement. I will treat you well…”

The author has something to say:

Small theater

Crowd A: “I heard that the Wuhuan the Great Beauty was not only
disfigured but also toyed with to the point of madness! That person who did
this is truly cruel and inhumane!”

Crowd B: “I heard that person grew tired of playing with the Great Beauty
and deliberately wrecked his good looks!”

Crowd C: “I heard that person is a beast!”

Song Qingshi: “Who is that person???”

Translator’s Note: Warning…Really mild depiction of a tortuous death?

Chapter 44: A Mind at a Loss

Song Qingshi felt it was bad to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations,

but it was too late to leave now.

“Master.” Yue Wuhuan perceptively discovered his presence. He threw

away the leaf in his hand, nodded slightly to the man beside him and
indicated for him to leave. The man didn’t dare to twist the Medicine King
Xianzun’s tiger’s whiskers. He bowed in greeting and hurriedly withdrew.
Even while reluctantly walking far away, he repeatedly turned his head to
look at the beauty.

Even Song Qingshi, slow as he was, felt that something was wrong. After
thinking it over for a long while, he couldn’t help asking, “Wuhuan, was
that your friend?”

“More of an acquaintance, I think?” Yue Wuhuan walked over with a smile

and fixed his mussed up hair for him. He explained, “He helped me when I
was injured. It’s something that I’ve always borne in mind. Meeting today
was a coincidence. He wanted to reminisce about the past so I exchanged a
few words with him here.”

Song Qingshi understood. “He helped you? Then…he’s a good person.

You’ll have to thank him properly.”

Yue Wuhuan straightened his hair. He looked at his pure and simple eyes.
He said with a smile, “En.”

How could there be that many good people in this world? Moreover, there
wasn’t a single one of them who could enter the Golden Phoenix Manor to
seek pleasure. This Wu Jing was even more ridiculous. He liked to rescue
those beauties who were injured and had met with misfortune. He pretended
to be shy and honest and dispensed some small favors. His mouth was filled
with honeyed words, pledging undying love, coaxing beauties to be hell-
bent on him, to be madly in love with him. Once he grew tired of toying
with them, he just made up excuses to dump them. Watching these beauties
be filled with so much grief to the point that they wished they were dead
filled him with happiness.

There had once been a stupid maid who took it too hard and actually killed
herself.

Wu Jing had pretended to shed a few tears. He wrote a few infatuated

memorials and then turned around to “help” other beauties in trouble.

Yue Wuhuan had never asked for mercy between the sheets. Moreover, he
had a strong desire for death. He didn’t cared about serving the more brutal
guests and he would even deliberately provoked the guests’ abusive desires.
Therefore, of all the cultivation furnaces in Golden Phoenix Manor, he
suffered the most torment and abuse. When Wu Jing had met him, he
happened to have just been punished so severely that his body was covered
in cuts and bruises; he was hardly been able to get out of bed.

Such beauty, such fragility, and such helplessness made for the best prey…

Wu Jing had been moved by him and was determined to win him over. He
launched a strong offensive. He was attentive, gentle and considerate. He
also sent medicine for his injuries and various jewelry. From time to time,
he told him interesting stories. Too bad that his endurance hadn’t been
strong enough and he wasn’t able to control his desire. Seeing that his
injury was a little better, he had coaxed him, wanting his body.

How could Yue Wuhuan have failed to understand his nasty

thoughts? However, given the circumstances, he had no other choice. He
had to pretend to be stupid and accompany him in his farce. Incidentally, he
collected information regarding the outside world. Unexpectedly, Wuhuan
had acted so well that this guy took it seriously and ever since, he had been
unable to forget about his body. Now that he was disfigured, Wu Jing
thought him pitiful and fragile, a good prey that was easy to land and
wanted trick him again, to get him in his hands and toy with him.

It’s disgusting, truly so disgusting…

The world is so dirty that it’s hard to breathe.

Yue Wuhuan drew closer to Song Qingshi, He quietly sniffed the faint
fragrance of his hair and only then did he feel a bit better.

In this world, there was only this one person who was gentle to him and he
has never asked for anything in return.

The Red Dragon Sect arranged accommodations for them in a nearby town.
However, the town was very small and there was no inn. Although the best
courtyard had been tidied up for their use, it was still just an ordinary
farmhouse.

Yue Wuhuan regarded the dirty room with disdain. He set about cleaning
Song Qingshi’s room for him. He placed the full set of bedding he had
brought with him and then left, saying that he wanted to go back to his
room to clean and see what ingredients were available nearby to cook with.

Song Qingshi had tried to help several times but was rejected. He sat in the
corner and obediently read a book, not adding any more trouble.

However, today, he didn’t know why… his heart was a little confused. For
the first time, he couldn’t get engrossed in his book. Clearly, his favorite
words were right before his eyes but even after a long time, he couldn’t
even turn a page. The image of Yue Wuhuan together with that unknown
man kept appearing before his eyes. In confusion, he kept thinking about
strange things in his mind.

He had been in a coma for ten years and missed too many things…

Yue Wuhuan probably made a lot of friends during those times he had to go
out alone, right?

His little angel was so smart and kind, capable and resourceful. There are
surely a lot of people who truly like him, right?
Professor System had told him to let the protagonist shou obtain happiness.
Did this mean letting him find someone he likes and letting him start a new
life? That man he had just met seemed pretty good, tall and dashing.
Moreover, he had saved Wuhuan and he hadn’t shunned Wuhuan’s
disfigurement disguise. He seems to be of good moral character? If their
relationship develops well and they want to become Daoist companions,
then…then what should he do?

The Medicine King’s Valley has never celebrated a joyous event. Should he
prepare a lot of dowry for Wuhuan? No, that’s not right. Wuhuan was a
man. He should prepare the betrothal gift. But putting it that way seemed
wrong too. He didn’t understand these emotional matters and he didn’t have
anyone to discuss it with. Anyway, he will have to properly bless them. He
will need to pay attention to what he says. He’ll prepare a draft in advance
and memorize it well. He’ll keep it steady so that he won’t overturn the car
and embarrass Wuhuan.

The more Song Qingshi thought the more panicked and confused he
became…

Finally, he couldn’t help it. He stood up and decided to go out for a walk
and dispel his chaotic thoughts.

It was dusk and the sun was setting. The cool night breeze helped a lot to
clear his confused mind. He felt a little stupid and wanted to find something
to do.

On the side of the road, some children were playing some unknown game.
They wanted to push a big rock into the ditch, but they couldn’t push it no
matter how hard they tried. They then began to quarrel, blaming one for
being weak or blaming another for being useless.

Song Qingshi watched by the side for a while. He then walked over and
said to them, “You can try to use the principle of leverage.”

The children looked at the beautiful cultivator in confusion.

Seeing that they didn’t understand, Song Qing picked up a branch, squatted
down on the ground and drew a formula, carefully explaining, “Levers can
be divided into first, second and third class levers. Now that you have to
move a heavy object, we’ll use a first-class lever. First, we calculate the
weight of the stone and then…”

The children looked at the formula on the ground and then looked at him in
horror. They kept backing away before turning around and fleeing. They
asked their companions as they fled:

“Was he stupid?”

“He’s a lunatic, right?”

“I think that might be the new schoolmaster.”

“Mommy, I’m scared!”

“…”

Song Qingshi stayed squatting on the ground in a daze. After a long time,
he dropped the branch in his hand and got up slowly. He looked at the
physics formula drawn on the ground and smiled awkwardly. He had tried
many times to communicate with people. However, he never managed to do
it well. Sometimes, he infuriated the other party and sometimes he was met
with awkward silence. More often, he was simply ignored…

He didn’t even know where exactly he had failed.

He shouldn’t impose…

Song Qingshi sat quietly on the grass under a tree, listening to the calls of
crickets, watching the clouds under the moonlight changing into various
shapes in the sky, turning into dragons, birds, mice, cats…They changed
back and forth. It was so interesting. No matter how much he looks, he
would never tire of looking at them.

He was used to living alone and didn’t feel lonely.

Let the dragon into the sea and send the phoenix to the sky.

When patients recover, they were discharged from the hospital.

It was fine even if he has to stay where he was by himself…

Yue Wuhuan made dinner. He couldn’t see Qingshi and felt uneasy. After
searching around for a long time, he finally found Song Qingshi staring in a
daze under the tree. He didn’t know what the other was thinking about.
Most probably, he was thinking about his unfinished experimental
problems. He breathed a sigh of relief, smiled and shook his head. Suddenly
he felt like pulling a prank. He cast a Light Movement spell and quietly
jumped up the tree. He observed for a long time and once he was certain
Song Qingshi hadn’t noticed him, he suddenly set about and shook the tree.
Leaves fell like rain, falling down one after another, falling all over the head
and face of the person underneath.

Song Qingshi was stunned by the shower of leaves. Just when he was about
to investigate with his mental probe and use the alchemical fire to strike
back, he heard a familiar laughter up the tree. A little embarrassed, he called
out, “Wuhuan.”

Yue Wuhuan jumped down and landed beside him. He asked with a smile,
“Master, aren’t you afraid of enemy attacks?”

“You didn’t have any have murderous intent,” Song Qingshi explained,
“My Underworld Ghost Fire would have automatically released upon
sensing murderous intent. So, there’s no need to worry.”

Yue Wuhuan was stunned for a bit. He said, tone serious, “You shouldn’t
casually tell others about this. Otherwise, you might be targeted and
trapped.”

“Only you know about this,” Song Qingshi was afraid that he was worried
and quickly said, “I’m not a fool either so how could I just tell others about
my safeguards? Even if someone finds out about this in battle, once the
Underworld Ghost Fire is released, they won’t be survivors to tell it so I’m
not afraid of them making irresponsible remarks.”

Yue Wuhuan said helplessly, “Why tell me?”

Song Qingshi thought for a while. “You’re not ‘others’.” This was his little
angel.

Yue Wuhuan was relieved and asked,

“Master, what are you doing here?”

“I’m looking at the clouds.”

“The clouds?”

“En.”

“I’ll watch too.”

“Huh? Wuhuan likes this kind of thing? But…everyone says it’s boring,”
Song Qingshi shook off the fallen leaves off his body. He turned his head in
surprise but saw that he had already taken a seat next to him. He quickly
said, “There’s nothing in the sky. I’m just watching the clouds change
shape. You don’t need to accompany me, you can do what you want to.”

Yue Wuhuan looked at him, the smile in his eyes growing deeper. “No
matter what we do, so long as we’re together, nothing’s boring.”

Song Qingshi stared at him blankly. For some reason, his ears went a little
hot and his eyes were a little wet.

Fortunately, the darkness of the night blocked the view of this loss of self-
control.

Yue Wuhuan didn’t say anything more. He sat quietly and accompany him
quietly… It was obviously the same boring thing. But with company, he
really became happy. Just like when they would spend time in the study
before. Even when they weren’t doing anything, just reading books, he
found it more interesting than usual.

What is this feeling? Is there a theoretical explanation in some book?

Song Qingshi thought hard for a long time, but couldn’t think of an answer.

This was a feeling he had never experienced before. It was impossible to

describe but he really liked it.

If he worked harder to treat Wuhuan even better, could he keep this feeling
for longer?

Is this too selfish?

Song Qingshi secretly took a look at Yue Wuhuan and found that he seemed
to be in a very good mood. He finally plucked up the courage to ask, “That
person today, he’s a good friend of yours? You and him…” He didn’t know
what words to use to describe his own problem.

Yue Wuhuan came back to his senses and said with a smile, “Master must
be joking. I’m not good friends with him. We just had a passing
acquaintance.”

Song Qingshi stumblingly said, “He saved you. Should I, we give him a gift
as thanks…?”

“En, don’t worry, Master. I have already prepared a thank you gift for him
and I’ve already sent it.” Yue Wuhuan’s smile became brighter. His eyes
were filled with unclear light. “Although I don’t know if Wu Daxia will
like, he’s a good person and he definitely won’t refuse my gift and
embarrass me.”

Song Qingshi worriedly asked, “If he doesn’t like it, do I need to prepare a
different gift?”

“No need,” Yue Wuhuan paused suddenly, seeming like his thoughts had
wandered. After a while, he smiled again. His voice became a little low and
his breath was bit disordered. It seemed that he was restraining some sort of
extreme happiness. He took a few deep breaths and re-adjusted his
emotions with the Emotion Locking Gu. He then slowly approached Song
Qingshi and gently laid his head on his shoulder. After a while, he
whispered, “He’s going back overseas soon. If… Master manages to meet
him again in the future, you can give it to him then.”

Song Qingshi said happily, “Okay.”

Yue Wuhuan looked greedily at the person beside him, letting the beautiful
phoenix eyes under his golden mask to be dyed with the color or desire.

He had set a trap early on and he was finally welcoming in a delicious prey.

In a secluded and quiet room, there was a faintly beautiful silhouette within
the dark gauze canopy. The prey had avoided everyone to get here and
snuck in quietly. He then snuck his hand into the brocade quilt, ready to be
attentive to the beauty who was already lying within, ready to relive his
dreams of getting back together.

However, what he came in contact with was a cold stiff hand.

The prey realized that this had the marks of a trap. He made a quick
decision and immediately broke the beauty’s neck.

The beauty with the broken neck, horrifyingly turned around and let out a
weird laugh, “Kekekekeke—”

The prey was horrified to discover that this was not a living person but a
corpse — a Poison Puppet, whose scarred face was riddled with stitches,
like a frightening doll coming out of hell. He was so scared, all he wanted
was to escape. But he only ran a few steps before he found that he was
losing the ability to control his body. He wanted to call for help but his
throat stiffened and he couldn’t make any sound.

The Poison Puppet crawled over like a spider and entangled him with its
twisted hands and feet, injecting even more venom into him.
Immediately afterwards, countless Blood King Vines came spreading from
all directions. Twisting and twining, they penetrated into his body from his
mouth and from his skin. They wreaked havoc inside of him, shattering
bones inch by inch, breaking internal organs bit by bit. Afterwards, they
slowly sucked his blood, corroding and swallowing him up…

The hunter was hunted instead. The moth that fell into the spider’s web
watched helplessly as he walked towards death.

There was no chance of escape, only despair…

Hell was the most fitting place for him.

Yue Wuhuan sat with Song Qingshi for a long time — until he, through the
Blood King Vine disposed of everything, found a place to hide the Poison
Puppet and cleaned the scene, leaving no trace behind. He then used his
spiritual consciousness to destroy those vines soiled by that disgusting
thing, re-growing new ones in their place…Finally, he stood up and said,
“Master, it’s getting late. The sweet-scented osmanthus soup must have
gone cold by now.”

Song Qingshi quickly jumped up. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Yue Wuhuan smiled and said, “Sorry, I was just thinking about something
important, so I forgot.”

“So, turns out you can also be absent-minded like I am?”

“Occasionally…”

“Are you coming down with something?”

“No.”

The two talked and laughed, walking farther and farther away.
Under the eaves, a hungry spider wove its web carefully, waiting patiently
for the white butterfly flying in the sky.

Now, this was a real feast.

Chapter 45: Ancient Formation

The next day, the three of them went to the river, ready to go under to hunt
for the monster.

An Long whistled and countless Gu’s and poisonous snakes filled the
riverbank. They set up a defensive formation, aggressively proclaiming this
to be territory occupied by the Myriad Gu Sect, prohibiting other sects from
picking up leaks or making trouble. It also prevented the people from the
nearby village from mistakenly charging in and getting hurt. Several young
disciples of the Red Dragon Sect, who were responsible for guarding and
explaining to passersby, saw the Gu’s and shivered from fright. They hung
on together but persisted in staying put.

“Water Repelling Bead, Fishskin Armor, emergency medicine, Moonlight

Lamps, Fire Thunderballs and a few stalks of Aerated Grass for
emergency…” Song Qingshi carefully checked the list and checked their
equipment for everyone. “I’m not missing anything, right?” Many of the
secret realms had treasures hidden underwater. So, every cultivator carried
with them the basic equipment for going underwater. There was no need to
specially purchase anything.

“No, we’ve got everything.” Since Yue Wuhuan had the lowest cultivation
base and the Blood King Vine was suitable as bait, he was tasked with
leading the water monster to Song Qingshi and An Long who would be
nearby, hiding their aura and presence.

Song Qingshi was afraid that he would be nervous and said comfortingly,
“Don’t worry, it’s very simple. I’ll be right next to you. I won’t let you get
even the slightest bit hurt.”

An Long finished arranging the Gu formation. When he heard this, he

couldn’t help ridiculing him, “Just remember not to release the Underworld
Fire underwater and put down the monster and us two along with it. The
painful lessons from that year… Still remains fresh in my memory.”
At that time, the two of them had been adventuring in a secret realm when
they encountered a shoal of man-eating demon fish. Song Qingshi
immediately released the Underworld Ghost Fire to defend against the
enemy but forgot that the poison of the Underworld Ghost Fire would
spread in the water. Without discerning friend from foe, both the fishes and
An Long suffered serious damage. The severe injuries caused An Long to
be bedridden inside the Medicine King’s Valley for a full three months…

This was the biggest embarrassment he has ever suffered since he started
cultivating and now Yue Wuhuan knew about it too.

Damn Alaskan Malamute!

Song Qing blushed with shame and quickly explained, “I didn’t have any
experience at that time, but I would never do something like that now.”

Yue Wuhuan held back a smile. “I believe Master.”

The three of them changed into the Fishskin Armor and carried with them
the Water Repelling Bead. After a short swim, they found the underwater
cave. There were traces of man-made carvings outside the cave. It felt like
some cultivator had transformed a natural underwater cave to be used to
hide in or to build a hidden world.

On the rock wall outside the cave, there was a sharp sword mark going
several feet deep into the rock wall.

Song Qingshi didn’t know much about swordsmanship but even he could
see that this sword mark was extraordinary. Yue Wuhuan was even more
excited seeing it.

Could it be that this really was a trace left by Sword Master Mo Yuan?

Everyone grew even more expectant. Song Qingshi and An Long hid their
auras and waited on either side of the cave. Yue Wuhuan by himself slowly
swam near. He studied it for a while then extended several tendrils of the
Blood King Vines beside him directly into the darkness. They beat fiercely
against the rock wall, looking for the location of the water monster inch by
inch.

The sleeping water monster was awakened by the Blood King Vine and it
slowly poked its head out. It found that a Foundation Building cultivator
had disturbed his dreams. It instantly grew furious and several tentacles
carrying with them whirlpools of water stretched out to pull him into the
cave. .

The moment Song Qingshi saw it, his eyes lit up. This water monster was
no ordinary monster. The color of the water spirit orbs within its body had
already turned dark green. It must have lived for at least 10,000 years! It
could be regarded as a treasure of Heaven and Earth. If he could take back
this kind of spirit orb and use it to refine medicine, it could make the
highest quality Jade Water Powder!

Yue Wuhuan smiled. He was even more certain that he wanted to hunt this
rarely seen prey for his Master. He fastened two of the Blood King Vines on
the rocks outside the cave, controlling the speed at which his body was
being pulled into the cave. He then took the other Blood King Vines to
follow along the tentacles into the cave, directly piercing into the body of
the water monster, digging out the water spirit orbs.

This action greatly angered the water monster. It finally ventured out of the
cave. Brandishing its entire body, it struck towards Yue Wuhuan.

An Long watched with gusto. He was especially hopeful that both the water
monster and the evildoer would suffer loses. Unfortunately, Song Qingshi
was watching closely. He didn’t dare go against what they’d planned. He
could only regretfully reveal himself. He stretched out his hand and grabbed
the water monster, using brute force to tear an opening in its body. A few
water-type Gu’s crawled inside through the wound, feasting on this
delicious and nourishing meal.

The water monster was in extreme pain. It turned to attack An Long.

Song Qingshi stood in front of Yue Wuhuan, shielding him. He used the
alchemical fire to burn off those entangled tentacles. He then signaled for
him to step back. Hunting was too dangerous. It was enough to leave it to
the Nascent Soul cultivators.

Yue Wuhuan hadn’t spoken yet when the water monster saw Song Qingshi
and something strange happened.

It was stunned for a moment and then its eyes turned red, as though it had
encountered an enemy it wouldn’t be willing to live with under the same
sky. It paid no attention to Yue Wuhuan’s stealing of its water spirit orbs. It
also didn’t care about the pain of being bitten by An Long’s Gu’s. It
frantically rushed towards Song Qingshi, hellbent on taking him down at all
costs.

Song Qingshi was dumbfounded. He had burned off two tentacles but
hadn’t had time to do anything else. Why had it fixed it’s attention on him
and was now chasing him down to kill?

An Long, surprised, did a whistling motion. He mouthed the words,

“Qingshi, did you kill its parents or snatch away its wife?”

Song Qingshi understood his question and shook his head frantically. He
once again brandished the alchemical fire in his hand to meet the enemy.

This abnormality in the water monster’s behavior was a good thing for their
hunting.

In the first place, it wasn’t the kind of monster that was good at frontal
combat. Instead, it was only good at arranging traps and hiding and lying
low. When it was completely exposed, it became meat on the chopping
board. Even if fighting underwater created somewhat of a hindrance, it
wasn’t difficult for the two Nascent Soul cultivators to join hands to crush
it.

More and more Gu’s crawled into its body and more and more tentacles
were burned by this strange fire that had no fear of water. But as before, it
relentlessly chased after Song Qingshi, determined to swallow this human
into its belly.
Song Qingshi beat it at its own game. He let it swallow himself whole and
then ignited the alchemical fire all over his body, turning himself into the
hottest fireball, burning directly through its stomach. Afterwards, he took
the water spirit orbs. The water monster was unceasingly rolling in pain, its
tentacles turning over in confusion, stirring up mighty waves. The monster
couldn’t control itself in its hatred. It unexpectedly turned its body into a
stream of water, wrapping up the three people. Then the monster core blew
up and the impact pushed them into the depths of the underwater cave.

Song Qingshi quickly opened a barrier to prevent Yue Wuhuan from being
injured by the impact of the explosion. He then observed their surroundings.

Inside the cave, darkness overflowed. There was a light in the distance and
they swam towards it. They found that there was a different world inside. It
seemed to be the inside of the nearby Mt. Yue. Rays of light came in
through the cracks in the rock wall, crisscrossing and illuminating this small
world. Everywhere was green moss and grass, vines intertwined, creating
an unexpectedly strange beauty. It truly was a hidden place.

Song Qingshi climbed ashore and shook off the water droplets. He rejoiced,
“Fortunately, I was quick and managed to dig out ten water spirit orbs.”

Yue Wuhuan followed ashore and said with a smile, “I also managed to
grab three of them.”

Song Qingshi was delighted. “We will go down and look later to see if there
are still any intact water spirit orb after it exploded. By the way, we can also
collect the remains to refine it into medicine.”

An Long jumped out, splashing water all over Song Qingshi’s face. He
looked around eagerly, “Where are my snakes?”

Song Qingshi suggested, “Let’s find the people first?”

They still didn’t know where the Red Dragon Sect Master and the other
cultivators who had fallen in were and it felt like there was a faint danger
here.
“Master, this seems wrong,” Yue Wuhuan’s face suddenly turned serious
and the Blood King Vine stretched out and tore off the vines on the rock
wall. Carved lines appeared behind the rock wall. They were covered with
ancient texts and extended throughout the entire cave. He quickly said,
“There is an ancient formation here. We should leave immediately…”

Ancient formations with grand layouts such as these were all difficult to
deal with.

The missing people had most likely fallen within it.

Yue Wuhuan didn’t manage to finish because the formation had already
begun emitting a faint dark light.

Song Qingshi was helpless, “It’s too late, it was the water monster’s
intention to send us here.”

An Long laughed and spread out his hands. “Then let’s prepare to break this
formation. Want to have a bet? How about whoever comes out first is the
winner. Winner kisses the loser?”

“No!” Song Qingshi hurriedly pulled over Yue Wuhuan, who had the lowest
cultivation base. He glared at this Alaskan Malamute, who probably wanted
to take advantage of the beautiful little angel. He rectified his bad thoughts,
“No gambling!”

Yue Wuhuan’s expression was grave. Maybe he has never seen such a
situation and was a little worried?

The ancient formations can be roughly classified into different types — kill
formations, trap formations, heart-questioning formations, trial formations,
etc…There were even some formations with interesting qualities that
allowed for puzzles that he couldn’t solve to be deployed within it, allowing
people who would come later to solve them. Some formations have a killing
intent; some formations trap the people within until they break through the
formation or die and some formations served as powerful guidance and
opportunities for the younger generation.
Song Qingshi comforted, “Don’t be afraid, it does not appear to be a kill
formation. You have us here, we’ll be fine.”

The light of the formation gradually enveloped everyone, bringing a feeling

of top-heavy dizziness.

When Song Qingshi woke up, he found himself sitting on a carved

mahogany bed. Inside the room was a mirror and dressing table. Looks like
this is a lady’s chamber? He stood up and walked a few steps, feeling that
something wasn’t quite right with his body. On his head, there seemed to be
something that kept swaying. It was really uncomfortable.

With a faint guess in his heart, he hurried to the mirror and took a look. It
scared him so much, he almost fainted.

What the hell was with this weak beauty in the mirror wearing a white skirt
embroidered with beads, draped in white fox fur, with delicate makeup, and
sporting a head full of ornaments with pearls and jade?! Why did it look
like him?

Song Qing touched his face nervously, and the beauty in the mirror also
touched his face.

This couldn’t possibly be… him?

He was obviously such a manly person. Why did the formation make him
wear this broken thing?!

Song Qingshi had never been so panicked in his life. He touched his body
to confirm that he was still a man and then looked around in alarm. Not
only was he afraid of An Long coming in and seeing this ridiculous
appearance and mocking him for the next five hundred years but he was
even more afraid that Yue Wuhuan would come charging in and the little
angel would see this embarrassing appearance. He might as well dig a pit
and bury himself in the ground or maybe his Nascent Soul would self-
detonate and that would be the end of it…
He changed his clothes frantically. He first took off the white fox fur coat
with the lotus and carp decor and then he hurriedly removed his head
ornament. However, he had never studied women’s hair accessories. There
were several that snagged in his hair and caused a lot of pain. He endured
the pain and pulled them off, taking a good number of strands along with
them. However, even after all that, he felt that there were still other
accessories behind his head.

Why are there so many hair ornaments for girls? Why are they so
troublesome?

Song Qingshi anxiously did his best… He finally managed to take off all
the jewelry and was about to find water to wash his face when he heard
rapid footsteps approaching the door. It seemed like the person was about to
rush in.

What to do? Is it An Long or Wuhuan? They can’t see me like this!

Song Qingshi quickly shout loudly, “Wait! Don’t come in!”

The door was still pushed open…

Song Qingshi was too panicked to think and dove straight under the bed.

The author has something to say:

Qingshi’s heart rendering cry: “No! I definitely don’t want to! Please let me
go!” (Dragged by the ruthless author to change clothes)

Wuhuan casually said, “To me, women’s clothing is no big deal. It’s fine as
long as it’s beautiful.” (Qingshi, you should take a look at how enlightened
other people are.)
Chapter 46: Heart-Eating Nightmare

An Long opened the door and strode in. He saw women’s jewelry and an
embroidered white fox fur littering the floor. Then he looked at the only
place one could hide — the carved bed. How could he not guess what had
happened?

He knew that because of Song Qingshi’s frail body, he was particularly

afraid of being said to be like a woman. He quickly covered his mouth and
firmly held back the instinct to laugh, fearing that Song Qingshi would kill
him if he couldn’t hold it back and he heard his laughter.

He held back for a long long time and finally managed to adjust his
breathing. He said, “Qingshi? Where are you?”

Finally, an aggrieved voice came from under the bed, “An Long, go out
first.”

An Long was almost dizzy from happiness. He wanted so much to see how
he looked right now, it was almost unbearable. The only reason he wasn’t
tearing the bed apart was because he was afraid of being added to the
blacklist…He pondered for a moment and quietly summoned an
Investigation Gu to keep a peek. But when he stretched out his hand, he
found that he couldn’t summon it. He was extremely surprised, “This
formation suppresses our powers. I can’t use my Gu’s.”

“Huh?” Under the bed, Song Qingshi tried to mobilize the spiritual fire in
his body but found that the Underworld Ghost Fire had disappeared, leaving
only the Red Lotus Fire. He held the little red lotus and thought for a
moment. He suddenly discovered something suspicious, “What are you
summoning Gu’s here for? It can’t be that you were thinking of taking a
peek?”

The Alaskan Malamute used to do bad things such as this a lot and was very
proficient at it…
He was furious and the Red Lotus in his hand burned more and more
vigorously.

An Long realized that things were turning bad and hurried out of the room,
just in time to escape several lashes of alchemical fires that were about to
attack him. He didn’t dare to be rash. He obediently ran to prepare water for
Song Qingshi to wash his face and then stuffed his own black robe through
the door and into the room. He then squatted in the corner and sighed,
depressed by this missed opportunity.

Song Qingshi washed the makeup off his face and untied his hair bun. He
then put on the men’s robe that was way too big on him. Finally he breathed
a long sigh of relief and signaled to the Alaskan Malamute, who was
squatting in the corner in introspection, that he could come in.

An Long walked into the room and glanced at him. He was instantly a little
stunned.

He knew that Song Qingshi was pretty good-looking but in the many years
he has known him, he has always worn light and plain colored clothes
which he wrapped tightly around himself, creating a clean and holy aura,
like glittering snow on the mountaintop. Song Qingshi right now seemed to
have been sullied by the evil black color. The completely ill-fitting robe
hung loose on him. Sitting obliquely on the edge of the carved bed, with his
long hair draped over his shoulder and his collarbone faintly visible through
the neckline, he now carried with him a lovable appearance of bewilderedly
waking up from a dream of spring night.

This was exactly the scene he craved for so much that he even dreamt about
it. Every point about it stabbed at his heart, stabbing open wounds that just
barely healed, making them drip blood once again. It evoked the greed and
desire within him, making him face his own unbearably hideous thoughts.

I mustn’t think. I can’t make mistakes…

An Long closed his eyes and readjusted his breathing.

Song Qingshi raised his head from his contemplation and saw An Long’s
strange expression, as if he carried a slightly dangerous aura. He asked
worriedly, “What’s the matter with you?”

“It’s nothing, it’s just that it’s weird for you to wear this robe. It’s too big,”
A wicked smile reappeared on An Long’s face and he casually changed the
subject. “Have you guessed the origin of this formation?”

He knew that Song Qingshi had done a lot of research on formations. He

had read many ancient books and knew a lot about little known formations.

“En,” Song Qingshi said hesitantly, “I have come across a similar formation
recorded in “Doaist Xunshan’s Record of Strange Stories”. That copy has
parts and pages missing and the record is not very complete. It was said that
there is a strange ancient formation in Mt. Yue. The formation is called the
Heart-Eating Nightmare Formation and it belongs to the category of Heart
Questioning formations. If a group of people enter the formation, it will
choose one person to be the nightmare’s guide, weaving an interlocked
fictional world. Afterwards, it will draw in everyone into that world. You
need to find the dream’s emotional entanglement and completely wake the
dreamer. Otherwise, you will all be trapped in the dream forever. However,
I’m not sure what counts as being awake…”

He felt very much awake.

An Long said angrily, “What the sort of toy is this? Did water get into Mo
Yuan’s head? Going through so much trouble to make this formation just to
mess with people?”

“Daoist Xunshan came from an age much earlier than Sword Master Mo
Yuan. I think this formation must have nothing to do with Sword Master
Mo Yuan. Maybe he came here for something and left traces when he broke
the formation.” Song Qingshi inferred and analyzed a little bit. “That
disciple from the Red Dragon Sect had said that there were snakes but there
were no signs of any snake bites on his body. This isn’t reasonable. It must
have been a nightmare of a group of snakes woven by this formation that
caused him great psychological trauma.”
An Long asked, “Whose nightmare are we in?”

Song Qingshi said aggrieved, “Probably mine…”

Being told that he looked like a girl was an extreme taboo for Song Qingshi
and so, the formation made him dress up as a girl. Yue Wuhuan couldn’t be
afraid of him turning into a girl, right? As for the Alaskan Malamute, there
was no need to say any more. He was so happy watching him make a fool
of himself that he could hardly restrain the corners of his lips from ticking
up.

Song Qingshi flew into a rage from shame. The Red Lotus Fire in his hand
flared out once again. He was going to press down those damn corners of
his lips.

An Long realized the danger and immediately said with a serious

expression, “Where is Wuhuan Xiaodi? What role will he play in your
nightmare?”

Wuhuan? Fai-failure…

Song Qingshi finally snapped out of his intellectual musings and realized
that the situation was not good. His face changed in fright. He jumped off
the bed and rushed out the door. The black robe was much too long and it
hampered his movement. He stumbled every couple of steps. He was so
anxious that he thought of just riding the Red Lotus Fire out of here. But, he
was stopped by An Long, “There’s no Fire Resistance Formation on this
robe. If you burn it, I won’t have a second one for you to change into.”

He had no choice but to run stumblingly outside the house.

Outside the house was a bustling street, with people of every description
walking about. Everyone had normal facial features, but their faces were
blurred and easily forgettable. Just like people in a dream, they didn’t leave
any kind of impression.

An Long let out a whistle and praised, “Sure enough, it’s the Heart-Eating
Nightmare Formation.”
Song Qingshi was an erudite scholar. He would read any obscure, boring
and useless book. His knowledge reserves were simply unmatched.

Song Qingshi grabbed a passers-by and stumblingly asked, “Is there a-a bad
place around here?”

The passers-by was at a loss. “What is a bad place?”

An Long followed up and clarified his intention, helping him complete the
conversation. “Like brothels or pleasure boats; places where men receive
guests.”

Song Qingshi’s face had long gone pale. His and An Long’s cultivation base
were both Nascent Soul and the formation had suppressed it to Core
Formation, sealing their most powerful abilities. Yue Wuhuan was only at
Foundation Building. Wouldn’t his cultivation base be even more
oppressively suppressed? If the Blood King Vine was also sealed, he would
be no different from ordinary people.

The passer-by pointed to the east. “Cross this street and turn at the
intersection and you’ll see Golden Phoenix Terrace, the largest brothel in
the city. The person you want is there.”

Hearing this familiar name, Song Qingshi felt faint once again. He ran off at
once. Just as the turned at the intersection, he saw a magnificent tower in
the distance. The height of the building was several tens of meters. At the
top stood a devastating beauty wearing a golden red feather skirt. It was Yue
Wuhuan. He stared blankly at the sky, holding the jade flute tightly in his
hands. It was as if he couldn’t see anything nor hear anything.

The wind rolled up the feather skirt, showing the scars on his body and the
shackles on his feet…

Song Qingshi frantically called his name.

However, he jumped off the tall building.

Song Qingshi couldn’t care less about his robes burning. He directly
summoned the Red Lotus and rushed over with his body covered in flames.
But he was still half a step too late.

The bird with its broken wings fell gently and a red flower burst forth on
the ground.

Life disappears so fast and so easily.

The ending was so fast that he was caught completely unprepared.

Song Qingshi’s eyes opened wide. Looking at the scene in front of him, he
was almost unable to breathe. He slowly knelt in front of the blood on the
ground. He picked up the unbreathing bird from the middle of the pool of
blood, performing useless first aid over and over again as though he had
gone crazy. “I won’t give up. I will never give up…”

This was the worst nightmare of his life.

Wake up quickly!

His mind was overcome with dizziness and the world turned black.

There were 127 types of Heart-questioning formations recorded in the

books in the Medicine King’s Valley. Twelve of them would kill the intruder
after failing to solve the problem, eighteen would trap the intruder forever,
and forty-six types would restart, torturing the intruder over and over again,
until the problem was solved and they were able to break though the
formation. The effects of the rest were unknown.

Song Qingshi opened his eyes and found that he was once again wearing
that ridiculous women’s clothing, sitting on the carved mahogany bed. He
realized that he’d been lucky. This formation was the type where the entire
sequence would restart upon failure. However, having a nightmare repeat
over and over again was enough to wear down the willpower of any
cultivator, until he suffered a nervous breakdown and turned into a
madman.

He didn’t dare lose time bothering with his shameful dress anymore. He
jumped out of bed and ran out the door, pushing away An Long, who
wanted to ask about the situation. He frantically rushed towards Golden
Phoenix Terrace, fearing that slowing down even half a step would result in
Yue Wuhuan’s death.

An Long couldn’t help whistling when he saw him dressed up in women’s

clothing. He said in a low voice, “So beautiful.”

He very happily believed that the formation placing them in the same house
must be because in the dreamland, they were set as Doaist companions.

That Yue Wuhuan, that damn evildoer, had been tortured to death by the
nightmare, was something that he liked to hear.

He couldn’t wait to stay in this beautiful dream forever. Unfortunately, this

was Song Qingshi’s nightmare. If he didn’t help save the evildoer and solve
the nightmare puzzle, Qingshi would be constantly hurt by the nightmare
and be made to suffer pain and torment.

The evildoer could die 10,000 times but his family’s little cutie must never
be hurt…

An Long quickly made a decision and hurried after him to Golden Phoenix
Terrace to rescue them.

Song Qingshi rushed to Golden Phoenix Terrace, the Red Lotus opening up
the way. He rushed directly in but saw Yue Wuhuan being entangled by
several disgusting male cultivators. He disregarded everything else and
raised his hand to make the Red Lotus Fire rise into a pillar. He turned it
into a wall of fire, separating those pieces of trash.

He turned his head and asked worriedly, “Wuhuan, how are you doing?”

Yue Wuhuan sat on the ground, trembling all over, his eyes full of despair.
The wall of flame was broken open by a black blade. The strength of those
cultivators was not weak; all of them were at Core Formation. They were
armed with swords and blades and they charged at Song Qingshi. Song
Qingshi was not good at close combat and with his Underworld Ghost Fire
being suppressed, he could only try his best hold on. His body was slashed
in several places.

An Long broke in. When he saw the blood on his white clothes, he broke
out in a towering rage. Right on the spot, he twisted one cultivator’s head
off, joining the fight. He was a strong man brought up facing all kinds of
fierce battles. He was good at all attack methods and so, losing use of his
Gu’s had little effect. He directly resisted their offensive with his fists. He
grabbed a black blade from one of the cultivators and sliced it against the
opponent’s neck.

The pressure on Song Qingshi’s shoulders suddenly lightened. He turned

his head and looked around for Yue Wuhuan, only to see Yue Wuhuan
standing on the high platform once again. He was so frightened that he was
about to break. He hurriedly approached, trying to soothe him, “Don-don’t
jump…”

At a time like this, his stupid mouth couldn’t come up with anything to
comfort him!

Song Qingshi was going to start crying from anxiety. He wanted to give his
mouth several good slaps.

“Master, I’m sorry,” Yue Wuhuan gave him a despairing look, “This world
is too dirty, I can’t bear it any longer…”

Immediately afterwards, he took a half step back and jumped off the
platform once again.

Song Qingshi couldn’t bother with much of anything else. He chased after
him and jumped down without hesitation but only managed to catch his
feathered skirt.

The two fell together…

An Long turned his head and was stunned when he saw Song Qingshi
jumping off the platform without any regard to whether he could survive.

He forgot to raise the black blade in his hand and a long sword ran through
his abdomen…

However, he had already forgotten pain.

When Song Qingshi woke up for the third time, he sat dazed by the bed for
a while. His mind filled with what had just happened.

An Long appeared in front of him with a dark expression on his face. He

grabbed his collar and asked fiercely, “Why?! Why would you go this far
for him?!”

“Yes! It shouldn’t be like this. I lost my mind just now.” Song Qingshi
recovered from the panic and gradually recovered his calm. “Some things
must be proven first.”

Without waiting for An Long’s answer, he hurriedly jumped off the bed and
ran to Golden Phoenix Terrace once again.

An Long witnessed his stupidity. Full of anger with nowhere to vent, he

slammed his fist into the wall, almost smashing a hole through it. But what
could he do? This wasn’t the time to bicker. He couldn’t let this fool be
bullied. He could only restrain his anger and keep up with him. He’ll set
him straight later.

The events repeated, the fight repeated.

Song Qingshi once again appeared before the heavily injured Yue Wuhuan.
This time he calmly asked a question, “There are both pheasants and rabbits
in the same cage. With a total of 35 heads and 94 feet, how many pheasants
and how many rabbits are there? Quickly calculate it in your head and give
me the answer!”
Chapter 47: The Truth About the Dreamland

Yue Wuhuan was stunned and didn’t speak for a long time.

He seemed like a machine that had stalled because it encountered an error.

Even his expression became stiff.

Now that things have reached this point, how can Song Qingshi still not
understand what was going on? His little angel was a super-learning god
who didn’t need an abacus to do their ledgers. Recently, he has even begun
to study high-level mathematics. In his eyes, this simple question was about
the same as one plus one and he could come up with the answer in a split
second.

An Long was stunned by his unreasonable question. “Why would you put
rabbits and pheasants in the same cage? If you want to know how many
there are then just open the cage and count, right? The person who did this
kind of thing must be an idiot.”

Song Qingshi ignored the maths fool next to him. The red lotus petals in his
hand scattered into countless flaming knives. With limitless anger, they all
swept towards the “Yue Wuhuan” in front of him. He wanted to use his
feeling from being deceived to turn this fake into mincemeat.

He should have discovered early on that this was not Yue Wuhuan.

Yue Wuhuan was a stubborn and proud person. How could he die without
killing those who had hurt him? Even if he really had suffered a flare up of
his condition and was controlled to commit suicide, he would never choose
to jump in front of him. Instead, he would choose to do it silently,
disappearing secretly, without letting others see the ugliness.

Song Qingshi was extremely annoyed and felt like a fool. But the nightmare
scenes in the Golden Phoenix Terrace perfectly defeated his rationality and
actually made him lose his usual calm. He was repeatedly scammed and he
made a fool of himself.
Fortunately, Yue Wuhuan hadn’t seen him.

Otherwise, how could he ever bear to show his face?

Song Qingshi quietly looked back at the Alaskan Malamute next to him. He
warned in a low voice, “Don’t tell Wuhuan.”

An Long calmly looked at him and said nothing.

The fake “Yue Wuhuan” turned into scattered fragments in the flames.
Golden Phoenix Terrace slowly turned into nothingness and their
surroundings began to disintegrate. The streets, pedestrians, and houses all
disappeared like a dream. Then it reorganized. It was dark all around and a
foul smell that assailed their nostrils came from all directions.

The world became a dirty and disgusting swamp, dark and viscous, with
rotting animal remains floating in it.

Song Qingshi covered his nose and took two steps back. He felt that the
smell seemed familiar, as though he had smelled it before.

His cultivation base was suppressed again. He was now down to

Foundation Building. The Red Lotus Fire in his hand turned into a small
flame. Many of his high-level spells could not be used.

Song Qingshi thought it over and brandished a few small tongues of Red
Lotus Fire, turning them into lights. Floating in the air, they illuminating the
surrounding scenery. They observed whether there was any danger. When
the lights hit the middle of the swamp, countless thorny brambles were
stretched out, tightly binding a person.

This was Yue Wuhuan.

The mask and devil-mask snake venom had disappeared because of the
nightmare’s suppression, revealing a beautiful face that was almost
bloodlessly pale. The thorns were tangled around his body. They ripped his
clothes and pierced his skin in countless places. His lower body was soaked
in the dirty swamp. He was like a beautiful prey fallen into a cobweb. He
had lost the strength to struggle and could only wait quietly for decay and
death.

Yue Wuhuan had a serious case of mysophobia. He was extremely afraid of

dirty things.

This world was his nightmare…

Song Qingshi was so sad that his heart was beginning to seize.

He quickly took off the fox fur robe and tied it around his shoulders. He
then jumped into the swamp without a second thought and walked over step
by step, ignoring the filth.

His legs were sinking in the mud. Each step was difficult. His spotlessly
white robe was stained with large swaths of pure black. There was an
unbearable stench permeating the entire place. But he didn’t care.

Under the guidance of the Red Lotus lanterns, he staggered to the brambles.
He stretched out his hand. Regardless of how these thorns were making
bloody marks on his body, he carefully touched the injured bird. He patted
his face, and called out softly, “Wuhuan? Wuhuan? Wake up…”

Long eyelashes trembled slightly and the bird in the cage of thorns finally
awakened from his deep sleep, opening his beautiful eyes. The filth on his
body and the smell assailing his nostrils almost made him lose his mind
from the pain. He wanted to faint again. But he saw the white figure just
like in the fantasy. He caught a whiff of the smell of medicine amidst all the
filth. Illusion and reality intertwined, making him a little unsure of where he
was. He hoarsely confirmed, “Qingshi? Is that you?”

“It’s me!” Song Qingshi saw him wake up and said anxiously, “Don’t be
afraid. I’ll rescue you!”

“Master, don’t come over here.” Yue Wuhuan looked around and said in
pain, “It’s very dirty here. I’m also very dirty. You’ll get dirty too…”
Song Qingshi comforted while tearing away the brambles. “Don’t be afraid!
This is a dream! Once we make it out of here, you won’t be dirty anymore!”

He violently tore off the thorny branches. His hands were pricked with
countless bloody pinpricks. He then came back to his senses and found that
he’d been acting as stupid as a monkey. He had a tool but forgot to use it.

Song Qingshi raised his hand to call back the Red Lotus Fire from the air.
Carefully circumventing Yue Wuhuan’s body, he burned the thorny
branches one by one. He then tore the last few branches that were tightly
twined, binding into his flesh.

Yue Wuhuan lost his binds and gently fell into his arms.

Song Qingshi hugged him and quickly checked his injuries. He found that
the injuries on Yue Wuhuan’s legs and arms were particularly serious,
almost to the point that he couldn’t move them.

Why was this damned nightmare so realistic?

He was so distressed that he couldn’t help asking, “Just what is going on?”

“I don’t know,” Yue Wuhuan said weakly. “When I woke up, I was already
trapped in this dirty swamp. My strength had disappeared. My hands and
feet were injured and I lost my mobility. I wanted to find you and I
struggled for a long time, but I couldn’t escape…”

This sense of helpless despair was like when he’d been bound by Acacia
Seal in the past.

He had even struggled to death, but when he opened his eyes, he was back
in the same place again.

The Heart-Eating Nightmare Formation was like the nastiest game, with
countless weapons inserted into the most vulnerable parts of everyone’s
heart, each stab drawing blood, each slash sealing the throat. It made you
lose your mind and compromised your judgment, until you collapsed. When
you wake up, you would sink into the same never-ending cycle.
It was not a killing array but it was even more disgusting than a killing
array.

Song Qingshi untied the white fox fur robe and carefully wrapped the
person in his arms to block all the filth and foulness. “Is this better?”

The white fox fur robe had this man’s medicinal scent and it diluted the foul
fumes.

Yue Wuhuan buried his head in the fox fur and took a deep breath. He felt
much better. His mind gradually cleared and his limbs regained some
strength. He looked at the dirty swamp around him and closed his eyes in
pain. He was about to get out of Song Qingshi’s arms. He slowly began to
make moves to get down, enduring this deeply-ingrained nausea.

Song Qingshi stopped his movements. “Your legs are hurt too badly. Don’t
get down… Close your eyes, cover your nose. Don’t look at our
surroundings. Let me carry you out.”

He must not shirk off this task. He placed the person in his arms onto his
back.

Yue Wuhuan grew alarmed and wanted to refuse. “I can walk on my own.”

“No, it’s too dirty here,” Song Qingshi resolutely pressed back his refusal.
“You don’t like these dirty things. So lie on my back and don’t flail about.”

Yue Wuhuan calmed down. Seeing him all covered with sludge, he said,
feeling pained, “You getting dirty is something I like even less…”

“It’s okay, my clothes are already dirty,” Song Qingshi saw that he had
stopped flailing. He comforted him as he slowly made his way to the shore.
“My obsession with cleanliness is not as bad as yours. This stench has little
effect on me. It’s tolerable. And besides, it’s not as though these dirty things
won’t come off. When we get back to shore, we’ll be cleaned and
disinfected.”
Yue Wuhuan leaned down gently, hugging his shoulders. He buried his face
against the crook of his neck, smelling this comforting scent. His heart,
though, became sadder. He asked carefully, “What if… it’s something dirty
that can’t be washed away?”

Song Qingshi replied casually, “Just give it a few more washes. It will
eventually be clean.”

Yue Wuhuan buried his face deeper. He whimpered, “I can’t wash it

clean…”

Song Qingshi promised, “I’ll help you.”

When Yue Wuhuan heard this answer, he couldn’t help but laugh. He knew
that the two of them were definitely not thinking about the same thing but
he still felt a little sweetness in his heart. He quietly rubbed Song Qing’s
soft, loose and disheveled hair. He then secretly kissed his earlobe. He
wanted hold this adorable little thing in his mouth. But he couldn’t…

Song Qingshi’s earlobes were extremely sensitive and he quickly ordered.

“Don’t go touching there. It tickles.”

Yue Wuhuan lay down all well-behaved and said with a smile. “I was just a
little careless.”

Even if they were walking through foul and stinky sludge, as long as the
two of them were together, it didn’t seem so difficult to bear.

Song Qingshi felt relieved. He remembered the embarrassing thing he had

just done and he couldn’t help asking, “There are both pheasant and rabbits
in the same cage. With a total of 35 heads and 94 feet, how many pheasants
and how many rabbits are there?”

Yue Wuhuan replied without hesitation, “Twelve rabbits and twenty-three

pheasants. Why is Master asking?”

“It’s nothing.” Song Qingshi was a little smug, “I knew you were a learning
god.”
Yue Wuhuan poked the golden ornament fastened to his hair and asked the
question he’d been thinking about since he’d seen him. “Master, what is
this?”

Song Qingshi finally realized that he was still wearing this ridiculous
women’s clothing. His ears turned burning red. He quickly explained what
had just happened, and repeatedly stressed, “I didn’t want to be in this
ridiculous getup either. Don’t laugh at me. ”

Yue Wuhuan said gently, “Don’t worry, in my eyes, you are not ridiculous
in any way.”

Song Qingshi relaxed, still feeling a little wronged. “Wuhuan, why am I

wearing women’s clothing in your nightmare?”

If he felt that he wasn’t manly enough, he could work harder…

Yue Wuhuan was stunned. Was this his nightmare?

An Long stood on the shore, staring at this familiar scenery and this
familiar narrative.

However, this time, the blessed protagonist of this story had changed.

He thought this was his own sweet dream. In the dream, he had gotten that
person, gotten the status he had yearned for day and night, gotten to see that
scenery he had pursued every night. He had returned to the happiest place
in his memory. This dream was even better than the fantasy; it made him
reluctant to leave.

Everything was wrong now…

In this nightmare, he watched helplessly as he lost everything. His territory

was slowly eroded. Even the memory he had hoarded like treasure in his
heart, the memory that he thought was unique and unmatched, the memory
that supported him through countless near-death situations, through all the
pain; even that memory was taken away, smeared with someone else’s
color.

It turned out that all his self-righteous efforts were useless.

It turned out that all his self-righteous investment was all a joke.

It turned out that his self-righteous infatuation was all an illusion.

Eight hundred years of adoration, eight hundred years of depravity — He

knew that this feeling was like a moth darting into the flames. He wouldn’t
get anything. He knew he had made a mistake but he still couldn’t let go.
He could only pretend to be a dog, wagging his tail ingratiatingly,
struggling with all he’s got, begging for a gleam of hope.

It served him right. He deserved his punishment.

An Long looked at the two talking and laughing in the swamp, his eyes
stinging.

The long-lost voice in his mind reappeared, like a devil’s mocking laughter,

“Wake up, this is your nightmare.”

Chapter 48: A Beautiful Gem

The Heart-Eating Nightmare formation broke and the scene dissolved…

Song Qingshi opened his eyes and found that he was lying in Yue Wuhuan’s
arms. His body was tightly entangled by countless Blood King Vines. The
two of them were locked together tightly and could not be separated.

He looked around and found that the formation had teleported them to a
grotto. There were people who had met the same unfortunate experience as
they had lying haphazardly all around. Their expressions were either
frightened or pained. They screamed and shrieked from time to time. They
were immersed in nightmares and couldn’t wake up. Not far away, there
was a middle-aged cultivator with a panicked expression on his face. He
was seriously wounded and yet, he still hugged a little girl of about eight
years old, seeming like he was protecting her.

Yue Wuhuan also woke up. He slowly put away the Blood King Vine,
releasing the restrains. He then got up. The injuries on his body had
disappeared and he looked quite well.

But Song Qingshi was worried about his mental state. He took out medicine
from the mustard bag and repeatedly reaffirmed, “Are you okay? Are you
feeling any discomfort? Do you need to take a few Meditation Pills?”

Yue Wuhuan shook his head. He didn’t care much about physical pain so
what he felt in the swamp was nausea, not a collapse of his spirit.

He was a little puzzled. If that really had been his nightmare then the foul
swamp was obviously not strong enough…

Song Qingshi ignored his protests and placed a Meditation Pill into his
mouth. He also took one himself, using his spiritual power to urge the
medicine to quickly penetrate into his internal organs. This barely managed
to suppress his feeling of panic from just now.
From next to him, An Long suddenly stretched out his hand and snatched
the whole bottle of Meditation Pills. He then proceeded to pour them all of
it into his mouth.

Song Qingshi was momentarily stunned. He came back to his senses and
advised, “Do you think that’s candy? It’s not good for your health.”

An Long tossed the empty bottle back to him. For a moment, he adjusted
his breathing. His ugly expression slightly improved.

Song Qingshi finally realized that he was not too happy. But this time, even
though he wasn’t happy, he wasn’t biting. Maybe he wasn’t unhappy
because of him? Maybe he had been thoroughly nauseated by the swamp in
the nightmare? He remembered the feeling of protecting each other in the
formation and gave him an earnest salute, “Thank you again for this time.”

An Long controlled his emotions, forcibly suppressing the madness and

irritability in his heart. Showing a ferocious grin, he said, “Between you and
me, there’s no need for thanks.”

He couldn’t make any mistakes…

Song Qingshi suddenly found that in the dark, his eyes were turning
red? He was a little worried. He was about to ask but An Long lowered his
head slightly and when he raised it again, his eyes were the same as before.
He suggested, “Should we take down this harmful formation?”

Demolition was his specialty.

“Wait.” Song Qingshi stood on tiptoe and stretched out his hands to pull the
Alaskan Malamute’s head close. He forced him to open his eyes wide. After
careful observation for some time, he couldn’t find any problems. He
suspected that he’d seen wrong…

Yue Wuhuan suggested, “Master, shall we save the people first?”

“Okay.” Song Qingshi immediately dropped An Long and began to check

the cultivators lying on the ground one by one. He confirmed that they were
still immersed in a nightmare. Their spiritual consciousness had been
severely damaged. For the particularly serious cases, their spiritual
consciousness was already beginning to fragment. If he doesn’t quickly
rescue them, they might go mad or be mentally incapacitated once they
woke up.

He used the golden needle to have his spiritual energy penetrate into the
patients’ sea of ​consciousness. He stabilized their consciousness, resolving
their confusion and stopping their condition from worsening.

Yue Wuhuan used the vines to probe around and found the eye of the
formation connecting the formation to the rock wall, confirming the
position to break the formation.

An Long blew an inaudible whistle. Thousands of strange Gu’s crawled out

from nowhere. They were highly poisonous, corroding and biting the stone
wall engraved with the eye. Upon encountering the attacks, the eye kept
biting back, killing the Gu’s. But the Gu’s corpses turned into poison,
speeding up rate at which the stone wall was corroding. More Gu’s stepped
over the corpses of their companions, rushing forward one after another,
finally destroying the eye of the formation.

After the ancient formation was forcibly demolished, everyone was forcibly
woken from their nightmare.

An Long was afraid that they would wake up and scream madly so he used
a Sleep Gu on each one of them, continuing to let them sleep.

Song Qingshi looked through the mustard seed bag and found that there
were no Meditation Pills left. He glanced resentfully at the guy who had
finished of the medicine but didn’t dare scold him. He took out the Calm
Spirit Powder that could be used in a pinch and fetched clean water to
dissolve it in. He poured in a small amount for everyone and then asked An
Long to go to the shore to withdraw the Gu Formation and call all the main
sects to send people to pick up their members.

Yue Wuhuan suddenly said, “Master, come and take a look.”

Song Qingshi walked over and saw that after the vines and moss on the
stone wall had been removed, several sword marks were exposed. They
were fine marks that went straight into the stone wall. They seemed simple
but were in fact so deep that you couldn’t see the end.

Each sword slash carried with it huge hatred, hatred that went deep to the
marrow, with enough momentum to wipe off all the people in the world.

This was the swordsmanship of Sword Master Mo Yuan, the grief and anger
of Sword Master Mo Yuan, the madness of Sword Master Mo Yuan…

Yue Wuhuan looked at these sword slashes, completely fascinated.

Song Qing didn’t understand swordsmanship and didn’t have much interest
in these. He turned around and suddenly found a rotting wooden box on the
ground. As soon as he picked it up, the wooden box fell apart. Inside was a
beautiful red gem and a rotting piece of paper.

Song Qingshi was extremely pleasantly surprised. This gem was called
Phoenix Blood. It was one of the most precious gems in the immortal realm.
Wearing it on your body could nourish the Dantian and assist in cultivation.
This gem in front of him was of the highest quality, worth at least one
hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones. He had seen its like in the
Treasure Pavilion. He’d been eyeing it for a long time, wanting to buy it to
give to Yue Wuhuan. But how could he when he had no money? Now, Yue
Wuhuan had managed the Medicine King’s Valley so well. He had the
money but was afraid that Yue Wuhuan might think that he was spending
money needlessly, squandering away their fortune. So, he didn’t dare
actually go through with it…

He hadn’t managed to open the thin paper yet when it turned into ash from
age…

Song Qingshi only had time to see two words on it: “No solution.”

That scribbled handwriting… it kind of looks like mine.

Probably a coincidence?
Song Qingshi pondered it for a while but he didn’t like making random
guesses so he set the matter aside. In high spirits, he went to find Yue
Wuhuan with the Pheonix Blood. But he found that the other party was still
trying to understand the intent behind the sword slash. This wasn’t a
convenient time to interrupt. He put away the gem. He’ll wait to surprise
him with it later.

Yue Wuhuan looked for a long time and thought for a long time. He finally
woke up from examining the sword slash and muttered, “These past years,
I’ve read a lot of books about Sword Master Mo Yuan, but there are no
records of what Sword Master Mo Yuan looked like. Neither are there
records of his origins. After the battle to vanquish the demons eight
thousand years ago, he seemed to have disappeared into thin air, leaving no
trace.”

Song Qingshi thought about the books he had read, and was surprised to
find that this was indeed the case.

Yue Wuhuan lightly touched the sword marks on the wall and smiled
bitterly, “I once had a speculation and now… seeing these sword marks, I
am even more certain that Sword Master Mo Yuan went mad and this
Heart-Eating Nightmare Formation intensified his madness, making him
completely fall apart…”

Sword Master Mo Yuan belonged to a very distant era and he bore no

connection to the people now.

Song Qingshi didn’t understand why Yue Wuhuan cared so much.

“It’s nothing,” Yue Wuhuan saw his confusion and said lightly, “I’m just
curious about how the ending came about for this sword master of mortal
origin and I wanted to investigate the matter.”

Song Qingshi breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll help you investigate.”

“No need.” An Long had returned without them noticing. He heard their
conversation and said with disdain, “There are related records in the Myriad
Gu Sect. After the battle to vanquish the demons, Sword Master Mo Yuan
turned into a devil, slaughtering cities full of people. The Great Master of
the Fu Sect united the various major sects to collectively punish him and
this was the ending.”

Yue Wuhuan was stunned, not knowing what to say.

Song Qingshi was puzzled and asked, “Isn’t Sword Master Mo Yuan a good
person? The ancient books I’ve read are all about his deeds of chivalry and
justice.”

An Long said, “The cause of his bedeviling is unknown and for some
reason, information about the matter has been sealed. This matter is among
the confidential information in the Myriad Gu Sect that only the Sect
Master can access. There were only a few lines about it, saying that for this
reason, the various sects lost seven or eight Nascent Soul ancestors. In the
end, the almightly Fen Shen cultivators stepped in. They punished him to
the verge of death and were ordered not the mention the matter again.”

Eight thousand years have passed and the Fen Shen ancestors who
participated in this incident had either ascended or had fallen.

The truth was lost in the long river of history.

Song Qingshi remembered the high-quality Phoenix Blood he had just

obtained. He paid particular attention to fairness and would never hide the
spoils. So, he quietly pulled An Long to the side and said in a low voice, “I
remember you don’t like this kind of thing. When I’ve collected the remains
of the water monster, I’ll add Tianzi Grass and refine a high-quality Beast
Spirit Pill for you. I’ll compensate you with spirit stones for the rest, okay?”

An Long’s face sank. “I remember you don’t like this kind of toy either.”

Song Qingshi smiled embarrassedly, “I want to give it to someone.”

How could An Long not guess who he was going to give it away to? He
slowly closed his eyes and whispered, “Yeah.”
Jealousy grew in the madness. The killing intent was spreading rapidly and
the auditory hallucinations were getting stronger and stronger.

He was forced not to look, listen or think.

I can’t make mistakes…

After receiving the treatment plan from Song Qingshi, the cultivators from
the various sects paid the consultation fee and then took away their
members. As for the remaining rogue cultivators, the Fu Sect was kind
enough to take them and take care of them. The young disciples of the Red
Dragon Sect took back their master and senior brothers and sisters. They
were so happy that they did one big group hug, crying and laughing,
offering a million thanks. They didn’t look at all like cultivators. It could be
seen that the relationship between master and disciples ran deep. It was
extremely moving.

The Red Dragon Sect’s Sect Master was the middle-aged cultivator who
was holding the child. He had been injured by the water monster and his
injuries were serious. And yet, he still protected his disciples well. It could
be said that he had a good and clean moral conduct. He was a good teacher
that was difficult to come by.

Song Qingshi quietly glanced at his beloved apprentice, hoping that he

would be moved by this touching display of affection between master and
disciples…

It was a pity that Yue Wuhuan wasn’t paying attention to this scene. He was
fully concentrated on putting away the remains of the water monster.

Song Qingshi suffered a setback…

An Long said that he had a craving for wine and after going ashore, he left
everyone behind and hurried away.
Song Qingshi was used to his weird temper and didn’t take it to heart.
Seeing that the Sect Master of the Red Dragon Sect was seriously injured
and because he admired his moral conduct, Song Qingshi took the initiative
to stay behind to treat him. In passing, he was planning to ask the master
what he should do to be loved by his disciples. The disciples of the Red
Dragon Sect were overjoyed when they learned of his decision. They
wished they could get a big sedan chair to welcome him back.

Yue Wuhuan saw that he was happy and he decided to simply stay behind to
help.

It was late at night, deep in the dense forest, the cry of a jackdaw rang out.

An Long was sitting alone in the dark, painfully clutching his head. His
eyes were so red, they were almost dripping blood. His face was covered
with black scales. Under the tattoo of the Five Evils on his arm, black mist
writhed, his limbs constantly changing. He once again suppressed it and
pushed it back.

The weird voice in his mind that he thought had long since disappeared,
emerged once again. It talked non-stop and every word was like a knife,
stabbing fiercely into his heart. He didn’t want to hear it but he had no
choice.

“Did you think he would like you if you wag your tail and fawn all over
him?”

“Did you think he would like you if you gained power and kept out the
wind and rain?”

“Did you think he would like you if you climbed up to a high position,
getting there by narrowly escaping death time and again?”

“Did you think that he would like you if you just kept enduring it, staying
devoted to him?”
“Did you think when he came knocking on your door that night that he
came to agree to your vain hopes? Your appearance at the time was utterly
ridiculous, truly and completely ridiculous… You could only hide the truth
at the expense of giving up your spy. You’re so stupid, I can barely look at
you…”

“Every time, you use the Phantom Gu and struggle, asking for a dream you
can’t ask for. But do you ever get the ending you want in the fantasy? Why
are you shocked by this realization? No matter what means you use or how
much you implore, he doesn’t love you, right?”

“You are a hideous bug who crawled out of the filthy mud. You donned on
human skin and spitted out human words. You put on airs, attempting in
vain to approach the bright moon. How could you dare? Are you worthy?”

“Wake up and give up your human soul.”

“Wake up. Seizing, greed, ruthlessness and killing are in your nature…”

“…”

“Shut up! Shut up!” An Long madly slammed his head onto the rock,
wishing he could smash his head and pulverize all the contents out, “Get
out of my head!”

I can’t make mistakes…

Can’t make mistakes…

Can’t…
Chapter 49: Cooking Research

The Sect Master of the Red Dragon Sect, Yan Yuan Xianjun, was seriously
injured and a lot of precious medicinal materials had to be used. Song
Qingshi also used golden needles to guide his spiritual power into their sea
of consciousness, erasing all those terrifying memories for them, leaving
only some psychological shadows. As long as they didn’t encounter
anything related to those matters in the future, they wouldn’t have any flare-
ups.

The number one genius doctor of the immortal realm personally undertook
these tasks and also used a lot of miracle cures. How much was this all
worth?

The Red Dragon Sect really didn’t have enough spirit stones to pay for this.
They felt so very ashamed. They proposed to have it on credit and that they
will pay it back a little bit each month.

Song Qingshi found them all very pleasing to the eye. He also had a large
amount of pocket money given to him by the little angel in his pocket. And
so his spendthrift nature once again reared its head and he generously
reduced the treatment fee. Everyone in the Red Dragon Sect so were
grateful that they were moved to tears. Learning that Song Qingshi loved to
collect all sorts of books, they volunteered to copy by hand all the secret
books about talismans and formations they had in their sect to give to him
to repay his kindness.

Creating talismans was not difficult, but it was very troublesome and most
cultivators would choose to just buy them outright.

Most of the Red Dragon Sect’s disciples were orphans picked up by Yan
Yuan Xianjun. Their aptitude wasn’t great. They followed their master to
learn how to make talismans and the work was distributed according each
person’s ability. They followed the rules and never went looking for trouble.

The girl protected by Yan Yuan Xianjun was called Nian Nian. She was
extremely talented, clever and bright. She was a natural talisman master.
Song Qingshi saw her improved fire-control talisman and was greatly
amazed. He immediately asked Yue Wuhuan to place an order for a
thousand pieces. He then drew from memory several very distinctive
ancient talismans from the Medicine King’s Valley’s collection for her to
study. Staring at one of the runes that created illusions, it seemed like Nian
Nian got some sort of inspiration. She began to research it without regard
for food or rest.

Yan Yuan Xianjun felt distressed looking at her. Once his injuries get better,
he would have to give her a severe lesson.

She wound around her shifu and acted like a spoiled child. Her senior
brothers and sisters also joined in the joking. The relationship between
master and disciples was joyous and harmonious.

Yan Yuan Xinajun pretended to be angry. “If you keep disregarding rest, I’ll
just marry you off.”

Nian Nian pretended to beg for mercy, “No, I want to stay here forever and
be filial to Shifu.”

When Song Qingshi heard this, he felt a little envious for some reason…

Age or length of study do not determine the teacher. It is he who knows the
subject best who is the teacher.

He decided to secretly seek advice from Yan Yuan Xianjun on the Way of a
teacher. He wanted to know how he gained his disciples’ favor, made them
like their shifu and want to stay with their shifu forever.

Yan Yuan Xianjun wasn’t like his ignorant little disciples. He knew of
Medicine King Xianzun’s fierce reputation that didn’t match his outward
appearance. He was extremely frightened. Seeing him coming aggressively
towards him, he very nearly knelt down and begged for mercy, fearing that
he was about to be dragged away to be turned into medicine because he had
no money to pay the bill. When he heard the problem, he was completely
dumbfounded, feeling that he still hadn’t woken up from the Heart-eating
Nightmare formation …

Song Qingshi took out pen and paper, his face was serious. “Tell me.”

“I didn’t do anything special. I just taught them skills.” Yan Yuan Xianjun
surmised that he might be looking for some special technique to better
control his disfigured beauty of a disciple. But he didn’t dare to refuse their
savior, so he had no choice but to brace himself and do it. “If there’s
anything special, it’s probably my cooking something delicious for them?
My apprentices all like the noodles I make. Every time we come back from
a trip out, they all want to eat a large bowl of noodles. They all say the ones
outside don’t have the same taste. Nian Nian likes her noodles soft, Huang
He likes his firm. He Xiaoxiao always adds chili, Yue’er doesn’t like green
onions…”

This unprepossessing middle-aged cultivator took on a tender expression

when talking about his apprentices.

Song Qingshi quickly extracted the key points:

1. Use your cooking skills to convey your kindly feelings.

2. The way to an apprentice’s heart is through his stomach.

3. Learn to cook.

It’d been a mistake for him not to study cooking seriously. From now on, he
must study hard.

Song Qingshi was the type to get right on the job. He would do what he said
he would do. He dragged Yan Yuan Xianjun to the kitchen and approached
it as he would a scientific research. He also used methods he used for
research and studied the way he made noodles.

He was a master of alchemy and he could ascertain the weight of each

material with just his bare hands. He record it down in the notebook in
grams and then record the amount of force and the kind of technique he
used to knead, including each change of direction and the number of turns.
He confirmed the firmness and texture and also the method of cutting the
noodles and the thickness of it. He also took into account, the surrounding
humidity and temperature and the quality and thickness of the kitchenware.
He determined the temperature and intensity of the stove flame and the
cooking time, accurate to the second. He finally rigorously replicated each
step and at last came out with noodles that were up to par.

Yan Yuan Xianjun had never seen such an outlandish way of cooking. He
was struck stupid as he watched him…

Song Qingshi tasted the finished product and confirmed that he hadn’t run
into any mishaps. He happily carried the noodles and went to find Yue
Wuhuan.

Yue Wuhuan was reading a book in his room. The Red Dragon Sect had
been making talismans for many years. Their techniques were rather
distinct. Some books that could only be found in the Red Dragon Sect’s
library were also very interesting. Some trade knowledge and techniques
that you can’t see elsewhere were very helpful in improving his poison
puppets.

Suddenly, Song Qingshi ran in holding a bowl of noodles and handed it to

him like it was a treasure.

Yue Wuhuan looked at the soy-based noodle soup with nothing but green
onions for toppings. For a moment, he was at a complete loss. He then
stretched out his chopsticks to taste it. He felt that the ingredients were
quite clean. The taste couldn’t be considered good but it wasn’t bad either.
It had a normal home-cooked taste. It was far inferior to the noodle soup
he’d made with the turkey soup base. But judging by how much his master
looked as though he was expecting praises, the situation was quite
obvious…

He immediately pretended to not understand and praised, “The Red Dragon

Sect’s kitchen is excellent. I have never had such delicious noodles.”
Song Qingshi felt like he had refined an incredibly difficult pill. He was
overjoyed, but tried to keep modest, “How could it be that good?”

Yue Wuhuan saw through it but decided not to burst his bubble. He smiled
and ate the whole bowl of noodles, drinking all the soup as well. He said,
“It’s Master’s good intentions.”

“Well, I have cooked before. I have experience.” Song Qingshi was afraid
that he would see through his scheme and forcefully justified himself.
Although he had raised him on fasting pills and had poisoned the Alaskan
Malamute with glutinous rice balls, those could still be considered as
cooking. But, he still felt a little guilty and he changed the topic, promising,
“If you like it, I will…no, not every day. Sometimes I can’t get away from
my experiments. Anyway…as long as I have time, I’ll make it for you.”

Yue Wuhuan couldn’t quite make sense of it. He couldn’t understand why
this person who didn’t even want to eat when doing research was now so
willing to cook.

“Yan Yuan Xianjun said that a good master cooks for his apprentices, but
eating noodles every day would be a little boring, right?” Song Qingshi
thought about the various delicacies the little angel normally made and said
happily, “Do you like dumplings, wontons or pancakes? Pastries or
desserts? I can learn all of them…Don’t worry, I learn things very quickly
and I won’t waste anything.”

Master seems to have misunderstood something interesting?

Yue Wuhuan looked at his expectant expression and the Emotion Locking
Gu in his body began to move. There was an increase in his obsessive
feelings, exceeding the controllable limit. After the Gu absorbed the excess
feelings, he put down the bowl. He said firmly, “Master does not need to do
this for me.”

Because he really liked this kind of thing and he could bear it occasionally.
But being subjected to it long-term might just expose his true thoughts.
All these thoughts were unbearable desires. Just like embers in the ashes, if
they were fanned out, it could all too easily trigger a fire and burn
everything. Everything would become uncontrollable.

This was not what he wished to do.

So, don’t seduce him into going out of control…

Song Qingshi was slow on the uptake. He then understood that he was
rejecting his offer. He thought of how Wuhuan’s craftsmanship was ten
times better than his own. His delighted heart suddenly sank and he was a
little disappointed. He wanted to give all the good things to this person in
front of him but Yue Wuhuan was so smart and capable. It seemed like he
could learn anything and do anything…

He didn’t know what else he could give him. He didn’t know how he could
treat him better and make him happier.

What would he do if Yue Wuhuan got better and then started to dislike the
Medicine King’s Valley for being boring and wanted to leave?

He would go back to the days when he watched clouds alone…

For a moment, Song Qingshi was dazed as he thought about it. He then
quickly cheered up. Failure was a common occurrence for him. The more
important thing was that Yue Wuhuan was still by his side. So there was no
need to be sad for something hasn’t happened yet. He could continue to
work hard.

He pulled over Yue Wuhuan’s hand and placed the Phoenix Blood he’d
been holding on to for a long time in his palm. He said happily, “This is the
spoil of war I got from the Mo Yuan Ruins. I won it from An Long and I’m
giving it to you.”

There was a bit of golden starlight flowing in the fiery red gem. The
trajectory dragged out by the starlight made it look like a resplendent
phoenix was sealed within it. It exuded a warm aura.
Yue Wuhuan had been completely immersed in the sword slash at the time.
He hadn’t been paying attention to the two’s private transactions regarding
the gem.

The color of this Phoenix Blood was brilliant and impressive, pure and
flawless. It was completely in keeping with his tastes. It was the type that
he could treasure forever.

He liked it so much…

He wanted to place this gem on the body of this person in front of him. It
would feel like his own color had occupied this pure white territory.

Yue Wuhuan contemplated that kind of beautiful scenery. There was a

secret happiness in his heart and a smile appeared on his lips.

Seeing that he liked it, Song Qingshi was very pleased with himself…

Although his cooking had been a bit of a failure, the gift was still a success.

He would continue to study how Yan Yuan Xianjun teached his apprentices.
Whether it was personally teaching them how to make talismans or calling
his apprentices to wake up early to practice their skills every day, or
accompanying his apprentices to learn, he would try everything. He won’t
be afraid of failure. He would do more and think more, eventually he would
find something that Yue Wuhuan liked. He would fall in love with living in
the Medicine King’s Valley and would be perfectly happy to stay.

The two of them would study together, would do research together, would
practice alchemy together, would play together, would go on adventures
together…

What kind of Doaist-like happy life was this?!

Song Qingshi left to pester the pitiful Yan Yuan Xianjun once again. He was
going to dig out all the knowledge in his mind. Yue Wuhuan helplessly left
along with him. He went to the Talisman Workshop to find the disciples of
the Red Dragon Sect. He wanted to ask some questions about their
technique of drawing runes and borrow some materials and tools to do
some experiments.

The disciples hid nothing of what they knew and told him everything.

Yue Wuhuan casually found a workbench that nobody used and tried to
make some talismans…

Suddenly, he heard the disciples of the Red Dragon Sect whispering:

“Since the Can Tong Sect was wiped out and Gui Yuan Xianzun passed
away, no one wants to buy the Happy Talisman in bulk. Don’t make too
much, we won’t be able to sell it all.”

” Gui Yuan Xianzun died so miserably. Zhao Shixiong went to deliver the
goods and was so scared that he didn’t eat for three days…”

“Fortunately, that person didn’t come, otherwise Zhao Shixiong might pee
his pants.”

“Haha, it’s a pity. There’s a lot of profit in selling this talisman. How about
you try and market it?”

“Get lost! You want me to go to the red-light district to promote this stuff?
Do you want shifu to break my legs?!”

“Hahaha, I was found out…”

“…”

The Can Tong Sect was annihilated? Gui Yuan Xianzun is dead?

Yue Wuhuan paused in the middle of writing the talisman. He fell into deep
contemplation.

Gui Yuan Xianzun was a name he didn’t want to hear at all. His was also
one of the memories he hated most and wanted to be rid of. These past
years, while he was trying to save Song Qingshi, he had neither the time nor
the ability to kill and exact revenge. So, he deliberately didn’t pay attention
to anything regarding the Can Tong Sect. He also refused to pay any
attention to this name so as not to affect his mental state.

As he recalled, Gui Yuan Xianzun acted cautiously and was an expert at

striking both left and right. He was a smart man who never offended the
strong.

How did he meet with a violent end? Who was ‘that person’?

Yue Wuhuan turned around and smiled softly, “This matter seems very
interesting. Can you tell me more in detail?”
Chapter 50: The Fire of Desire

Yue Wuhuan listened to the Red Dragon Sect disciples’ story. He began to
ponder the fact that the Can Tong Sect was annihilated by Gu’s.

Ever since he realized someone’s covetous heart for treasures, the Myriad
Gu Sect had become a focus of his attention. With the help of the Night
Rain Pavilion and through his own painstaking efforts, he had practically
collected all information regarding them.

They Myriad Gu Sect ruled over the Western Forest. They possessed
several spirit stone mines and secret realms that were filled with goods and
materials. They enjoyed the tribute from 18 cities.

The people of the Western Forest were formidable, bloodthirsty and

combative. They respected strength and had no qualms against fighting
their own.

An Long is the greatest Gu genius in the history of the Myriad Gu Sect.

After he became the Gu King, he used bloody methods to suppress those
who refused to accept his leadership. He maintained a seemingly peaceful
facade for the sect but there were still many forces within. They were like a
poisonous Gu packed inside the Gu cultivation jar known as the Western
Forest. They gobbled up each other, ready to breed a new Gu King at any
time.

They like destroying and pillaging, but they didn’t like holding on to a place
for long or developing new territories.

The tangled and complicated relationship of the Myriad Gu Sect had

brought a slim chance for survival for the Medicine King’s Valley.

Yue Wuhuan had once been worried that once An Long noticed that Song
Qingshi had met with an accident, that he would take the opportunity to
mobilize the power of the Myriad Gu Sect to attack Medicine King’s Valley,
completely destroying and engulfing their territory and power. For this
reason, he had even made preparations to abandon the valley at any time,
retreating with Song Qingshi and some resources.

However, An Long hadn’t done that.

He had chosen to conceal this matter. Instead of relying on the power of the
Myriad Gu Sect, he went into the formation alone, not hesitating to take on
innumerable hazards and hardships.

This meant that even if he hurts himself, he was not willing to bring even
the slightest risk of destruction to the Medicine King’s Valley.

Yue Wuhuan carefully investigated all of his s*x scandals and found that
they were all false. Even the female cultivators who had made trouble at the
gate of the Medicine King’s Valley were all just temporary puppet
controlled by Passion Gu, with the purpose of drawing Song Qingshi out of
the Medicine King’s Valley to meet him.

An Long was like a ravenous wolf greedily staring at his prey. And he was
dreading something. He didn’t dare to get too close, always keeping a
certain distance and constantly testing, trying to find a suitable position.

Yue Wuhuan had no idea what sort of connection could have led to such
feelings but such extreme silent endurance brought along with it a
somewhat disturbing feel.

This was by no means an ordinary love. There seemed to be a strange

element of madness in it.

No matter what this feeling was, it was disgusting…

Why was this world so disgusting? The air was suffused with an unbearable
stench that couldn’t be washed clean.

Why must there be desire in human love? Why couldn’t they live pure and
simply like his Master?

Why must the many filthy things in the world insist on dirtying his sole
clean treasure?
Now, his master has woken up and he was overjoyed. But he could no
longer hide him in the secret room. He needed to find another way to take
good care of him.

An Long, this evil wolf, has long lost his usefulness and the danger he
posed was getting bigger and bigger. Judging from his analysis of past
events, it seemed that, all this time, An Long has been trying to get Master
to be enlightened, to leave the Medicine King’s Valley, to experience the
seven emotions and the six sensory pleasures. This kind of thing must never
be permitted. His master should always be like a piece of white paper,
properly placed in the Medicine King’s Valley. He must not be sullied by
anything base and despicable, including himself…

Hateful, too hateful…

Yue Wuhuan’s nails unconsciously scratched his wrist and bloody marks
appeared on his skin.

The pain kept his mind sober.

He had conceived of many ways to kill An Long but after his Master had
woken up, he realized that this was far from enough. Although Master
himself didn’t realize it, he valued ​this friendship very much. If An Long
died, it would become a regret in his heart. This dead friend would become
more and more perfect in his memory, staying in it forever, never to leave
again.

He would never be able to clear this memory, clear this person…

Originally, he thought he had reached a dead-end regarding this matter. But

Gui Yuan Xianzun’s death gave him a new opportunity.

Most killings were done for profit, love, hatred, anger, revenge, or for
silencing a witness.

The Can Tong Sect was stationed in Nanshan, operating the red-light
district and the gambling dens. They had no conflicts of interest with the
Myriad Gu Sect.
Although Gui Yuan Xianzun had been a morally corrupt piece of trash,
bullying the weak and fearing the strong, he never provoked the powerful
people. The Western Forest’s Gu King had an impressive reputation for
being fierce, his characteristics distinct. It was impossible that he had
carelessly provoked An Long, so him being killed out of hatred or revenge
was unlikely. The Can Tong Sect had never been known to house any
famous treasure…

This felt like a matter of silencing a witness.

What happened ten years ago? Why did An Long feel like he had to go this
far to silence him?

Yue Wuhuan endured the nausea and sifted through all his memories of Gui
Yuan Xianzun…

He was suddenly stunned.

He remembered that the day he first saw Song Qingshi, he had been with
Gui Yuan Xianzun. At that time, he was tied to a tree and blindfolded so he
couldn’t see anything. Besides that, his cultivation had been wasted so he
couldn’t do as other cultivators did and send out a mental probe from time
to time. So he could neither check out his surroundings nor hear clearly
conversations from far away.

At that time, he had taken a drug and the effects of it hadn’t completely
worn off. His mind was a little confused and he was unable to concentrate.
But he vaguely remembered that Gui Yuan Xianzun had stopped, as if he
had discovered something. He gave a thoughtless mocking laugh and said,
“I didn’t expect this person to actually be like this. It’s so ridiculous.”

Because of this remark, afterwards, he had gone to see what had happened
and met the most wonderful person in the world…

He absolutely loathed the dirty marks left in this beautiful encounter so

much so that he deliberately avoided this memory and didn’t want to think
about it.
At that time, he had seen with his own eyes, Song Qingshi lying on the
ground, not breathing. His body was clean, no signs of a struggle, no blood
and not even traces of any violence. He thought it must have been an
accident or a sudden illness. He wanted to go call someone but he hadn’t
gone far, when he saw Song Qingshi get up again. He stumbled into the
river and inexplicably began to weep…

He thought he must have seen wrong, so he didn’t think much of it…

After the two of them became more familiar with each other, he asked Song
Qingshi about it in a roundabout way. The answer he got was that there had
been some problem with his soul at the time and he lost his memory of the
time before he had lost consciousness. So after waking up, he was very
confused and acted completely helpless.

Later, he had also been able to confirm Song Qingshi’s soul showed signs
of fusion after a separation. This situation was called the Soul Separation.
Although rare, there were similar records in ancient books. The Tribulation
Daneng’s would even take the initiative to separate their souls and go
exploring around the world. And so, he didn’t think much of it.

Thinking about it now, maybe there was something weird about it?

Could it be that who Gui Yuan Xianjun had been referring to as ridiculous
was not Song Qingshi?

What happened that day that he needed to be silenced?

Yue Wuhuan suddenly thought of something interesting. All the clues were
connecting. His eyes lit up and his whole body was infused with
excitement. He has found the opportunity to remove this person from
Master’s heart. When the time comes, he would change all the happy
memories, change the friendship into hatred… No, hatred didn’t work
either, it would be best if he’s forgotten.

There was no hurry. He would take this slowly…

He would put on his sheepskin and pretend to be docile and harmless.

As long as he didn’t do anything disgusting, didn’t touch any restricted
areas, didn’t sully him…

In this way his treasure will never be harmed.

When Song Qingshi studied, he always aimed for perfect and he never let
go of any detail.

He pestered Yan Yuan Xianjun so terribly that he finally unlocked many

new tricks; such as having heart-to-heart talks with your apprentices, going
drinking with your apprentices, shopping with your apprentices, telling
bedtime stories to your apprentices, etc…

In the end, even Yan Yuan Xianjun himself didn’t know what he was talking
about anymore. He even told him about changing his apprentices’ diapers
and feeding them goat milk…

Song Qingshi rigorously compared the age differences between their

apprentices. He wanted to delete these skills he wouldn’t be able to use
from his notebook. But after thinking about it, what if Yue Wuhuan is
seized by a whim in the future and accepts a three-and-a-half-year-old
apprentice? As they say, preparedness averts peril. It would be better to
keep it in. Otherwise, what would he do if he’s disliked for not being able to
change the diapers of his disciple’s disciple?

Suddenly, he heard Yue Wuhuan’s knock on the door. He quickly hid his
notes and reopened the book on talismans, pretending to be reading it
carefully.

Yue Wuhuan came in with a bowl of sweet soup.

During this trip, Yue Wuhuan’s mysophobia had gotten even more serious.
It has worsened to the point that he disliked eating outside because he
thought the food was dirty. Every time he would enter a restaurant, not only
did he need to use his own tableware, but he would also prepare a full set of
tableware for Song Qingshi. Moreover, his appetite was never good. He
would take only a few bites at each meal. Most of the time, he would still
rely on Fasting Pills to solve his physical needs. Song Qingshi was afraid
that he would be uncomfortable eating food from outside so he didn’t dare
to eat out.

Yue Wuhuan said that he had caused even more trouble to his Master. And
so, he was very meticulous in his study of cooking. As long as it was
something Song Qingshi was interested in, whether it was snacks or main
courses, he would make them and he would make them even more exquisite
and delicious than the ones sold outside. Moreover, he would adjust the
flavor to be on the sweet side to better match Song Qingshi’s taste.

Because of Yue Wuhuan, Song Qingshi’s stomach has now been spoiled
into defying the laws of both human and divine. Not only did he become
more nitpicky when it came to taste, his mysophobia has also became
worse. Every time, he saw a street vendor serving food to customers by
hand, his whole body would feel ill at ease. The ones his family’s little
angel made were still better, more delicious and hygienic.

An Long couldn’t go dragging Song Qingshi everywhere to eat all sorts of

things with him. Because of this, he was extremely depressed.

Song Qingshi happily took the sweet soup, tasted it and closed his eyes in
satisfaction. He thanked him repeatedly and praised, “Your cooking skills
are still better. I can’t get used to the food outside anymore.”

“The things outside aren’t clean,” Yue Wuhuan smiled softly, “In the future,
it would be best if Master only eats my cooking.”

Song Qingshi kept receiving his kindness and liked everything he gave. He
happily ate the sweet soup and became more determined in his heart to find
ways to strengthen the feelings between them so that Yue Wuhuan would
stay even after he recovers and is ready to be discharged. And even if in the
future, Yue Wuhuan doesn’t want to stay in the Medicine King’s Valley and
instead wants to make his own way in the world, then he can go on a
journey to accompany him!

He wanted to be Yue Wuhuan’s mentor, friend and family…

However, his heart was empty. He kept feeling that he had made a mistake
or overlooked something, but he just didn’t understand what.

This feeling disturbed him.

Yue Wuhuan smiled and asked, “Where did An Dage go? I haven’t seen him
these past couple of days.”

“Huh?” Song Qingshi raised his head from his sweet soup. He never
thought Yue Wuhuan could be more concerned about An Long’s
whereabouts than he was. Did this mean that the friendship between the two
has began to sprout from going through this adventure? Were the things in
the novel really this useful? He replied, feeling touched, “Don’t worry, he’s
obsessed with insects and poisons. He often goes to catch insects deep in
the mountains. If he encounters something interesting, it’s not uncommon
for him to be gone ten days to half a month. We can go to Nanhai City first
and wait for him there.”

Yue Wuhuan still looked worried.

Song Qingshi comforted, “He’s a Nascent Soul cultivator and he looks that
fierce. No one going to try and fight him.”

Yue Wuhuan nodded and said, “I’m thinking too much.”

“That guy will only stir up trouble,” Song Qingshi thought for a while and
earnestly warned, “Don’t follow his example and go running around too.
Stay by my side.”

Although the little angel has become stronger now, he was still a beautiful
and gentle great beauty. The poisons and the Blood King Vines were all
things for self-protection; they didn’t count. The little angel has suffered
enough grievances because of him these past years. Now that he’s awake,
he must watch over him carefully. He mustn’t be bullied by bad people
anymore.

Yue Wuhuan understood his thoughts. He couldn’t help fixing his messed
up hair. He said with a smile, “Okay.”
Why did Master always trust him so much, so blindly…?

Casually stepping into his trap and going along with his intentions and his
plans.

The Medicine King’s Valley was completely under his control. Its finances
and resources were under his control. Song Qingshi’s living habits and
customs were changed as he pleased. Everything was going the way he
wanted them to. No matter what he said, Song Qingshi believed him. No
matter what he did, he was never questioned…

Wasn’t it too easy? So unbelievably easy…

He lay on the table and looked intently at this man. He felt a little uneasy.
He wanted to sound him out.

Song Qingshi noticed his probing gaze and couldn’t help asking, “What are
you thinking?”

Yue Wuhuan asked in a low voice, “Master, I was thinking… You never
seem to get angry with me?”

Song Qingshi thought for a while and replied with a smile, “You haven’t
done anything to make me angry.”

As soon as he finished his words, he found a few tendrils of the Blood King
Vine quietly stretching towards him. They coiled beside him, writhing
slowly. There were more and more branches and tendrils until they formed
an airtight cage. The tips of the vines touched his waist and limbs as though
probing. They began to seem restless… as though they were about to
pounce on him at any time, restraining him among them.

Song Qingshi looked at the vines filling the air. He asked hesitantly,
“What’s the matter?”

“What if I did?” Yue Wuhuan found that he cared more about the answer to
this question than he thought. He asked half-jokingly, “If I wasn’t what you
imagined me to be, if I did something that would make you angry? Would
you hate me?”

Song Qingshi never considered this issue. He thought about it for a long
time, and suddenly smiled…

“No,” he squeezed Yue Wuhuan’s face under the golden mask, then
mischievously messed up his neat hair, and said happily, “No matter what
Wuhuan does, I won’t get angry. I could never hate you.”

Yue Wuhuan was stunned and the vines all around slowly withdrew.

He sighed. “You don’t understand anything…”

For ten years, when he looked at this person who was sound asleep, he had
also thought about the tender and sweet love in the Fantasy Gu’s fantasy.
But every time he closed his eyes, he dreamt. In his dreams, he was a beast
who had lost its mind. He had lost his reason. All he wanted was to possess,
to control and to dominate. In his madness, he did excessive things. He
requited kindness with enmity. He poured all the things he couldn’t bear
onto the person he liked. Relying on his ignorance, his unwillingness to
resist and his indulgence of his willfulness, he demanded to vent his
feelings…

The effects of the drugs were gone. His desires were stronger than normal
people’s and more terrible than normal people’s. Perhaps, this was his
nature.

He had very clearly gone through suffering. He knew how disgusting it was
to endure those things but he still wanted to do it to the person he liked.
How shameless was this?

Therefore, he didn’t want to sleep. He didn’t want to dream.

How happy the dream was, was how nauseating the waking world was.

But it didn’t matter, he could restrain himself. Even if it was by using drugs,
he would suppress this instinct and wouldn’t dirty him…
He just wanted to create a warm and comfortable nest. He wanted to put
him in it and carefully cherish him; separate him from all the dirty things in
this world and live together happily without worry. He was willing to do
everything for him, so that there would only be him in these clear eyes; so
that there would be no room for other messy things in his heart.

He would conceal it well so that the darkness in his heart would never be
found.

Yue Wuhuan lowered his head slightly and decisively extinguished the fire
of desire…

“Wuhuan, did you do something?” Song Qingshi felt that he seemed

unhappy. He leaned over carefully and patted his shoulder. He comforted
him again, “Don’t be afraid. No matter what you do, I won’t be angry.”

The light medicinal scent wound around him and he could feel his mouth
and throat go dry.

Yue Wuhuan burrowed against his shoulder and muttered, “I won’t. I won’t
do anything…”

The author has something to say:

Other family’s blackened Yandere’s want to grab their shou’s, lock them up
in a small dark room and drive the car like crazy.

Wuhuan as a blackened Yandere wants to grab the shou, lock him up in

small black room and prohibit him from driving the car.

He truly is an outstanding Yandere who meets the website’s review

standards and conforms to their moral standards.

(Qingshi:???)

Have you guys guessed it?

Chapter 51: Gift List and Greeting Letter

There suddenly came a flustered knock on the door.

A young disciple of the Red Dragon Sect ran in to report, “There’s someone
from the Golden Phoenix Manor asking to see the Medicine King Xianzun.
This is the list of gifts.”

Song Qingshi almost spurted out the sweet soup in his mouth. He looked
uneasily at Yue Wuhuan who had a gloomy expression on his face.

He wanted to swear, right there and then, with Heaven as his witness, that
he truly had nothing to do with that damn sect! And he didn’t want to have
anything to do with them at all!

However, the Golden Phoenix Manor was a very famous sect in the
immortal realm. The disciples of the Red Dragon Sect have not seen much
of the world. Seeing the piles of gifts, they were shocked and frightened.
How could they possibly think this matter over? They directly ran to report,
tacitly confirming that the Medicine King Xianzun was staying in their sect
as a guest. The gift list and the greeting letter were delivered to him. From
the very start, they gave him no chance to make an excuse to shirk this
visitation.

With a cold expression on his face, Song Qingshi glanced at the gift list.
Each of the many exotic flowers and rare herbs on it sent jabs to his heart,
causing it to be unbearably itchy.

No! For the little angel’s sake, he must firmly reject this group of garbage!

Song Qingshi, heart aching, returned the gift list, pretending not to have
even looked at it. Striking the table in anger, he said, “No, I won’t see
them!”

Yue Wuhuan glanced at the greeting letter and said, “There’s no harm in
seeing them.”
Song Qingshi’s angry face instantly broke. He turned his head and looked at
Yue Wuhuan in disbelief…

Yue Wuhuan took the gift list from the Red Dragon Sect disciple. He looked
at it, and smiled. “They’re here already. So, we need to clarify the situation,
right? You can go to prepare a meeting place. Can we use the reception
pavilion?”

When the Red Dragon disciple saw that they had accepted the greeting
letter and the gift list, he repeatedly agreed and left in a hurry.

“Why do you want to see those people?” Song Qingshi was anxious, pulling
on Yue Wuhuan’s sleeves. He asked, rambling, “They’re all beasts. I hate
them. I just can’t beat them now. When I can, I’ll burn that broken place…”

“Master, please rest assured,” Yue Wuhuan opened the greeting letter and
said with a smile, pointing to the name. “The person who came is not Jin
Feiren, but the slave named Bai Zihao. No, he should have already gotten
rid of his slave status. He is the treasure at the very top of Jin Feiren’s heart.
In the secret realm of Extreme Flame, Jin Feiren was bitten by a Flame
Wolf in order to protect him. It is said that they will officially be Doaist
companions in a few days.”

Song Qingshi felt that this name was familiar. After thinking about it for a
long while, he remembered that this was the young man in white clothes he
had seen in the Langgan Terrace.

The Blood King Vine wrapped around his wrist once again, acting like a
spoiled child, swaying to and fro.

“He’s not a bad person.” Yue Wuhuan said with a smile, “Master, go and
see him ba. I’m curious about what he wants.”

Song Qingshi had absolutely no resistance against the little angel’s requests.
He had to agree even though he was unwilling…

Yue Wuhuan tidied up the messy hair on his head and cast two cleaning
spells on his vestments. He managed his appearance to have the dignity
befitting the Medicine King Xianzun. He then eagerly urged him to go to
reception pavilion to receive the guest. He himself then quietly had a Blood
King Vine follow quietly behind him, investigating the situation.

Song Qingshi went to the reception pavilion feeling aggrieved. He then

assumed the bearing he had whenever his experiments got interrupted. He
sat on the armchair with a displeased expression on his face, impatiently
tapping the table with his fingers, hoping to convey his meaning that he
didn’t want to listen to any nonsense.

The Red Dragon Sect disciple led the person from the Golden Phoenix
Manor into the reception pavilion.

When Song Qingshi saw the visitor, he was still slightly stunned.

In his mind, Yue Wuhuan will always be the number one beauty in the
world. But this young man named Bai Zihao still left a deep impression on
him. He was just like the bright and clear moon. Although you couldn’t say
which part of him was exceptionally beautiful, people couldn’t help but
have their eyes linger on him. The Bai Zihao now had an even a more
refined appearance; there was a greater indescribable charm. He was just
like a carefully raised flower, trimmed at will and then inserted into a vase
in its most beautiful form for people to enjoy.

Although he was beautiful, he looked as if he had no sort of unwillingness

towards life…

Jin Feiren regarded him as his true love. From being a slave to the Doaist
companion of the Lord of the Manor, it could be said that he had reached
heaven in a single bound. He was the envy of the entire immortal realm.

Song Qingshi felt there was something strange about it and felt a bit uneasy.

Knowing that he didn’t like it when people went around curves and skirted
corners, Bai Zihao respectfully bowed and asked directly, “I heard that the
Medicine King Xianzun has obtained the water spirit orb from the Ten
Thousand Year Water Monster. Golden Phoenix Manor would like to ask
for one. May we know if you would be willing to part with this treasure?”
In addition to making Clear Water Powder, the water spirit orbs could also
heal and suppress fire-attribute injuries with extraordinary effect.

Bai Zihao had a water-type spiritual root. However, he didn’t directly ask
for the Clear Water Powder but for the Water Spirit Orb. Obviously, he
wasn’t asking for it for himself, but for Jin Feiren, that garbage beast.

In his heart, Song Qingshi was mad with rage but couldn’t think of what to
scold. And so, he simply walked away.

Bai Zihao knew that he had an eccentric personality and behaved differently
from ordinary people. He never thought that he would be able successfully
receive the water spirit orb right away. He retreated and went to stay in the
nearby town, planning to spend a few more days to slowly wear him
down. He was good-looking, was better-tempered then most, was rather
sociable and was quite generous with his money. He had already won over
several of the foolish disciples of the Red Dragon Sect who frequently
tipped him off. Time and again, he would have ‘chance’ encounters with
Song Qingshi.

Song Qingshi was very responsible when it came to taking care of his
patients. He had to make sure that their condition was stable and was into
the recovery stage before he let go.

Yan Yuan Xianjun wasn’t some particularly talented cultivator. He had

already lived quite a long life and his physique wasn’t good. In addition, he
had a variety of past hidden diseases whose effects on his body had
accumulated. Therefore, he suffered relapses of his condition. Song Qingshi
decided to stay for a few more days for the sake his Way of ‘Giving
Everything I’ve got to Teach my Apprentices’. He would make sure his
condition would not be harmful to him before leaving.

Now, Bai Zihao was pestering him so much, it made him want to leave…

Song Qingshi went to find Yue Wuhuan to grumble, “That animal Jin Feiren
should already know that you’re my disciple, shouldn’t he? How is it that
he still has the face to come looking for me to ask for the water spirit orb?
Wuhuan, don’t worry. I’ll never give it to that bastard! No matter how much
he begs, he…”

Yue Wuhuan suddenly said, “Give it to him ba.”

Song Qingshi hadn’t taken in a breath yet and was almost choked to death
once again. He hurriedly pulled over the kind-hearted little angel and took
on the manner of a loyal minister advising the fatuous and self-indulgent
emperor and adamantly remonstrated, “Wuhuan, you must not repay evil
with good.”

“That wasn’t my intention.” Yue Wuhuan realized that he had

misunderstood and explained quickly, “Jin Feiren deliberately sent Bai
Zihao to ask for the water spirit orb. Bai Zihao…had the same background
as I did. Not only do I have no enmity towards him but I even have a bit of
friendship. He is a kind-hearted person. He has pleaded for me and sent me
medicine, so I don’t feel any ill-will towards him.”

Song Qingshi was stunned for a moment, “But, he’s asking for Jin Feiren.”

“If he goes back without managing to receive the water spirit orb, he will
most certainly be punished.” Yue Wuhuan smiled coldly and said, “Jin
Feiren takes delight in punishing people and he lot of fancy ways to do it.
He won’t take pity just because he’s his partner. Master must have also
discovered the scars on Bai Zihao’s neck and wrists? If you use a mental
probe, there should be more on his body. That’s why he has no choice but to
ask for it. Otherwise, an unbearable situation might be waiting for him once
he goes back.”

Song Qingshi didn’t understand: “Doesn’t Jin Feiren like him. Aren’t they
going to be Daoist companions?”

Shouldn’t you place your Daoist companion in your heart and protect them
well, not allowing them to suffer even the slightest grievance?

Yue Wuhuan smiled, “Jin Feiren treats those he likes, like him and those he
doesn’t, like me.”
The difference between the two was simply being defiled by one person and
being defiled by many.

Song Qingshi now understood. He was thoroughly disgusted by this animal.

He didn’t know what to say and felt a little nauseous.

“There is no need to bother about him. He is just a pitiful man who can't
help himself.” Yue Wuhuan thought of the sheepskin he kept on his own
body. When he talked about Bai Zihao, he showed just the right amount of
pity. But his analysis was extremely rational. “Injuries in the secret realm of
Extreme Flame can be cured even without the use of a water spirit orb.
Only that it will be very troublesome and it will be very painful. Jin Feiren
sending over Bai Zihao who used to be on good terms with me to bring
these generous gifts in exchange for medicine, is to express his goodwill.
Since we currently are no match for Golden Phoenix Manor, we might as
well accept these generous gifts and respond with sincerity so as not to
increase the misunderstanding…”

Slaves sent out from Golden Phoenix Manor being favored and gaining
better prospects did happen on occasion. However, no matter how much
they toss about, being that they were of mortal origin, they could never
create any big waves and they have never brought any trouble. The
Medicine King’s Valley has always stood aloof from worldly affairs, which
made Yue Wuhuan even more unworthy of being paid much attention.
However, Yue Wuhuan’s movements during these past few years really
have been too big, making him hard to ignore.

Although for the sake of his Master’s safety, Yue Wuhuan had endured not
touching any of the Golden Phoenix Manor’s matters.

However, Jin Feiren still had some suspicions about the Medicine King’s
Valley. His coming to ask for medicine now must also be a test of Song
Qingshi’s attitude towards him.

If they don’t deal with it well, it will bring no end of trouble in the future.

Song Qingshi calmed down. He understood the situation behind this matter.
But he just wasn’t reconciled…
If you aren’t reconciled then you must work hard and turn grief and
indignation into motivation.

“When we get back from this trip, I’ll stop the drug trials that I had
originally planned.” Song Qingshi took a deep breath. He decided to
temporarily abandon his hobbies and study more important things. “I’ve
thought over the “Nie Clan’s Poison Scriptures”. The Flower Dove Poison
and the Black Death Butterfly both have a lot of room for improvement. I
want to try to make a poison that can kill a Fen Shen cultivator. You’ll be
helping me…”

He must carefully study toxicology and kill that beast Jin Feiren to avenge
Yue Wuhuan!

“Okay, I’ll help you. This time, on the way to Nanhai City let’s buy some
Poison Flood Dragon Grass.” Yue Wuhuan looked at him fuming with
anger. He couldn’t help poking and teasing, “Master, don’t be angry. This
isn’t something worth taking to heart. I’ll give him the water spirit orb for
you. After all, we are acquainted with each other and have been apart for so
many years ago already. I want to have a little chat with him.”

Golden Phoenix Mountain Manor was far less important than the Medicine
King’s Valley and hatred was not as important as the objective he had
immediately at hand.

He had something to ask that foolish young man.

Song Qingshi was completely uneasy about Golden Phoenix Manor.

Although Bai Zihao seemed harmless, there were still many masters who
came with him to protect him. Yue Wuhuan said that Jin Feiren should have
specially arranged it so that there weren’t any disgusting persons he
recognized from before among them. But what if there had been a fish that
slipped through the net?

He was determined to follow and protect him. He wasn’t going to leave

even if he was beaten to death!
This wouldn’t work if Yue Wuhuan catches him so he decided it to would
be best to wait in town.

Bai Zihao lived in the courtyard where they had lived a while ago, so he
was not hard to find.

Song Qingshi was sitting on a nearby tree. While staring dazedly at the
clouds, he used his mental probe to check on Yue Wuhuan’s safety. After a
while, his attention was pulled back by a hubbub of voices.

It was dusk, near sundown. The villagers who had worked all day were
making their way home, talking and laughing. The cowherd boy sang love
songs and flirted with the girl who had returned from lotus picking. Then
the girl smiled and slapped his face with a lotus flower. Two village women
quarreled by the river, throwing rude and obscene words but it didn’t take
long for them to inexplicably reconcile.

Song Qingshi secretly memorized a few of their curse words, thinking they
might come in useful when he scolded the Alaskan Malamute in the future.

On the low bank of earth between fields, a farmer was happily carrying
back a wild deer. He kept calling out to his friends. “This is game I picked
up at the foot of the mountain. Bring some good wine and food tonight.
None of us are going home until we’re drunk.” All of his friends were
overjoyed and they kept greeting him with cheers. They kept reaching out
their hands to stroke the fat deer.

Song Qingshi looked at the deer and was surprised.

He immediately jumped off the tree and rushed to the vicinity. He snatched
the deer over, called up the Red Lotus Fire and burned it to ashes.

The farmer looked at him as though he had seen a ghost.

Song Qingshi stuttered and explained, “This, you can’t eat, you can’t
touch…”

Before he could finish his words, the farmer scrambled to flee.

Song Qingshi hurriedly grabbed the farmer. The Underworld Ghost Fire
rose in his hand and wound around twice before he let the farmer go.

The farmer wet himself from fright. He wept bitterly and kept kowtowing,
“I pray for Immortal Elder to spare my life.”

Song Qingshi was a little anxious and all his words were once again stifled
in his chest. He didn’t know how to say it. He turned the matter a few times
in his mind, organized his words and prepared a draft. By the time he could
explain the matter clearly, the farmer was already fleeing. The surrounding
villagers also fled.

“This deer… died after eating poisonous weeds. Its fur and meat are highly
poisonous…”

“I just want to detoxify you…”

“Don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you…”

Song Qing stood dazed by the side of the road. Facing the empty road, he
said words that no one could hear.

He stood for a long, long time, thinking for a long, long time. He then sent
out his mental probe and controlled countless insects. At the foot of the
mountain, he found the grasses with that familiar toxin. He cleared it away
and then inspected the surroundings…

Finally, he returned to the tree and quietly looked at the clouds in the sky.

The clouds were really pretty.

He kind of missed Yue Wuhuan and felt a little sad…

Chapter 52

Bai Zihao was biting his nails. He was a little anxious.

Jin Feiren had been bitten by a Flame Wolf in the secret realm of Extreme
Flame in order to protect him. His injury was on the leg and it was quite
serious. Although he used an elixir to control the spread of the flame poison
and it was possible to slowly neutralize it, being burned by the raging fire
every day was not at all a pleasant experience and he needed to endure this
kind of agony for two full years. Bai Zihao felt so guilty that he
painstakingly waited upon Jin Feiren every day, enduring Jin Feiren’s
increasingly violent temper…

A Ten Thousand Years Water Spirit Orb could suppress the pain of the
flame poison but this thing was extremely rare and it was also a consumable
item. They searched for a long time without any result.

Fortunately, the Ten Thousand Years Water Monster appeared in Yueyin

Lake and was successfully hunted down by the Myriad Gu Sect and the
Medicine King’s Valley…

Jin Feiren had been feeling hesitant about the Medicine King’s Valley all
these years. He never thought that Yue Wuhuan would succeed in seducing
the Medicine King Xianzun, becoming his direct disciple and being very
much loved. He was well-aware of what he had done to Yue Wuhuan and
had no misconception that this lunatic bore no resentment against him. But
what Yue Wuhuan thought was not important, what Song Qingshi thought
was.

It stood to reason that Xie Que was the chief culprit. The Golden Phoenix
Manor regularly bought slaves and this didn’t violate the laws and ethics of
the immortal realm. Normal people wouldn’t go looking for trouble over
this kind of thing. After all, even if he hadn’t bought Yue Wuhuan, Yue
Wuhuan would have been sold to a brothel and with his beauty, his end
would not have been any less tragic.
However, the Medicine King Xianzun’s brain was not normal. He often
didn’t act according to common sense and no one could tell what he would
do.

As much as possible, he really didn’t want to touch the Medicine King’s

Valley. Although the Medicine King’s Valley was very small, had little
power and it’s master didn’t like to socialize, Song Qingshi was the number
one doctor in the immortal realm. He’s been around for so many years, the
people he had saved were spread out amongst almost all of the big sects.
Even if everyone didn’t like him, they didn’t want to not be able to find him
should they meet with some sort of mishap. Moreover, they had no way to
replace the rare pills that the Medicine King’s Valley produced.

Although getting seen by the doctor depended on his mood and you needed
to pay a consultation fee, a life, once lost was something that you couldn’t
get back with any amount of money.

Elder Niu of the Five Mountain Sect already had half a leg through the
gates of the underworld and it was Song Qingshi who pulled him back. In
his heart, Elder Niu always carried this debt of gratitude.

Madam Ling Miao of Vast Sky Island obtained the Ever Young Pill and
regained the beauty of her youth. She sang his praises to the high heavens.

There were many, many examples like these…

Although Yue Wuhuan has gone crazy these past years, he has still been
very evasiveness towards the Golden Phoenix Manor and he has not
revealed any intention to exact revenge.

The Medicine King Xianzun was at Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul,
had innate poisonous fires, had the inheritance of the elder of the Nie Clan
and rarely went out. Who knows how many cards he has up his sleeve? The
price of removing him was too high and it might even provoke the
scoundrel from the Myriad Gu Sect.

If he preemptively attacks the Medicine King’s Valley because he was

overly suspicious, afraid of a former slave and afraid of things that haven’t
even happened yet, he would just be making a spectacle of himself and he
stood to gain little advantage. It would also affect his reputation. It wasn’t
worth it…

Jin Feiren was very conflicted as to what to do…

His Flame Wolf injury gave him the perfect chance to sound matters out.

He sent Bai Zihao along with lots of generous gifts to show his goodwill.
He ordered Bai Zihao to obtain the water spirit orb. He wanted to see what
the attitude of the Medicine King’s Valley towards him was.

……

The setting sun was like blood and Yue Wuhuan finally appeared in the
courtyard.

Wearing a voluminous robe of red brocade, with the wing-like golden mask
on his face, beautiful phoenix eyes and that upright figure…

He was as gorgeous as a real phoenix, much more beautiful than when he

was in the Golden Phoenix Manor.

Bai Zihao looked slightly awkward. He wanted to call out a greeting,

perhaps say a few words to harken back to their shared past but he didn’t
know what to say.

Before he was sold to the Golden Phoenix Manor, he had lived in a small
village with simple folk customs. He had never thought that there was such
a thing in this world as men submitting to another’s control. Jin Feiren had
taken a fancy to him and forced him to learn to serve men. The first person
he saw had been Yue Wuhuan. The scene at that time…had him, who had
never experienced worldly affairs, extremely scared. He cried and wanted to
escape, but he couldn’t. He was forced to look at his future. He was almost
driven to despair.

Yue Wuhuan raised his head from the hell he was in, glanced at him and
couldn’t help but smile.
Bai Zihao didn’t know what he was smiling at but he was fascinated…

He had never seen such a beautiful person; like an otherworldly bewitching

flower blooming upon heaps of ugly white bones in the abyss of sin. His
captivating beauty could make people forget all the filth. His perfect body
drew everyone’s attention. He knew that he shouldn’t look but he couldn’t
help but look. There was even a faint strange sensation in his body.

Later, he had realized that this was desire. He had desires for men…

A crack was pried open on the shackles around his heart, a fissure appeared
in his self-esteem…

The next time Jin Feiren kissed him, he gave up his fierce resistance and
tried to endure it all.

Whenever he was suffering, he always thought of that smile of Yue

Wuhuan’s. Even such good a person like him had sunk into hell.

What was the use of his little resistance?

A few days later, when he saw Yue Wuhuan again, for some reason, he had
provoked Jin Feiren’s anger in bed and was punished. Not only did he get a
whipping, he was also dragged to be detained in the dungeon. He was not
allowed any food for three days. All the slaves dreaded being sent to the
dungeon. It was dark and damp, cramped and scary. There were rats
everywhere. In there, injuries could easily worsen and the pain was difficult
to bear…

He secretly brought food and medicine, wanting to give them to him…

The guard knew that he was the favored pet. After receiving some profit, he
turned a blind eye to them.

He managed to slip into the dungeon without a hitch. He saw Yue Wuhuan
lying on the icy stone bed, his long black hair scattered haphazardly. The
red shark silk robe was stained with blood. He was dirty beyond recognition
but his expression was very relaxed. He was humming a song in a low
voice. The tune was very familiar, like a lullaby that every mother would
sing next to her child’s cradle…

Yue Wuhuan saw him come in and got up, full of suspicion.

Bai Zihao silently stuffed the things in. He wanted to say something but
couldn’t think of any words that wouldn’t seem paltry.

Yue Wuhuan saw the things. As though he had seen something very
amusing, he couldn’t help laughing. He appraised, “Stupid.”

Bai Zihao was inexplicably laughed at. He didn’t know what he had done
wrong.

“I have seen too many people like you, bemoaning the state of the universe
and pitying the fate of mankind. It’s ridiculous. You should quickly learn
how to serve that person with your body. After all, it’s those whose looks he
values as a rarity, those who are mild-mannered and those who behave and
listen to what he says, who suffer less. Don’t worry, I think your body is
suitable for these things,” Yue Wuhuan gently picked up the medicine bottle
with his fingers, turned it over casually and then said tauntingly, “Didn’t
you have a reaction when you looked at me that day? Where did you get a
reaction? Come, tell me. Or would you like to let me guess… Do you have
a feeling for submitting to another’s control?”

His little secret had been found out. His face was torn off and trampled on
the ground.

Bai Zihao flushed with anger. He stood up and cursed, “You! How can you
not recognize other’s good intentions?”

“Take these back. I don’t need these,” Yue Wuhuan threw the food and the
medicine bottle back to him and said in a mocking tone, “You keep it.
You’ll need it when you finish serving that man.”

Bai Zihao grabbed his things and ran away from the dungeons, feeling
embarrassed. He thought this person was extremely repugnant.
Yue Wuhuan gave him a cold look, then lay down again without speaking.

The third time he saw him was on the Langgan Terrace. Yue Wuhuan was
unexpectedly attacked by the demon tiger and when he was in imminent
peril, was rescued by the Medicine King Xianzun.

He almost scared out of his wits and he was relieved to see Yue Wuhuan
being taken away…

That night, he became Jin Feiren’s exclusive domain and then he was
horrified to find that every word Yue Wuhuan said was right. Even though
he was treated roughly, he had feelings about this kind of thing. He then
began to submit slowly, became obedient slowly. He mastered how to
ingratiate himself until his downfall was complete. Jin Feiren was a
conceited and arrogant man. He liked to conquer not only the body but also
the heart.

In fact, as long as you could follow him, admire him, life would be much
better.

Bai Zihao did this completely. He practically regarded Jin Feiren as his own
Heaven, so he got the greatest amount of doting.

When the Mad Daoist attacked, he blocked a fatal attack for Jin Feiren.

Jin Feizhen fell in love with him, trusted him and removed his status as a
slave. He gave him various precious cultivation resources and provided him
with a lot of privileges. He never needed to accompany other men and was
rarely punished. He was allowed to go study like the other disciples and
obtained the qualifications to practice cultivation. Moreover, he got a lot of
concessions and benefits as part of the negotiations with the Song He Sect.

Bai Zihao told himself this was what it was to be loved. This was happiness.

He was already very happy.

But no matter what, he couldn’t forget about Yue Wuhuan’s matter.

Once Jin Feiren completely trusted him, he began to secretly investigate
about Yue Wuhuan. The more he investigated, the more perplexed he
became. Obviously when he first entered the Golden Phoenix Manor, he
was heavily favored by Jin Feirnen. He could have lived a good life by
serving only one person. Why did he fall to this point? Obviously he had
such beauty but he fooled with his life until it was almost no different with
that of the cheapest slave, unrestrainedly serving any random guest. What
for?

Bai Zihao couldn’t understand but he couldn’t help thinking…

Suddenly there was a day when he woke up from the bed riddled with scars
and he understood.

This was his resistance against Jin Feiren…

He was telling Jin Feiren that he would never give in or give him his heart.
Even if he was made to accompany countless guests to be debauched, even
if he suffered all kinds of humiliation and abuse, he would rather be the
cheapest slave and serve anyone with his body than be Jin Feiren’s alone!

So, he became a thorn in Jin Feiyu’s heart.

Jin Feiren never mentioned his name but for a long time he had been
looking for a young man similar to him.

Bai Zihao was not jealous and simply admired him a bit…

Because this was something he couldn’t do.

Later, he heard that Yue Wuhuan had become the Medicine King’s Valley’s
disciple and was favored by the Medicine King Xianzun. It seemed that life
was going well. Even later, he heard that he had been disfigured somehow
and he had some mental problems. He was bruised and scarred but he was
still free…

The slaves of Golden Phoenix Manor never liked Yue Wuhuan very much
because he was so beautiful and his temperament was incompatible with
everyone. They all mocked him as stupid. They laughed at him for falling
into disfavor, for outliving his good days, for making a rod for one's own
back.

Bai Zihao never took part in these conversations. It was like there was no
one else in his quiet world except for Jin Feiren.

The white bird in the gorgeous cage quietly admired the wings that flew in
the sky.

It must never be discovered by the owner…

……

Yue Wuhuan walked towards Bai Zihao with a smile. He handed him the
brocade box with the water spirit orb. “Take it back and go report the
success of your task.”

Bai Zihao took the brocade box, a great weight was lifted off his shoulders.
He thanked him again and again.

“No need for thanks,” Yue Wuhuan said with a smile, “I heard that you will
be Manor Lord Jin’s Doaist companion in a few days. Let me congratulate
you in advance. My Master doesn’t like attending social functions but the
Medicine King’s Valley will be sending a gift. Is there anything in particular
that you would like?”

Hearing this, Bai Zihao gave a faint blush. “No need for such politeness.”

“I should. I think that it was a good thing that I saw you back then.” Yue
Wuhuan glanced at the scars on his neck and gave his blessing in a very
sincere tone. “You have managed to get the Manor Lord of Golden Phoenix
Manor to have a change of heart. This is also a good thing. He must like
you very much, like you to the bottom of his heart.”

Bai Zihao gathered the collar of his robes close. He said, embarrassed,
“Well, I like him just as much.”

Yue Wuhuan sincerely praised, “You were born to be a couple.”

“Thank you,” Bai Zihao looked at his mask, thought for a long time and
couldn’t help asking, “Your face, what exactly…”

“It’s nothing,” Yue Wuhuan took off the mask, revealing the hideous and
brightly colored marks. He smiled, “There are a lot of poisonous things in
the Medicine King’s Valley. I was unlucky and accidentally encountered an
improved version of the Devil Mask Snake Venom. And because Master
was in closed-door cultivation, it was left untreated and it became like this.”

Bai Zihao was so scared that he took two steps back. He finally regained his
composure and said sympathetically, “You’ve become like this…How will
you be favored in the future?”

In the Golden Phoenix Manor, everyone said that he was able to cling to the
Medicine King Xianzun using his beauty and body. Now that his beauty
was gone, wouldn’t he be abandoned?

Yue Wuhuan put the mask back on. “My Master does not dislike it.”

Bai Zihao was slightly relieved and praised, “He’s truly a good person.”

From now on, he wouldn’t ever say that the Medicine King Xianzun was a
weird person. At least, he had a very good conscience and was not the kind
to seduce and then abandon.

Yue Wuhuan knew that Bai Zihao had a cowardly nature. He had been
locked up in the Golden Phoenix Manor for so many years. He hardly had
any contact the outside world and he also didn’t dare to interact with the
outside world. His mind was filled with Jin Feiren’s words and he behaved
according to the norms of Golden Phoenix Manor. He had long lost a
normal person’s ability to judge. This was true for most of the slaves in the
Golden Phoenix Manor. Yue Wuhuan was not surprised at his manner.

Yue Wuhuan’s main reason for coming was to ask him about other matters.

Back then, when his Master visited Golden Phoenix Manor as a guest, he
had been prepared to die on Langgan Terrace and so he hadn’t concerned
himself about any other things. At that time, Bai Zihao was next to Jin
Feiren and he must know about most of the matters then…

He mentioned the matter a little bit and then asked Bai Zihao, “Did Manor
Lord Jin invite this person back then?”

Bai Zihao earnestly thought about it. “Yes, but he left without saying
goodbye. The Manor Lord was very upset and complained about it for a
long time afterwards.”

Yue Wuhuan smiled with satisfaction.

He once again sincerely gave his blessing for a loving relationship and then
turned and left.

Bai Zihao put away the water spirit orb. He took a deep breath and turned
back to the house. However, when he walked by the window, he saw the
Medicine King Xianzun jump down from a tree. He stood worriedly in front
of Yue Wuhuan, checking him up and down. It was as though Yue Wuhuan
had come from a land filled with tigers and wolves and he was afraid Yue
Wuhuan was missing a chunk of flesh.

Sure enough, the Medicine King Xianzun doted on him very much.

Bai Zihao smiled and shook his head. When he was about to close the
window, he saw the Medicine King Xianzun lift up Yue Wuhuan’s sleeve.
He seemed to have discovered something. Yue Wuhuan looked embarrassed
and wanted to withdraw his hand but the Medicine King Xianzun pulled it
out and refused to let go.

What exactly happened?

Bai Zihao curiously released his mental probe and quietly checked.

He saw several superficial scratches on Yue Wuhuan’s wrist. It was nothing

serious, just skin-deep. The wounds have even began to heal.

Yue Wuhuan explained, embarrassed, “Master, I accidentally scratched it.

It’s nothing serious…”
“If you see blood, you must apply medicine to avoid infection,” Song
Qingshi insisted. He took out some herbal plaster for wounds from his
mustard seed bag. He lowered his head, applied it very carefully and then
wrapped the wound with gauze. His movements were gentle, as if he was
afraid of accidentally hurting him. After handling everything, he told him
earnestly, “Be careful in the future, don’t get injured. It will hurt…”

Bai Zihao stared dazedly at them…

Because Song Qingshi kept his head down, Yue Wuhuan he couldn’t see his
expression.

Bai Zihao, though, saw those clear eyes and they were full of bottomless
sadness.

Did he feel distressed over that little bit of pain?

Why?

Bai Zihao suddenly felt like his heart was being seized. A bit of confusion
from this understanding appeared.

He was a little confused but he didn’t understand what he was confused

about…

Finally, Bai Zihao left the town and embarked on the road back to the
Golden Phoenix Manor.

Jin Feiren saw the water spirit orb and used it to suppress the flame poison.
He then happily carried him to the bed to bestow to him his reward…

This was the same madness as usual, the same roughness as usual, the same
pain and happiness as usual.

He told Bai Zihao over and over again, “I love you, I love you the most.”

Bai Zihao looked blankly at the top of the cyan-colored canopy. Suddenly, a
disrespectful thought that had never before crossed his mind, appeared.
If you love me……

Why are you willing to hurt me?

……

A tear slipped quietly from the corner of his eye, fell onto the pillow and
disappeared.

Translator’s note: This has been a short sort of update on what has been
happening to Bai Zihao. Since a lot of readers are concerned about him, I’d
like to let every one know that: minor spoiler and bigger spoiler.
Chapter 53: Bedtime Reading

Yue Wuhuan found that his master has become quite clingy. He kept
following him, wanting to try to strike up conversation, like about today’s
weather, about the peonies in the garden, about the birds flying in the sky or
about delicious food. Did it have something to do with the secret book on
master-disciple interaction that he secretly hid from him and refused to let
him see?

He questioned Yan Yuan Xianjun closely.

Yan Yuan Xianjun didn’t dare provoke the lunatic and immediately said
everything.

After Yue Wuhuan knew the whole story, he found it very amusing. He
enthusiastically played the role of a good disciple and played games with
his Master.

Song Qingshi was actually very bad at small talk. No matter what the topic,
the conversation would die within three sentences.

Yue Wuhuan loved seeing him digging through his thoughts, searching
through his guts and belly, trying with all his might to find something to
talk about with him. It was really too cute. Once in a while, when he saw
that he really couldn’t continue, he would start a new topic for him so as to
shorten the awkward silence.

Before going to bed, Yue Wuhuan found Song Qingshi once again climbing
into his bed. He leaned on his pillow and holding the “The Legend of Kang
Qu”, he said very seriously, “Let’s read a bedtime story.”

Yue Wuhuan lay on the pillow, listening to him start to read the fable of the
big tiger and the little white rabbit. He was a little dazed. It felt like he was
back to when he was a child and his mother would read next to his ear…

Song Qingshi read a few pages and concluded, “I seem to have taken the
wrong book.”
He had simply taken the bedtime story that was the most popular among the
disciples of the Red Dragon Sect. He was told it was perfect in virtue,
wisdom and beauty and basing on the title, there seemed to be no problem.
He didn’t expect to run into trouble so he came without reading the contents
carefully. He wanted the two of them to read together to deepen their
relationship. Unexpectedly, there was a serious problem with regards to the
age group this bedtime story catered to. The Red Dragon Sect had many
young disciples…

Children’s books were, at least, mentally healthy. He kind of wanted to

know how the little white rabbit settled matters with the big tiger.

Song Qingshi had very good reading habits. He didn’t like to give up
halfway, so he put on a brave face and insisted on finishing reading.

Yue Wuhuan buried his head in the quilt and tried his best to hold back a
smile.

“Tomorrow I will change the book.” Although Song Qingshi felt that he
was a bit stupid, if he was able to amuse him and make him happy then it
was still a good thing.

Yue Wuhuan laughed for a long time. He crawled back from under the quilt
and curiously wanted to see what he was going to do next.

Seeing that he was not the least bit sleepy, Song Qingshi reluctantly
suggested, “Since you can’t fall asleep yet, let’s do a few advanced math
problems?”

“Okay,” Yue Wuhuan smile happily, “I like doing this kind of thing in bed
with Master the most.”

Seeing him happy, Song Qingshi was overjoyed. He took out pen and paper,
wrote out more than twenty questions and talked a lot about mathematical
formulas.

Yue Wuhuan immersed himself in the sea of ​questions; he studied quite

happily.
Finally, he found that Song Qingshi had unsuspectingly fallen asleep next to
him.

The Blood King Vines couldn’t help but slowly stretched out to all
directions like a huge spider’s web. It paced back and forth everywhere,
poking, wanting to capture. For a long while, he greedily admired the
sleeping treasure. Finally, he packed away all his desire, leaving only a
single vine gently wrapped around his ankle.

Don’t be hasty.

The next day, Song Qingshi pondered for a long time and sorted out all the
bedtime stories he knew in his mind. He felt that “Snow White” or “The
Ugly Duckling” wouldn’t be appropriate for Yue Wuhuan. Answering
problem questions everyday was even less of a solution. Yue Wuhuan’s zeal
for learning was even greater than his own. The more he answered, the
more energetic he was. He would wind up falling asleep while the other
stayed up.

He decided to rise to the challenge once again and find a book suitable for
adults.

Yue Wuhuan has already read “The Three Tiger-Fighting Brothers” and
even made a very insightful summary.

He had to change to an interesting bedtime reading…

Song Qingshi pondered for a long time. Taking advantage of when Yue
Wuhuan was off studying talismans with the Red Dragon Sect disciples, he
went in search of books. However, the library of all sects were off-limits
and those without permission weren’t allowed to enter. He was a rule-
abiding person and wanted to ask Yan Yuan Xianjun for permission, he
didn’t expect to run into Nian Nian on the way there.

Nian Nian was a child and had a rather cheeky personality. Moreover, she
had some familiarity with him.
Although Yan Yuan Xianjun repeatedly explained to his disciples that the
Medicine King Xianzun had an eccentric personality and that they should
not provoke him into anger, Nian Nian didn’t believe it very much. She felt
that the cultivator who had saved her had a good temper, and interacting
with cultivator Wuhuan, didn’t seem much like the ruthless cultivator that
he was rumored to be. He was very gentle.

She liked this kind of gege very much.

Nian Nian took the initiative to greet Song Qingshi and asked him curiously
what he was looking for.

Song Qingshi spoke much more at ease in front of this bright and cheerful
little girl. He asked Nian Nian, “Do you know any bedtime books suitable
for adults? The kind of books your elder brothers and sisters love to read
before bed. Can help me borrow some books?”

“I know,” Nian Nian immediately understood, “Lan Shijie has a lot of them
somewhere. She reads them every night and the other senior sisters always
ask to borrow them. Lan Shijie is very generous and lets everyone take
them whenever they want. She’s been kind of weird these past couple of
days though. Maybe she’s afraid of being scolded by Shifu for not being
diligent enough? She’s hidden her books…but I know where she hid them.
Wait for me to get some of them for you.”

Song Qingshi was overjoyed. He repeatedly thanked her and went back to
the room to make a pot of spirit tea, planning to carefully choose a book.

Before long, Nian Nian ran over with more than a dozen books. She eagerly
handed then to Song Qingshi and then hurried away.

Song Qingshi drank a sip of spirit tea and opened the first book, “The
Record of Prisoner Huan”. He then found that the protagonist’s occupation
and name were a bit similar to his own. His name was Qingshi. He was also
a Nascent Soul master cultivating skills in both medicine and poison. He
caught and brought back a mortal beauty named Yue Huan. The opening
scene was that of a very sentimental kiss. Qingshi pressed Yue Huan against
the rock wall and then kissed his voluptuous lips. Their breaths intertwined
and they tasted sweetness, experiencing the world’s greatest bliss…

He held the spirit tea and sipped it slowly. He kept feeling that there was
something wrong. After thinking about it for a long time, a bright flash of
light appeared in his mind. He was completely stunned.

Was this book obliquely pointing to him and Yue Wuhuan?

When has he ever done such shameless things to Yue Wuhuan?

Song Qingshi quickly ruffled through a few pages of the book and found
that it was a super disharmonious book, depicting him forcing onto the
beauty all sorts of things that should harmonized by the publishing
company. The scale was enormous and it was unsuitable for children.
Reading it made people blush. He was given such a fright that he threw the
book to the ground. He then picked up the other books and looked through
them. In the second one, the beauty took the initiative to seduce him and the
two sought pleasure and made merry. In the third one, he tied up the beauty
and then proceeded to engage in all sorts of sadomasochistic play in all
kinds of wondrous places…

Although the protagonists’ names has been changed in each book, it was
obvious that they were referring to him and Yue Wuhuan.

Song Qingshi was completely stunned. He had no idea that he was such a
beast in the eyes of the world…

The door opened. Yue Wuhuan walked in and frowned slightly when he saw
the books on the table.

Song Qingshi wanted to burn the books but it was too late.

He was on the verge of tears. Stuttering, he said, “Wu-Wuhuan, let me

explain. I didn’t know anything. I didn’t do anything…”

“I know these,” Yue Wuhuan casually picked up a book. He looked at the

cover and turned a few pages. He sighed, “Everyone in the world seeks out
novelty. It’s because my reputation is too widespread. It has even tarnished
Master’s good name.” He looked at Song Qingshi’s muddled expression.
Knowing that he didn’t understand, he explained with a wry smile, “My
past… is extremely unsavory. Everyone thinks that I relied on my body to
get the Master’s favor and so they wrote up lots of these sort of amorous
encounters. In actuality, everyone knows that it’s all nonsense. There are all
sorts of things written about the famous people in the immortal realm.
Master does not need to take it too much to heart.”

He had burned the picture books of a lot of bookstore and cleaned up many
bookstore owners.

Bookstores in the immortal realm weren’t businesses that made a lot of

profits. The owners has no powerful backers and they didn’t dare offend the
lunatic.

Nowadays, the towns near the Medicine King’s Valley didn’t dare to
blatantly sell his unsavory picture albums. But these kinds of novels written
under pseudonyms were very common. They were all written by small-time
authors and they merely borrowed the reflection of real characters or real
incidents. Moreover, they always indicated that these stories were purely
fictitious. The bigshots of the immortal realm found all this quite funny and
never took them personally. They also didn’t investigate into this matter.
Some even found it interesting and specially bought them to have a look.

Song Qingshi never read novels, let alone colorful ones.

Therefore, Yue Wuhuan never took these novels seriously.

After a long time of listening to the explanation, Song Qingshi finally

understood. But he was still aggrieved.

He has never been greedy for Yue Wuhuan’s body. Nor has he done
anything unforgivable to Yue Wuhuan. Moreover, he has practiced the Way
of the Heartless for many years, purifying his heart and reducing his
desires. Regardless of whether it was matters between a man and a woman
or between a man and a man, he has always been conscientious. He has
never even hit a plane. Setting aside the fact they were writing about him
having romantic affairs, why did they write him out to be such a beast?

What ‘entwined lips and tongue, sweet as honey’…

Was it really sweet and delicious?

Song Qingshi raised his head and glanced at Yue Wuhuan’s beautiful and
gorgeous lips. For some reason, the sentences in the book and some strange
thoughts suddenly appeared in his mind. He was so shocked by his beastly
thoughts that he gave a start. He shook his head and quickly dispelled them.

You mustn’t think about these kinds of things…

Yue Wuhuan packed up the mess of books and prepared to hand them over
to Yan Yuan Xianjun to handle. He then thought for a while and sitting in
front of Song Qingshi, he said sternly, “Master, the things written in these
books are exaggerated. Everyone just imagines that these things between
men are delightful but the real situation is not like this. This is a very
disgusting matter.”

Song Qingshi felt like he’d been caught doing something wrong. He sat
stiffly and properly, honestly accepting his lessons.

“Men and women have different bodies and they are not suitable for this
kind of thing.” Yue Wuhuan lectured earnestly. “This kind of thing is more
painful than you think and your dignity could be crushed inch by inch. It’s
very difficult to bear. There used to be a slave…”

He used a lot of medical terms and a lot of descriptions that were free of
emotions or biases but because of his own experience, he was extremely
persuasive and the scenes he described were terrible, almost no different
from hellish torture.

Song Qingshi felt uncomfortable and his face turned pale.

What he thought was just a laceration was more terrifying and disgusting
than he thought.
“Don’t be curious. Don’t try it.” Yue Wuhuan saw that he was terribly
scared and was extremely satisfied. He reached out his hand and gently
touched the messy hair on the top of his head. He embraced him into his
arms and said with extreme gentleness, “Master should just stay the way he
is. Don’t think about those things and don’t do those things either, okay? If
you get hurt, I will be very distressed…”

There were so many filthy things in this world, he couldn’t guard against
them all. If he overlooks even the littlest thing, it would seize the chance to
make its way in.

If it stirred the Master’s thoughts, what should he do?

It was so troublesome.

Song Qingshi looked at his relaxed and happy eyes. The sense of
abnormality and uneasiness in his heart became clearer and even more
definite. Yue Wuhuan has relevant painful experiences. His descriptions
weren’t lies; so, at wounds that were torn open and dripping with blood,
why did his expression have a contradictory reaction? It was as if a lot of
things were suppressed in his emotions. They were topsy-turvy and
confused, sorrow and joy were exchanged. He only presented the side he
wanted people to see but he himself didn’t know it…

There were also strange things. For example, a few days ago, he found
poison from the poison puppet on the deer carcass the farmer had picked
up. And then, he found the poisonous residue stuck to blades of grass in a
hidden spot at the foot of the mountain. Poison puppets were fierce and
cruel. They were specially made for killing and for research. Normally, they
were kept in mustard seed bags. Why would he take one out? There were
also those scars on Yue Wuhuan’s wrist. He was a famous doctor. How
could he not see the difference between self-harm and accidental
scratching?

After discovering these abnormalities, he tried his best to follow after Yue
Wuhuan, pestering him to talk, trying to figure out what was going on.
Now, he faintly saw the answer — Wuhuan’s mental illness had worsened.

Song Qing thought dazedly for a long time…

Seeing his mind wandering, Yue Wuhuan smiled and asked, “Master, what’s
the matter?”

Song Qingshi immediately came back to his senses and promised, “Okay,
the things Wuhuan doesn’t like, I won’t think about and I won’t do.”

Yue Wuhuan was very satisfied, “Master is the best.”

Song Qingshi asked softly, “What does Wuhuan want me to do?”

Yue Wuhuan said, “I want to raise little white mice together, do experiments
together, study together, watch the clouds together.”

Song Qingshi nodded, “Okay.”

At night, he didn’t find an excuse to stay in Yue Wuhuan’s bed so he went

back to his room. He thought for a long time and took a deep breath. He
then looked at the Blood King Vine that was crawling over, took it and tied
it to his ankle.
Chapter 54: Nanhai Flower Festival

Almost all the disciples of the Red Dragon Sect went to kneel at the
ancestral hall. Nian Nian’s palms were red from being struck by her Shifu.
She cried so terribly.

The disharmonious books were all burned. The disciples were subjected to
rigorous teaching, had their attitude towards learning rectified and their
three views once again corrected.

Song Qingshi was very satisfied with how Yan Yuan Xianjun handled
matters. He asked Yue Wuhuan to give little Nian Nian a full set of
mathematics textbooks. He also arranged for the messenger bird to send her
a collection of exercises from time to time. She was urged to study hard.
She would have spot-check exams and her results would be examined. This
would help her in going further on the road to becoming a talisman master.

Yan Yuan Xianjun was overjoyed and repeatedly thanked him.

Lan Shijie and the others also expressed that they would help the Medicine
King Xianzun to supervise the children’s study and that they would not
tolerate mischief.

Nian Nian cried even harder. Shifu was right. His gentle appearance was a
facade. The Medicine King Xianzun was a fiendish man. She would never
again fantasize about marrying such a gege when she grows up. He was too
terrible! Yue Wuhuan Gege was much better with his gentle temperament
and friendly smile. He also helped her to persuade her Shifu not to be
impatient, saying that it was better for children to learn slowly; there was no
need to be anxious. He could choose simpler textbooks to make her life a
bit easier.

She thought it was much better to marry a gege like Yue Wuhuan when she
grows up.

Song Qingshi examined Yan Yuan Xianjun’s body. After confirming that
there were no major problems, he got ready to leave with Yue Wuhuan.
Yue Wuhuan was a little worried. “If we leave, what would happen to An
Dage? He said he was craving alcohol but he didn’t show up in town.
Where did he go?”

“Probably off doing something bad,” Song Qingshi smiled, “It’s okay, he’s
not a child. He’s also an expert at tracking spells. If he needs to find us,
naturally, he can find a way to do so. He has always acted erratic. Before,
there would be times when he would do something halfway then just
suddenly disappear! It’s infuriating. I usually just leave him to his own
devices…Don’t worry, if he runs into a situation, he can send a letter for
help.”

Yue Wuhuan had some regrets but he could only give up.

The two rode to Nanhai City. Nanhai City was like spring throughout the
year, flourishing blossoms created a magnificent landscape. The Flower
Festival had already begun. The whole city had been transformed into a
country of flowers. Every household was decorated with flowers. The
fragrance of flowers was everywhere. Restaurants offered all sorts of
delicacies made from flowers. Young men and women arranged flowers by
the side of the temples, laughing and joking. Even old women in their 70s
or 80s couldn’t help but pin a few small, white and fragrant flowers on their
chests.

Song Qing had never participated in the Flower Festival, it was all rather
new to him.

He secretly looked at the cheat sheet in his sleeve, confirmed the answer
and prepared himself to explain the local customs to Yue Wuhuan.

Yue Wuhuan smiled and interrupted his recitation, “Master, I have been
here before.”

“When?” As soon as Song Qingshi spoke, he understood. His memory was

full of when Yue Wuhua first came to the Medicine King’s Valley. He kept
forgetting that he had been sleeping for ten years and that he had not kept
up with Yue Wuhuan’s growth, still stuck in the past.
The things he hadn’t done, Yue Wuhuan had done himself. The places he
hadn’t been to, Yue Wuhuan had gone to himself.

He was truly stupid.

“I seldom go out,” Song Qingshi thought up to this point and laughed,

“Wuhuan, can you show me around?”

During the Flower Festival in Nanhai City, visitors came in droves. People
were all crowded together, swarming the entire city.

Song Qingshi couldn’t use the alchemical fire to open the way nor could he
use poison to injure the innocent. From time to time, something strange or
new in the roadside stalls would attract his attention. And so, he was
repeatedly buried in the crowd and dragged away.

It also wasn’t convenient for Yue Wuhuan to use the Blood King Vine to
fish him from the crowd. After thinking and thinking, enduring and
enduring, when he was once again pulled over by a roadside vendor selling
fruits because of his thin-skinned nature, Yue Wuhuan finally reached out,
grabbed his arm and led him away. “There are too many people. Don’t go
wandering off.”

Song Qingshi took out one of the two blue fruits he had just bought and
handed it to him. Smiling, he asked, “Would you like to eat one?”

“This is very sour. It’s not tasty.” Yue Wuhuan took the fruit, “If you want
to taste it, I’ll pickle it with sugar first and then give it to you to eat.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Song Qingshi wipe the fruit in his
hand and then take a bite out of it. It was too late to stop him. “It’s dirty.”

Song Qingshi thought for a while. “I don’t think it’s sour, it’s delicious.”

Yue Wuhuan said helplessly, “It’s sour.”

Song Qingshi tossed the fruit in his hand and said with a smile, “I was
joking. It is really sour.”
The sun was almost reaching its zenith. Yue Wuhuan took him into a clean
tea house and found a place by the window. He took out his own tea set,
wiped it carefully a few times. He then threw a spirit stone to a young
waiter and asked him to bring over some petals. He washed them clean and
then personally made a pot of scented tea paired with homemade pastries
and handed them to Song Qingshi.

Along their journey, he would do it like this whenever he had the

opportunity.

Song Qingshi knew that he had a serious case of mysophobia, so he

accepted it obediently. He looked back at the other patrons of the tea shop
around him. He found that the cultivators had long quietly turned their eyes
away and didn’t dare look over in their direction. The pair of lovers at the
table next to theirs had left in a hurry. On the other hand, ordinary passers-
by who were curious, saw the beauty of Yue Wuhuan’s mask and secretly
glanced a lot more.

When An Long had been next to him, everyone was afraid and would avoid
them. He felt this was normal. After all, the Alaskan Malamute looked
fierce.

Now, An Long wasn’t around but everyone was still avoiding them…

Although he had a reputation for being fierce as the Medicine King

Xianzun, he rarely went outside and very few people recognized him. He
had brought Yue Wuhuan to Lecheng before and he had never encountered
such a scene. It was the first time for him to come to Nanhai City. It was
even more unlikely that he had left any traces. So, was it Yue Wuhuan that
these people were afraid of?

Wuhuan, what did you do?

Song Qingshi’s expression became more solemn.

Yue Wuhuan looked around and understood his hesitation. He explained

with a smile, “Every year at the Flower Festival, there are sea merchants
here. At the time, Ye Lin sent me a message that the Blue Spirit Resin had
appeared and so I came.”

The Blue Spirit Resin was a very rare elixir useful for repairing limbs.

Song Qingshi nodded, indicating that he understood that this had been
medicine for him.

“After I bought Blue Spirit Resin with a lot of money, I was targeted by
some bad guys.” Yue Wuhuan’s expression was a little aggrieved. “They
saw that I was just a Foundation Building cultivator and they thought they
could kill me and rob me of the treasure. I really had no choice but to kill
them. The method may have been a bit excessive…” He had beaten them at
their own game. He set a trap, controlled the wicked scoundrels using
Puppet Incense and then experimented with the newly developed Bone
Intoxication Poison. After he succeeded, he happily used the Blood King
Vine to hang their bodies on the city gate, deterring all other robbers. That’s
all.

Had he overdone it a little bit back then and he was now recognized by
others?

If he had known that the Master would come here, he wouldn’t have played
around on such a big scale. Or perhaps he would have hidden his true face
better when he was playing.

Yue Wuhuan thought about it regretfully and then asked, “Master, have I
done something wrong?”

Song Qingshi said resolutely, “You weren’t wrong. You should deal with
wicked scoundrels with thunder-like means!”

“En, I will take note of it for the future.” Yue Wuhuan laughed and changed
the subject, “Master, there are many interesting things in the Flower
Festival. We should stay here. In four hours, there should be floats passing
by. The beauties of Nanhai City are very well-known. Every year, the most
beautiful girls are selected to play the role of mythological characters on the
floats. Many famous painters also gather here to make portraits of the
beauties. I came and went in a hurry last time and I didn’t see the floats. It
was quite regrettable.”

What’s even more regrettable was that hadn’t found that damned painter.

Song Qingshi was very curious about the floats. Lying on the windowsill,
he looked around to watch the excitement.

He waited for a long, long time and finally the floats came. On the float
were twin sisters, one with beauty like a flower’s and the other with looks
that could make fishes forget to swim. They wore exquisite buyao crowns
on their heads and were dressed in gorgeous feathered robes. They were
covered from head to foot in gold and jewels. They were playing the role of
the mythical phoenix and hung in mid-air using a Floating Sky Formation.
They waved their wing-like sleeves and dance lightly and gracefully, as
beautiful as two real birds.

All the spectators watched mesmerized, as though drunk and stupefied.

They did their best to squeeze forward, throwing gold bead spirit stones
onto the float.

This teahouse that Yue Wuhuan chose was still some distance away from
the floats. His bare eyes couldn’t see clearly enough.

Song Qingshi quietly released his mental probe. He controlled the

surrounding dragonflies and butterflies to fly to the float, winding around it.
He looked at everything carefully without missing a single detail.

Yue Wuhuan leaned over. Seeing that he was looking so intently, he

endured and endured. He felt a little unhappy and the Blood King Vine,
following his feelings, snuck out from the ground and quietly wrapped
around his leg, tightening its hold. He then moved close to his ear and asked
in a coquettish tone, “Master, do they look good?”

Song Qingshi turned around and said sincerely, “They look good, but not as
good as you.”
The pair of sisters were all dressed up as fake phoenixes. His family’s
Wuhuan was a real phoenix that needed no embellishment.

Yue Wuhuan asked happily, “Then how about if Master doesn’t look at
them and looks only at me instead?”

Song Qingshi retracted his gaze from looking at the float. He sat down
again and looked at him seriously. “Okay.”

Master is so good…

Everything was going according to his wishes. There was nothing to make
him sad.

Yue Wuhuan felt a little uneasy for some reason. He kept feeling like
something was wrong. This place wasn’t suitable for touring. There were
too many bad people outside and too many dirty things. He has to hurry up
and dispose of all these troublesome matters. He’ll feel much more at ease
once he brings Master back to the Medicine King’s Valley.

The two looked at each other, not uttering a word. They drank tea in silence.

The sun was still a ways away from dusk but the two of them already went
to the inn where they would be staying. Yue Wuhuan said that these past
few days, they’ve been running around too much and he hadn’t been
sleeping well. He was really tired and wanted to stay in his room and read
quietly. Song Qingshi came to accompany him; stumblingly, he told him a
strange story about “Little Red Riding Hood” and wrote up some math
problems. Seeing that Yue Wuhuan still wasn’t sleepy, he made him a cup
of tea to help him sleep. Yue Wuhuan couldn’t refuse and could only drink
it. He didn’t expect that the Peaceful Sleep Tea made by the Master himself
would be super effective. After a while, he had to fight to keep his eyelids
open. He clearly wanted to stay up a little later but he couldn’t keep his eyes
open. He worked hard to resist the sleepiness but he gradually drifted off to
sleep.

In this dream, he became a big bad wolf. He tied his Master in the forest
and did terrible and dirty things.
Master had been crying, begging for mercy, begging him to stop…

He wanted to stop, but couldn’t stop.

In the end, he forcibly awakened himself from the dream. Filled with
unbearable pain, he faced the traces of his body’s release. He wanted to
scratch his body bloody, wanted to use the Blood King Vine to whip himself
as punishment. But he was afraid of being discovered. In the end, he
restrained himself, pinching a few red marks on his palm. He slowly calmed
his breathing.

The Blood King Vine was swimming around him…

Suddenly, he realized that something seemed to be missing. The smell

floating in the air was that of the Peaceful Soul Fragrance.

There was no one in the next room. The Blood King Vine wrapped around
the Master’s foot was loose. Where has Master gone?

Did he run away? Was he gone?

Yue Wuhuan’s breathing was going chaotic. Limitless fear struck him. He
put on his clothes in a mess, put on the mask and frantically rushed out of
the room…

He couldn’t lose his treasure.

That was his only reason for living.

The moonlight was like water, tranquil and silent.

The painter was wielding his brush, making a painting. On the picture scroll
was the pair of beautiful Phoenix sisters, their fresh faces were depicted to
be enchanting, seducing people’s souls.

Suddenly, he realized that someone was lightly knocking on the window

behind him. He turned his head and saw a clear-eyed young man with a
childlike, tender appearance, wearing layer upon layer of snow-white
clothes. He sat on his window sill, calmly and quietly watching him for who
knows how long. He seemed to be very interested in his paintings.

Could it be that he came here to ask to be painted? Did he not know what
kind of painting he was asking for?

The painter harshly scrutinized the appearance of the young man. He was
far from being a stunning beauty. The figure was thin and frail but he had a
clean temperament and his skin was flawlessly white. If he could take off
his beautiful snow coat so that he would be half-covered and half-exposed
and put on an appearance as though welcoming but wanting also to refuse,
he could arouse his creative desires.

His strange gaze made Song Qingshi a little uncomfortable. He gathered up

the white vestments on his body and then cautiously said, “Excuse me…are
you the painter of “Beauty of the Golden Age“?”

When the painter heard him mention his proudest work, he was delighted.
“That’s right.”

“Great, I’ve been looking for you for a long time,” Song Qingshi sighed in
relief. He had controlled the insects to go around the float parade several
times and found that this artist’s style was very similar to the style of the
person he was looking for. But he’d been worried that he was mistaken. He
was very apprehensive. He didn’t dare tell Yue Wuhuan and secretly ran out
to verify, “I didn’t expect to meet you here. You, do you like painting that
kind of painting?”

The painter smiled and said, “Naturally, I like it. Don’t be so shy. Should I
draw a picture for you?”

Song Qingshi lowered his head and smiled embarrassedly. The beautiful
black lotus bloomed in his hand, the lotus petals opening one by one.

Those who paint the scenes of purgatory should return to purgatory.

Chapter 55: Clear-headed and Muddled

Song Qingshi stood in front of the wine shop, listening to the owner’s
enthusiastic sales pitch.

“How can anyone come to the Flower Festival without drinking flower
wine? Don’t get me wrong, dear customer, I’m not talking about those
messy flower wines.” The liquor shop owner thought he had cracked a joke
that any man would understand. When he found that the other’s expression
remained serious and that he didn’t laugh at all, seeming not to understand,
he changed his tune. “Our Nanhai city is rich in flowers. This is a wine
brewed using eight kinds of flowers. It is called Intoxicated Beauty. It tastes
sweet and has a distinct flavor. It’s only sold during the Flower Festival. It’s
a limited quantity item and once it sells out, there’s no way to get any
more.”

It’s sweet wine? And it’s limited edition?

A man’s resistance tended to decrease in the face of limited edition items.

Song Qingshi immediately took out spirit stones and bought a jar.

Finding that shameless painter was Song Qingshi’s main business for going
out. Now that he had finished his business, he wanted to go back to the inn
as soon as possible and look for Yue Wuhuan. But the buildings in Nanhai
City were all very similar and there were flowers everywhere. While he
walked, he thought about many things and he got turned around. He was
careless and now found himself in the night market.

Business was booming for the Flower Festival’s night market. On the left
was opera singing; on the right was a monkey show. There were so many
things that he hadn’t seen before.

Has Nanhai City’s night life always been like this?

Song Qingshi couldn’t restrain his curiosity. He thought that this time, once
he returns to the Medicine King’s Valley, he might not get to see such a
scene again. He couldn’t help looking around a bit more. As a result, he
suffered defeat at many a sales pitch and bought an awful mess of
things. There were beautiful gems, lovely red fabrics, a novel about Sword
Master Mo Yuan’s legend as well as a beautiful little phoenix figurine made
by the Niemianren maker.

For some reason, most of the tourists in the night market were in pairs and
couples. They held hands, laughing and having a good time. They were all
very close.

After Song Qingshi finished buying the wine, he couldn’t help asking the
owner.

The shop ower was amused by him. “Don’t you know that the night of
Nanhai City’s Flower Festival is also called the Lover’s Festival?”

Song Qingshi shook his head. This information wasn’t in the guidebook
information he had compiled.

The Night Rain Pavilion had been very irresponsible with regards to this
matter. He was going to have to lecture Ye Lin Xianjun on his
professionalism when he returns.

“This is an old tradition of the Flower Festival. The Festival during the day
is for everyone’s merriment and the Night Market is for the romance of
lovers. Ours is a city that never sleeps. If you don’t have company, you can
go and find one. Your looks aren’t bad, it would be easy for you. Would you
like me to introduce you to someone?” The liquor store owner
enthusiastically suggested, “If you find a beauty to drink the Intoxicated
Beauty with, it will taste even sweeter, down to the bones.”

When Song Qingshi heard ‘beauty’, for some reason, he thought of Yue
Wuhuan’s face.

He was a little panicked, and quickly refused, “No, I have a companion. A

very beautiful one, no…not the kind of companion you mentioned.”

When he got confused, his speech turned all messy.

The shop owner became more muddled as he listened to him. He couldn’t
help getting closer to listen carefully. “What kind of partner? A male
partner? A female partner?”

He had hardly finished speaking when several blood-red vines dropped

from the roof, whipping cracks on the ground, firmly separating the two.

Yue Wuhuan stood on the roof, his long black hair blown into disarray by
the night wind. His sash wasn’t fastened properly, the collar of his inner
robe was turned upside down and there were several creases on the lower
hem of his red brocade robe. It shattered his usual ‘discreet in word and
deed’ appearance. The phoenix eyes under the golden wing mask had traces
of the madness that he couldn’t hold back. His voluptuous lips were pressed
tightly and pulled upward slightly, as though he wanted to come out with
his usual gentle smile but simply couldn’t manage to.

The Blood King Vine crawled on the ground. Each vine divided into
countless branches. There were more and more branches and leaves,
growing thicker and denser. The people of Nanhai City had seen this
terrible thing on their wall city before and fear still lingered in their hearts.

The owner of the wine shop was so scared that he fell to the ground on his
butt. Rolling and crawling, he wanted to crawl away from this place.

The customers also realized that the situation was turning bad and they fled
one after another.

Song Qingshi hugged the wine jar and tried to comfort everyone, “It’s fine.”

His comfort had no effect and in an instant, everyone had already run away.

The Blood King Vine rose from the ground, quickly climbed up his limbs
and body, crisscrossing, twining, confining him in overlapping layers, like
countless angry spider silks grabbing the prey that had fallen into its web;
wrapping round and round, lest it escape.

Song Qingshi subconsciously wanted to raise the alchemical fire to break

his binds but he suddenly remembered that the Blood King Vine was
connected to the soul. Breaking it could hurt or injure Yue Wuhuan. He
quickly put the fire away, still letting himself be lifted into the air by the
Blood King Vine. He was dragged like a sacrificial offering in front of Yue
Wuhuan, sending him into his arms.

“Master,” Yue Wuhuan lowered his head, using his lips to savor the taste
from his neck. He then slowly climbed up, licking his sensitive earlobe with
the tip of his tongue, as though sampling the flavor. His voice, though, was
extremely aggrieved, “I was so worried when I woke up and couldn’t find
you.”

Song Qingshi earnestly explained, “I just came out to do something and

bought some things along the way.”

The Blood King Vine wound tighter and tighter around his body, as if he
wanted to isolate him from the air of the outside world.

Yue Wuhuan’s voice became even more aggrieved. “Master, at night,

everywhere here is so dirty. Don’t go running all over the place. Don’t leave
my side, okay?”

Over the years, the more he walked the outside world, the more he felt that
the whole world was dirty. If it weren’t for fear of An Long, for having to
deal with this trifling matter, he wouldn’t let Master set one foot outside the
Medicine King’s Valley. That way they could avoid any accidents, avoid
any possibility of getting hurt by those impudent scoundrels or falling in the
mud.

Song Qingshi wanted to pat him comfortingly on the shoulder but he

couldn’t move. He could only nod his head slightly and said, “Okay.”

The night breeze blew. Yue Wuhuan gradually calmed down and he
regulated his breathing. He realized he had done something wrong.

The Blood King Vines loosened one by one, letting him out…

Yue Wuhuan’s face was a little pale and his body was trembling slightly. He
apologized, voice small, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.”
Qing Luan had once advised that his love was too crazy, his feelings were
too extreme. They were already far beyond the range of normal people’s. It
could easily arouse uneasiness. She advised him to exercise restraint; to not
hurt others or himself.

He had expressed his agreement to Qing Luan and then learned to pretend
so as to avoid being hated by the Master.

Now, his feelings were revealing flaws…

Yue Wuhuan was terrified.

“It’s okay,” Song Qingshi pushed the wine jar into Yue Wuhuan’s arms and
said in a relaxed tone of voice, “It’s my fault. I went out without telling you
and you couldn’t find me when you woke up. It’s only normal to worry…
Don’t be sad. I was in the wrong. It’s my fault.”

When he had woken up, he found that Yue Wuhuan no longer had any
tendency to commit suicide. His words and deeds were the same as ordinary
people’s and he was even gentler and more caring than before. He thought
that when he had undone the Acacia seal, after Yue Wuhuan had once again
embarked on the path of immortality, once he had tempered and cultivated
his body and mind, that his condition had improved. At the time, his body
was experiencing unexpected paralysis. He grew panicked and couldn’t
think about other matters.

Then Yue Wuhuan had given him one happiness after the other. He was
immersed in joy, and his ability to judge was once again
blunted. Immediately after An Long’s arrival, the fight and injuries of the
two mired him in nervousness. He subconsciously believed that the violent
An Long was a dangerous factor. Moreover, Yue Wuhuan was behaving
quietly. Under the contrast, him feeling at ease and overlooking this matter
was nothing but a normal person’s reaction. Yue Wuhuan was just using an
indirect method to achieve his goal.

He had never completely recovered from the illness in his heart. After
losing treatment, the madness grew once again, turning into a giant
behemoth; finally growing fangs and claws, attacking the entire world.
How big was this behemoth?

Song Qingshi suddenly remembered the Thousand Beads Snow Lotus that
he had encountered in the snow-capped mountains. The huge and terrifying
root system was all tangled up, covering the entire mountain range. It
reached thousands of miles. But what caught his eyes was that pitiful and
beautiful little flower blooming on the crystal clear white snow.

Wrong……

It was all wrong…

If you make a mistake then conclude it. If you make a mistake, then start
over…

“Don’t be afraid, I’m here,” Song Qingshi pulled the trembling Yue
Wuhuan into his arms, gently stroking his long hair, telling him the answer
over and over again, “Don’t be afraid, I will never give up… ”

Don’t be afraid……

Regardless whether it was the taste of the fruit, the way we do things or
being imprisoned by your side, it will all be done according to your wishes.

The butterfly saw the spider web and was perfectly happy to fly in.

Song Qingshi comforted him for a long time. Finally, he managed to get
Yue Wuhuan’s breathing to calm down, allowing him to restore his calm.

He accompanied Yue Wuhuan and hid in a dark corner of the roof, sitting
there in a daze. The owner of the wine shop thought that the bad guys had
gone and quietly came back to clean up the mess. He once again called in
guests. Perhaps couples liked to have a couple of drinks on days like this, it
didn’t take long before the shop was once again filled with the sound of
flirtatious banter.
This Lover’s Festival truly created a foul atmosphere. It could stain the
Master’s eyes.

Yue Wuhuan regretted acting so well-behaved at the time and not

persuading Song Qingshi to change the destination for this trip. He also
hadn’t expected that Song Qingshi, who normally camped out in his room
to read with him at night, would suddenly sneak out. Now it was too late to
conceal the fact that there was a Lover’s Festival. He had to find an
excuse…

He thought for a while and then, showing a relaxed expression, he pointed

to the secluded nine-storied pagoda. He asked expectantly, “Master, I feel
like sitting somewhere high up. The lights of this world under the
moonlight is certain to look beautiful from up there.”

“Okay,” Song Qingshi looked at him with a smile, “I also think it’s too
noisy here.”

He pulled along Yue Wuhuan, passing over the bustling market, towards the
nine-storied pagoda. The nine-storied pagoda was one of the most beautiful
sceneries of Nanhai City. The legend had it that it enshrined the portrait of a
shenjun. However, because the gates of the pagoda have always remained
locked, no one knew what it looked like. The nine-storied pagoda was
surrounded by a sea of ​bamboo. It created an elegant scenery but during the
Flower Festival, it couldn’t compete with the flowers and it was deserted.

Within the dense bamboo forest, there was a young couple hiding within.
They whispered sweet nothings to each other and kissed as though
unwilling to ever part. One said that the other’s lips were sweet and the
other said that the other’s lips were soft. Their breathy words could almost
kill people with their cloying sweetness.

Song Qingshi couldn’t help taking a peek.

Yue Wuhuan turned his head back. The Blood King Vine snuck past and
with a terrifying aura, directly scared away the pair of wild mandarin
ducks. He then raised his sword and brought Song Qingshi to the top of the
nine-storied pagoda. After cleaning it several times, he released his mental
probe. Confirming that the surroundings were quiet, he finally felt relieved.

The moonlight tonight was really beautiful. It enveloped the nine-storied

pagoda and without need for candlelight, they could see the surroundings
very clearly. Sitting on top of the tower was like sitting in a place detached
from the world, watching the bustle of the world below. The night market
converged into a long winding river of lights. All of them were houses filled
with either muddled or perhaps clear-headed people.

Song Qingshi didn’t want to be clear-headed, but he couldn’t not be clear-

headed…

He took out all the things he bought from the mustard seed bag and handed
them all to Yue Wuhuan. He found that under the bewitching talk of the
glib-tongued vendors, he had foolishly bought a lot of things. No matter. As
long as the kindly feelings behind it weren’t foolish, it was fine.

Yue Wuhuan saw a toy bird flute made of wood and couldn’t help laughing.
He placed his lips on it and blew it a few times.

The little bird flute let out a sweet and melodious sound of hundreds of
birds singing together.

Song Qingshi’s heart was slightly moved…

Chapter 56: The Sound of the Flute Stirs Emotions

Yue Wuhuan put down the bird flute and looked at him with a smile,
wondering what other strange things were there.

Song Qingshi hesitated for a long time, seeming as though he was

organizing his words in his heart. Finally, he took a deep breath and took
out a golden soul lamp, placing it in his hand. In the soul lamp was the
sinful soul he had been looking for for a long time, desperately struggling in
pain.

Yue Wuhuan took the soul lamp in a daze, waiting for his answer.

“I caught him,” Song Qingshi looked into his eyes, earnestness filling his
expression. “I won’t let off anyone who has hurt Wuhuan. Don’t worry, I’m
very fierce, very good at killing people. The Underworld Ghost Fire is like
the cruelest torture. They won’t die easily and I can capture their soul and
present them to you as gifts…”

He knew. He knew of what he’d been doing for amusement…

Yue Wuhuan couldn’t help but want to grab his own wrist, to maintain his
clear-headedness.

“I don’t care about this kind of thing,” Song Qingshi quickly grabbed his
hand to prevent him from harming himself. He then held it tightly in the
hollow of his palm and continued, “You can tell me what you want. You can
also give me a list of people you want to kill. I will kill them one by one
until I kill all these dirty beasts.”

Yue Wuhuan wanted to pull his hand back, but Song Qingshi held it tighter.
He couldn’t help but smile. “You can’t do it.”

Song Qingshi insisted, “I’ll work hard.”

“Master, you don’t know how many…too many, too many to kill,” Yue
Wuhuan said in a low voice, “The Golden Phoenix Manor is a famous sect
in the immortal realm. Guests come and go every day and most of them
aren’t just small nobodies. Among the beasts I’ve served, many are elders of
various sects, even sect masters; Core Formation cultivators, Nascent Soul
cultivators, Fen Shen cultivators and even Da Sheng ancestors…”

Everyone knew of his beauty and everyone wanted a taste.

He had offended Jin Feiren once again, and was deliberately humiliated,
easy for anyone to push around.

Most of the cultivators had sects behind them, protecting each other. If you
pulled one, you would pull the entire body. How could you finish killing
them all?

“I have long given up,” Yue Wuhuan laughed, “If you want to kill those
beasts, you would have to turn this world into a mountain of corpses and
into a sea of blood, thoroughly destroying it…”

No matter how crazy he was, he knew it was impossible.

“If you want a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood then you’ll have a
mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.” Song Qingshi firmly grabbed him
and insisted, “I will work hard. As long as I have breath, then I will kill
them all! I will never give up!”

“I don’t want this. Revenge is just an incidental amusement. If I get the

chance, I’ll kill them and if I don’t, I just let it be. There’s no need to dirty
your hands with these garbage.” Yue Wuhuan was smiling; he was in a good
mood. He pinched his Master’s face that was filled with stubbornness. He
wanted to change Song Qingshi’s expression and he said teasingly, “I have
found a more important matter, a more important thing.”

Song Qingshi was at a loss. “What is it?”

“Don’t look so worried thinking about those unhappy things anymore. I like
your gift.” Yue Wuhuan blew on the bird flute once again. The cheerful
sound of the flute drew in two skylarks. He teased him to make him happy.
“The moonlight is so good. Come, let’s do something fun. Master, would
you like to do practice questions or would you like to read a book?”
Song Qingshi said embarrassedly, “Wuhuan, don’t just follow me in
everything. I’m stupid. I never understand other people’s hearts. I always do
the wrong things…”

Yue Wuhuan laughed and said, “I like you like this.”

Master was very good. It was he who wasn’t willing for that dirty heart to
be seen.

Song Qingshi thought about it for a long time and found the answer in the
“The Three Tiger-Fighting Brothers” and in his little notebook of Yan Yuan
Xianjun’s teachings. Between men, if there were troubles that they couldn’t
make sense of, then drag them to go drinking. Once they drink too much,
whatever heartfelt words could be drawn out.

He took out the Intoxicated Beauty he had just bought and placed it in front
of Yue Wuhuan. He said, brimming with heroic spirit. “We’ll make short
work of this”

Yue Wuhuan was at a loss.

“Nanhai City’s specialty, sweet-tasting, limited edition wine. It’s especially

delicious!” Song Qingshi recited the owner’s sales pitch in one breath. He
then said, “I checked it already. This wine is very clean and there’s nothing
dirty! I-I rarely drink but I want to drink this!”

Yue Wuhuan thought about it. There were too many things that had
happened today and they have affected his mood. It was fine to drink some
wine to make Master happy.

He restrained his obsession with cleanliness and took out some utensils
suitable for drinking. He checked the cleanliness of the wine and then filled
his cup for him.

Intoxicated Beauty, as expected, was a pleasantly sweet, velvety wine. It

didn’t burn your throat and it was easy to drink even for people who didn’t
drink alcohol. However, its proof was unexpectedly high.

“Master, drink a little less,” Yue Wuhuan persuaded, holding the cup of
wine. “The name of this wine comes from ‘The beauty drunk on her
knees’.”

This warning came a little too late. Song Qingshi had already drank three
cups and his face was flushed as he lay still in his arms.

Yue Wuhuan didn’t expect his alcohol tolerance to be so low. He had no

choice but to turn him over and lay him on his lap to rest.

Wanting to worm information out of him when his alcohol tolerance was
like this…

It was so cute.

As though petting a cat, Yue Wuhuan stroked his soft, loose hair. After
stroking for a long while, he asked mischievously, “Master, are you still
awake?”

Song Qingshi hummed for a while and said honestly, “Awake.”

Yue Wuhuan asked again, “Is there any secret that Master has kept from
me?”

Song Qingshi looked at his lips and thought for a while, “I want to eat
something sweet.”

Yue Wuhuan asked again, “Is it ice cream?”

Song Qingshi shook his head slightly, “No, something more delicious.”

Yue Wuhuan named a few more desserts but Song Qingshi seemed a little
confused and stopped answering this question. Yue Wuhuan held up the
soul lamp in his hand and tortured the soul inside it for a while. His heart
was quite pleased. He suddenly remembered that Song Qingshi has never
asked him for any sort of gift.
Except for his initial request for him not to commit suicide, Song Qingshi
never asked him anything. But he instead gave him things one after another.
There was only one gift he could give the other.

Yue Wuhuan took out the Phoenix Blood from the mustard seed bag. He
had already strung up the Phoenix Blood into a golden necklace with an
engraved magical formation. But the magic formation hadn’t been
completed yet. He had to add the most complicated soul imprint, letting this
gem follow this person from one life to the next, like a brand he had
imparted, never to leave.

Yue Wuhuan stretched out his fingertips and slid it gently across Song
Qingshi’s white neck, extremely satisfied.

This was the most suitable place for it.

Song Qingshi felt the heat from his fingertips. It tickled. He turned his neck
and hummed again.

Yue Wuhuan retracted his hand with a smile. He casually sounded out, “is
there something Master really desires?”

Song Qingshi was silent for a long time and whispered, “Yes, I want
something…”

Yue Wuhuan was dumbfounded. All sorts of research equipment, extremely

rare ancient books, precious medicines, and mice appeared in his mind.
Finally, unable to think of an answer, he couldn’t help but ask, “What do
you want? I’ll find it for you.”

“Music,” Song Qingshi turned around and hugged his leg. He whimpered,
“I really want to hear Wuhuan’s playing but… Wuhuan seems like he might
be sad… So, I don’t want to anymore…”

He liked music very much.

The melody that Yue Wuhuan played on the Langgan stage was still
spiraling in his mind. It was the most beautiful sound he has ever heard.
However, the emotions in that song were too sad and painful…

Everything about the Golden Phoenix Manor and the Yan Shan Sect must
be a nightmare for Yue Wuhuan.

So he didn’t dare ask anymore; didn’t dare listen anymore.

Yue Wuhuan was stunned. He never thought that Song Qingshi had such a
wish. There was a black bamboo flute in his mustard seed bag. It was
bought by Song Qingshi when they went to Lecheng back then. At the time,
Song Qingshi had randomly bought a lot of things and he shoved all of
them, lock, stock and barrel, to him. And so, he hadn’t thought there was
any significance to this flute.

“I don’t hate music, I just hate that kind of music.” Yue Wuhuan laughed a
little bitterly. He played with his concubine mother’s konghou at the age of
three and went to practice the guqin with the empress at the age of five.
How could he hate music? He just didn’t like that kind of kitschy ridiculous
music. The reason he no longer played the flute was because there were too
many much more important things to attend to every day and he was just
never in the mood and couldn’t find a reason to play it.

If this person liked to listen then he was willing to play…

He took out the black bamboo flute and tested its pitch.

Song Qingshi stretched out his hand and mischievously took off his golden
mask. “I want to see your face.”

Yue Wuhuan smiled, put the flute to his lips and gently played “Feng Qiu
Huang“, this piece that has been circling around his heart countless of
times.

In the night, the lingering melody floated down gently. The noisy crows
stopped their calls. The black-naped oriole, returning to its nest, poked its
head out. Several larks landed beside them. Thrushes and mannikins landed
one after another and the white cranes in the pond, spread their wings and
flew over…

All his affection was carried by the sound of this flute.

Song Qingshi slowly got up and sat in front of him. Befuddled, he heard the
meaning carried by the sound of this flute. He caught the appeal behind the
sound of the flute. He stared blankly at Yue Wuhuan’s rosy lips.
Remembering the words in the novel, thinking of the couple he saw in the
bamboo forest, a strange desires appeared in his heart. The more he looked,
the sweeter it felt; the more he watched, the more he craved. He felt it must
taste better than all the candy in the world.

I like him. I super like him …

He sensed that Yue Wuhuan felt the same way.

The music reached the final note and the lingering sound rose in spirals.

Yue Wuhuan’s lips left black bamboo flute. He found that Song Qingshi
was looking at him, smiling. His drunk expression was dazed. He didn’t
know what amusing things he was thinking about…

Song Qingshi moved close to his chin. He sniffed his target and asked with
a smile, “Does Wuhuan want to eat something sweet too?”

Yue Wuhuan didn’t understand what he meant. He said off-hand, “Okay.”

Suddenly, Song Qingshi grabbed his shoulder and forcibly kissed his lips.

Yue Wuhuan’s eyes widened in astonishment. The huge shock made him
forget how to react.

This was an inexperienced and clumsy kiss; like a newborn puppy,

carelessly licking and gnawing a bone. He obviously didn’t know how to
kiss, but he kept trying hard. First, he gently licked every inch of his lips,
making it wet and then bit down on it gently. It was as though he wanted to
swallow it down but was afraid of hurting him as well. He went back and
forth, not knowing how to eat it. Finally, he let out a slight whine of
dissatisfaction.

Yue Wuhuan finally came back to his senses. He pushed Song Qingshi
away in panic and used his hands to desperately wipe the traces of wetness
from his Master’s lips. Hating that he couldn’t wipe it clean, he searched for
a handkerchief in the mustard seed bag. “Don’t kiss me… You-you don’t
know how many disgusting things my mouth has touched. It will, will stain
you.”

“Why do you keep saying that you’re dirty?” Song Qingshi was at a loss,
“Wuhuan is very clean. Not dirty.”

Yue Wuhuan begged, “Master, you don’t understand these things. You’re a
clean person. Don’t touch me…”

Song Qingshi thought for a while and felt that this matter should be
scientific. With the speed and strength of a Nascent Soul cultivator, he
rushed in to have another taste to confirm the flavor.

Yue Wuhuan couldn’t dodge it. He was completely panicked.

Song Qingshi concluded, “Wuhuan is very sweet.”

Yue Wuhuan looked at him blankly, absolutely speechless.

“If you think you’re dirty,” Song Qingshi thought of a plan to solve the
issue. He kissed him again, “Don’t be afraid. I’ll lick it for you and it will
be clean…”

Yue Wuhuan’s breathing was turning rapid, his brain becoming confused.

The chains of desire were loosened.

The wild animal bound in the cage began to get restless, clamoring
frantically…

He’ll just have a little taste. A little bit is fine…

Countless Blood King Vines sprouted madly, once again weaving together
into a net, firmly binding the person in front of him. They dragged him to
his side, fastened him against his bosom, leaving him no room to avoid and
no chance to escape.

“Master, this isn’t how you kiss. Let me teach you.”

Yue Wuhuan leaned down, placing a fierce kiss on his pale pink lips. He
then pried open his jaw, invading that untouched, pure territory, twining
madly around the soft and moist, finest of all sweetness. Advancing and
retreating; probing and attacking. It was like a nimble melody and a clumsy
tune had finally found the right rhythm, blending together, becoming
melodious and moving, never to be separated from each other.

Damp and heavy breathing spread out between the two.

Song Qingshi finally came back to his senses… he realized what he had
done.

A psychiatrist must never have any ambiguous thoughts towards his

patient. This was part of professional ethics and a rule in their industry.
That’s why he never dared to think about it, never dared to touch. But what
was he doing now? What was he doing to a patient?

He crossed the forbidden area that must never for crossed and he broke the
iron rule that must never be broken.

This was a serious case of overstepping the rules as a doctor; a serious case
of medical malpractice…

What to do?

Song Qingshi clung tightly to Yue Wuhuan’s shoulders. Any amount of

cowering would result in a fiercer assault. He was so dizzy from being
kissed that his mind went blank. He didn’t know how to deal with such a
case of malpractice and he didn’t know what price he had to pay to be
forgiven.
Would it be okay if he bore this responsibility for a lifetime?

Yue Wuhuan kissed him even deeper. To him, only the person in his arms
was real in this world. He didn’t want at all to let go of this most beautiful
taste. He couldn’t get enough of this taste.

In the darkness of the bamboo forest, An Long silently watched the scene
before him. His eyes had already turned dark red. Inside were vertical
pupils unlike that of any human; like a monstrous Gu from the abyss of hell,
without any emotion.

Yue Wuhuan discovered this terrifying existence. He smiled nonchalantly

and continued his passionate kissing.

This guy has finally appeared and now, a lot of matters could be settled.

This was double the happiness.

Translator’s Note:

I don’t know whether I should smile or cry…Talk about bittersweet.

Feng Qiu Huang : Link

Chapter 57 – Half-Demon Blood

Song Qingshi’s alcohol tolerance was so bad that he soon felt dizzy and fell
sound asleep…

Yue Wuhuan carried him on his back and took him back to the inn. He
washed his face for him, untied his robe and covered him with the quilt. For
a long while, he sat by his bedside, feeling at a loss. He found his drunken
state to be very delicious but his drunken behavior fairly quite a handful. It
challenged his self-control. In the end, he still decided it would be best for
him to drink a little less.

What happened tonight was unexpected.

Outside the window, several Gu’s with the light of fireflies were flying
about. It was a signal from that person.

Now that the Master has fallen asleep and the map has been unrolled and
the dagger has been revealed, it was time to deal with this delightful matter.

Yue Wuhuan gathered together his long hair, tidied up his clothes and
followed the markers given by the Gu’s, proceeding towards the place
where he should go.

In an abandoned mountain temple on the outskirts of Nanhai city, Gu’s and

poisonous snakes densely covered the entire floor, crawling and shifting,
hideous and strange. It was like the most terrifying torture of legend, the
Poison Pit. The aura of death permeated everywhere. As soon as An Long’s
demonic nature began to break out, the Luminous Dragon had been thrown
into a barren mountain lest it sense the unusual situation.

An Long sat quietly in the center of the Poison Pit. No emotions could be
seen in his long, narrow, blood-colored eyes.

Yue Wuhuan walked without the slightest hesitation into this mountain
temple dominated by terror. He stepped into the pile of Gu’s. The poisonous
snakes and Gu’s crawled up on his legs. The silky itchiness was herd to
bear. He was subjected to stab after stab of pain. This was a road to hell that
even the most terrifying nightmare could not conjure but he seemed to be
walking on a sea of ​flowers, walking on clouds, feeling not the slightest bit
of fear.

An Long finally spoke, his voice hoarse and grating, “You are a lunatic.”

Yue Wuhuan gave a very soft and gentle smile. “You’re actually a half-
demon.”

The little Foundation Building cultivator, covered entirely with Gu’s,

looked provokingly at the king within the darkness who had a hold over his
life.

He didn’t know fear, nor was he afraid of death. He liked to scheme and
liked even more to gamble recklessly.

An Long had already thoroughly investigated early on all his experiences

during the past ten years. Never before has there been anyone as crazy as
him, using his life and his weaknesses to set up one trap after another. The
moment you felt like victory was within your grasp was when he would
reveal his true poison fangs, biting down ruthlessly on your weakness,
causing unendurable pain.

The most terrible poison…

An Long asked coldly, “When did you start to doubt my identity?”

“Initially, I felt that your acquaintance with Master was very deliberate.”
Yue Wuhuan saw through his thoughts. Patiently, he slowly narrated, “You
deliberately attracted his attention and then you accurately matched his
interests and hobbies, becoming ‘friends’. Master isn’t good at expressing
himself. He never takes the initiative to express his preferences. The outside
world has a lot of misconceptions about him. So, how can you understand
his thoughts so well?”

Of course, this was but a little suspicion…

There were also many coincidences in the world, such as two people who
just happened to be perfectly suited to each other.

But there was now a crack in his heart and the more he thought, the more
there were; the more he thought, the bigger they became.

Song Qingshi had the good habit of filing medical records for every one of
his patients. During the past ten years, he has searched through all the
records and hadn’t found anything suspicious.

He also investigated An Long’s past and found that before entering the
Myriad Gu Sect, it was a complete blank. He had no parents, no friends, no
past. He seemed to have appeared out of thin air. Because of his innate
ability to control Gu’s, he was taken in by the previous sect master of the
Myriad Gu Sect, making him one of his direct disciples.

Finally, he had accidentally found the half-demon’s medical record.

Because of the controversy regarding half-demons in the immortal realm,

this record had been sealed and hidden in a corner of the library; an
extremely valued record.

Song Qingshi’s medical records never contain anything related to emotions.

They were all cold data, including daily medications, the development of
the disease, so on and so forth. He seemed to have been a young and
inexperienced doctor at the time and many of his treatment methods were
imprecise, even his records weren’t very comprehensive. However, it could
be seen that the treatment process lasted for nearly two whole years. The
two had been alone together and they accompanied each other day and
night. It was enough time to see that this outwardly indifferent person was
in his heart, gentle and soft; enough time to understand his true tastes and
preferences.

But this was not enough…

“The foul and lowly half-demon and the noble and powerful Myriad Gu
Sect Master, how could I possibly dare to connect the two? I have never
heard of a half-demon that could climb to such a high position.” Yue
Wuhuan’s voice carried with it ridicule. “However, when Master talked
about the half-demon in the mountain temple, you seemed to hate this topic.
I had a vague feeling that there was something strange about it and when
we were caught in the Heart-Eating Nightmare Formation, Master thought it
had been my nightmare. But I knew it wasn’t, which meant that it could
have only be yours. Why was the deepest place in the majestic Gu King’s
memory a stinky swamp?”

The half-demon and Song Qingshi met in a swamp and An Long’s

nightmare memory was also a swamp.

However, he was still missing that little bit of evidence.

An Long suddenly noticed a faint scent. He quickly shielded his breathing

but it was too late. The scent stimulated his demon blood to seethe. Vertical
pupils appeared in his blood-colored eyes once again. Black scales
gradually emerged on his face, covering most of it. The limbs on one side of
his body began to change. The arm tattooed with the five evils turned into a
black shell. His fingers stretched out. They resembled the jointed limb of an
insect. His fingertips were as sharp as knives.

His back mutated and barbs emerged. A long scorpion tail stretched out, a
poisonous hook at the end.

Yue Wuhuan exclaimed, “Your true face is as ugly as I thought.”

An Long said coldly, “Soul Captivating Incense? What did you add in it?”

The Soul Captivating Incense was not any sort of harmful poison. It was
just a recreational substance used to stimulate the various human emotions
and desires.

However, to a half-demon, its stimulation was like realgar to a snake. It was

extremely intense.

The potency of Yue Wuhuan’s specially-made Soul Captivating Incense was

even stronger.
An Long should have been able to suppress this derangement by virtue of
his cultivation but today, he was emotionally unstable. Under the
stimulation of the Soul Captivating Incense, all his emotions and desires
were magnified. Finally, he was unable to control his own body and he
exposed a side of him he never wanted anyone to see.

“The Western Forest’s Gu King, so high above the masses,” Yue Wuhuan
spread his arms wide and smiled happily. “If you kill me, my last testament
will inform Master of this matter. It will inform the Night Rain Pavilion, the
Myriad Gu Sect. It will inform everyone in the entire world.”

In the realm of cultivation, everyone was all too willing to put a half-demon
to death.

No one would allow him to sit on the throne of the Western Forest.

No matter how strong Western Forest’s Gu King was, could he fend against
the entire world out for his blood?

Yue Wuhuan was a lunatic. He had nothing. He had nothing he was afraid
of losing. He wasn’t afraid of excruciating punishment, of torture, of death.
He wasn’t afraid of anything. For his opponent, choosing to perish with him
would merely be getting caught in a most painful choice.

An Long took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the chaos in his mind
provoked by the Soul Captivating Incense. He stood up, murderous intent
covered him from head to toe. “He won’t be tempted by you.”

He has already made his choice.

“You would kill me even if you were to lose everything? I didn’t expect the
Gu King to have such deep feelings and attach such great importance to my
Master, to be so mad as to be unable to help himself.” Yue Wuhuan showed
an even more enchanting smile. And then in the twinkling of an eye, he tore
off that smile and turned into the ice-cold and terrifying lunatic. All the
Blood King Vines stretched out. He unsheathed his sword. Accentuating
each word, he asked, “But…in the Golden Phoenix Manor, why did you kill
him?!”
An Long’s murderous aura solidified. After a long while, he asked in return,
“How do you know this?”

Then, he suddenly understood. Yue Wuhuan had been the mortal slave with
Gui Yuan Xianzun. At that time, he had made a mistake, his thoughts were
in a flurry and he only noticed Gui Yuan Xianzun’s prying eyes. In order to
completely erase this matter, he killed Gui Yuan Xianzun and eradicated the
Can Tong Sect. However, he was unable to find the lowly blindfolded slave,
whose face he hadn’t been able to see clearly.

There were truly too many slaves in the Golden Phoenix Manor and a
mortal wouldn’t have the ability to spy on what he had done.

Therefore, after he confirmed that Gui Yuan Xianzun wasn’t clear on what
he had done, he let this matter go.

This incident was the biggest thorn and the deepest pain in his heart.

“Let me guess,” Yue Wuhuan walked forward step by step, a smile on his
face. “Could it be that you expressed your love to my Master? Then my
Master rejected you. Your half-demon blood’s lust for killing and wrath
erupted and you killed him by mistake? You suspected that Gui Yuan
Xianzun had seen your half-demon form and so you killed him to silence
him?”

“No,” An Long muttered to himself, as though explaining to himself. “I

don’t know what had happened at that time. It was all so confusing. When I
woke up, he was already dead…”

“Yes,” Yue Wuhuan closed in. “You went out of control. Your Gu killed
him.”

An Long retorted, “He is not dead!”

“I saw his lifeless body with my own eyes. You too thought he was dead at
the time. So you laid him down in his favorite medicine garden, didn’t
you?” Yue Wuhuan’s expression was extremely sad. “Master is so pitiful.
There was no trace of any resistance on his body. I guess he never expected
his own “good friend” to be so cruel to him and he was caught off guard.”

An Long felt his head begin to hurt again. “I don’t remember anymore. But
he didn’t die, he came back to life…”

Yue Wuhuan said, gratified, “That Master managed to come back to life, is
thanks to his good luck and not by your mercy.”

An Long took a deep breath. “Qingshi forgave me.”

“He forgave you?” Yue Wuhuan laughed madly, as if he heard the funniest
joke. He was like a fiend from hell who found the stupidest prey, a pitiable
soul he could take away with as much effort needed to blow away a speck
of dust.

An Long suddenly felt fear. He realized that something was wrong. Maybe
he should kill this person immediately. He didn’t want to face the truth…

However, it was too late.

In a gentle tone, Yue Wuhuan said the cruelest truth, “Master has forgotten
that memory. He forgot that you killed him.”

An Long said angrily, “Impossible! That Gu couldn’t have attacked his sea
of c​ onsciousness!”

“Unfortunately, something happened to his soul, which caused a portion of

his memory to be lost.” Yue Wuhuan looked as him as if he was looking at a
pitiful creature. “When he said he had forgiven you, for which incident was
he referring to? Has he ever mentioned anything about what happened that
day? Don’t be stupid, how could someone forgive the person who murdered
him?”

An Long kept backing away. He felt his head hurt even more.

When he’d seen Song Qingshi, he’d been a little out of control. He only
remembered confessing his feelings, throwing himself at his mercy, begging
for a little bit of affection. But was ruthlessly rejected. He then sunk into
rage and despair. He lost his rationality and when he was sober once again,
Song Qingshi had already fallen to his Gu.

He had a total mental collapse and he left the Golden Phoenix Manor in a
panic. When he learned later on that that Song Qingshi wasn’t dead, he felt
a little bit better. He knew that he had commit a grave mistake and he dared
not ask for forgiveness. His entire being felt muddled and he was like a
walking corpse for a long time after. Then, he received a letter from Song
Qingshi. The content of the letter was the same as usual, telling him the
solution to a difficult problem he had posed. He made no mention of the
events of that day, seeming as if he hadn’t taken it to heart.

Song Qingshi had agreed to have him at the Medicine King’s Valley as a
guest.

Song Qingshi had smiled and said he’d forgiven him.

Song Qingshi never once mentioned what happened that day.

The loss of the utter joy he’d once regained was a blow that almost caused
him to pass out…

He dared not think about that day anymore, trying to hide in the sand like
an ostrich, erasing all traces of his crime.

There was even a faint happiness in his heart. Qingshi knew of his feelings
and was willing to forgive his crime. Didn’t that mean that he was a unique
existence in his eyes? That he felt something different for him? That night,
when he knocked on his door in an unlined robe for the first time, he had
almost swooned from happiness, thinking he had come to agree to his
request.

Although it had been a misunderstanding, being able to return to being his

good friend was also good…

In order to atone for his crime, he was willing to do anything.

Even if a sharp blade was plunged repeatedly into his heart…

He was still perfectly willing to do so…

Because of his lineage as a half-demon, his desire to kill was stronger than
that of an ordinary person’s. No one could provoke him and remain alive.
That is, except for Yue Wuhuan. He suppressed his murderous intent again
and again, allowing this weak mortal to survive in his sea of ​anger. Because
he was afraid. If he made another mistake, he would lose everything.

It turned out, that he had already made a mistake?

It turned out, that he had never been forgiven?

An Long held his head in agony. The effect of Soul Captivating Incense
grew deeper and deeper. He felt a buzzing sound begin in his head once
again. The auditory hallucinations were about to appear.

“Let go of Master, alright?” Yue Wuhuan approached slowly, his beautiful

eyes were filled with entreaties, his voice, weak and pitiful. “I won’t hurt
Master. I just want to live a quiet life with him in the Medicine King’s
Valley. We will spend the years peacefully, away from all worldly affairs.
I’m asking you to help us, okay?”

Several Blood King Vines slowly grew out of the dark. Bringing with them
the highly-toxic poison prepared long ago, they approached this confused
prey, on the verge of collapse.

“You have already hurt him. He cannot forgive you,” Yue Wuhuan used the
cruelest words, hacking his heart into pieces, provoking his soul. “How
could you still return shamelessly to his side? How can you thicken your
face and be his friend once more? Could it be that you mistakenly thought
that he had forgiven you, that you hold a special place in his heart?”

The sword in his hand slowly approached. On its blade was a faint blue
light from the poison smeared upon it.

An Long gasped and pleaded, “Stop talking, stop talking…”

“You are really ridiculous,” Yue Wuhuan shook his head softly, his voice
full of pity. “How do you pray for forgiveness for killing the one you like?
How about…you go to hell and confess your sins?”

He had hardly finished speaking, when his sword thrust out like a
swimming dragon. At the same time, the Blood King Vines launched an
attack on the weakness they’d been targeting.

Hard scales quickly appeared on An Long’s body. Like the toughest shield,
it automatically blocked the poisonous attack.

Yue Wuhuan took back his sword. He took two steps back, and sneered,
“The Half-demon lineage, how truly troublesome.”

He successfully disrupted his heart’s defenses and every position he

attacked was a weakness. But his cultivation base was too low to pierce the
defenses of the half-demon Nascent Soul. It truly was too difficult.

An Long knelt on the ground. The noise in his head was getting worse,
making him collapse, rendering him unable to think.

The Gu’s all over the floor lost their directive and began to indiscriminately
attack any living creature.

If he were to let this chance slip by, he was afraid he would never get
another as good as this. Yue Wuhuan used the Blood King Vine to
continuously whip away the surrounding insects and still, his body was
bitten by the poisonous snakes and Gu’s. He swallowed down some
medicine to delay the onset of the poison. He then took out the Black Death
Butterflies, their highly-toxic poison could permeate through contact with
the skin. He had already used the Blood King Vine to mark the Black Death
Butterfly’s prey.

He threw out a talisman and several talisman arrays spread out, forming a
chain of formations, completely blocking off An Long’s retreat.

A number of Black Death Butterflies flew out of the sealed bamboo tube,
rushing towards their marked enemy, out to drag his soul into the abyss.
Yue Wuhuan smiled with satisfaction, waiting to reap this long-awaited
happiness.

An Long raised his head. Looking at the black butterflies, he said slowly,
“Qingshi cultivates the Way of the Heartless.”

Yue Wuhuan was stunned and then his smile grew even brighter. “It’s just
as I want.”

Although a slight deviation had appeared, he would find a way to correct it.

He never wanted to let his Master actively desire.

An Long couldn’t help cursing, “Lunatic.”

He stood up; black demon aura spread throughout his body. The scorpion
tail stretched out, ready to rip apart the formation.

Suddenly, thunder rang out from the sky…

Lightning leapt wildly like a snake. A violent bolt of lightning smashed

open the roof of the mountain temple, breaking the formation, and separated
the two of them. Immediately afterwards, the torrential rain poured down,
drenching everything and knocking down the wings of the Black Death
Butterflies, intercepting this fatal attack.

Yue Wuhuan looked up in astonishment, staring at this inexplicable change

in weather.

He felt like he was back to the days when he was made a fool of by fate. He
couldn’t even understand just what this was.

An Long disappeared in the heavy rain, taking away all the Gu’s and
poisonous snakes.

Their fight had been interrupted and his goal could not be fully achieved.

“Why? Why? Why?”

Yue Wuhuan was furious. The Blood King Vine went berserk, beating
against the rainstorm, beating the ruined eaves and dilapidated walls,
beating everything that could be beaten. Tall trees were chopped down,
huge boulders were smashed. He wished he could destroy everything in the
world.

The rain dimmed his vision, his body was wet, and there was a foul smell
everywhere.

He hated the world right down to the marrow of his bones.

An Long walked into the dense forest and lay in the mud.

The auditory hallucinations in his mind were getting more and more severe.
He could no longer think, could no longer fight.

“Despair. So what if you had crawled out of the filthy mud and attained a
standing well-suited to his?”

“Despair. He would rather die than accept your heart…”

“Despair. Your disguise has already been torn down. Your true face is so
hideous and your heart is so filthy…”

“Despair, He never forgave you…”

“…”

An Long listened blankly to these constantly repeating words but what

appeared before his eyes was the young man who had scooped him up from
the dirty swamp so many years ago. He covered his stinky body with the
fragrant white robe and after that, he carried him away, step by step. He
washed his rotting wounds clean, eliminated the painful poisons from his
body, and cured all his ailments for him. And then, he heartlessly sent him
away.
At that time, he was still so young, he didn’t understand this emotion, the
way he took it so to heart.

He was very angry, furious, resentful.

But he remembered him, thought of him every day.

When he ran into him in the secret realm, he deliberately threw a hideous
bug, trying to provoke him into anger.

The young man picked up the bug, looked at it for a long time, then walked
up to him. He smiled and told him, “Insects are very cute.”

At that moment, he understood what it meant to mind.

He deliberately caused trouble for him, pretended to be stupid and foolish.

He attracted his attention. He wrapped himself tightly in human skin,
climbed up to a high position in order to match him.

Even though he knew that he cultivated the Way of the Heartless that what
awaited him was despair, he still couldn’t let go.

He wanted to hide everything, deceive the world, deceive Qingshi’s

feelings, deceive his own feelings…

However, he failed.

It’s over, it’s all over.

In the end, dirty bugs must return to the dirty mud.

“Despair. Give up your human emotions and turn entirely into a demon.”

“Just…what are you?”

“I am your fate.”
Translator’s note: Well, there’s a reason why this arc is called ‘Madness’.
Ugh…my heart…
Chapter 58: Dark Clouds Disperse

The thunder roared and the downpour pounded the dilapidated eaves, like
furious drumbeats.

Song Qingshi was awakened by the sound of the thunder and the rain. He
felt light-headed and his memory was a bit fragmented. He felt a bit of
discomfort on his lips. It seemed to be a little red and swollen. There were
more and more cracks on the Nascent Soul in his Dantian and sealing them
up was becoming ever more difficult…

He sat on the bed, thinking for a long time. Finally, he recovered part of his
memory. The two of them had gone on top of the nine-storied pagoda to
admire the moon and the lights. He invited Yue Wuhuan to share the wine,
Intoxicated Beauty, with him. After drinking, Yue Wuhuan played a
wonderful song. But he had taken advantage of his drunken state and like a
beast, had forced a kiss on Yue Wuhuan! Because of his high cultivation,
Yue Wuhuan had been unable to resist and he forcibly kissed him several
times!

What kind of brutish conduct was this? !

Song Qingshi panicked into becoming a dog. He wanted to dig a hole and
bury himself under 18 layers of dirt!

The sound of Yue Wuhuan’s footsteps came from outside the door. They
sounded a bit heavy.

Song Qingshi felt like he was listening to a death sentence. He didn’t know
if kneeling and apologizing could get him two layers of dirt less.

Yue Wuhuan opened the door and walked in, dripping wet and covered in
mud and blood.

Song Qingshi took a deep breath, ready to admit his mistake, but then, he
suddenly smelled the scent of blood. He realized that something had
happened to Yue Wuhuan. All the embarrassing things that happened last
night were driven from his mind. He quickly lifted open the canopy screen
and jumped out of bed. He rushed before Yue Wuhuan and saw that his
whole body was drenched. He looked like a drowned rat. Blood had mixed
with the rainwater, mixing together into a sticky liquid. A few strands of his
messy hair clung to the golden mask, dripping with cold water.

Yue Wuhuan looked at his slightly red and swollen lips. All color fled from
his eyes.

“What’s the matter?” Song Qingshi called out to him a few times. Seeing
that he remained dazed and unresponsive, he felt a little anxious. Although
cultivators couldn’t catch colds, their bodies would still feel uncomfortable
from being all wet. He decided to fetch a towel and wiped the water from
his body for him. He took out a change of clothes from his mustard seed
bag. After a moment’s hesitation, he asked carefully, “Can you undress
yourself?”

Yue Wuhuan finally came back to his senses. He took off his mask, untied
his belt and one by one, took off his rain-drenched clothes. As he did so, he
revealed the marks of countless insect bites. Every wound by itself wasn’t
serious but they covered almost every inch of his body. Especially his
originally slender and perfect legs, now they were covered in tiny scars.
Many of the wounds carried poison that was spreading out. Swollen and
bruised, they created a ghastly sight.

Song Qingshi recognized An Long’s handiwork with a single glance. The

expression on his face turned extremely ugly. He suppressed his fury with
all his might and managed to remain calm.

Yue Wuhuan had already used the Detoxification Pill to neutralize most of
the poison. Song Qingshi brandished the Underworld Fire and extracted all
the common poisons for him. However, An Long had done extensive
research on Gu poisons, and some of the Gu’s had special poisons, similar
to a fungal disease. These couldn’t be resolved by the Underworld Ghost
Fire. They needed to be slowly treated with medicine.

And he had helped to develop this fungal disease…

Song Qingshi thought of the past and bursts of pain appeared in his chest.

He quickly treated Yue Wuhuan’s wounds, smearing a thick layer of

ointment and then wrapping it with layers of gauze.

The thunder stopped but the sound of the rain was still as madding as ever.
The atmosphere in the room was oppressively heavy.

Song Qingshi finally dealt with the last injury. He raised his head and gave
an earnest apology, “I’m sorry.”

Yue Wuhuan was dazed.

“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t made you two travel together,” Song Qingshi
explained with difficulty, “I should have expected it. How can animosity be
so easily eliminated? How can friends be so easily made? Incompatible
people just shouldn’t be gathered together. …I’ll teach An Long a good
lesson and then take you back. In the future, I will only allow him to write
letters. He won’t be allowed entry to the valley and he also won’t be
allowed to meet you.”

Novels were a scam. In this world, there wasn’t any such good thing as a
friendship coming from an exchange of blows.

All of it was his naive stupidity, his own wishful thinking.

Song Qingshi was so guilty that he scolded himself viciously in his heart.
He only hated that the words he knew were too little, his curses not fierce
enough.

Yue Wuhuan lowered his phoenix eyes and whispered, “Master, I have
something very important to tell you.”

Song Qingshi sat on a chair. He stared blankly at the gradually paling sky
outside the window. The dark clouds were still rolling, though the force of
the rain had lessened, pitter-pattering. It seemed like it wouldn’t stop no
matter what. The humidity invaded every part of the room, making people
feel unwell all over.

He felt like he had woken up from a very strange dream.

Yue Wuhuan had already told him the entirety of the matter and was waiting
quietly for his decision.

Song Qingshi slowly closed his eyes. He checked his body over and over
with his mental probe, looking for signs of injury. He spent a long time
searching and finally caught a dead Gu in his brain. This Gu was very small
in size, it’s color was almost no different from flesh and blood. It wasn’t
painful and it didn’t itch, making it impossible to detect.

This was the assailant who almost took his life.

If it hadn’t been for the system promptly sending back his soul fragment
from another world, once again restoring his body, he would have already
died.

“I don’t remember anymore,” Song Qingshi looked at the Gu in his palm,

stroking his forehead. Pained, he tried to recall for a long time and finally
said, “I don’t remember that he has this kind of feelings for me and I don’t
remember what happened at that time… ”

Yue Wuhuan urged, “Master, don’t be sad. He must have relied on his
identity as your friend to attack you when you were off guard.”

The Underworld Ghost Fire suddenly appeared in mid-air, turning into a

beautiful black lotus.

“Wuhuan, do you remember?” Song Qingshi held the black lotus in both
hands and whispered softly, “My Ghost Fire will automatically attack at the
appearance of any killing intent. This…An Long doesn’t know this.”

If An Long had any killing intent towards him, he would definitely have
noticed. The Gu in his brain could have also been destroyed by the Ghost
Fire…
The battle between two Nascent Soul cultivators would have been enough
to level an entire mountain.

And yet, he had been killed quietly.

Why?

A bad premonition rose up in Yue Wuhuan’s heart. Something was getting

out of hand…

“I don’t remember what happened at that time but after taking out the Gu, I
remembered the frame of mind I was in when I died. There was no
resentment or anger.” Song Qingshi thought it was funny. He wanted to
laugh but couldn’t produce any laughter. He lowered his head and said
quietly, “Wuuan, I may have been killed voluntarily…”

“Don’t speak nonsense! This is impossible!” Yue Wuhuan clutched his

shoulders tightly and asked fearfully, “Why?”

“I don’t know,” Song Qingshi just couldn’t remember the scene at the time.
It was already extremely painful. “Even if he doesn’t think of me as a
friend, but…I can’t lie; I can’t deceive myself; I can’t deceive his feelings.
At that time, I couldn’t give him what he wants, but… I could give my life.
Because it wasn’t anything important and even if I died no one would have
been sad.”

Every day, he refined medicine by himself, read by himself, performed

research by himself. He cultivated by himself, watched the clouds by
himself…

It made no difference whether he was alive or dead, and no one cared.

His soul, stranded in another world, was even worse off. The various
serious illnesses caused by its incomplete creation, his hopeless future,
brought great pain to his family. But everyone forced themselves to smile in
front of him. But could one possibly adopt a philosophical attitude towards
this kind of matter? So, his parents secretly shed tears behind his back. In
order to take care of him, his sister gave up on her dreams and picked up a
heavy burden. He caused countless troubles for everyone. He could only
learn to be strong, learn to be brave, to make everyone think he didn’t
care. But lying on the hospital bed, he got to understand, him dying was the
only way for everyone to break free of their pain and regain their happiness.

After he bid farewell to that world, he never longed for his family again.

No one needed him to live.

No one……

Yue Wuhuan was extremely astonished. He never thought that Song

Qingshi, who would always gently encourage him, had such thoughts in his
heart.

For the first time, he discovered that he actually didn’t understand this
simple-minded person.

No, it’s impossible…

Yue Wuhuan was a little panicked. He felt that something was getting out of
control.

“Don’t worry. That was before. I hadn’t met you yet,” Song Qingshi noticed
that there was something wrong with him, and quickly comforted him,
“After knowing you, I now had a goal in my heart. I won’t do such foolish
things again. I want to always accompany you so I won’t entertain those
stupid thoughts again…”

Yue Wuhuan’s breathing was a little rapid. He stiffly comforted, “You are
not stupid.”

“No, I’m really stupid. Now that I think about it seriously, An Long’s mind
has long revealed many flaws. I made up various reasons to convince
myself and turned a blind eye to it.” Song Qingshi felt guiltier the more the
thought about it. He kept apologizing, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I just…
I’m very envious, envious of how others have friends. Friends they can pull
to go shopping together, to make plans to go to festivals with, to fight and
quarrel over trivial matters together. Friends with whom they could be
stupid together, could laugh with together… So I, I ignored those wrong
points and followed him in everything…”

In this world, he was born with poisonous fire. No one dared to approach
him, no one dared to talk to him, no one dared to be friends with him.

In the other world, his body had been too fragile. Everyone was afraid of
things going wrong, afraid of being held responsible. They were
sympathetic and considerate but didn’t dare get too close.

No one had ever asked him to go to the movies, to go shopping, to go to

Internet cafes, to go to parties, to go to karaoke, to play ball…

Occasionally, he would encounter someone who didn’t know his situation,

wanting to approach but his low EQ quickly drove them away.

Slowly, he grew not to expect…

Yue Wuhuan could feel his glib tongue getting all tied up. He could only
dryly repeat the words of comfort he had just said, “You are not stupid.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t speak of these sad matters anymore,” Song Qingshi
found that Yue Wuhuan seemed unhappy and he quickly revealed a smile.
He thought about it, and said embarrassedly, “Actually, I should have
known it a long time ago. How could anyone be willing to be friends with
someone like me?”

His eyes strived hard to smile. They were curved in a smile but in them,
drop after drop of tears gushed forth, unable to be stopped.

“Huh?” Song Qingshi found that he was crying and was somewhat baffled.
He continued to laugh while wiping his tears. “It’s okay, I’m not sad. I’m
not at all sad, don’t worry…”

Suddenly, his voice stopped.

He, who was ever so obtuse, finally understood the feeling in his heart.
However, this feeling was illogical. There was no way he could want it.

He was strong. He wasn’t afraid of pain. He would not cause trouble to

others. He could resolve everything on his own…

Song Qingshi lowered his head. He didn’t dare let anyone see such
cowardice.

“I’m sorry.” Yue Wuhuan finally panicked. He stretched out his arms and
held the crying person tightly into his arms. The low, muffled sobs stabbed
painfully into his soul. Countless tears fell on his newly changed robe. The
dampness was a little uncomfortable. He lowered his head and kept gently
stroking his trembling back, trying to apologize, “I shouldn’t have made
you sad.”

Song Qingshi whispered, “You didn’t do anything wrong. The truth won’t
disappear just because I pretend not to see it.”

He will continue to be strong but for now, he was rather unable to control
his emotions.

“Wuhuan, let me cry for a while, okay?”

“En, I’ll stay with you. I’ll always stay with you.”

“Wuhuan, am I ridiculous?”

“No, you could never be ridiculous.”

“…”

The dark clouds gradually dissipated and the rain slowly stopped. The sun
revealed its face once again.

If you fail, do a self-inspection. If you fail, start over again…

If you sink into the sadness of failure, you will forever miss the most
beautiful scenery.
Song Qingshi spent a lot of time before he finally stopped his tears. He
stabilized his emotions and stood up again.

Yue Wuhuan looked at him worriedly.

“I’m fine now,” Song Qingshi was a little sad, but his voice was firm,
“Since it was a mistake, I have to correct it. I don’t have that kind of
affection for An Long. I can’t give him what he wants and I can’t forgive
him for what he’s done, so… …I won’t have any dealings with him again.”

Yue Wuhuan became silent.

The evil wolf’s true face was uncovered and he was banished forever.

Master will be far from danger. He will return to the Medicine King’s
Valley and live a peaceful life.

He should be very happy, but why can’t he smile?

He even wanted to revise the plan, wanted to personally tear apart that
spider web he had worked so hard to weave…

Without knowing it, Yue Wuhuan opened his mouth, “I will treat you even
better in the future. I won’t ever make you sad again.”

Song Qingshi raised his head in surprise.

“I’ll accompany you to festivals, go shopping with you, and accompany you
on adventures. I’ll do all kinds of fun things with you.” Yue Wuhuan had no
idea what he was saying. All these things were not in his plans. It was all
wrong, but he couldn’t control his heart, he couldn’t control his mouth, and
made promises one after another, “I will accompany you to do everything
you like; watching clouds, reading, experimenting, traveling, playing
music… you won’t be lonely.”

Song Qingshi looked at him, stunned. Suddenly his eyes were once again
covered by watery mist and he couldn’t see clearly.

His Nascent Soul was in terrible pain, but he didn’t care.

Yue Wuhuan raised his head and gently wiped away his tears, “Don’t be
sad, you deserve the best.”

He wanted to give him the most flawless gems, the most gorgeous flowers,
the most perfect man.

He wanted him to be happy, far away from any worries, without any more
pain…

Song Qingshi couldn’t help laughing. He touched his still somewhat

swollen lips, and finally remembered the confused and crazy kiss last night.
Fearing that he might misunderstand again, he cautiously asked, “You once
said that you and An Long felt the same way for me. If An Long isn’t a
friend, then what about you…”

Yue Wuhuan was stunned…

He finally remembered his insane and terrifying desires; remembered those

dirty thoughts that mustn’t be seen by people.

Song Qingshi asked seriously, “Wuhuan, are you a friend?”

Yue Wuhuan went stiff from head to toe.

Such simple words, each one puncturing the line of defense around his
heart.

It was as though he had seen his grave and heard the sound of the death
knell.
Chapter 59

Yue Wuhuan felt like he’d thrown away his helmet and coat of mail. He was
utterly defeated. He hung his head, cutting a very sorry figure, not daring to
face those clear eyes.

Ever since Song Qingshi took him in and doted on him, in certain respects,
his reputation had been ruined.

When he first began leaving the Valley, before he made a name for himself
as a lunatic, his dissolute reputation was too well-known. Everyone
regarded him as a joke. They would ask him what tricks the Medicine King
Xianzun enjoyed in bed and what kind of positions he used to satisfy the
eccentric ancestor. Even the courageous ones thought that the Medicine
King Xianzun had easily been turned around by bedroom matters. They
wanted to try sending beautiful slaves to the Medicine King’s Valley to
exchange for pills… After he had gone completely crazy, after he revealed
his fangs, everyone grew to fear him. These rumors gradually died down. At
the very least, no one dared to say these things in his presence.

Every time he thought of how this clean person, so far away from the affairs
of the world, was dragged into the filth and stained by his association…

Yue Wuhuan felt extremely unwell…

He also thought of just going to hell with it all, indulging the love in his
heart and just confirming all of these rumors. He was an expert at all
methods of seduction. He knew how to give someone bliss between the
sheets. If he wanted his Master to taste the flavor of desire, to be unable to
do without his body, this was but a simple matter.

But, he couldn’t…

These methods would make him unable to distinguish the difference

between the present and the past. It will ultimately, stain his affection with a
nauseating hue.
After experiencing those incidents, in his heart, he was extremely opposed
to submitting to another’s control. He felt that catering to someone to make
them happy was the greatest humiliation in the world. Therefore, he
couldn’t submit to another’s control and would never allow for the one he
liked to submit to another’s control. Making the person he liked to bear this
humiliation? How was this any different from requiting kindness with
enmity?

He absolutely could not…

There was no way he could accept such despicableness. He wished he could

kill the ‘him’ in his dreams that he couldn’t control. Every time he released
his desires, his mind would go blank. It was like he could see, before his
very eyes, the satiated appearance of those beasts, the youths who suffered
as they catered to them, himself who had lost all sense of shame. And then,
he would wake up amidst bursts of nausea.

He never dared to have anything to do with sexual intimacies anymore. He

feared the desires of the body…

Was there such a useless lover in this world?

Moreover, his Master cultivated the Way of the Heartless…

The more Yue Wuhuan thought, the more he despaired.

Last night, his feelings had leaked through the sound of his flute and it
aroused the Master’s thoughts. He had already obtained the sweetest of
kisses. He could no longer continue to indulge himself. He was unworthy of
such pure feelings. He would only push the other into the abyss of pain.

“Wuhuan?” Song Qingshi saw he wasn’t responding and asked again,

“What are your thoughts on this?”

I love you. Please don’t love me…

Yue Wuhuan made up his mind. Slowly, he raised his head and smiled. He
lifted up the long hair that fell beside his ears. A seductive hue blossomed in
his beautiful phoenix eyes. Afterwards, he stretched out his fingers and
teasingly slid them against Song Qingshi’s face. With the most casual
attitude, he spoke the most shameless words, “My thoughts? My body
belongs to Master. I will do whatever you want me to do…”

Song Qingshi’s entire body went completely rigid.

Yue Wuhuan saw him stretch taut. His index finger lightly traced his lips,
catching a feel of his breath. He took it back and ran it between his lips. His
smile turned sweeter, “Could it be that Master is bothered about what
happened last night? Master is so cute. Isn’t it only normal to behave
erratically when you’re under the influence?”

That part of his memory after he’d ingested alcohol was a little confused
and bits of it were lost.

Song Qingshi still remembered, more or less, that he had been the one to
initiate matters. He tried hard to recall, “I forced a kiss on you and then…”

Suddenly, a moist and sweet kiss once again fell on his lips.

Song Qingshi looked incredulously at Yue Wuhuan. His words were

interrupted and his mind went blank.

“Was it a strong kiss like this?” Yue Wuhuan left his lips with a smile. He
licked the corner of his lips and said ambiguously, “If Master likes it then
you can taste this every day. This isn’t a big deal. Wuhuan likes this kind of
game. You can even have more, if you like.”

Song Qingshi wasn’t good with words, in the first place. Now, faced with
the current situation, he was rendered completely speechless.

He stood up in a panic. His mouth kept going open and shut. He wanted to
explain, and in the end, he was only able to come out with a few syllables,
“I, I don’t, it’s not…”

Yue Wuhuan immediately regained his ascetic appearance and said

indifferently, “It seems that I have misunderstood.”
He twisted love into desire and made him mistake kissing for a game.

Song Qingshi panicked completely. He had no experience in this kind of

matter and couldn’t tell the difference between the two. But, he didn’t like
the things Yue Wuhuan said, and he didn’t want theirs to become that sort of
relationship.

Yue Wuhuan looked at him quietly, and asked in return, “Master, what are
your thoughts on the matter?”

Song Qingshi understood. He lowered his head. “I won’t drink in the future,
and I won’t do such confused things to you again.”

Yue Wuhuan asked again, “Master, what do you think of Wuhuan as?”

Song Qingshi whispered, “A disciple, a friend…”

Yue Wuhuan knew that he had succeeded. He altered this budding feeling
and re-sealed it underground where it will never see the light of day.

He apologized softly, “I’m sorry, I was the one who was presumptuous.”

Song Qingshi shook his head. “It’s okay, you can be presumptuous.”

Yue Wuhuan was stunned.

Song Qingshi smiled and said, “In my heart, you can be presumptuous, you
can do whatever you want.”

“Don’t casually make such a promise,” Yue Wuhuan was a little flustered
from being seen. He avoided that gaze that peeked into his heart. “I am not
what you imagine me to be.”

Song Qingshi asked, “What is the real you like?”

Yue Wuhuan closed his mouth.

Chaos, madness, evil, paranoia, filth…

Unscrupulous, dreadful and greedy; wanting to monopolize feelings he
could not obtain…

More and more things were appearing in Yue Wuhuan’s head and they were
becoming more and more chaotic. His thinking was starting to go more and
more out of control, becoming stranger and stranger.

He got up in a panic and while he still retained a bit of rationality, made an

excuse and fled in confusion.

Song Qingshi sat alone in the room. After a long time, he said softly, “I like
you no matter what you’re like.”

Having gone through all these awful messes, neither of them were in any
mood to go sight-seeing.

As for the Gu poison in Yue Wuhuan’s body, it was better to go back to

Medicine King’s Valley and carefully take care of it there. And so, Yue
Wuhuan was forced to lie in bed and rest. He ate the love-filled noodles that
Song Qingshi made, and watched as Song Qingshi busied about. He packed
their luggage, purchased medicinal ingredients, and then booked a magical
ship from the Magical Beast Sect, ready to return to Medicine King’s
Valley.

The taste of the noodles his Master made seemed to be quite stable. They
tasted exactly the same every time…

Yue Wuhuan drank the noodle soup and looked at the ledger. He felt that the
price of Aconitum could still be reduced by 20%.

Song Qingshi was very pleased with himself and it was writ all across his
face. It was as though he were saying that he was very good at taking care
of others and was very capable of managing the matters of life. He wasn’t
some waste who was helpless without his omnipotent secretary.
Yue Wuhuan immediately swallowed his words back and smiled. “Master
has done a very good job.”

Song Qingshi showed him his spoils of war. “I also bought small gifts for
everyone.”

The merchants in Nanhai City were very good at making a sale. After
realizing that he was a cultivator, they told him that when traveling, he
needed to bring gifts back to his sect. Enjoying things by oneself is not as
good as enjoying them together with everyone.

Song Qingshi thought it made sense…

Even before, he very seldom went out and he also had no disciples then. In
order to get his protection, the villages near the Medicine King’s Valley had
voluntarily sought refuge and became medicine villages. They were also the
ones who selected and sent the valley servants. The stewards were also ones
they elected themselves. In any case, no one dared to provoke the Medicine
King Xianzun and they did whatever he had them do. He paid the servants a
salary and rewarded them with pills. He managed to raise several
foundation-building cultivators this way. It was considered a fortunate
opportunity.

Song Qingshi had felt pretty good. The Medicine King’s Valley was cleaned
spotless. Although the valley servants were afraid of him, they were well-
behaved and obedient.

When Yue Wuhuan took over matters, it was only then that he realized that
the management of the valley servants was very chaotic. The stewards
secretly embezzled the servants’ wages. Fights broke out. They abused their
authority and indiscriminately meted out punishments. They even secretly
sold the medicinal herbs… Moreover, Yue Wuhuan had used the account
books and reasoned things out to Song Qingshi, to tactfully let him realize
the poverty of the Medicine King’s Valley. He finally knew that there were
no Nascent Soul cultivators like him, who had lived for so long and
accumulated so little wealth.

Song Qingshi suffered a critical blow…

After he had woken up, Yue Wuhuan provided him with everything he
needed and wanted. He didn’t have to worry about anything.

He secretly did some self-reflection and decided he was going to reform

and start afresh…

Yue Wuhuan has trained many little apprentices for the Medicine King’s
Valley. As the master of the valley, he should at least bring everyone some
gifts from his travels, right?

Song Qingshi was afraid there was something wrong with his thinking, so
he covertly asked Yue Wuhuan. After getting an affirmative answer, he felt
reassured in accepting their sales promotions and happily bought a lot of
pastries made from flowers, porcelain dolls and puppets. He even called the
merchants to the inn and let Yue Wuhuan choose some beautiful fabrics and
common gems, some of which he kept for himself, and some which would
be distributed to everyone.

Song Qingshi also went to the back kitchen of pastry shops and pestered
them into teaching him. He studied several ways of making dim sum. He
planned on making them for Yue Wuhuan once they got back.

Yue Wuhuan saw he was busy bustling about, not thinking about those
vexing matters. He felt somewhat relieved.

Song Qingshi excitedly rushed over, holding a beautiful multi-colored kite

and handing it to him. “Isn’t this beautiful? You should pack it up.”

Yue Wuhuan now understood his way of thinking. “The Luoying flower on
top of Xinyi Mountain is about to bloom. Won’t Master go with me to fly
kites?”

Song Qingshi was delighted. “Wuhuan also likes to fly kites?” He had seen
people flying kites before. It seemed very interesting.

“I like it,” Yue Wuhuan took the kite with a smile. He took a look at the
crude pattern on it. “This isn’t refined enough. Give it to Qing Luan and the
others ba. I’ll make you a better one, one with a whistle. When it flies in the
sky, it will make bird calls. It’s been a long time since I’ve made these little
things though so I might not be very skilled…”

Song Qingshi nodded earnestly. “Don’t worry, if it fails, I’ll control the
winds and carry it up! I’ll take it up to the heavens.”

Yue Wuhuan imagined the kite flying up in the sky together with his
Master, and laughed hard.

Song Qingshi didn’t quite understand what he was laughing about, but
being happy was always a good thing and so he laughed as well.

The two bustled about for most of the day, and finally finished dealing with
all the various matters. With a heap of luggage, they boarded the magical
ship and flew home.

In the Medicine King’s Valley, Qing Luan received the message that they
were coming back. She swept and cleaned, making all the preparations to
welcome them home.

Song Qingshi didn’t like to pay attention to these kind of gifts. He first
dragged Yue Wuhuan to his research room and re-treated his injuries. Only
when he had confirmed that the poisons have weakened and were being
suppressed, with most of the pain already gone, did he feel
relieved. Afterwards, he went to his medicine collection to find pills to
stabilize his Nascent Soul. He then ate them all.

His Nascent Soul was full of cracks. He used the Cold Jade Technique to
forcibly lock it and slow the rate of collapse.

After confirming that he had overstepped his bounds as a doctor, he could

finally face the Heart of his Dao.

Sure enough, there was no shortcuts in the road of life. Compared to other
Ways, it was easier to devote oneself to cultivation using the Way of the
Heartless, but it also came with greater risks. He didn’t want to consider
how other cultivators who followed the Way of the Heartless dealt with this
kind of situation, but for him, this was just a problem question done wrong.

His feelings were once a barren blank space, and it was that gorgeous bird
who painted colors within it.

The collapse of Dao Heart represented the stirring of his emotions.

He now understood what it felt like to like someone and this feeling wasn’t
wrong.

Song Qingshi touched his lips lightly, feeling very happy. Ever since he had
left the mountains and embarked on the road of cultivation, he has actually
had no goals. Cultivation seemed like a simple matter to him, and he had
hardly encountered any bottlenecks. And so, he didn’t not understand the
mental state of ordinary cultivators who fought for their lives against the
Heavens, struggling each step of the way.

He spent most of his time reading and researching, spending year after year,
day after day muddle-headed and ignorant. Occasionally, he would
encounter some passing traveler, but they were unable to leave any vestige
in his heart…

Whenever he came to, there was nothing beside him except the white
clouds in the sky.

Such a life has no meaning.

He seriously pondered the reasons and confirmed that it was his own
problem. His heart was not the same as that of others. It was like made of
stone. It was difficult for him to feel joys and sorrows. He envied the love
of others, but he couldn’t get his heart to move. Whether they were a man
or a woman, whether they were a beauty or an ugly person, no matter
whether they were tall or short, fat or thin, no matter how good or bad their
character was… he didn’t feel anything at all.

Yue Wuhuan was like the most dazzling color. He directly tore open his
heart and moved in, letting him discover that he could have feelings…
And he was willing to do everything for these feelings.

He didn’t quite understand what Yue Wuhuan thought of him, but he didn’t
care about these. Being able to like someone was the greatest happiness in
itself. It was a gift bestowed upon him. Even if he gave everything, and it
bore no fruit, life was no longer dull and without color.

Song Qingshi happily poked his Nascent Soul. “Don’t worry, we’ll meet
again.”

The pain of his Dao Heart was the feeling of happiness, a new beginning.

He would correct his mistakes and move on to the right Path.

Medical students were all stout-hearted and wouldn’t panic.

Having his Dao destroyed and having to rebuild it wasn’t as frightening as

having all his little white mice wiped out. After all, when the mice were
destroyed, he couldn’t find where the problem was.

Now, he just needed to retake a familiar course and undergo the exam once
again.

Song Qingshi took out pen and paper and listed out what he knew…

Foundation Building was to expand the Dantian, lay out the foundation.
After that was condensing the Golden Core. The Golden Core will then be
transformed into the Nascent Soul.

The destruction of his Dao meant the complete fragmentation of his

Nascent Soul, the melting of his Golden Core. His cultivation base would
fall back to Foundation Building.

This exam was not difficult at all. The cultivation resources he had in his
hands were a hundred times greater than what he originally had. He was
also the number one medical master in the immortal realm. He could refine
some pills to assist him in raising his level. He could create talismans, put
together defensive poison formations. All these were things familiar to him.
He wouldn’t have to go around in circles, and this would save him a lot of
time. After his Dao is destroyed, they will block off all information. He will
stay in closed door cultivation for a period of time. He will control the fires
in his body, put aside his research and concentrate on cultivation. He’ll
spend 20 to 30 years returning to Core Formation, after which protecting
himself would basically no longer be a problem. In another two to three
hundred years, he’ll reach Nascent Soul, changing to a more suitable Dao
Heart and slowly returning to Great Perfection.

There was no hurry……

He had some things he needed to take care of first.

Therefore, he would first use the Cold Jade Technique to suppress the rate
of his Nascent Soul’s collapse. He will supplement it with pills and
treatment to delay the destruction of his Dao. He should quickly refine the
Jade Water Powder and add a medicated bath and acupuncture treatment…
If he’s lucky, he should be able to drag it out for two to three more years.

Yue Wuhuan has already taken over all the external affairs of the Medicine
King’s Valley. Alchemy and medicine did not require much spiritual power,
and the Red Lotus Fire and the Underworld Ghost Fire would still be there.
He often stayed cooped up within his home for decades at a time. No one
would notice anything out of the ordinary. He would see if he could find
some Immortal methods like the “Swallowing Sea Technique” or the “Spirit
Absorbing Magic Skill”, and pass this spiritual power which would
otherwise simply disappear to Yue Wuhuan. He mustn’t waste it. Best to
pass it on so he could directly rise to Core Formation and make the
Medicine King’s Valley safer.

After Song Qingshi confirmed there were no mistakes, he poked his

Nascent Soul again, and urged, “You should make a good showing and hold
on for a good while.”

What worried him most was that he didn’t know how to tell Yue Wuhuan…

The Heart of his Way of the Heatless was being destroyed. It was
embarrassing no matter how he said it. If he were to look into how his Dao
Heart was destroyed, it would be even more embarrassing. He could easily
be misunderstood as wanting to pass on the responsibility to the other party.
Because of this, Yue Wuhuan would be forced to accept these feelings that
he didn’t want. This was something Song Qingshi didn’t want to see
happen. What would be the difference between him and those garbage
scumbags who went to girls with a knife to their neck, saying that ‘if you
don’t love me then I’ll kill myself for you to see’?

Yue Wuhuan has a serious shadow in his heart. It was difficult for him to
accept feelings. If this off-limits area was touched, there would be a stress
response.

He fully understood the other’s refusal, and understood the reasons for that
refusal. He shouldn’t continue to harass him, right? If Yue Wuhuan knew
about this, and felt guilty and uneasy, creating a more serious the
psychological problem, what could he do? It was best to find a different
excuse, like having it damaged in a fight, meeting an accident while
practicing, and getting his Dao Heart destroyed…

Only that he wasn’t very good at lying, and he’s easily seen through. Yue
Wuhuan was very smart and he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to pull one
over him.

There was no way to hide this…

Song Qingshi sat on the floor of the treasure house and thought for a long,
long time, feeling distressed.

Translator’s note:

I’m sorry but there won’t be a chapter tomorrow. The last three chapters
have been longer than MISVIL’s usual chapters and I just wasn’t able to
finish a fifth chapter for the week. Releases will resume as usual on
Monday. orz Thank you!
Chapter 60: Chaos Theory

Song Qingshi thought about it all night, and decided to tackle this problem
last. First, he has to study the condition of Yue Wuhuan’s illness.

He went through all he knew of psychology in the immortal realm, modern

psychology and other related knowledge in his mind, and yet he was still at
a loss as to what to do about Yue Wuhuan’s illness.

His Nascent Soul throbbed with pain from time to time, reminding him of
the feeling of his heart moving.

Phenylethylamine levels were increasing, and he was losing the ability to

think calmly.

He had already lost all qualifications as a psychiatrist, so maybe he just

won’t do it…and just make him happy?

Song Qingshi sorted out all medicines that were helpful for alleviating
depression, and personally made a Nerve-Calming Decoction, which he
gave to Yue Wuhuan. Although there was a limit to how much drugs could
help, Yue Wuhan’s mind and body have already been in a prolonged state of
tension. He over-thought and was over-anxious; he could hardly sleep, and
this could have made his condition worse.

Yue Wuhuan took the decoction and thanked him with a smile. He then
sniffed it and took a sip to taste. “Perilla Flower, Bright Moon Powder,
Harmonious Tallow, Cinnamon Stone… are all these medicines to calm the
nerves and help with sleep?”

Not only was he proficient in the pharmacopoeia, but he also had very keen
senses. He could distinguish the subtle flavors, and could easily see through
the decoction’s effect.

Song Qingshi didn’t dare hide it, and nodded obediently.

Yue Wuhuan pushed the decoction back to him. “Master, my body is in

good health. I’m not sick, and I don’t need these medicines.”
Song Qingshi explained, “You sleep too little. It’s not good for your health.”

“I sleep. Only that I sleep less, enough to meet my physical needs,” Yue
Wuhuan’s appeared to be even softer, his tone became more heartfelt.
Nowhere in it could you perceive that he was suffering even the slightest
bit. “I don’t like sleeping. Dreaming is a waste of time. Life is painfully
short and the journey is long. I have a lot of things I want to learn and do.”

Song Qingshi held the decoction and tried to persuade, “But…”

Yue Wuhuan looked into his eyes and said very seriously, “Master, I am not
sick.”

Song Qingshi compromised. “Okay.”

He carried the decoction and left the bedroom, feeling dejected. He then
poured the medicine into the ditch.

Yue Wuhuan realized that he had betrayed the Master’s kindness and was a
little uneasy. He thought about it and decided to find something amusing to
divert the Master’s attention, to tease him into smiling.

The Blood King Vine stretched out, wrapped around Song Qingshi’s waist,
and gently scratched him.

Song Qingshi couldn’t help laughing. “Wuhuan, it tickles.”

With a smile on his lips, Yue Wuhuan turned the corner and appeared,
looking at the person entangled by the vines. The Blood King Vine had his
spiritual thoughts attached to it; it felt no different from holding him with
his own arms. Deliberately teasing, he hadn’t expected that Song Qingshi
would be the type to be very sensitive about how he appeared in the eyes of
others. Even though he laughed so much that tears came out of his eyes, he
still didn’t beg for mercy and didn’t put a stop to it. In the end, Yue Wuhuan
could only admit defeat. He said, smiling, “Didn’t Master bring back a lot
of gifts? Let’s go and give it to everyone. Qing Luan and the others have
been looking forward to it for a long time.”
“Yes,” Song Qingshi finally caught his breath and wiped away the tears of
laughter. Speaking of this important matter, he also needed to check the
children’s homework and hand out prizes based on their scores. “Wuhuan,
go with me. I’m not familiar with them and I’m afraid of saying the wrong
thing.”

Yue Wuhuan followed, “I just happened to be going there to look for some
materials to make kites.”

Schools have merit-based rewards and some professors would even give
small gifts to students they liked as a sign of encouragement.

Song Qingshi considered the future of these children of mortal origin. The
immortal realm had nothing similar to imperial examinations. They were of
lowly birth and had poor physical qualifications. They could not go very far
on the road of cultivation, but their wisdom was fair.

Talismans, devices, pharmacology, medicine, alchemy…

In the temple of knowledge, there was no difference between mortals,

immortals or immortal-mortal hybrids. Everyone had the same starting
point.

Song Qingshi discussed this issue with Yue Wuhuan, “It will be very
interesting if there comes a day, when the world changes because of
mortals.”

Yue Wuhuan felt that he was talking about a pipe dream. He asked in reply,
“What can a mortal do? We are as weak as mole crickets and ants. We die
so arbitrarily.”

“I don’t know.” Song Qingshi also felt that his idea was very immature. But
he had seen a world made up of mortals, and that world had a different kind
of brilliance. “Wuhuan, have you heard of Chaos Theory? It’s the idea that
things can arise from inexact-ness or imprecise-ness and any outcome could
happen. For example, a butterfly flapping its wings may change the subtle
movement of the airflow, causing a chain reaction, and finally causing a
tornado thousands of miles away. In fact, every change in the world has
been influenced by inadvertent details.”

The more Yue Wuhuan listened, the more confused he was, “How does
Master know that the wings of a butterfly caused a tornado?”

Song Qingshi tried to explain the concepts of deterministic systems, random

irregular motions, and nonlinear systems. These discussion completely sent
Yue Wuhuan amidst the clouds and mists. In the end, through some
unknown skewing, the topic turned to the Black Death Butterfly’s
toxicology and mode of operation. It became a harmonious discussion about
the study of medicines and then expanded into the study of mechanics…

In short, he hoped that these children would study hard and make progress
every day in order to change their lives, and be useful talents for the future!

When Song Qingshi arrived at the school, Qing Luan was leading the
children to distinguish the different drugs and do experiments. Laughter
constantly rang out.

He felt that this girl was getting more and more outstanding since getting
rid of her shackles. She had movie star level looks and world-renowned
school level intelligence. Although she was no match for Yue Wuhuan,
whose beauty and intelligence were in defiance of the natural order, she was
still a first-class talent. Moreover, she seemed to like the study of medicine
very much. She looked at the little white mice with a light in her eyes.
However, she had no interest in toxicology.

Qing Luan saw the Master coming, and hurriedly signaled to the children to
be quiet.

Song Qingshi asked them to hand in all their homework for this period. He
then checked the results. Most of the children attempted to do their
exercises according to his previous topics. Many of them were studying the
medicines of the immortal realm. Qing Luan was the only one doing
research on common medicines for various internal and external injuries.
One of them was an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial medicine to
prevent wound infection. Song Qingshi himself had done a very
comprehensive study on it but she was still trying to improve the formula.
Some of her plans even reduced the efficacy of the drug. It seemed she was
seeking some other purpose.

Although all the results of her improvement were all failures, the
improvements themselves were very interesting.

Song Qingshi called her over, inquiring after her reasoning.

Qing Luan was very embarrassed. “I want to reduce the cost and difficulty
of making this medicine.”

Song Qingshi was puzzled. “But, if you do this, the Chuhui Pill will not
reach its highest efficacy.”

Qing Luan was a little nervous. She snuck a look at Yue Wuhuan and after
confirming that he was allowing her to speak, said, “My father was a
travelling doctor. Of course, he didn’t have sophisticated medical skills. He
only dealt with the minor illnesses and small aches and pains of the
villagers. It produced a meager income. When I was a child, I followed my
father to see patients. A chilly wind can kill a child. A nail that pierced the
sole of a foot can kill a blacksmith. A fall can cause the death of an old man.
They have no money to buy such expensive medicine…”

Song Qingshi was dazed. This was an area he had never ventured into.

“The Master’s Chuhui Pill has the highest efficacy. Of this, there is no
doubt,” Qing Luan bit her lip, and finally said the words she had buried in
her heart, “I think that many patients’ injuries, if they are dealt with in time,
don’t need to such high-standard pills. I want to reduce the cost of the
Chuhui Pill and make it the most common medicine… a treatment method
that even mortal doctors can use. I may be just indulging in fantasy, but my
father, he was injured by a falling rock on his way to see a patient. His
wound was infected and he died…”

Yue Wuhuan felt that she had said a little too much, and warned in a low
voice, “Qing Luan, don’t mention this.”
“I’m sorry, I’m talking nonsense,” Qing Luan’s eyes were fogged up. “I just
think that…if there were such medicines in the world, if there were
medicines that ordinary people could afford, my father wouldn’t have died
and I wouldn’t have lost my home.”

Song Qingshi thought for a long time, then smiled. “You’re right, you have
the kind-heartedness of a doctor.”

Qing Luan raised her head in surprise, unable to hide the tears in her eyes.

Song Qingshi looked at her plan once more and made a suggestion. “Try to
replace the Chuhui Pill’s Sparrow Vermillion Grass with Purple Vermillion
Grass. You can then reduce the proportion of Crane Marble… This used to
be my prescription but I rejected it because it couldn’t achieve the highest
efficacy. You can try to improve the pill using this as the foundation. In
addition, you can try to study Penicillium. The cost is very low and it’s
suitable for mortals… I remember there are several other low-cost
antibacterial drugs. I will sort out the relevant materials later and give them
to you.”

Qing Luan was delirious with delight and kept expressing her thanks.

There was suddenly a strange feeling in Song Qingshi’s heart. He looked at

the Yue Wuhuan, who used to not care at all about matters like this. And he
then looked at the somewhat overcast sky outside the window. It seemed
that some things were quietly changing.

Under the strict supervision of Class Monitor Qing Luan, most of the
children’s homework were done splendidly. That was except for He
Qingyun, who was completely indifferent to studying, but who also knew
himself enough and just wanted to farm. Although Ming Hong was
outstanding, his heart was not in these medical sciences. His aptitude for
cultivation was higher than the others’. He yearned for Yue Wuhuan’s
swordsmanship. He wanted to be a true cultivator and become everyone’s
protector.
Both of them clearly expressed their pursuits.

Everyone has their own aspirations and cannot be forced.

Song Qingshi decided to assign a field of specialty to everyone later, letting

as much as possible for everyone to do what they liked.

Yue Wuhuan finally found bamboo twigs and wooden blocks suitable for
kite making. He sat next to him and used a small knife to sort out the shape
of the bamboo strips and put together the prototype for the kite. It seemed
that he wanted to make a very big and very beautiful kite. Song Qingshi
was very happy to see it, and he took out a large pile of gifts he brought
back from Nanhai City and distributed them to everyone.

Qing Luan scored the best. Although she repeatedly declined, a bejeweled
golden hair ornament and some blue jacquard brocade were still pushed
onto her. She also took a strange wooden sculpture and a colorful glass
bottle. She pondered the tastes of the two, and quickly figured out that the
beautiful fabrics and jewelry were chosen by Wuhuan Ge, and the strange
items must have been chosen by the Master.

As long as there was money in Song Qingshi’s pockets, he would spend it

willy-nilly. He used most of his money to buy gems for Yue Wuhuan; gems
like Imperial Jade, Mermaid Pearl, Moonstone and others of the like. The
luster of the gems of the immortal realm were magnificent, far better than
the mundane things in the mortal world… …Yue Wuhuan’s treasure box
contained only the mortal world gems that the Master had given to him
back then. Other similar ones were no longer collected. Instead, they were
replaced by Golden Rock Jade, Colored Glazed Spirit Pearls and others that
were unintentionally obtained in the secret realm.

This time he had caught sight of Song Qingshi buying jewelry. Under the
shopkeeper’s superb sales pitch, he was going straight for the coarse, large,
heavy, and tasteless unsalable items. He even tried to buy for him a garish
gemstone neckband with an indescribable appearance. Moreover, he
energetically praised its beauty…Although Yue Wuhuan thought he could
hold down such peculiar jewelry, people might mistakenly question his
good taste if he were to wear it outside.
He really couldn’t bear this kind of thing. So he was forced to intervene and
stood in for Song Qingshi to revise the selection of jewelry and fabrics that
were to be given as gifts.

Now, that he thought about it…

Song Qingshi’s aesthetic vision seemed to be quite difficult to explain in a

few words?

It felt like the tone he used to praise his beauty was nearly the same as the
tone he used to praise that gemstone neckband?

Yue Wuhuan took a peek at the mirror, and began to have some doubts
about his beauty.
Chapter 61: The Life of a Mortal

Song Qingshi took out the gifts for everyone to choose from.

A lot of small things that weren’t worth anything in the immortal realm
were considered valuable in the mortal world; like the Yanshou Pill, as well
as various precious gems.

With the Medicine King Xianzun in “closed door cultivation” for ten years,
the Medicine King’s Valley, too, entered a sealed state. Qing Luan also
didn’t dare let these beautiful mortal children walk around. And so, they
were all locked up in the valley, studying and cultivating every day. When
they were at Yan Shan Sect, Xie Que never showed them the real treasures
of the immortal real; merely coaxing them with things of little value. When
they came to the Medicine King’s Valley, because Song Qingshi didn’t
place much importance on enjoyment, save for precious medicinal materials
and books, there wasn’t anything in the valley.

The huge pile of glittering gems and jewelry he brought back from Nanhai
City dazzled the children’s eyes.

When they turned to look at Song Qingshi, it was like they had seen an
emperor-like extravagant figure. His entire body was giving off a golden
light.

Was this a cultivator?

Rong Ye was shocked to the core. When he secretly glanced at Song

Qingshi, his throat went dry and he gulped. Everyone was refusing and
giving way out of politeness. Finally, they decided to let the younger ones
pick first. Ming Hong never paid any attention to these things. Seeing that
there was nothing related to martial arts, he took a set of pens and ink
stones. He also took a pair of blue earrings and withdrew.

Sister Qing Luan liked painting and doing calligraphy. She also liked blue
gems.
Everyone saw through his little scheme and smiled, but didn’t call him out
on it.

Rong Ye and Ming Hong were of the same age. Rong Ye was honey-
tongued and doted upon. He thanked all his brothers and sisters and happily
stepped forward. He opened wide his beautiful peach eyes and looked at the
gems on the table over and over. He hesitated many times in his mind. He
thought that everything looked good and wished he could take all of them
back. He suddenly found a small black wooden box in the corner. The
quality of the box was out of the ordinary.

Song Qingshi followed his gaze and apologized, “I placed this here by
mistake.”

This was something he had bought for Yue Wuhuan. Because he had bought
too much, he accidentally mixed it up.

Song Qingshi picked up the black wooden box and handed it to Yue
Wuhuan. “This is for you.”

Rong Ye leaned over curiously and acting coquettishly, asked, “Master,

what is this?”

He leaned a little closer. His neckline hung a bit low and revealed a faintly
discernible beautiful collarbone. His clothes had the scent of a perfume that
he had personally blended. He had a pair of skillful hands and he liked
studying these things. The scent he had produced was quite elegant. The
initial smell was very faint but after a long time, it had an indescribable
sweetness. It was very enchanting.

Song Qingshi didn’t like having people too close, and his body went a little
stiff. But then he remembered that a professor mustn’t be alarmed in front
of his students and he forced himself to remain calm.

Yue Wuhuan took the wooden box, glanced at Rong Ye’s display, and
couldn’t help but smile.
Qing Luan was a very good subordinate, but her heart was too soft;
especially for these children who were her fellow sufferers. She always
pitied them for being so young, for almost being sold. She hoped to give
them a happy life and for them to grow up healthy. She never let them come
into contact with anything dark.

She said that it would be better if she were the one to suffer. There was no
need for the children to suffer.

Yue Wuhuan felt that this behavior was foolish. But he was busy
reorganizing the Medicine King’s Valley. His priority was on removing the
spies and the disloyal and to have the valley servants in the palm of his
hand. He paid no attention to these foundation-less mortal children. It was
Qing Luan who tossed about for them. So long as they didn’t cause any
trouble, that was good enough. Qing Luan was afraid that the things Yue
Wuhuan was doing would affect the children. She never talked about
anything terrible; depicting only a bright future, urging them to study hard
and repay the Master’s kindness.

It’s a pity that children grow up and give birth to ambitions. This, she could
not control.

Yue Wuhuan smiled faintly. He opened the wooden box and showed it to
everyone.

In the box was a perfectly golden Mermaid Pearl, about the size of a section
of a thumb. It was radiant and full of brilliance, brightening up the room. It
was so dazzling that all the gems on the table lost their color.

The children showed stunned gazes and they were full of praise.

Rong Ye’s entire being was struck silly by the sight. He looked once again
at all the other things. They now seemed dull and insipid. His overflowing
joy dropped away.

Yue Wuhuan slowly closed the wooden box. Smiling, he said, “I like it very
much.”
Song Qingshi was happy when he heard that he liked it. “It’s nothing. They
say that purple Mermaid Pearls are more beautiful. Unfortunately, they are
too rare. I wasn’t able to find any this time. I’ll buy them for you later. I’ll
buy a lot of them.”

Yue Wuhuan smiled. “Okay.”

Qing Luan has followed Yue Wuhuan for many years. She immediately
sniffed a dangerous aura from this unusual behavior. This was a prelude to
using bait to hook the prey. She quickly noticed Rong Ye’s somewhat
inappropriate action and saw through his foolish thoughts. Her heart was
annoyed, angry, and anxious. She quickly bowed towards Yue Wuhuan,
displaying a pleading expression, indicating that she would handle the
matter.

Yue Wuhuan didn’t even look at her. He bowed his head and continued to
make the kite.

Rong Ye regained his composure from the shock of the treasure. He once
again showed a very sweet smile. He then randomly chose a few precious
jewelry and gems suitable for men from the pile of gifts, and happily
stepped back. Once his companions had finished choosing their gifts, they
huddled together and admired each other’s selection. From time to time, he
would praise the others’ good eye. He looked no different from how he
usual was. Unfortunately, the furtive glances he directed towards Song
Qingshi and Yue Wuhuan betrayed his petty thoughts.

Yue Wuhuan paid a lot of attention to his image in front of the Master. He
would not allow for his secrets to be exposed.

Therefore, the pieces of flesh and those fools tortured to the point of mental
collapse in the dungeons of the Medicine King’s Valley were things that
were absolutely forbidden to be spoken off.

Qing Luan was biting her nails. She was extremely anxious. She was
worried that Rong Ye would do something stupid.

Yue Wuhuan gave her another warning look.

Qing Luan immediately put down her hand. She forced herself to smile, not
daring to reveal the cloven foot.

With much difficulty, she managed to endure until the evening. After all the
classes were finished, she immediately grabbed Rong Ye and pulled him out
to give him a talking to. She once again reminded him of the debt of
gratitude they owed the Master for saving their lives. She explained
Wuhuan Ge’s importance to the Master and ordered him not to, under any
circumstance, entertain any thoughts he shouldn’t have; or else, he will only
have himself to blame if things went badly.

“Qing Luan Jie misunderstood. I’m not,” Rong Ye denied, and then, trying
to curry favor, said, “I just think that Master’s amazing and he’s very gentle.
I have come to respect him greatly and I wish to get closer to him to learn
more skills from him.”

The Underworld Ghost Fire was for killing people. Everywhere it touched,
skin would splinter and flesh would burst, bones would break and the
muscles would melt. The pain would be excruciating and there was no
means to break away from it. Finally, it would turn all to black ask.

The Medicine King Xianzun’s fierce reputation and the fear of valley
servants stemmed largely from the horror of Underworld Ghost Fire.

Qing Luan had witnessed Xie Que’s death, and even if Song Qingshi was
normally gentle, she was still afraid and didn’t dare approach.

A good-tempered tiger was still a tiger. That it didn’t want to eat people
didn’t mean that it couldn’t eat people.

The gentle tiger should be handed over to someone strong and had no
regard for his own life, like Wuhuan Ge…

He must never be provoked.

Qing Luan wished could break off into pieces everything she could say to
Rong Ye, pry open Rong his head, and poured them all in. She wanted to
make him understand these principles that were a matter of life and death.
“I see,” Rong Ye grew impatient with her harping, and couldn’t help asking,
“Is it really that scary to serve a cultivator?”

Qing Luan felt that the child was somewhat nit-witted. He didn’t understand
the viciousness of the human world. She remembered that after the Xie
Que’s incident broke out, Rong Ye, who was the same age as Ming Hong,
unexpectedly didn’t cry or vent. Instead, speaking soft with a gentle voice,
he comforted his frightened elder brothers and sisters. Although they felt
that he might not have fully understood these dirty matters, his courageous
demeanor brought everyone a lot of encouragement…

Everyone got along with Rong Ye; even Ming Hong, who was getting more
and more withdrawn, would laugh a bit when he was with him.

Over the years, Rong Ye’s older brothers and sisters have acceded to his
every plea. They spoiled him into becoming undisciplined and out of
control. In particular, Rong Ye coaxed He Qingyun to the point of becoming
confused and disoriented. If Rong Ye pointed east, he would not go west. If
he wanted the stars, he would not give the moon. If he ate grapes, He
Qingyun would peel and pick the seeds off them for him. No pet was doted
upon as much as he was. He was so doted upon that he himself no longer
knew his own weight.

Qing Luan felt sick at heart…

She forced Rong Ye to promise not to be approach the Master again and not
to provoke Wuhuan Ge.

Rong Ye thoughtlessly agreed, and asked with a casual smile, “Just how
beautiful was Wuhuan Ge before? He has already been disfigured but the
Master still holds him so deeply in his heart?”

Back then, when everyone arrived at the Medicine King’s Valley, he’d been
too young and he couldn’t resist his exhaustion. He fell asleep in a daze. He
hadn’t followed everyone to pay their respects to him. Later, listening to
everyone discussing Yue Wuhuan’s beauty, he became a little curious and
wanted to have a look. However, Yue Wuhuan was very busy, and Qing
Luan kept them from leaving the yard and so he never got the chance to see.
Later, by the time he saw Yue Wuhuan, his face was already covered in
Devil Mask Snake Venom. It had been strange and terrifying.

Rong Ye had never seen such a horrifying face before. He’d been so scared,
he had nightmares for the next two days. Since then, he never dared to see
Yue Wuhuan.

Afterwards, Yue Wuhuan started to put on a mask and he felt a little more
comfortable.

Now that the Master has finished his closed door cultivation, Yue Wuhuan
changed into an exquisite golden mask. His entire body carried with it the
breath of beauty. But whenever Rong Ye saw him, he still remembered the
horror under his mask. The more Qing Luan emphasized the deep
sentiments between the Master and Wuhuan Ge, the more he felt that
Master was a very resolute person, to be able to be gentle towards and dote
on such a face…

He felt that waiting upon cultivators was a very good thing. What little that
fell from between their fingers was more than enough for any ordinary
person to be extremely comfortable.

Rong Ye looked at his reflection in the mirror. Everyone acknowledged that

he was very beautiful, and only Ming Hong could rival him. However,
Ming Hong’s temperament made him unlikable and he devoted himself
completely to cultivation. Everyone knew that, in his heart, he admired
Qing Luan Jiejie. And though he didn’t dare to say it, he deliberately
imitated Wuhuan Ge’s style of dress, to try to attract her attention. It was
really ridiculous.

Just how beautiful was Yue Wuhuan? How attractive?

Rong Ye listened to Qing Luan harping on. In his heart, he became even
more unreconciled.

He coaxed her repeatedly and finally managed to send Qing Luan away. He
couldn’t help but laugh.
At Yan Shan Sect, Xie Que, in order to raise his merchandise’s identity, but
nominally for his own good, had told everyone that he came from a family
of intellectuals. Because he had a good knowledge of the literary classics,
knew a bit of how to play the guqin and how to play chess, and was very
polite in his words and deeds, everyone, including Qing Luan, believed this
lie. He simply decided to follow everyone’s idea of him and pretended.

In fact, he had been born in the red light district. His mother was a popular
flower lady, and his father, an unknown benefactor. People in this ancient
profession belong amongst the lowest of the low. For many, inclusion in this
profession was passed down from one generation to another. There are only
three ways to leave — by encountering a heroic, sentimental benefactor, by
escaping into religious life once your beauty fades with age, or by being
carried out in a flimsy coffin.

Rong Ye grew up in a place like this. He seen a lot of welcoming and

sending off, and scenes of tragedy, comedy and farce.

He was born a xiao guan, how could he have any pure thoughts? How could
there be anything he didn’t understand?

His mother’s temper had been at times, good and at times, bad. When she
met with a generous and gentle benefactor, she would be in a good mood as
she sang and played games to him. When she met with a bad-tempered
benefactor, she would be irritable and anxious, and then would severely
reprimand him, “Why did I have to give birth to a worthless being like
you?”

His mother forced him to learn how to curry favor by showing obeisance, to
observe the words and expressions of other to gleam their thoughts, to learn
the four arts, and to accept misfortunes as decreed by fate.

He was terribly scared at first but later, he wasn’t afraid anymore.

His mouth was sweet, and whenever his brothers and sisters got a huge tip,
they would share some it with him in the form of snacks. He spent his days
very comfortably off.
Everyone praised him for being beautiful and clever. When he grew up, he
was sure to be a star amongst the xiao guan’s.

His mother would then scold him even more violently, “Worthless!”

Later, Xie Que accidentally discovered his beauty. He made known his
identity as a cultivator, and offered a price to buy him, saying that he
wanted to take him back to be his disciple.

His mother was a master at the wind and moon. She seemed to realize
something, but she still sold him.

He had been reluctant to leave his mother. He cried and kicked up a ruckus,
refusing to leave.

His mother had beaten him mercilessly. She forced him to stop crying, and
then she dressed him up beautifully, groomed him to look like the pampered
son of a wealthy family. She then handed him over to Xie Que. Xie Que,
with kind brows and pleasant eyes, told him that the mortal and immortal
realm were different, and he feared that it would be difficult for them to see
each other in the future. He let mother and son say a few words of farewell.

Rong Ye would always remember his mother’s expression at the time.

There was no sadness of parting, no reluctance to let go. She was like a
fierce tigress, pushing her cub step by step to the edge of the cliff. Voice
low, she snarled, “With this worthless life of yours, is there anything you
wouldn’t dare to bet?! No matter how dangerous it is, you must gamble!”

He was so scared that he embraced his mother, wanting to cry once again.

“Get out!” His mother resolutely pushed him out the door. “If you live, then
good. If you die, then so be it! You are not allowed to come back here!”

He had no choice but to follow Xie Que and leave the world he was familiar
with. As the ship flew into the sky, he couldn’t help but glance back.

His mother stood in front of the window, crying. She cursed softly,
“Worthless…”
…

Rong Ye looked at himself in the mirror. The eyes of the young man in the
mirror were a little red, affecting the romantic quality of the peach blossom
eyes.

He kneaded it dissatisfiedly, planning on applying a warm stone as a hot

compress to it later.

After Xie Que’s matter was exposed, everyone was very scared, but he
wasn’t afraid. Even if he was sold as a slave to serve men, it was nothing
more than returning to his past life.

When Sister Qing Luan asked the valley servants to send everyone home,
he found an excuse to go with them. He then secretly left while on the road.
Using what little magic he learned, he disguised himself and took a detour
to the red light district. He wanted to give the Yanshou Pill to his mother
only to then find out that his mother had died of illness during the second
year after his departure.

The life of a mortal is as cheap as ants and mole crickets. How very
ridiculous…

Rong Ye didn’t cry. As he originally planned, he told the valley servants that
he’d forgotten his family’s address and had nowhere to go. So, he
successfully returned to the Medicine King’s Valley.

What was the difference between serving a cultivator of the immortal realm
and serving a mortal benefactor?

What Wuhuan Ge could do, why could others not?

His aptitude was not as good as Ming Hong’s. It would be difficult for him
to make any progress on his cultivation. Foundation Building was far in the
indefinite future. If he were successful in currying favor with the Master, he
might be able to acquire a precious pill and reach Foundation Building,
becoming a true cultivator, right?
Although Qing Luan Jiejie had said a lot of scary things, but…

What could he not bet this worthless life on?

Chapter 62: Golden Light of Merit

Yue Wuhuan put in a lot of thought and created a very beautiful Phoenix
kite. It was as tall as a person and as wide as two with its wings spread out.
It was outlined in gold and painted brilliantly. It was very lifelike and was
also equipped with a bamboo whistle. If the wind blew through it, it would
ring out with a clear and drawn out sound similar to the call of birds.

Song Qingshi was so delighted, he wanted to fly it already. Scratching his

cheek in embarrassment, he didn’t know how to praise him. Doing his best,
he said, “Wuhuan, you’re amazing. This kite is hundreds of times better
than the one I bought.”

He smiled and said, “Master, the one you bought, without a bamboo flute,
should be called a Paper Kite. With a bamboo whistle, it's called a Wind
Zither.”

Song Qingshi took out the beautiful Paper Kite he bought. He looked it
over, and was surprised. “It really is.”

Although he liked colorful things, compared with the kite he bought,

Wuhuan’s kite was like a phoenix to a sparrow. One belonged in the sky and
the other, on the ground. Even a blind man would know which one looked
better. The more Song Qingshi looked at the paper kite he bought, the more
of an eyesore he thought it was. When he was about to throw it away, he
saw Rong Ye come in to deliver the students’ pill homework. He was very
earnest and responsible. He casually gave the kite to him. Rong Ye seemed
very happy.

Children shouldn’t care whether they were playing with paper kites or wind
zithers, right?

He was a majestic Immortal, a grown-up who was almost a thousand years

old. Of course, he wanted to play with the most beautiful big wind zither!

In high spirits, Song Qingshi dragged Yue Wuhuan to the top of Xinyi
Mountain. He liked watching the clouds change, but what he liked even
more was watching beautiful things fly among the clouds, like birds and
kites. When he had been a child, he had once secretly watched some
children fly a kite. The swallow kite flew so high that it almost entered the
clouds. The children yelled and made a fuss. The laughter came nonstop. It
all seemed fascinating.

Flying a kite was best done with two people. One person to hold the kite,
waiting for the wind to send the signal and the other to tug on the string and
run.

For fun, Song Qingshi didn’t let Yue Wuhuan attach any auxiliary
formations on the kite. He also banned all wind-management and float-
control techniques. He wanted to use mortal methods and rely on natural
wind to fly the kite. For this, he even analyzed the prevailing speed and
direction of the winds on Xinyi Mountain during this season, scientifically
determining the most suitable location for flying the kite. Then, rolling up
his sleeves for battle, he was ready to send this kite high, high up.

The two arrived at Xinyi Mountain and placed the kite on the gentle slope
that had been prepared early on.

Song Qingshi took out a notebook from the mustard seed bag, and carefully
re-read the kite-flying tips. He recalculated his formula based on the current
wind power, and estimated the proper height and position of the kite, so as
not to cause the string to be entangled in any of the trees.

Yue Wuhuan peeked at the contents of his notebook and couldn’t help
laughing.

Song Qingshi was confused as to why he was being laughed at by the

learning-god. He quickly checked the formula a couple more times to
confirm whether he had written in the wrong numbers or had done the
calculations wrong.

After confirming that the formula was correct, he found the correct position
and had Yue Wuhuan hold the kite for him. He then took off. The first time,
he ran too fast, and the kite rolled on the ground. The second time he
successfully managed to get the kite up in the air. Yue Wuhuan stood behind
him, personally teaching him how to let the string out, patiently having the
kite ascend bit by bit.

The beautiful phoenix slowly rose, its long red-golden tail feathers trailing
behind it. Using the power of the wind, it broke through the clouds, letting
out a crisp and melodious bird call.

The color of life appeared amidst the white clouds, and it was no longer dull
and dreary.

Song Qingshi looked at the white clouds and the phoenix kite in the sky. He
suddenly felt his mind go a little fuzzy. He felt that this scene was very
familiar, as if he had seen it countless of times but couldn’t quite remember
the details of the scene. Something carved deep in his bones was starting to
grow restless, trying to break free from its shackles and run out…

In his mind, strange feelings were constantly being suppressed, and also
constantly gushing forth, struggling over and over.

Song Qingshi thought so hard, his head was starting to ache. But his eyes
stayed firmly on the phoenix among the white clouds as he stubbornly tried
to find the answer.

Suddenly, the kite’s string broke. The phoenix lost its balance. It turned a
few somersaults in mid-air, and then shakily began to fall.

Yue Wuhuan looked at the snapped string in his hand and was a little
stupefied. He couldn’t believe he could have made such a mistake.

Song Qingshi cast aside the coil of string and controlled his fire to soar up
into the sky. He watched the kite fall, rocking and swaying. Seeing it about
to fall into the swamp, he felt anxious and lunged at it. He caught the kite
just before it fell into the mud. However, the kite was much too big and the
Phoenix’s tail feathers fell and was still dragged into the swamp, dirtying a
great portion of it.

Carrying the kite, he flew back dejectedly. He handed it to Yue Wuhuan,

and asked sadly, “Was it because I didn’t let it out properly? And so it
failed?”

“No,” Yue Wuhuan carefully checked the point where the string had
snapped. “I was afraid of the string snapping, so I deliberately used a strong
silver string. I also checked it when I was winding it. There should be no
problem with the quality of this string.” He suddenly paused. Smiling, he
showed Song Qingshi the kite string, “Look, it’s this little guy’s fault.”

There was a small Golden Ant crawling on the silver string. The kite’s
string had been slightly damaged by the Golden Ant and could not bear the
weight.

Golden Ants are common creatures on Xinyi Mountain. It climbed up the

kite by coincidence, and broke the string, by coincidence. The kite fell
because of this. The entire matter was fair and reasonable…

Song Qingshi was dumbfounded. “So, this was a coincidence?”

“En, let’s go back first,” Yue Wuhuan said comfortingly, “This dye can’t be
washed clean. I will replace later the parts that got dirty and put in a
stronger string.”

Just what was the probability of an ant bite snapping a kite string?

One in a billion?

Song Qingshi suddenly remembered the inconceivable Lightning

Tribulation that Yue Wuhuan had when he reached Foundation Building. He
remembered that Yue Wuhuan had once said that repeated coincidental
misses had kept him from uncovering Xie Que’s true colors. He even
remembered his first encounter with An Long. A strange gust of wind had
blown the precious herbs he worked hard to collect into the dirty and foul
swamp. And so, pinching his nose, he approached the swamp and found the
half-demon child buried in it.

Why did the system pick his soul fragment for the mission? Why did it send
him back here?
Were all these coincidences?

Song Qingshi stopped and glanced suspiciously at the sky. He kept feeling
that he had forgotten something very important.

Yue Wuhuan went back to repair the kite.

Song Qingshi was feeling ill at ease, his mind filled with phoenix kites
flying in the sky. He wasn’t even in the mood to do any toxicology
experiments. After feeding the mice, he simply left the laboratory to go for
a walk. He first wandered over to the school, earnestly inspecting the
students’ research for a while. He then went to the library and riffled
through a few books. Finally, and inexplicably, he found himself at the
ancestral hall.

The ancestral hall had been refurbished, given a facelift. It was clean and
tidy. The picture scroll was unfurled and hung on the wall. Fruits and
flowers were placed as offerings on the incense table.

Although the First Teacher had accepted a lousy disciple, this disciple had
in turn, accepted for him a good disciple who was well-behaved and
sensible. He could be considered as being indirectly filial.

Song Qingshi remembered that he hadn’t come to pay his respects to the
Grand Master for ten years. He felt a little embarrassed. And so, he ran in
and offered three joss sticks. Looking at the offering, he felt a little greedy.
After saying a few words to the Grand Master, he took a big red peach and
ate it while admiring the picture scroll left by the Grand Master.

The peaches Yue Wuhuan picked were juicy, sweet and delicious.

The Grand Master was a terrible painter. His skill level was about the same
as his. You simply couldn’t see what he had intended to draw.

This painting was placed in the ancestral hall, but no thief would want it.
Song Qingshi pondered for a while. In the end, he still felt that this painting
should be put away. Later, the Medicine King’s Valley would have more
disciples and everyone, being filled with filial devotion, would come to pay
homage to the written works of the Grand Master every few days. They
would come only to see such an ugly and nonsensical painting… Does the
Grand Master even still want some face? Does he still want to Medicine
King’s Valley to have some dignity?

He should find a few medical books passed on by the Grand Master and
have those accept the disciples’ respects instead of this painting.

Song Qingshi took the painting down and brought it back to Fuling Palace,
ready to put it in the treasure house.

The sky was gradually getting darker, and his heart too, was getting darker
and darker.

He was no longer very hopeful about the System’s mission. There seemed
to be no signs of recovery for Yue Wuhuan’s condition. The only thing he
was doing now was not giving up. He will stay with him, and see if time
can bring any new opportunities. If it doesn’t work, he will do his utmost to
prevent it from getting worse. If worst comes to worst, in the future, he
would stay in the Medicine King’s Valley, and spend his life with Yue
Wuhuan; every day, he would coax him to have fun, and make him happy.

However, he felt that doing this was far from enough…

Song Qingshi lay on the bed and opened the picture scroll. He looked it up
and down, left and right, imagining that the Grand Master could give him
some inspiration. Maybe he could communicate through his dream and tell
him of a way to eliminate painful memories without harming the brain. Or
he could tell him how to travel through time and space, allowing him to
directly hammer Xie Que to death, and take Yue Wuhuan back, placing him
in the Medicine King’s Valley, coaxing him and praising him every day,
letting him live happily. If Yue Wuhuan didn’t have any psychological
obstructions, he might let him eat sweet, soft things every day.
It was a pity that the Grand Master of the Medicine King’s Valley knew
nothing aside from curing diseases and alchemy. He hadn’t even left any
medical books related to psychotherapy…

What a truly useless Shifu!

Taking advantage of the fact that his Shifu couldn’t hear his thoughts, Song
Qingshi grumbled boldly. He casually threw the picture scroll on the
bedside table, turned on the luminous beads, and continued to organize the
medical materials. He grew engrossed in writing, and when he turned
around, he found that he had accidentally dropped a large blob of ink on the
picture scroll.

He instinctively went to wipe it. As a result, the scroll, which was already
very old and fragile, had a big hole rubbed into it with minimal effort. His
heart seized and his hand shook, and he completely tore it in half…

Song Qingshi was dumbfounded…

He tremblingly held the broken halves of the picture scroll, not knowing
what to do.

Can his almighty darling disciple fix the painting?

Can he secretly repaint a picture and pretend that nothing happened?

Song Qingshi was so panicked that he wanted to dig a hole and hide his evil
deed. If Yue Wuhuan didn’t pursue the matter, then he’ll just play dead. But
he felt this was being dishonest.

Suddenly, the broken scroll gave off a golden light, like a golden firefly…

Song Qingshi looked closely and found that it was the Golden Light of
Merit, a rare good thing. Because of his medical studies, the pills that he
developed has saved many people, and this has gained him some virtues
and merits. Song Qingshi was no stranger to this concept. It is said that
there was once a cultivator who directly ascended to the ranks of the gods
because of his accumulated merit.
But why was a mere painting hiding a Golden Light of Merit?

Puzzled, Song Qingshi picked up the painting and studied it. Unexpectedly,
the painting’s Golden Light of Merit rushed at him, frantically blending into
his body.

His eyes went dark and his consciousness blurred…

An endless sea of ​clouds appeared in the sea of ​knowledge. In the depths of

the sea of ​clouds, there was a house like a snow cave, deserted and desolate,
with nothing but a mountain of scrolls. Inside the house, Song Qingshi saw
a young man who looked a lot like him. He seemed expressionless, like a
porcelain doll, quietly sitting in the house, reading books, reading book
after book after book…

In the evening, the young man suddenly moved. A somewhat expectant

light appeared in his eyes. It was as if the porcelain doll had come to life.

He slowly walked to the window and leaned on the window sill. He

furtively looking at the farthest point in the sky, as though waiting for
something.

At the far end of the sky, golden red rays of light gradually rose. It was a
Phoenix made from the most dazzling flame in the world, dragging nine
golden-red tail feathers of flame. He slowly flew closer, and then passed by
his window sill. The beautiful light illuminated his ignorant eyes and shone
into his cold and cheerless room.

The monotonous sea of ​clouds came to life with this magnificent scenery.

This was his only pleasure in his dry and dull life.

The young man waited every day. He watched every day, waited day after
day, watched year after year…

Song Qingshi was awakened by Yue Wuhuan. When he woke up, he found
himself lying on the table, his entire consciousness was muddled.
“Master, what’s the matter?” Yue Wuhuan reached out and wiped his eyes.

“Wuhuan, I had a dream.” Song Qingshi found that his eyes were filled with
tears that he just couldn’t stop. He murmured, “It was a good dream at first,
and then it turned into a nightmare, a terrible nightmare…”

“The nightmare isn’t real,” Yue Wuhuan felt panicked at his inexplicable
sadness. He spent a long while, comforting. Finally, he asked, “What did
you dream of?”

Song Qingshi raised his head and looked closely at the most beautiful pair
of phoenix eyes in the world. He couldn’t get enough of looking at them.
He tried his best to stop his sadness. He clutched Yue Wuhuan’s sleeve
tightly, and sobbed,

“Wuhuan, I dreamt that the Phoenix was gone.”

“Wuhuan, I want to get him back.”

“Wuhuan, I will never give up.”

Chapter 63: A Lucky Chance

Yue Wuhuan was very confused. He didn’t understand what his Master was
distressed about. It was probably because the Phoenix kite had fallen that he
had a nightmare? The Master in his heart was very staid and steady most of
the time. But he did tend to keep away from people, and was quite ignorant
of the ways of the world. He would thus, occasionally shows a childish
side. Unexpectedly, he could even cry from nightmares?

Song Qingshi clutched the lapels of his robe tightly, absolutely unwilling to
let go. He even had his head buried against his chest, desperately rubbing
away his tears.

Yue Wuhuan wanted both to comfort and laugh. He didn’t know what to
say. He pondered for a moment, and took out the black bamboo flute. He
pressed his lips against it and blew out a few cheerful tunes.

The pleasant sound drew back Song Qingshi’s attention. He raised his head
and looked at the long flute in Yue Wuhuan’s hand. He slowly let go, and
after some thinking, he lay down on his lap and listened to the music.

Perhaps, it was a trick of the light, Yue Wuhuan unexpectedly found that
Song Qingshi’s eyes, usually so clear that you could see all the way to the
bottom, contained a strangely painful emotion, as though thick shadows had
been cast on beautiful crystals in the dark. This feeling made him a little
uneasy.

Song Qingshi turned sideways and closed his eyes lightly. He smiled and
said, “I want to listen to a happy song.”

Yue Wuhuan put aside his doubts for the time being, and played a very
gentle exotic song. He didn’t know the name or where it came from. This
was a piece of music his mother had taught when he was young. It is said
that it depicts a blessed home and happy memories. He liked this song very
much. For him, it brought to mind the beautiful scenery of melting snow
and the blossoming of spring flowers.
The music washed away all the distress. It washed away all the sadness.

The sound of the flute stopped…

Song Qingshi slowly opened his eyes. The gloom in his eyes had
disappeared, returning to its previous appearance.

Yue Wuhuan thought that he must have seen wrong.

“I’ve never had a nightmare. I’ve embarrassed myself,” Song Qingshi tried
to reclaim his dignity and explained, all in a mess, “I dreamt that something
I really really liked had gone missing, and no matter how much I looked, I
couldn’t find it. This feeling was continuously failing white mice
experiments. Failing over and over and over again, and not being able to
find out the reason. It’s very saddening…”

Yue Wuhuan didn’t know what the white mice experiments had to do with
that something that he liked, but he knew that his thinking was different
from ordinary people’s, and he was a medical fanatic. For him, the failure
of an experiment was a considerably heavy blow. Every time he finished
sorting out the records of his failure, he would lie down dejectedly on the
table. He would spend the better part of two hours that way and he wouldn’t
want to eat anything, not even dessert.

“It is truly a sad thing to repeatedly fail mice experiments,” Yue Wuhuan
tried to understand his feelings and comforted him, “If I were to encounter
such a thing, I would cry my eyes out too.”

Song Qingshi got up, and rubbed his red eyes. He said, embarrassed,
“Nonsense. And anyway, you can’t cry…”

Yue Wuhuan joked, “If Master wishes to see me cry, should I go find some
medicine to smoke my eyes, and maybe have tears came out?”

Song Qingshi was amused by him. “I don’t want to see you shedding tears.”

Yue Wuhuan asked, “Then, what would you like to see?”

Song Qingshi suddenly drew in close, and looked at his face for a long
while. He said softly, “I want to see you at your most beautiful.”

Yue Wuhuan was stunned. He touched his face, puzzlement in his eyes.

“On the road of Immortal cultivation, the body will become more and more
perfect with each cultivation level,” Song Qingshi thought for a moment
and explained, “Wuhuan is just at Foundation Building now. I look forward
to your Core Formation, Nascent Soul… and even higher cultivation levels.
You will definitely be the most beautiful person to walk this earth.”

The Master has unexpectedly learned to tell jokes. It was a pity his words
were too bad, his exaggeration simply over the top.

Yue Wuhuan didn’t discourage his enthusiasm for telling jokes. To match
up with him, he laughed a little.

Song Qingshi laughed along with him. Suddenly, he got up and kissed his
lips. He’s learned to place a lingering kiss and went a little deeper, touching
the tip of his tongue. He then backed away.

Yue Wuhuan was stunned stupid by the kiss.

“You said that as long as I like it, we can kiss every day,” Song Qingshi
licked his lips and said boldly and assuredly. “Promises must be kept! Only
puppies are shameless!”

Yue Wuhuan tried to refuse. “Master, this isn’t good. Didn’t you say you
wouldn’t do confused things anymore?”

Song Qingshi tilted his head. He gave it some thought, and retorted, with
ample grounds and reason, “I’m not drinking any alcohol right now. I’m
completely sober, so it’s not a confused thing.”

Yue Wuhuan was helpless, “Why do you want to do this?”

Song Qing pressed on every step of the way, and asked in return, “I like it
very much; don’t you like it?”
Yue Wuhuan was rendered speechless by his rebuttal. He couldn’t lie and
answer that he disliked it, because he did. He liked that feeling, so much so
that he simply couldn’t stop himself and wished he could have it forever,
never to let it go.

He wanted to step back.

But Song Qingshi kissed him again. The moist breath gently pried open the
lock around his heart, allowing the faint fragrance of medicine to flow in
between his lips, as if it could wash away all the filth. His inexperienced
and clumsy movements easily made him throw away everything and rush
into a headlong flight. He never had any way to refuse this sort of ultimate
happiness. He swiftly sunk into this taboo world.

“You like it.” Song Qingshi pulled back a little from his lips and then kissed
it again. Gasping for breath, he said, “I know you like it too.”

Yue Wuhuan said in confusion, “Qingshi, I can’t.”

Song Qingshi asked, “You said this is a game, why would you be nervous?”

How could a foot that had already crossed the boundary be so easy to
retrieve?

Yue Wuhuan stared at his pale pink lips, feeling his sanity was constantly
being challenged, pushing it almost to the point of collapse. He thought of
getting up and leaving, but he found that the net that was the Medicine
King’s Valley that trapped Song Qingshi, also trapped himself. He had
nowhere to escape. He could only be forced to the edge of the cliff step by
step. He was placed in imminent danger, but was unable to retreat.

No matter how good he was at calculating others, he couldn’t calculate his

own heart.

Master didn’t seem to know anything other than kisses. He also didn’t
understand those messy bedroom matters…

The Heart of his Way of the Heartless had no peculiarity.

If it’s just a simple kiss, could he…

The kiss made Yue Wuhuan so dizzy, his thoughts were going a little out of
control. He asked tentatively, “Master, can we just keep to kissing?”

Song Qingshi smiled happily, “If Wuhuan likes it, there’s no problem!”

Yue Wuhuan breathed a sigh of relief. He lowered his head and began to
taste the flavor he’d been longing for day and night. The soft hair was all
messed up, wrapped around his fingertips, unwilling to leave. The white
robes were somewhat thrown into disarray. The neckline was lain open,
revealing a beautiful swan-like neck, the lovely Adam’s apple trembled
slightly along with his breathing. He was very fortunate that he had taken
some medicines to restrain his desire in advance to prepare for sleep. This
way, despite this sort of extreme happiness, he would not display a
shameful performance. Maybe such drugs would need to become his
standard on-hand supplies.

It was late at night. They were ear to ear and temple to temple. Their breaths
twined together for who know how long but they, finally, stopped.

Yue Wuhuan found that Song Qingshi had been holding his hand tightly,
without any intention of letting go. He thought for a moment, and then lay
down by the side of the bed. He stretched out the Blood King Vine, poked
the other’s foot lightly, and then wrapped around it. He asked with a smile,
“Master, do you have a bedtime story for me today?”

“I forgot,” Song Qingshi discovered this big problem, and he thought about
it for a long time. “Let’s chat.”

Yue Wuhuan asked curiously, “What do you want to talk about?”

Song Qingshi pointed to the Blood King Vine on his foot. “I want to know
how you got this.”

He had asked several times, but each time he did, Yue Wuhuan would look
to the left and right while talking about something else. The only thing he
has said about it was that he had gotten it by accident. He refused to talk
about the difficulties he’s experienced during it. He was embarrassed to
force an answer out for it, so he just let it go. But today he didn’t intend to
compromise, he was going to pester Yue Wuhuan into telling him the actual
situation.

Yue Wuhuan was forced into having no other choice. Thinking that the
matter was something already long past, he finally told the truth, “I got it on
the Inextinguishable Peak.”

“The Inextinguishable Peak?” Song Qingshi recalled the things he’d read
from ancient materials, and quickly understood, “Is it the East Continent’s
Mountain of Flames? I remember it’s an isolated place of extreme fire, a
place where not even a blade of grass could grow, where birds have
vanished. You couldn’t even see any spiritual veins. …The fire there is very
dangerous. It’s said that it can burn even your very soul. Why did you go…
for the Fire Lingzhi”

The only good thing in this isolate place of extreme flames was the Fire
Lingzhi.

The Fire Lingzhi was the main medicinal ingredient for refining the
Burning Heart Pill. It grew slowly and was very rare. It was extremely
beneficial to cultivators with Fire-type or Metal-type spiritual roots. It was a
treasure of heaven and earth. As long as it appears, it would cause all parties
to attempt to seize it.

Yue Wuhuan should have received news of the Fire Lingzhi and wanted it
to refine the Burning Heart Pill to strengthen his heart.

“I failed.” Yue Wuhuan was a little frustrated. He was just a Foundation

Building Cultivator. Even if he relied on his sword skills, Poison Puppets,
talismans and formations, vying for treasure against those Core Formation
and even Nascent Soul cultivators, the probability of failure was still
relatively high. “At that time, I disguised my true identity and hid among
the ranks of those hunting for the treasure. I made traps in advance to
provoke them into killing each other. After successfully obtaining the Fire
Lingzhi, I ran into new treasure hunters…demon cultivators from the
Juejing Sect. It was too late to retreat, they had blocked every possible route
for retreat. They tried to persuade me to surrender the Fire Lingzhi, saying
that they would give me a way out if I did.”

Song Qingshi frowned slightly, and asked, “All the demon cultivators of the
Juejing Sect are cruel and merciless, how could they possibly be so good-
natured?”

“I knew they were deceiving me. Once I handed over the Fire Lingzhi, they
would take my life. Since I was about to die regardless, it didn’t matter how
I died,” Yue Wuhuan couldn’t help laughing, “So, taking advantage of them
not knowing my true identity, I toyed with those fools, and then I threw the
Fire Lingzhi into the sea of ​fire on the top of the Inextinguishable Peak. I
mocked and ridiculed them. Master, the way they looked, so hopping mad,
was really funny…”

The priceless Fire Lingzhi was swallowed up instantly by the raging inferno
and was completely destroyed.

The demon cultivators hadn’t expected that a Foundation Building

cultivator would dare to toy with them like this. They were so furious, they
wanted to extract Yue Wuhuan’s soul and torture it.

Yue Wuhuan laughed and said, “Seeing that the situation wasn’t good, I also
jumped into the Inextinguishable Peak.”

His unexpected action disrupted everyone’s rhythm.

The demon cultivator grew furious all over again, and yet they hadn’t dared
get close to the Inextinguishable Peak, this terrifying zone where both body
and soul could be burned out of existence.

“There is a strange air current, like a whirlwind, in the Inextinguishable

Peak. It can draw everything flying into it. I couldn’t use any defensive
sword skills. I was fortunate to be swept up by the air current and blown
into a gap in the rock face,” Yue Wuhuan thought of the situation at the
time, and said with a wry smile, “There was no way out from the crevice.
The fire-resistant robe and all my fire prevention talismans had taken as
much damage as they could. I should have been waiting to die, but I
accidentally found the Blood King Vine’s soul seedling. With nothing left to
lose, I fused with the Blood King Vine, and then used it to crawl up the rock
face and climb out.”

After listening, Song Qingshi said, looking pensive, “A stroke of good

luck?”

“Perhaps,” Yue Wuhuan considered for a moment, “Since I got the Blood
King Vine, my luck has become a lot more normal. The feeling of being
constantly overwhelmed by fate is gone now.” It was only when he tried to
kill An Long that the law of Heaven intervened once again. Maybe An Long
wasn’t destined to die yet?

Song Qingshi smiled, “This lucky chance is really dangerous.”

Yue Wuhuan laughed and said, “It’s all in the past.”

Song Qingshi grabbed the Blood King Vine and played with it in the palm
of his hand.

Was it really a stroke of good luck?

Translator’s note: All my lovely dears, we are now 10,000 strong on

discord. Our community has grown so much. *sniff* And to commemorate
this milestone, there is a CG 10K Celebration on discord. Everyone who
submits a fanart or fanfic is entered into a raffle where the winners can
choose from among a list of prizes generously given by the translator and
authors. So, with almost 2 more months till the end of the submission, you
have plenty of time to get those entries in. You wouldn’t want to miss out
on winning those advance/bonus chapters and those oh so yummy NSFW
chapters from our lovely CG authors!

We already have a few submissions for MISVIL. Here’s a submission from

Cei.

(Yes, we have other submission that I will be featuring bit by bit, because
you bet I’m going to be promoting this event multiple times. =) )
Chapter 64

Song Qingshi’s spirit was extremely exhausted. He fell asleep, lying in Yue
Wuhuan’s arms. He was like an octopus, he clung to the other tightly,
refusing to let go lest the other disappear, never to be seen.

Yue Wuhuan once again tasted the feeling of being unable to move.
Fortunately, the potency of the medicine was very good and it wasn’t too
difficult to bear. He wanted to try and lean sideways to adjust Song Qingshi
to a comfortable position, only to find that his waist was tied up. No matter
how me moved, he would weigh down on the other’s arm. He was forced
maintain his position and use the Blood King Vine to dragged the quilt over
and cover him with it.

Since Master became so clingy, he’s been unable to endure…

Yue Wuhuan gently untied the hair band for the person in his arms,
scattering his long hair. The soft, fine black hair fell down, mixing with his
own long hair he’d spread out early on. They mixed together until you
couldn’t tell the strands apart.

He was feeling playful. While Song Qing wouldn’t notice, he quietly

picked up strands of his long hair, braided it with his own. He tried to tie a
loose knot. Filled with satisfaction, he appreciated it for a moment. He hid
it among the strands of hair. He’ll wait until the morning to undo it.

He shut off the luminous beads and closed the blue gauze canopy curtains.

Yue Wuhuan stretched his arms, holding in his arms, this person who was
completely unguarded towards him. He sniffed the medicinal scent that set
his heart at ease. He called to mind those maddening and sweet kisses. He
felt a slightly unreal sense of happiness.

This was exactly what he desired most.

A close companionship, where there was only each other in their eyes, but
never crossing the boundaries.
Master’s Heart of the Way of the Heartless was stable, which meant that no
matter what he’d done, his Master hadn’t been moved in that way.

Yue Wuhuan couldn’t help but laugh at himself. He has long been a monster
raised on wind and moon. He knew that his body and beauty could easily
evoke the desires of men. He had seen all manners of buffoonery. With a
single look, he could tell what others wanted. He’s gotten so used to it, that
he accidentally used a provocative techniques during their kiss. It was
already too late when he found out. Fortunately, Song Qingshi was
unmoved, and no physical sensations he shouldn’t have were evoked.

Song Qingshi’s kisses were the purest kisses, like a child seeking sugar.

People like him could even feel the beautiful sweetness inside…

What if the Master’s Heartless Dao Heart was moved?

Yue Wuhuan thought about it and felt that he didn’t know enough about the
Way of the Heartless. He needed to collect relevant information and study it
carefully.

Song Qingshi got up the next morning to find that he had held Wuhuan
down all night. He was a little embarrassed and gave him a good morning
kiss. He then he got up and did a quick washing up. He ran to the research
room, and started a new round of toxicology research in very high spirts.

The Black Death Butterfly was highly toxic and poisonous by contact.
When Poison Master Nie refined the Poisonous Lingshi, there was no better
methods to rid of the impurities. Now he had better purification methods
and techniques, which could increase the Poisonous Lingshi’s toxicity by
five times. He could also adjust the auxiliary materials which were affected
by the impurities. It was very possible that he could come out with a poison
that could kill a Fen Shen cultivator.

The extraction of Poisonous Lingshi was dangerous.

Song Qingshi didn’t dare to let his assistant touch it casually. He stayed in
the research room by himself, repeating the experiment over and over again.
He made more than a dozen samples in petri dishes, breeding Pink
Bollworm Fungus to assist in the spreading of the poison. Only when he is
able to perfectly combine the Pink Bollworm Fungus and the Poisonous
Lingshi can the Black Death Butterfly be considered a success.

Yue Wuhuan sent the Blood King Vine in to check up on him several times.
Seeing that he was entire engrossed and too busy to attend to anything else,
he decided to just give up.

He still has a lot of things to do. In addition to the account books and other
internal matters, he also needed to strengthen the Poisonous Fog Formation,
make more Poison Puppets, and to the best of his ability, design the
Medicine King’s Valley as a fortress akin to a bastion of iron.

The fusion of more than a dozen petri dishes all failed. Either the Pink
Bollworm Fungus lost its effect, or the Poisonous Lingshi’s toxicity
decreased…

Song Qingshi made a record of the failed experiments and felt dejected for
three quarters of an hour.

By the time he came out of the laboratory, it was already dusk. He rubbed
his tired eyes, and headed for the school. He saw Qing Luan leading the
apprentices to perform alchemy research. They were apparently
experimenting with a new formula.

Unfortunately, her experiment also ended in failure, and black smoke came
out of the pill furnace, accompanied by a stench.

Qing Luan was silent for a moment. She then had Rong Ye record the
process and results of their failed experiment.

Rong Ye looked at the sky and said, feeling aggrieved, “Qing Luan Jie,
everyone’s hungry already. Maybe we should go eat first.”

Qing Luan refused. “Make the record first.”

Rong Ye didn’t understand. “In any case, it ended in failure. Why do we
still need to record it? Look at this notebook, it’s all wrong, wrong, wrong;
at least 70 or 80 times already. Is there any meaning to this?”

Ming Hong was opened his mouth and said, “This is what the Master has
ordered us to do. Every time you perform an experiment, regardless of
whether it ended in success or failure, you must record it.”

“Master must be very powerful,” Rong Ye heard that it was Song Qingshi’s
command, and didn’t dare refute anymore. He lamented while recording,
“We are too stupid and we always fail. Qing Luan Jie said that the Medicine
King’s Valley will be accepting more apprentices later on. We’ll have to
hide this record book and not let our junior brother and sisters see it.
Otherwise, they’ll laugh at us for being so useless.”

Qing Luan was about to speak, but when she saw Song Qingshi walk in
through the door, she hurriedly saluted.

The children stopped playing and stood up properly.

Song Qingshi smiled and took the notebook from Rong Ye’s hand. He
flipped through a few pages, “You mustn’t hide mistakes. You must put
them in the laboratory, to be kept forever. In the future, when studies are
made on this drug, they will know to eliminate the failed plans… …
Including all the experiments you’ve done before, all the data must be
saved, and we must figure out why they failed.”

Rong Ye blushed and murmured, “Including the time I made the pill furnace
explode?”

“En,” Song Qingshi said with a smile, “That way everyone will know that
you can’t put Yellow Powder when refining the Return of Spring Pill,
otherwise it will explode.”

Rong Ye suddenly understood a little bit, but he still didn’t understand it

thoroughly enough.
“You mustn’t be afraid of failure.” Song Qingshi looked at the data table of
Qing Luan’s experiment and confirmed that there were no errors in the
process. “In medical research, failure is the norm. Many people fail, failing
hundreds of times, thousands of times. …Success is but a stroke of luck.”

Rong Ye asked cautiously, “Master, can you fail too?”

Song Qingshi couldn’t help laughing. “Do you know the Heart Guard Pill?”

“Yes!” The children rushed to answer, their faces filled with admiration.
“This is the pill developed by Master in his early years. It has a miraculous
effect on damaged heart and arteries! Everyone says that the appearance of
this pill shocked the immortal realm. It has changed the way wounds to the
heart and arteries are treated. Because of this, Master is hailed as a genius
alchemist.”

Rong Ye’s peach blossom eyes are full of worship. “Master is an innate
genius. We are far too inferior.”

“You’re wrong,” Song Qingshi told him with a smile, “In developing the
Heart Guard Pill, I failed 3,672 times.”

Rong Ye was stunned.

“In the twenty-ninth row of the library, there are more than six hundred
record books stacked on the top. These are the records of my failure from
that year. Making a pill furnace explode is something I’ve done many
times,” Song Qingshi recalled an amusing incident from the past. He
couldn’t help laughing, “In the end, I dozed off and accidentally dropped
oxaline into the concoction, and it succeeded.”

He was aware of his own IQ. Although he was a little smart, he is still far
from being a genius. He could only work hard and keep trying.

“Don’t be afraid of failure,” Song Qingshi saw Yue Wuhuan coming from
the peach blossom forest. The smile in his eyes turned even gentler. “Every
time you fail, you are eliminating a mistake. As long as you don’t give up,
you will find the right answer.”
Seeing that he was about to leave, Rong Ye couldn’t help asking, “Master,
do you still fail even now?”

The Medicine King Xianzun was already a Nascent Soul cultivator, the
world’s number one doctor. Everyone says that there’s no pill that he can’t
refine, and no patient he can’t cure.

Song Qingshi stood at the door and looked back. “I’ve been failing this
whole time.”

Under the golden glow of dusk, he hadn’t had time to put away the
gentleness on his face when facing that person and this scene fell in
everyone’s eyes. It was as though they had seen the happiest sentiment. It
made people yearn and envy.

Song Qingshi walked towards Yue Wuhuan, and the two of them left,
talking and laughing.

Rong Ye looked at Yue Wuhuan and once again remembered the beautiful
Mermaid Pearl. This pearl was now tied to the new jade ornament around
Yue Wuhuan’s waist. The Yue Wuhuan was also made out of the best
Dragon Jade, white as congealed fat. There were golden grains scattered
throughout, like a golden dragon hidden in the clouds. It carried with it a
touch of water-type aura, which could nourish wood-type meridians.

Last night, did Wuhuan Xianzhang sleep in Fuling Palace? And today, he
now has a new jade ornament?

Qing Luan Jie has always insisted that the relationship between Wuhuan
Xianzhang and the Master wasn’t that kind of relationship. So, please don’t
talk nonsense. Ming Hong, Qingyun and the others all believed it when
Qing Luan Jie said that Wuhuan Xianzhang and the Master were in the
bedroom talking about academics, doing math problems, and studying
formations… Sometimes because their discussion go late into the night, it
was too much of a bother to change rooms and so they just sleep together.

He had raised a veiled objection.

Ming Hong hadn’t understand at all. “What could two grown men get up
to?”

Rong Ye nearly fainted from anger. “Have you forgotten that you were
almost sold?”

“How can there be that many good homosexuals in the world? We don’t
have these messy things in the Medicine King’s Valley,” Ming Hong was a
typical example of ‘forgetting past pains once the wound has healed’.
Remembering those disgusting things, his face went dark, and he resolutely
defended his benefactor’s moral character, “Our Master simply isn’t that
kind of person! He wouldn’t do those disgusting things to Wuhuan Ge!”

Rong Ye’s mouth twitched…

There were actually several pairs of same-sex couples in the Medicine

King’s Valley, but Ming Hong couldn’t spot them at all. When he sees
them, he simply thinks they’re very good friends. Even Rong Ye, himself,
his preference was geared towards men, and from time to time someone
would show interest in him. That’s why he didn’t like going to the big
bathhouse used by the valley servants. He didn’t like being seen by
others. Ming Hong hadn’t at all realized his friend’s orientation. Not only
did he use to the big bathhouse without any hesitation, he’s even made
plans to bathe with him several times, saying that it was comfortable
soaking in the hot bath…

If it weren’t for the fact that he knew this guy looked reserve, but was
actually an idiot when it came to emotions, he might have misunderstood.

He Qingyun had once told him that someone had their designs on Ming
Hong in the bathhouse, with intention of taking advantage of him. Ming
Hong then mistakenly thought that the other party was provoking him. In
addition, the other had said some disrespectful words against Qing Luan
and so he dragged the person out and gave him a very sound beating. The
other hadn’t been able to get out of bed for half a month. From that day on,
it seemed that no men entertained thoughts of fooling around with him. On
the other hand, there were a lot more of the girls among the valley servants
who developed a crush on him.
Why were all his friends stupid? !

Rong Ye felt crushed…

He decided to still rely on himself.

During the Medicine King Xianzun’s closed door cultivation, Yue Wuhuan
had been in charge of all the valley’s resources. He’d seen see that Yue
Wuhuan had no interest in women, and had thought about fooling around
him, so he could at least exchange for some cultivation medicine. However,
Yue Wuhuan’s Devil Mask disfigurement really scared him and he was
unable to make up his mind. In addition, during that period, Qing Luan Jie
increased their homework load like crazy and no matter what he did, he just
couldn’t finish them all. In the end, he abandoned that idea.

He knows that Yue Wuhuan was extremely smart and capable; he was
deeply trusted, He wasn’t expecting to receive the same treatment.

He just wants to use his beauty for some benefits, to successfully reach
Foundation Building…

If he could become a real cultivation, his mother would never call him
worthless again, right?

Rong Ye was restless and perturbed.

Chapter 65: Seed of Hope

Song Qingshi was in a very good mood. When he reached the corridor, he
took Yue Wuhuan’s hand and with brisk steps, took him to the study.

Yue Wuhuan hesitated for a moment. He wanted to withdraw his hand.

However, the other held it so tightly, that he was a little unsure of just how
he was going to pull it out. Finally, he was dragged into the study, and
pushed to sit on the Luohan bed. A huge pile of documents were thrown to
him. He flipped through a few pages, and found that most of them were
study notes made by Song Qingshi. They ranged from shallow to deep, a
large portion of it were medical experimental records.

“I want to sort out the research ideas and methods and hand them to Qing
Luan.” Song Qingshi said happily, “The workload is a bit heavy. Do you
think you can help me?”

Yue Wuhuan said hesitantly, “Master, you seem to be very optimistic about
her?”

Song Qingshi smiled and said, “Wuhuan, actually, you don’t like being a
doctor and treating patients, do you?

Yue Wuhuan was silent for a moment, and said, “Yes, I don’t like it.”

His medical knowledge and alchemy skills were all learned to save one
person. He preferred to study toxicology, talismans, devices,
swordsmanship and other skills used for killing.

Song Qingshi asked, “What do you think of Qing Luan?”

“She’s a smart person, apt to be soft-hearted, and foolishly kind.” Yue

Wuhuan asked vigilantly, “Master, you seem to be very interested in her?”

“No, don’t get me wrong,” Song Qingshi pulled out the information on
Penicillium and laughed, “I’m only interested in her medical theory. It’s a
direction I have never considered before. In my previous studies of
medicine, I have always aimed for the one with the best curative effect. I
have never thought about reducing the cost and making it for mass
production.”

His world was too simple and he never paid any attention to other people’s
lives. He rarely even treated ordinary patients. Most of the time, he used the
poisonous mist to seal the Medicine King’s Valley, staying inside to study
techniques. When he was short of money, he would refine and sell a few
pills. Those patients who were treated by him only managed to do so either
by luck, by having a disease he wanted to study or by being a local tyrant
who came to his door with a large pile of rare medicinal materials.

Yue Wuhuan has made several low-level drug mass production lines for
him. Now, Ye Lin would even come crying, trying to persuade him to turn
them all of them into Yurong Ointment, so that he could make boatloads of
money. However, he has always felt that something was missing.

“On this trip, I saw that the relationship between master and disciples of the
Red Dragon Sect is very good. I feel that Medicine King’s Valley also needs
to have our teachings passed on.” Song Qingshi boldly and confidents acted
spoiled, and he asked, “Wuhuan, you know how stupid my mouth is. Every
time I speak, it gets all messed up. Only you, with your IQ can figure out
what I’m talking about. Will you help me teach Qing Luan and the others?
Qing Luan has the potential to be a good doctor. I’m curious about how far
her philosophy can be taken.”

Yue Wuhuan knew that he had failed the Grand Master, not having made
any medical contribution to benefit the world. However, he also knew that
for the Medicine King’s Valley to survive in this dark and dirty world
without being disturbed by all the various forces in it, they would have to
rely on their irreplaceable medical skills. Normally keeping their doors
closed to visitors and just selling a few pills was fine and all but if they
were to encounter a very important person who was heavily injured or ill
and could not be saved by anyone but the Medicine King Xianzun, they
might refuse to give them face and force their way in to seek treatment.

Heaven knows what kind of disgusting people those seeking medical

treatment are?
He didn’t want the Master to come into contact with these dirty pieces of
garbage from outside.

Yue Wuhuan adjusted his breathing. He calmed down and thought for a
while. He felt that Song Qingshi’s plan was right. From a long-term
perspective, it would be the best choice to train a few doctors who could do
well for the Medicine King’s Valley.

Although Qing Luan was a mortal, she was very intelligent, and her
aptitude could also be built up to Foundation Building using pills. She had a
soft temper with a firm core and she was quite tenacious, making her very
suitable for being a doctor. Moreover, although she has many weaknesses
— being simple-minded, easy to control — she won’t have any bad
influence on the Master… His tolerance for Qing Luan was also higher than
for others. She was among those he considered not too dirty.

Seeing that he had been thinking for a long time, Song Qingshi cautiously
reconfirmed, “Do you think Qing Luan is okay?”

Yue Wuhuan smiled. “She’s not bad, you can give it a try.”

Song Qingshi breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, “I hope she
can become a good doctor.”

“En,” Yue Wuhuan looked at the information in his hand, and with a very
gentle voice, said, “She will definitely become a good doctor.”

Qing Luan understood the current situation very well. She would be
obedient and she would study hard.

A sound-transmission bird flew in from outside the window, bringing with

it a letter from Yan Yuan Xianjun of the Red Dragon Sect. In it was the
math homework that Nian Nian accomplished. There were a full thirty sets
of problem exercises. She finished it in less than a week; only that some of
the problem exercises had some strange water marks on them, blurring the
ink. It might have been that she was drinking water while doing the
exercises and accidentally let a few drops fall? She had also written a note
thanking the Medicine King Xianzun and Wuhuan Xianchang for their
teaching and guidance. The wording was very standard, deep and
meaningful. But every word was written so forcefully, the strokes even had
a bit of a quiver. She must have been very emotional when writing it?

“Isn’t elementary algebra and geometry difficult?” Song Qingshi was a little
soft-hearted, “Considering that she’s only eight years old, I didn’t give her
very difficult questions, and… I seem to remember that I only sent her ten
sets of exercises?”

“I increased the difficulty and gave additional exercises for her,” Yue
Wuhuan smiled even gentler, like the most responsible senior, always
thinking of his juniors, “Don’t worry, Master. I’ve seen this child’s ability.
She’s very smart. She learns fast, and has great potential. There’s no need to
treat her like an ordinary child. The immortal realm is cruel, and you have
to do your utmost at all times. Present comforts are future fatal dangers.”

Song Qingshi thought it made sense…

He checked over Nian Nian’s homework and found that, sure enough, this
child really had the qualifications of a genius learning-tyrant. It was a pity
to waste it.

Song Qingshi resolutely gave his final decision, “Make her homework more
difficult.”

Yue Wuhuan smiled and said, “Okay.”

Song Qingshi then opened the letter from Yan Yuan Xianjun. As before, a
lot of it was dedicated to expressing his gratitude, thanking him for showing
an interest in Nian Nian’s growth. Finally, Yan Yuan Xianjun began to make
vague lamentations about how he was unable to break through past Core
Formation and that his body was getting worse as the years went on. He
lamented about how small the Red Dragon Sect was and how insufficient
their background, which held back Nian Nian’s talent.