The ominous wind tugged at the edges of Gui Yin’s robes. His brows were furrowed as he glanced up at the purplish sky. The clouds hung heavily in the sky, threatening to rain at any moment. A soft, irritated sigh left his lips as he readjusted his mask and walked towards the rubble. The smell of charred flesh still lingered in the air, making Gui Yin clear his throat uncomfortably as he began to attempt and parse through the charred building.
His gaze flickered over the piles of black cloth, which had been smeared about by the wind. He could sense unwilling spirits hanging in the air, but they were nothing that could be easily purified. They were not only heavily tainted by resentful energy, but had also been heavily modified. It was clear that these were the spirits of ghost cultivators. They would leave soon when they gathered their energy and most likely find another host for their soul.
Gui Yin glanced at them. The souls flinched and vanished before Gui Yin could even say a word. He rolled his eyes and straightened his back before he moved on to the next area.
When the skies grew even darker as the sun descended down a mountain, Gui Yin finally looked around with his hands on his hips. He had searched one area, but the next area was buried under more rubble. It would be difficult for one person to dig through it all, especially when there was little chance of it actually yielding results.
Gui Yin’s fingers tapped the hilt of his sword. After another moment of deliberation, he unsheathed it. With a quick flick of his wrist, the sword returned to its original form. He snapped the fan open and flicked his wrist.
The rubble shuddered and gave way, as if a powerful gust of wind had touched it. What was too weak, crumbled, and what was still intact, tumbled away. Gui Yin twirled his fan again and put it back into its sheath once it returned to its sword form.
Gui Yin unceremoniously stepped over the remains of the ghost cultivators and scanned the area again. This time, there was a higher concentration of resentful energy in one corner of the rubble. He walked over and stopped just before the pile in front of him. A soft sigh left his lips. He stretched his neck slightly before he began to pull aside the rubble.
He was Lord Immortal Ninglan. Who would have thought that in his ripe old age, he would be doing field work like this? Even when he sat at the pinnacle, it was useless. He was sure that even if Langxia was here with him, he would still be doing all the grunt work. Langxia was like a princess, after all. He hated touching dirty things and scowled even at the slightest sight of dirt. Something that gave off so much fallout was sure to earn his distaste.
Thinking of it like this, Gui Yin couldn’t help but chuckle behind his horrifying mask. He glanced at the black smudges on his hands and the stains that had gathered at the hems of his robes and the white bottoms of his shoes. He let out a short sigh and shook his head.
He should wash himself clean before he returned. If this appearance was what Langxia saw as soon as he woke up, he’d probably fall into a coma again.
Eventually, the pile dispersed. Gui Yin straightened and looked down at the ground. He got down onto his knees and pushed aside the rest of the debris.
He knocked his knuckles against the flooring. His brows furrowed slightly as he pressed down and moved aside four of the tiles. He sat back on his ankles and looked at the set of stairs that emerged. He looked up at the skies and wanted to shout in joy, but he still retained enough sanity to not do such a thing.
He stood and began to walk down the set of stairs. The further down he went, the more his brows furrowed.
The resentful energy down here was much more concentrated than above, so why had Langxia set fire to everything upstairs? Had he actually gotten to the cauldron down here and had been trapped into a corner? But that didn’t sound like him either. What could have possibly made Langxia do such a thing, even at the risk of his own life? Either he had sensed a prophecy was coming and knew he couldn’t defend himself, or he had encountered some dangerous opponent.
Gui Yin’s guard was immediately raised. He hoped it was the former rather than the latter. If it was someone Langxia couldn’t get away from, even with his shadow lurking techniques, Gui Yin would definitely be trapped here without any help.
The stairs ended rather abruptly.
Gui Yin glanced back up and found that it actually wasn’t too much further down. He frowned slightly and continued onwards.
Only after seeing a completely charred room did Gui Yin breathe a sigh of relief. Langxia had managed to destroy the cauldron and the distance shortening array. The only reason the room still stunk of resentful energy was because he hadn’t purified it.
Gui Yin quickly drew a sigil in the air and murmured several spells. As he spoke, the air lightened and it was less difficult to breathe.
After looking over this room, Gui Yin moved on to the next room. This was an information room, similar to the one they had found in the location Yankui had pointed out. It contained most of the same information that was already found, but Gui Yin’s steps paused when he saw something buried under all the miscellaneous books and scrolls.
He carefully pushed everything aside and tilted his head as the drawing underneath was revealed.
It was a nonsensical drawing over the map of the entire continent. Gui Yin’s brow raised slightly. He leaned against the table as his finger traced over the locations.
Three of them were places they had already visited, including this one. The fourth one was at the shore before Whirlpool Prison and the fifth was near Yinfeng Valley, but that one had been scribbled out. There were notes in the margins, but they were in a tongue that Gui Yin couldn’t understand or decipher. He frowned, but after a moment of hesitation, he folded up the map and took it with him.
If his speculation was correct, these were the places that they had been gathering sacrifices at. However, Gui Yin couldn’t be too sure. For now, he’ll visit the shore of Whirlpool Prison again, just to make sure. Even if he finds something there, he’ll immediately return to Kunlun for backup or for Langxia.
Gui Yin nodded to himself as he resurfaced from the bunker.
The clouded skies had finally given up. It began to rain heavily. The shower was so sudden, that Gui Yin jolted at the sudden chill. He looked around and clicked his tongue. With a wave of his hand, a barrier appeared above his head. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. In this weather, it’d be difficult to travel without losing his way. It’d be easier to rest somewhere now.
As he was making his way over, he noticed a cave. Without delaying much longer, Gui Yin set off to the cave with a slight irritation hovering in his heart.
Why did this place rain so much?
His steps were leisurely as he walked to the cave, but his hand remained on the hilt of his sword. Gui Yin’s eyes narrowed as he glanced to his side.
From the bushes emerged an odd beast, with multiple pupils clustered into one eye. It was deformed, obviously having been contaminated by ghostly qi, however, that wasn’t the thing that Gui Yin was alarmed by. Following closely behind the already unfortunate beast was a swath of purplish moths. They flew and followed the howling beast, biting away at its flesh the entire time.
Gui Yin’s brows furrowed. He unsheathed his sword and cut the beast down. The beast trembled before finally falling to the ground. He produced a fire talisman from his waist and lit it up. The Man-Eating Moths saw the flame and immediately vanished.
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.
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“…Is there something you want me to retrieve?”
A soft grunt emerged from the dying beast’s lips.
Gui Yin stood. He walked towards the bushes, wary of the Man-Eating Moths and glanced around for the thing the beast so desperately wanted, even in its last moments.
Gui Yin looked around. There was nothing here but trees and bushes. His brows furrowed slightly, but he still continued onwards.
Just as he was about to give up, he heard a soft sniffle. Gui Yin turned abruptly and immediately latched onto the creature.
A sharp yelp emerged, startling Gui Yin. He pushed aside the bushes and looked at the thing, or, rather, person, he had grabbed.
A child stared up at Gui Yin, wide-eyed and terrified. The clothes on his back were obviously far too large for him. His skin was deathly pale and his eyes were an unnatural black that would not catch the sun. His hair was unbound and unruly, sitting by his shoulders in a tangled mess. Despite all the uncanniness the child held, Gui Yin felt that the boy looked a little cute—but it was in the way someone might find a fuzzy moth adorable.
Gui Yin immediately released the boy’s skeletal wrist and stepped back. Was this the thing the beast was looking for?
“…Were you together with that beast?”
The boy stared at Gui Yin wordlessly.
Gui Yin pursed his lips. He let out a long sigh and knelt down to the boy’s level. The boy flinched away, his fingers straining, as if he were getting ready to claw Gui Yin.
“Are you okay?” Gui Yin asked, his voice softening significantly. “I scared you, didn’t I? I didn’t mean to.”
The boy’s tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed, but he still sat away from Gui Yin.
“Are you hungry?” Gui Yin asked. He pulled out a bun and held it out to the boy. “Her—”
Before Gui Yin could finish his sentence, the bun was snatched from his hand. A small trickle of blood landed on the bun, but the boy still ate it with relish. Gui Yin retrieved his hand and looked at the wound. The boy’s jagged nails had snagged a bit of his skin. It was a trivial wound, but creatures that dwelled in Yongxiu couldn’t be taken at face value. Only when the cut healed normally did Gui Yin turn his attention back to the odd boy.
“Do you feel better?”
The boy slowly nodded.
Gui Yin tugged down the scary mask from his face and smiled. “Then, can you answer my questions?”
Seeing Gui Yin’s true appearance, the boy relaxed quite a bit. He nodded, a little more enthusiastic this time, and waited for Gui Yin to speak.
“Were you with that beast that just ran past here?”
The boy nodded.
“Is it your pet?”
The boy shook his head.
“Your guardian?”
The boy frowned slightly.
“Um…does it feed you?”
The boy nodded.
Gui Yin’s brows furrowed slightly. “Do you know your parents?”
The boy shook his head.
“…Can you speak?”
The boy bit his lip and looked troubled.
It was most likely that he could speak in only fragments. A boy this battered surely did not have an easy life. He could even be so traumatized that his ability to speak had been lost. Gui Yin pinched the bridge of his nose. He came out here to find more evidence on ghost cultivators, not to accept another disciple.
“The beast…isn’t going to come back here for you,” Gui Yin said. He watched the boy’s expression change into one of disbelief and then sadness. It seems that the boy at least understood the situation the two of them had been in before. “You…do you want to stay here? Or do you want to come with me?”
The boy’s eyes widened significantly. From this distance, Gui Yin could see that those black eyes weren’t actually just black. They were tinged with a different color, but the color was something Gui Yin couldn’t quite place in this dark environment.
The boy’s skeletal hands suddenly lunged out and grabbed onto the edge of Gui Yin’s robes.
“Ah! Ah!”
Gui Yin was startled, but his expression didn’t betray him. He smiled kindly and took the boy’s hand. “Do want to come with me?”
The boy nodded desperately. His fingers flexed around what he could grab of Gui Yin’s palm and he shifted closer. His round eyes looked up at Gui Yin as rain splattered against the tip of his nose and his forehead. Gui Yin frowned and slightly shifted the cover so that it blanketed the both of them.
“Alright,” Gui Yin lifted the boy into his arms and glanced around. “Then, come with me.”
The boy was stunned by the sudden shortening of distance, but a moment later, he seemed to realize just how warm Gui Yin was and leaned down against him. A small smile graced the boy’s pale face as the two of them made their way over to the cave that Gui Yin had initially been planning on going to.
Once they arrived, Gui Yin placed the boy down and began to make a fire to warm the boy up. He pulled out a set of clean clothes as the boy shifted closer to the fire.
“Here, let’s get you changed first,” Gui Yin said.
The boy looked up at him curiously as Gui Yin stood him up and began to help him take off his clothes. The wet clothes were discarded to the side as Gui Yin dressed the boy in a set of Gui Linghuo’s old clothes. Gui Yin sat back and scratched his cheek. Although these clothes were made for children, it was still loose on the boy. The clothes that the boy had on before were most definitely stolen from an adult.
“Well, at least it’ll keep you warm,” Gui Yin muttered. He took out a cloak and wrapped it around the boy as well before he set the child back down. He picked up the wet clothes and strung them up to dry.
He sat down beside the boy and produced more fruits and buns for the child to munch on.
Upon seeing food, the boy’s eyes lit up. He hurriedly scarfed down what could fit in his fists without regard to how he looked.
Gui Yin smiled in mild amusement. “Slow down. No one’s going to take your food.”
The boy stilled. His head was rubbed by something wide and warm, painting his pale cheeks with color. His eyes flickered towards Gui Yin and he mirrored Gui Yin’s smile awkwardly, as if he didn’t know how to really smile. He returned to his food, but ate slower as he had been instructed. But instead of trying not to choke, it just looked like someone had turned on the slow-motion setting.
Gui Yin laughed. He caught himself and lightly cleared his throat. The boy glanced at him curiously, but didn’t pull himself from his food this time.
Gui Yin shook his head. He rubbed the boy’s soft hair again. “Just eat.”
The boy was silent as he filled his stomach, giving Gui Yin plenty of time to observe the boy.
He was clearly not a human child. His limbs were a little too long to be natural and his eyes were ruby red under the unsettling darkness. His nails were naturally tinged red and his teeth were a little too sharp. It was most likely that this was either a cub that had just learned to transform or another magical artifact that had just gained sentience.
However, when Gui Yin tried to sense what this child really was, he ran into a wall. There was a mixture of several energies swirling in the boy’s body. If he was a beast, it would be easy to sense his beast core. If he was another kind of spirit, it would be normal to pluck out that scent. But no matter how Gui Yin went about it, he was met with multiple answers.
The boy, having finished his meal, glanced at Gui Yin curiously. The handsome man’s brows were tightly furrowed in contemplation. The look sent a jolt through the boy, but rather than fear, it was something closer to excitement. The boy’s heart hammered against his chest as he climbed onto Gui Yin’s lap.
Gui Yin stilled. He felt cold hands touch his face and looked down to meet those black eyes. He smiled and gave the boy’s hair a quick ruffle.
“Want to play after you’re done eating?”
The boy grinned, revealing his sharp teeth. He tugged Gui Yin’s face closer to his own and extended his tongue. Before Gui Yin could tell what he planned to do, he felt a moistness against his cheek. Then, came another.
Gui Yin quickly pulled away and held the boy at arm’s length. He used the back of his hand to wipe his cheek and then he touched his nose.
This child…licked him?!
The boy moved in again, but Gui Yin held him back by the forehead. He was a bit flustered. He knew that some animals would lick humans to show affection, but this wasn’t the type of behavior you would expect from a person. Not to mention, Gui Yin had yet to identify what this child really was, so he wasn’t inclined to trust the composition of his saliva either.
Gui Yin put aside his disgust and glanced at the boy.
The boy had stopped struggling the moment Gui Yin had held him by the forehead. Instead, he now opted to look up at Gui Yin with a pouting expression. His little tongue still hung out as he stared at Gui Yin sadly. Gui Yin belatedly removed his hand and let out a soft sigh.
“You can’t do that to other people,” Gui Yin said.
The boy stared at him blankly.
“What you just did,” Gui Yin said. He pointed at the boy’s tongue. “You’re not supposed to lick other people.”
The boy tilted his head in confusion as if to ask “if I don’t lick you, then what am I supposed to do?”
Gui Yin let out a long sigh. Putting aside his alarm, Gui Yin supposed that the boy was just trying to express his gratitude or his affection. He didn’t mean harm, so Gui Yin was wrong for reacting so strongly. He sighed and lifted the boy slightly.
He drew the boy into his arms and placed the boy’s arms against his shoulders. “Like this. This is a hug. It’s a safer way to express your happiness. Do you understand?”
The boy was still for a long while. When Gui Yin was about to pull away, he suddenly felt the small arms tighten around him. The boy rubbed his head against Gui Yin’s cheek and then his chin, tickling Gui Yin as he moved.
Gui Yin chuckled and patted the boy’s back.
The boy’s grip on Gui Yin tightened further, nearly choking him. Gui Yin let out a short cough and pinched the back of the boy’s robes, tugging him back.
“That’s too tight.”
The boy stared at him.
“It’ll hurt someone if you do that.”
The boy’s eyes widened.
He remained still until Gui Yin released him, then he plopped back down on Gui Yin’s lap and remained cuddled against his chest.
Gui Yin watched the boy silently and frowned.
The child could clearly understand human language, perhaps even more than a child who looked his age would understand. Was he unable to speak because he hadn’t been around humans for long enough?
Gui Yin glanced out into the rain and let out a soft sigh. He still had things to take care of. For now, he’ll leave the boy with Langxia’s men in Hongyan Tower. They should know how to take care of a child like him better than Gui Yin did. After all, they were all spirits.
After everything was over, Gui Yin will stop by to visit the boy again and see how he’s settled. If he didn’t like it here, he’ll take him back to Yunjing Pavilion, but if he was fine, then that was where they would part ways.
Gui Yin gave the boy’s hair a quick ruffle. “Are you hungry?”
The boy shook his head.
“Are you sleepy?”
The boy’s head flopped forward and backward. The back of his head touched Gui Yin’s chest and he looked up at Gui Yin with drooping eyes.
Gui Yin chuckled. He gave the boy’s cheeks a light pinch before standing with the boy still tucked against his waist. He set up a bed for both of them and laid down. The sound of the rain falling outside was like a gentle lullaby, lulling the child to sleep. Once the boy’s breathing had evened out, Gui Yin closed his eyes as well.
An hour passed before the heavy rain lightened. The fire had long extinguished, but the cold couldn’t reach them when they were huddled together.
At this time, the boy’s eyes opened, revealing a pair of crimson orbs. His gaze flickered towards Gui Yin as his youthful face blossomed into a beautiful smile. His skeletal fingers hovered over Gui Yin’s lips, but never touched them.
Gui Yin was carefully cradling him in his embrace. He was very warm and the sound of his beating heart was like music to the boy’s ears.
So kind…this man was so, so kind…
He really loves him.
my rxn went like “oh adopting another kid? 😀 lets go-” “STOP. SUSPICIOUS!!!!!! SUSPICIOUS!!!!” “now now, we cant just call everyone suspicious……” “He really loves him.” “ITS THAT AWFUL EX, GET BACK!! BEGONE!!!!”
THANKS FOR READing
Ehhhh?!?!! Our Qinle is taken so back off (┛◉Д◉)┛彡┻━┻
frfr who does this kid think he is gosh. Thanks for reading!
I KNEW THE KID WAS SUSPICIOUS MY GUT FEELING WAS RIGHT
What in the fck .. I was already attached to the boy but but you all are saying he is Qiao fucking cheng?? Noooooooo
he’s actually Qiao Ceng not Qiao Cheng LOL thanks for reading