CW: dead or dying animals/people, body horror
“Good morning, Boss! Hello, Madam!”
“The sun is almost halfway across the sky,” Gui Yin drawled. “You call this morning?”
Ruo Yan gave a sheepish laugh. “Well, Madam, in Half Star Ocean, our days last until the wee hours of the morning, so, to us, this is earlier than we’re used to getting up.”
Langxia raised a brow. “Madam?”
“…Young Master,” Ruo Yan corrected himself hastily. He waved to the subordinates behind him. “Everyone, greet the Young Master.”
Gui Yin gave a tight-lipped smile as he slowly turned to Langxia. “Boss, are you ready to enter?”
Langxia chuckled. He turned to Ruo Yan. “This Young Master will be holding the formation outside. If anyone comes to disturb you, listen to the Young Master’s orders.”
“Yes, Boss!”
Gui Yin, Ruo Yan, and the others watched as Langxia approached where the array was presumed to be.
Since entering the forest, Gui Yin had noticed thinly concealed traces of resentment, splattered against the foliage and plants. It hung in the air and mixed with the energies of the spirits and demons, making it near indecipherable. However, with Langxia’s group of elites, it would be hard to miss such obvious signs.
Around the forest, small black flowers bloomed in the heaviest shadows and as Langxia stepped into the array, Gui Yin could see the resentment, surging out for a brief moment.
Gui Yin and the others covered their noses and took a step back. When they refocused again, Langxia was gone.
Within the array, Langxia could hardly see past his extended arm. His gaze flickered one way to the other. Amidst the fog, he could see faint, pulsing lights. His gaze lowered for a moment, but he knew that he first had to connect with Gui Yin before he stepped in any further.
“Qinle.”
“I’m here.”
Langxia’s lips curved into a smile. “Alright, I’m about to enter.”
“Stay alert. When you stepped in, resentful energy spilled out. It’s a lot denser than the last few places we’ve been to.”
“That’s natural,” Langxia said as he started walking. “Spirits and demons would be more filling sacrifices. Besides, they’re using Nightmare Blooms too.”
Gui Yin was silent for a second. “You said that I couldn’t go in because of the Nightmare Blooms, right? What are they exactly?”
“It’s quite self-explanatory,” Langxia said. A quick movement caused his gaze to flicker to the right. He raised a brow and pulled out his twin swords.
The swords floated upwards, spun in the air, and transformed into a long black staff again.
Langxia caught it midair and began walking again.
“Er’lang?”
“Ah, sorry. I saw something,” Langxia said. His lips unconsciously curved into a smile at the worry in Gui Yin’s voice. “Nightmare Blooms are a flower that were prominent in gravesites during a time when the ancient demons and Celestials roamed the earth. With the banishment of dark forces, they’ve since receded into places like the Demon Realm or Ghost Valley. They are also present in some parts of Yinfeng Valley and Yongxiu.
“Nightmare Blooms are fashioned from a demon or devil cultivator’s powers. There are many varieties. The most common Nightmare Blooms are the violet ones—they are used mainly by flora demons to absorb the essence of the already deceased in cemeteries. The ones around here are a parasitic variety. Through emitting a pollen that causes its hosts to have nightmares, they bring forth the heart’s greatest grievance, strongest desire, and most horrendous resentment. Through using these hosts as fertilizers, they create a very potent concentration of…”
Langxia’s explanation stopped. He raised a brow as he came upon the source of the violet glow. The light pulsated, illuminating about a dinner plate’s radius of area around it. With about five flowers in one area, Langxia was able to see the person that had been used as fertilizer.
The deer spirit had long returned to their original form. Their breathing was labored now and very faint. The fur, which must have been a beautiful coat when the deer was alive, was now dull and lifeless.
Langxia knelt down beside the deer spirit and found that he actually felt pity.
Animals and plants could spend centuries cultivating and still not achieve the ability to become a spirit or a demon. Though the spirits and demons in Half Star Ocean and Yongxiu were numerous, that didn’t mean their hard work was any less. And this deer spirit was quite young—only about two hundred years old. It was truly a pity that this was the fate that awaited them.
“Er’lang?”
“…A very potent concentration of resentment,” Langxia said. He breathed an audible sigh and glanced at the flowers that lined the deer spirit’s body.
“Did you find something?”
“Mn. Corpses,” Langxia said. He took out a talisman that Gui Yin had drawn him earlier and decided to try it out.
The talisman was placed on the body of the deer and Langxia took a step back. He watched as the glow of the Nightmare Blooms waned and eventually dimmed. Unfortunately, as the flowers disappeared into a cascade of black smoke, the body of the deer quickly deteriorated. Eventually, all that remained was a skeleton.
“Gone, just like that,” Langxia murmured out loud. He straightened and returned to using the voice transmission again. “I found a corpse with five flowers, but there are many more. I think I need to find the main flower in order to eradicate this place. Make sure the array isn’t moved, or the Nightmare Blooms will be able to spread.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“You got it, Boss,” Gui Yin said.
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Qtfc tf tjv vfragbsfv atf Rlutawjgf Dibbwr, tf tjv cbalmfv atja atf vera tjv vgloafv tlr kjs vfrqlaf atf ijmx bo klcv. Lf tjv lctjifv j yla bo la. Ktf rwfii kjr jc fcalmlcu xlcv bo rkffa atja yfuufv sbe ab rwfii la j ofk wbgf alwfr. Fcklaalcuis, Ojcuzlj tjv ifjcfv lc, yea tf lwwfvljafis vgfk yjmx. Lf kglcxifv tlr cbrf jcv ygfjatfv bea tfjnlis.
While rubbing his nose, he pulled out a Night Pearl that Gui Yin had given him and let it float in front of him. The moment the area around him was illuminated, he noticed the bones on the ground.
“…Qinle.”
“Yes?”
“It’s so dirty here.”
The moment Langxia’s words fell, he had to listen to his boyfriend laugh at him as he trudged through the mess of blood, sludge, human fluids, and bones. It was a bit of respite as he suffered.
“You know what’s worse?”
“Something is worse for you? Hurry and tell me. I want to know.”
“Even though it should smell like death here, everything smells like flowers,” Langxia said. He rubbed at his nose. “It’s disgusting.”
“You don’t like flowers?”
“I like mild scents,” Langxia said.
“Would you rather smell decaying corpses or flowers?”
Langxia fell silent as he seriously contemplated the question.
“…A-Xia, the long silence is getting concerning.”
“The flower smell is bad. And corpses end up emitting a sweet scent during decay anyway,” Langxia protested. He clicked his tongue and used the tip of his staff to maneuver a set of ribs out of his path. “These ghost cultivators have no sense of organization. Also, it’s super dark here. And cold.”
“Dark and cold? But it’s not even the afternoon yet. Well, I suppose that can happen in an array. It probably pulled this area into a separate dimension. You should be careful. Pay extra close attention to everything.”
“I will.”
“…Why did you say it like that?” Gui Yin asked.
“Like what?”
“Like you’re happy to be nagged. Made me shudder for a second,” Gui Yin said.
Langxia chuckled to himself. “Qinle, we’re a couple. Shouldn’t I be happy that you care about me?”
“Mm, ahem. Well, I suppose that’s true. Anyway, what else do you see?”
“Not much. There’s a lot of fog around me.”
“Fog? Have you covered your mouth and nose?”
“Ah.”
“Ah? You’re saying ‘ah’? Hurry and do it. You don’t know what’s in that fog. Stop breathing for now.”
Langxia obediently held his breath and searched for something to cover his nose and his mouth with. While he did so, his mind still transmitted messages to Gui Yin. “My Qinle is so smart. I hadn’t even thought of that. I was so focused on the flower’s pollen.”
Gui Yin scoffed. “Well, it definitely is more important to not inhale the pollen. But if you’re still breathing in normally, won’t you catch the pollen anyway? I can’t believe you forgot to cover the important parts. What am I going to do with you?”
“I guess you’ll just have to continue to stay by my side and always nag me,” Langxia said with a tired sigh. “It’ll be hard on you, my dear.”
“You’re so…whatever. Have you covered your nose and mouth?”
“Covered,” Langxia confirmed.
“How are you feeling?”
“Disgusting to death.”
Gui Yin chuckled. “Alright, alright. I know, my family’s little prince dislikes the dirt and grime. When you come back, I’ll help you take a bath, is that better?”
“Just a little.”
“Do you feel affected by the fog and pollen?”
“No. Other than the fact that the smell is a little overwhelming,” Langxia admitted.
He frowned slightly and slowed to a stop again. He had bypassed so many trees and so many flowers, but the concentration of resentment hadn’t changed. There was no way he was supposed to go through and destroy each corpse, right?
“Is it still bright out?”
“Of course. You’ve only been inside for twenty minutes.”
“Twenty minutes,” Langxia echoed. “Understood. Can you update me on the time every twenty minutes?”
“Yes, Boss.”
Langxia chuckled and continued again. Only, this time, he walked to the right instead of walking straight. He clicked his tongue as he heard the squelching beneath his shoes. At the very least, cultivator’s clothes were far sturdier than the average human. He didn’t have to feel any moistness invading his socks.
“Qinle, I’m afraid this array might be far bigger than we imagined,” Langxia said. “I’ve walked for so long, but I still haven’t found the furnace or the mother flower.”
“Have you at least made it away from the exit?”
“I can hardly tell where the exit is,” Langxia said. He glanced back. “I probably have to break the array in order to get out.”
Silence fell onto the other side. Langxia presumed that Gui Yin was talking to the others. He started walking again. He flicked his staff once in a while to brush off the fog that curled at his feet like a persistent serpent.
“We’ve moved further away. I noticed the Nightmare Blossoms were releasing pollen.”
“That’s fine,” Langxia said. “Make sure you’re covering your nose and mouth too.”
“We have. How are you feeling?”
“Absolutely regular,” Langxia said.
“That’s good. Mm…what should I talk about?”
“Tell me a story,” Langxia suggested. “You have a lot of those, don’t you?”
“They’re mainly for children. You might end up falling asleep faster if I told you a story,” Gui Yin said. He hummed for a long time.
“Then, sing me a song.”
“Sing? I can’t sing.”
“You can’t sing?” Langxia asked in disbelief. His gaze flickered over to the man by his feet.
The man’s dull eyes flickered up to Langxia. For a moment, disbelief caused a light to glow in them again. Skeletal fingers reached out and grabbed the hem of Langxia’s pants, causing him to stop. The man dragged himself forward.
“I can’t sing. Whenever I try to sing, I sound like a drowning rat.”
Langxia crouched down. “Drowning rat? That’s a very specific description. But you’re a musician, aren’t you? How come you can’t sing?”
Gui Yin scoffed. “Just because I can play instruments doesn’t mean I can sing. I can tell pitches apart better than the average person though. But when it comes to singing those pitches myself, I’m always a little out of tune. It’s absolutely annoying.”
“Kill…kill me…”
Langxia hummed softly. He placed a hand on the man’s head. “I’ll take your soul out of here. Rest easy.”
The man’s dried lips slowly spread into a smile as a look of relief washed over him. The flowers that clawed out of his throat glowed stronger, as if they knew that the end was nearing. Langxia’s gaze flickered down to the man’s shredded clothes and the blackened parts of his body. He let out a soft sigh and opened the Soul Storing Pouch before he allowed his internal energy to coalesce around the palm of his hand.
“Out of tune, huh?” Langxia’s voice flowed into Gui Yin’s ear. “Then, should I sing?”
“You? Sure. You have a very nice voice.”
“Mm, then, let me think about what to sing,” Langxia’s voice said. “How about…a song to guide souls back to their home?”
“There’s a song like that?”
“There is. It’s a song from my ancestors,” Langxia said.
A soft tune flowed from his lips, reaching Gui Yin from beyond the array as well, as the soul gently flew into the brocade pouch.
The song sounded like a winter breeze, drifting through the frozen branches and touching the frosted grass. The winter breeze continued into the desert, where sand rolled about with the slightest touch and eventually entered the Central Plains. The lyrics changed into a language that Gui Yin could understand. A soft aching touched his heart as the tune warmed and softened, yet still mournfully called for the lost soul to return home.
Langxia dispelled the Nightmare Blooms as the song continued to flow from his lips. The living stirred, as if desperate to listen to this last melody before they departed. The brocade pouch filled up slowly, yet still remained light despite how many lives it contained.
The song ended quietly, its melody flowing into nonexistence. What was left was silence in the never-ending darkness.
Langxia continued to hum the tune softly as he gently shut the eyes of a small child. He stood and tied the brocade pouch to his waist.
“If you keep singing, I’ll be put to sleep.”
“Is the song boring?”
“Your voice is just magnetic. If I were a soul, I would definitely be guided home by you.”
“Well, it worked once, didn’t it? I don’t see why it wouldn’t work again,” Langxia chuckled. He flicked his black staff and took a moment to look about again.
“It’s been forty minutes.”
“Alright,” Langxia muttered.
“Has any progress been made?”
Langxia touched the pouch at his side. “Quite a bit.”
“That’s good. Don’t rush. We still have plenty of time before night falls.”
“Understood.”
“Ruo Yan and the others have started playing a card game. I’ve never seen it before. They’re betting money.”
Langxia chuckled. “If you want to play, I might be able to walk you through the steps.”
“How could you do that? You’re not even here.”
“Just describe it to me. As a newbie, they won’t find it strange if you take longer to think about the moves,” Langxia said.
Gui Yin sighed. “Er’lang, were you even listening to me when I told you to be more aware of your surroundings?”
“Of course, I was listening. Your voice is so lovely, how can I not listen?”
Gui Yin clicked his tongue. “Smooth talker.”
“My every word is sincere,” Langxia said.
“Sincere, my butt. I’m out here worrying about you and you’re in there flirting with me? Am I joke?” Gui Yin scolded. “What would I do if you got hurt because you were so distracted?”
“I’m very good at dividing my attention,” Langxia said.
He continued to quietly hum the song and coaxed the unsure soul into entering the brocade pouch. He straightened, flicked away the Nightmare Blooms, and continued on his way.
“You’re in enemy territory. You need a hundred percent of your concentration in your current situation.”
“I have a hundred percent of my concentration on my current situation,” Langxia reassured Gui Yin. “And I’m giving you a hundred percent of my attention too. Together, that’s two-hundred percent. There’s nothing more or less.”
Gui Yin became speechless.
“My dear?”
“You’re…stop talking like that.”
“Why? You like it.”
“…Ruo Yan and the others are staring at me.”
Langxia chuckled. He felt the fluttering in his chest and allowed it to wash away the irritation that was beginning to build up. “Embarrassed?”
“If you keep flirting like that, I’ll follow you in right now and take care of you myself.”
Langxia laughed. “Alright, alright. I’ll save these words for when I’m out.”
Langxia could imagine Gui Yin impatiently rolling his eyes. His lips would probably twitch a little as he averted his gaze. If he were holding his fan, his fingers would tap the side of his fan irritably. Then, he would remain speechless for a few minutes until he finally huffed—
Gui Yin huffed.
—And turned back to him to speak.
“Don’t even think about talking to me when you get out. I’m going to ignore you.”
my love for Langxia grows every chapter, smth i didnt know was possible…. if i think too long on him singing souls home im gonna cry- ah well nvm, im tearing up akxbskfbzn;;
;v; thanks for reading!
Such flirting hehe
thanks forr reading!!!
Langxia truly does know GY the best