Editor: Sahloknir
It was the first time Jiang Yinghe faced this kind of inexplicable situation.
He didn’t think this would happen when he bought those fake wolf ears for Huanhan.
Jiang Yinghe felt irritated that the two of them were dressed up as carnivores while Ye-er just had to get him a pair of rabbit ears. He couldn’t help but object. “What do you mean by ‘professional’. We’re just living together and nothing more.”
The smile on the shopkeeper’s face froze. He looked at him like he was a ten year old rabbit that had been abducted by strange uncles. He snuck another glance at the two predators and whispered, “Living together when they’re not your companions? Pretty rabbit, aren’t you being too obtuse?”
…Who are you calling a pretty rabbit?
Jiang Yinghe took in a deep breath. As he thought, it was impossible to converse with this person. He could only say, “I will be careful. Thank you for your gift.”
The deer devil had no idea that he had touched a sore spot. He rambled on in a friendly manner, “No need to thank me. Take care!”
Jiang Yinghe nodded slightly and returned to his disciples. He stored away the transmission tablets that he purchased along with that small jar.
Li Huanhan spoke, “Shizun spoke with him for so long.” He tilted his head, then asked, “What did you buy?”
Jiang Yinghe didn’t believe that he didn’t hear their conversation from such a short distance away. He recalled what the shopkeep was just talking about, and pieces began to fit together in his head. He paused before asking, “Haven’t you always been listening in?”
Li Huanhan did not hide it. He ducked his head a fraction and said, “Shizun is truly beautiful.”
Jiang Yinghe, “…If your mouth is so sweet, why don’t you say this to the one that caused your internal demons?”
Pah, this child is still useless.
He was about to start on Chang Ye when his mouth was stuffed full with a sweet pastry.
Little Chang Ye’s eyes curled into crescents as he fed Shizun a piece of the cake he had bought on the way. He shuffled over. “Is it good?”
After taking a bite of the pastry in his mouth, the sugary taste made him forget what he wanted to say. The little disciple in front of him took advantage of his distraction to get closer. Red lips alighted on his own like a dragonfly skimming over water, licking off the crumbs.
Before Jiang Yinghe could react, a sonic boom exploded from beside his ear. A sword that was red from head to toe cut through the air from his other side. It brushed against Chang Ye’s chin and severed several strands of hair. Half an inch lower and it would have pierced his shoulder.
Li Huanhan’s gaze was dark. There was a cold smile on his lips. “Are you trying to provoke me?”
Chang Ye licked his lips like nothing was wrong. He smiled, “Isn’t Shixiong being a bit harsh? You’ve already degenerated into a demonic cultivator due to internal demons, so you hardly need my help. Besides, you already have someone in your heart, so what does it matter to you if I tease Shizun?”
Li Huanhan’s glare only grew more frigid. The Jimie sword in his hands let out a low roar, following its master’s intentions. Just as the tense atmosphere was about to come to a head, a person suddenly stumbled out of the busy crowds straight towards Jiang Yinghe.
He immediately withdrew his sword and reached to shield his Shizun behind him.
Jiang Yinghe was pulled back a step by him before he saw the jackal devil that had emerged from the sea of people. He sniffed the air and circled around as if he was attracted here by a scent. He bared his teeth in a grin.
“A rabbit sprite?” He was practically drooling, “However much they’re paying you, I’ll double it if you come with me!”
Jiang Yinghe blinked. “…Are all of you so prejudiced against rabbit devils?”
The jackal laughed wickedly. “You guys are always in heat anyways. Why else would a beauty like you hang around two men?”
This jackal seems to have had too much to drink. He smelled strongly of alcohol, and his saliva was almost freely flowing at this point. He reminded Jiang Yinghe of the demonic cultivators that would covet him when he just started cultivating…
But they all fell under Wangchen’s edge.
He couldn’t do that here. It was devil territory after all. Jiang Yinghe was thinking about how to resolve this situation quietly when he saw Li Huanhan stab the man to death in front of him.
Jiang Yinghe blinked again. “…Good job.”
He couldn’t blame Huanhan for being protective of him, but it was obvious that his internal demons had made him more impulsive.
He took Li Huanhan’s hand and began to massage it soothingly. “Don’t be angry, I’m fine.”
Li Huanhan’s blackened status bar oscillated between 97% and 100% right before Jiang Yinghe’s eyes. It was only after he said a few words of comfort that it held steady at the lower end of the spectrum. He withdrew his blood sword.
Jiang Yinghe let out a sigh of relief. He then heard Huanhan bite out his words with thinly-veiled hostility. “This is the place you chose?”
He was speaking to Chang Ye.
Chang Ye swept his gaze over the body on the ground. He looked away without any emotion. “I’ve troubled Shixiong. However…”
His last word was drawn out. He leisurely raised his eyes to reveal a delicate smile. “Li-shixiong, it seems you’ve attracted attention.”
Blood seeped into the ground.
Jiang Yinghe glanced around to see the originally noisy street in complete silence. The devils surrounding them peered at them with frightened eyes before scurrying away in all directions. The next moment, a shrill scream resonated from somewhere within Wanyao City. The pressure that only an archdevil could exude seemed to be awakened by the fresh blood and could be felt everywhere.
“—Who dares to resort to violence in my territory?”
The presence of someone at the Hollowed Cave stage approached.
Jiang Yinghe’s heart skipped a beat. He immediately thought of the Devil Baron Sanqing who guarded Wanyao City. He stepped forward and pulled Li Huanhan behind him. He was still acting like he should shield the two of them.
His actions were too well rehearsed. Li Huanhan was unused to protecting others, Shizun was the first. But for Jiang Yinghe, he had stood before the entire Peng Lai sect since a long time ago. His reputation that preceded him was enough to shield them.
Jiang Yinghe’s devilish aura was weak, which made him appear to be an easy target. However, there was the concealed scent of an immortal on him. It was faint and cold but alluring at the same time.
Devil Baron Sanqing arrived brimming with anger. He wanted to see who was foolish enough to commit murder during the Partner-finding Festival under his watch. He immediately saw a rabbit devil dressed entirely in pastel colours standing in front. His black hair seemed to be coated with lacquer, and his eyes were like icy stars.
Hiss—where did this beauty come from?
Sanqing came to a stop. He wasn’t sure if he should keep roaring in his naturally loud voice anymore. He glanced at the incomplete corpse of the jackal that had been severed by a single sword strike. He was just about to put on the airs of a Devil Baron when the devilish scent of the ‘weak’ rabbit in front of him became more and more faint.
What took its place was the vibrant but inviolable presence of an immortal. Spiritual energy surrounded Jiang Yinghe as he raised his hands to summon a completely snow white longsword. Its thin yet sharp edge glinted under the moonlight.
His level rose from that of a mortal all the way until he was at equal footing with Sanqing, at the Hollowed Cave stage.
Devil Baron Sanqing forcefully put the brakes on whatever he was about to say. He was shocked as he took in Jiang Yinghe’s appearance that was reminiscent of frost and snow. He glanced over the snow sword in his hand before hesitantly enquiring, “…Xuan Wei Xianjun?”
Jiang Yinghe single handedly withdrew his sword and slammed it into the ground. He calmly stated, “This master came here to sightsee with my disciples only to meet a foul-mouthed wretch who offended me. Will the Devil Baron interfere?”
Sanqing was literally stunned into silence. After he confirmed it was really him, his mouth moved on its own, “Why is Xianjun here?!”
Jiang Yinghe was surprised. “…What’s wrong?”
“Fuck me sideways…” Sanqing picked up the jackal by his collar and took a breath. “That Half-step Golden Immortal ghost cultivator has been flipping the cultivation world over looking for you, and you were in my Wanyao City this whole time?!”
He anxiously paced around before saying, “Don’t blame me Xianjun, our races have long had an agreement in place. Jiuying broke the treaty because of his own impatience. I’m nothing like him. But that ghost cultivator, it’s like he’s gone mad. He…”
Sanqing looked around while he spoke. After he just happened to meet the eyes of the youth in red behind Jiang Yinghe who was smiling at him, his words came to a sudden halt. He was so scared that his knees gave out on him and he collapsed into a kneeling position with a thud.
Jiang Yinghe was listening attentively. Just as he reached the important part, this Hollowed Cave stage devil cultivator for some reason kneeled without hesitation!
Everyone around them was also staring.
Jiang Yinghe was taken aback. He saw the seemingly thick-faced Devil Baron Sanqing try to get up, only to be crushed back down by an unseen force.
Jiang Yinghe reached out hesitantly, “…Devil Baron. Is there a problem with your legs?”
He had to ask because this was just too ridiculous. Chang Ye’s lively laughter sounded from behind him.
Little Chang Ye stepped closer to crouch in front of Devil Baron Sanqing. He hit the flute in his hand against his palm. He was smiling lightly. “Is there any reason my Shizun can’t be here?”
There was no way Sanqing could say no. If he knew this venerated one was here, then he would’ve never thought about chasing them away. Ever since the ancient archdevil awoke in the Frozen Plains a hundred years ago, the devil race had held countless emergency meetings to discuss what to do. They left those meetings trembling, with no plan at all.
No one knew what this ancestor that had revived after thousands of years from the darkest part of their history wanted to do. Did he still have the necessary cruelty to settle the infighting among their race through bloodshed? Or have his sights shifted to uniting the entire cultivation world?
Sanqing swallowed nervously. He stammered in the language of the devils, “Of co-course he can. Ancestor, please calm down…”
The previously smiling youth suddenly became cold. With extreme disdain, he said, “What are you talking about? I’m still young.”
Sanqing nodded vigorously. “…Okay.”
—-
Sanqing saw them off in an overly friendly manner afterwards.
Even Jiang Yinghe felt that something wasn’t right… Devil Baron Sanqing could be considered part of the moderate faction among the devils and he was an outspoken and magnanimous person. But there was no need to have such a servile attitude towards them.
In the end, he was still more concerned with the news of Qin Jun and the current state of the cultivation world.
According to the information that Devil Baron Sanqing had brought back, Qin Jun had no intention of giving up. In the past few days, he’s turned the cultivation world on its head. The ghost cultivators came out in droves and even managed to overwhelm many of the smaller sects. Every day, even more resentful ghosts arrived under the orders of the Spirit Patriarch.
It made his head hurt.
Cold moonlight splashed onto Jiang Yinghe’s pastel robes and the pair of snow white rabbit ears in his inky black hair.
He had been sitting on the roof of the hotel for a while. The wind helped bring order to his troubled thoughts.
It was not just the news about Qin Jun that troubled him. The main problem was with the other two…Li Huanhan and Chang Ye. Their efforts to express their affections have become increasingly transparent. All of Jiang Yinghe’s moments of pondering and suspicions have led him to tonight’s conclusion.
He slowly retraced his thoughts to Huanhan and Ye-er’s conversation today, paying particular attention to their actions and behaviour. He then recalled even further back to the argument a few days ago…Jiang Yinghe’s temples began to throb the more he remembered. It was like thousands of years of emotional awareness were stuck behind a dam in his head.
But even through the blockage, Jiang Yinghe could make out a part of the truth.
The night wind was cold as it brushed by his ears.
Jiang Yinghe thought that his hands were cold as well.
He touched the ears on his head like he wanted to tear them off. He left them alone in the end. It was better to take off their disguises once they had left the city.
Jiang Yinghe admonished himself in silence—It wasn’t enough to ruin one of them, he had to mislead all three? And all of them liked him?
This was truly a low point in his teaching career.
Jiang Yinghe looked at the moon for a while before he stared at the progress bar that had remained stagnant for so long. He sighed, “What kind of Shizun are you.”
He heard familiar footsteps approaching from behind.
Li Huanhan sat down beside him and draped a warm black cloak over Jiang Yinghe’s shoulders. It strongly contrasted against his demure clothing.
“You’ll catch a cold.” Li Huanhan said.
“En.” Jiang Yinghe made a noise of agreement. Without looking at him, he asked, “Why did you get angry today?”
He was referring to when Chang Ye kissed him. Huanhan’s rage and jealousy was betrayed by the intense roar of his weapon.
Li Huanhan turned his head to glance at the other person’s stunning jawline. He lightly asked, “If Shizun’s asking me this, then have you finally realised it?”
“I’m slow, not dumb.” Jiang Yinghe lowered his eyes, “So it was all for my sake…”
Huanhan’s internal demons, his descent into demonic cultivation, him locking himself into a cage of his own making, his suffering day in and day out…All of it was because of him?
Even now he couldn’t quite believe it… The other person had a bright future. He was the one who raised Huanhan up, but also the one who ruined him.
Li Huanhan did not reply.
“I had my suspicions before.” Jiang Yinghe yawned into his hand, “But I never followed up on them. About what you asked before, whether I could feel it, I really…”
…couldn’t feel a thing.
But before he could finish, his hands were captured into another pair. Warm fingers massaged his cold ones.
The things that he had gotten used to over time now made Jiang Yinghe somewhat apprehensive. He turned to look at Li Huanhan. It was only due to the moonlight that he could see his dark as blood eyes.
“Let’s try one more time.” Li Huanhan said.
His voice was quiet and raspy, but also steady as if it was just a casual statement. If Jiang Yinghe couldn’t see the rapidly fluctuating status bar, he would’ve taken his words at face value.
The other’s presence drew closer.
Jiang Yinghe wanted to protest and reject him, but it was like he was already so tolerant of this person that he couldn’t even voice a single complaint. He stiffly watched as he leaned over. His heart was speeding up.
He could feel that the other person was very nervous, the hands holding his had a layer of sweat on them. But Huanhan’s outward appearance remained as unshakeable as always.
Jiang Yinghe felt a strange emotion well up in him—but like every time before, the scalding feeling only persisted for a moment before fading away.
His lips touched the warm mouth of another person.
But his heart continued to fall and sink until it was colder than ice.
—-
Li Huanhan kissed him very carefully. He was just as cautious that night back at Qing Jing Peak—as if he was secretly kissing a priceless treasure. The sleeping Jiang Yinghe even responded slightly.
But now…he could sense Shizun’s icy demeanour and his unchanged mood.
Li Huanhan stilled. He separated their lips. His eyes darkened as he looked up towards Jiang Yinghe’s face.
The moonlight made his eyes sparkle like stars. But they were the same as always, distant and clear, without a single ripple of emotion.
He heard Jiang Yinghe’s belated and troubled voice.
“…Huanhan, I can’t feel anything.”
This reminded Li Huanhan of the most helpless and lonely time of his past life. It was just like this…he had nothing. There was no sound or light around him.
His Shizun didn’t care for him in the same way…
There was nothing between them.
Author’s Corner
HeHe could only watch as his eldest disciple’s status bar completely blackened.
[A kind reminder from the system: Activating the small dark room phase]
HeHe: !!!
Rain
Jiang Yinghe’s not having a great time right now… He’s fleeing from one disciple to the next like a hot potato lol.
Sahl
Love the Demon Lord! 😂 Ah! Poor Huanhan… Just needs Shizun’s love to be a good boi.
