“Oh. He’s really dead,” Erlang said.
Gui Yin slowly closed his eyes as the surrounding people glanced back at Erlang with judgemental eyes. He reached out and tugged Erlang closer behind him by his sleeve as he silently fanned himself and watched the local officials of the area carry the body from the crime scene. Erlang and Gui Yi stepped to the side and watched the body leave. Once the crowd dispersed and the crime scene was blocked off for further examination later, Erlang let out a long sigh.
“I guess the ghost cultivators got to him first,” Erlang said, wrinkling his nose. “Stinky as hell.”
“Stinky?” Gui Yin glanced down the alley.
“Mn. Smells like ghost cultivators,” Erlang let out a long sigh. “I already knew they were just sending me on a wild goose chase, but to think they’d off the target before I even trapped him!”
“Didn’t you say something about…not letting him get past Guanyin Tree? Guanyin Tree is a hundred miles from here. How did he get all the way back so fast?” Gui Yin asked.
“That’s right, how did he get all the way back?” Erlang clicked his tongue. “I suppose that is a mystery we will never know.”
Gui Yin paused. He turned to look at Erlang, his eyes narrowing.
“Hm?”
“I was just thinking.”
“Thinking about?” Erlang tilted his head.
“Thinking about…how hungry I am.”
Erlang smiled as he followed Gui Yin back into the restaurant. “You don’t want to investigate that man at all?”
“If you want to, then you can. I’m on vacation,” Gui Yin said as he walked up the stairs and made his way back to his table.
Erlang sat down across from Gui Yin. At that time, the waiter arrived with their dishes and left with a “please enjoy”. Erlang picked up his chopsticks and began to fill Gui Yin’s bowl.
After a few bites, Gui Yin suddenly looked up.
Erlang’s movements froze as well. There was an undeniable warmth in his eyes, as if feeding Gui Yin was one of the greater joys in life. Gui Yin pushed such an absurd thought from his head and unconsciously leaned forward. Erlang’s brows rose as he waited for Gui Yin to speak.
“Remember that night I was caught at the scene of the crime? And then later, I said that you were the reason I was caught there?”
This was the first time Gui Yin had acknowledged their relationship as pen pals. Erlang’s smile sweetened. “Mn. I remember.”
“Actually, that night I, ahem, I went out looking for you. To see if you were still around. I had a question I wanted to ask you,” Gui Yin said.
Gui Yin hadn’t brought it up until now because he had not only forgotten, but because he felt that this man in front of him was different from the man in the notes. But after mindlessly eating the food Erlang continued to pile into his bowl, the sense of familiarity inexplicably came back. It wasn’t as strong, but the slight connection made Gui Yin remember his question.
“What is it? I’ll answer you,” Erlang said. After a moment, he added, “However, this does not count as one of the favors.”
“Alright, alright, I understand. Just answer my question.”
Erlang nodded.
“What do you know about Yalun?”
“…Yalun?” Erlang echoed. The look in his eyes darkened. “You mean…that greasy centipede demon those useless things at Qi Du Palace worshipped? He’s nothing good. All he does is sleep with pretty men all the time—a complete degenerate. He ruins everything he touches and he’s never done a good thing in his life. Why? Did you meet him during your time there?”
“Um…something like that. Do you two have a personal,” Gui Yin paused and refocused his gaze on Erlang, “a personal grievance?”
Erlang chuckled quietly. “Gui-xiong, there are some things that I can tell you, but others that I cannot.”
Gui Yin’s brows furrowed.
“It’s not because I’m working with them,” Erlang said, thoroughly seeing through Gui Yin’s wariness. “Nor is it because I care for you. It’s because, if I tell you, I will be going against Heaven’s Will.”
“Heaven’s…Will?”
“You’ll find out in due time. But, for now, just know that Yalun is not to be trusted,” Erlang said.
“Then, are you to be trusted?”
“You already know the answer to that, don’t you?” Erlang asked. “Besides, I said that you are my fated one, didn’t I? If you die, I die. Even if I didn’t already harbor good feelings for you, I would have to keep you alive.”
“When you’re not limited by the space of a small sheet of paper, you’re even more full of shit,” Gui Yin said.
“Well, I—”
Another sharp scream entered their ears.
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.
“Cujlc?” Xel Tlc ogbkcfv.
“Gbc’a qjs jaafcalbc ab la. Aera fja,” Sgijcu reuufrafv.
Dea atflg wfji kjr lcafggeqafv jujlc ys jcbatfg qfgrbc. Sgijcu’r fzqgfrrlbc vjgxfcfv j ogjmalbc yfobgf mifjglcu eq jujlc. Ktf reybgvlcjaf ja tlr tffir agfwyifv lc ofjg. Qtfc atf qgfrregf vlrrlqjafv, atf reybgvlcjaf ralii ofjgfv ab iloa tlr tfjv.
“What is it?”
“Um…”
“Speak. Don’t dawdle and waste my time,” Erlang said.
“The person taken away was not Yuan Gang (愿刚), but a subordinate of the Zhui Gui Den (追鬼洞).”
“Zhui Gui Den actually ran all the way out here to try and catch Yuan Gang?” Erlang murmured.
“I suppose they don’t actually trust you,” Gui Yin said.
Erlang glanced at him. Gui Yin tilted his head innocently as he continued to eat from the bowl Erlang filled. The subordinate felt a bit of confusion. Who doesn’t trust them? Were they working with someone that his master didn’t mention?
Erlang slowly dragged his gaze away and let out a soft sigh.
“Gui-xiong, maybe you’re right.”
“I often am.”
“Do you have time until dinner? I’ll be sure we’ll make it back in time to eat with your little disciples.”
“I have time,” Gui Yin said, particularly appreciating the way a piece of mushroom had been drenched in abalone sauce. He glanced up at Erlang past his lashes. “But how are you going to repay me this time, Huigu Palace Lord?”
“I suppose the only way I can is to…offer up my body?” Erlang asked, a pitiful pout on his lips.
“I politely decline. Just add it to your list—though, I doubt you’ll ever be rid of any of them,” Gui Yin said as he set down his bowl and chopsticks.
“Then, that’s four.”
“…Shouldn’t it be three?”
“I’ve calculated it again, and I decided that I should include you helping us enter the city, so now it’s four.”
“Then…why was it already two before?”
Erlang smiled mysteriously and stood. “Let’s go, Gui-xiong.”
Gui Yin huffed as he caught up to Erlang.
“Is there something you’re displeased about?”
“Someone claims they want to be close to me, yet says one thing and hides the rest. It’s just frustrating me a little.”
“Oh? Then, how about this?” Erlang playfully raised a brow. “You say one thing about yourself and I say one thing about myself.”
Gui Yin glared at him. That wasn’t even what he was asking about! Still, his mind wandered as he searched for a piece of information to give.
“I like eating spicy food,” Gui Yin said.
“I like sweets,” Erlang said.
“I like rainy days.”
“I don’t like thunder.”
“I prefer staying up late at night.”
“I enjoy taking naps.”
“I enjoy watching plays.”
“I prefer reading short stories.”
The back and forth lasted until Erlang’s subordinate appeared again. Gui Yin lightly cleared his throat as he averted his gaze towards the trees above them. He felt a tinge of embarrassment. But what would he be embarrassed about? They were only talking. Friends talk all the time.
Gui Yin had failed to realize that even considering Erlang as a “friend” meant that their relationship was already changing.
“You lost his trail here?” Erlang glanced at his subordinate.
The subordinate lowered his head. “This subordinate was useless.”
“If you say you’re useless, then you’re insulting my intelligence for using you,” Erlang said. “You’ve done enough. Tell the others to remain on standby.”
“Yes, sir.”
In a flash, the subordinate disappeared. Gui Yin slowly dragged his gaze to Erlang from the place his subordinate disappeared.
“Do you have something to say?”
“All the subordinates under you come and go without leaving a shadow behind,” Gui Yin said.
Erlang smiled. “They’re trained well.”
He turned away and looked about. “He ended up near Guanyin Tree anyway.”
Gui Yin stopped beside Erlang and glanced around. He had heard of Guanyin Tree but he didn’t remember anything special about this landmark. The reason it was dubbed Guanyin Tree was solely because there used to be a big Guanyin temple in the area and this tree was in its courtyard. After a fire, no one bothered to rebuild it and years of erosion later, only the tree remained.
“Is there something special about this tree?” Gui Yin asked curiously.
“Well, there’s nothing special about it,” Erlang said. He took his hand from the trunk and brushed his hands together to get rid of the dirt. “It’s just a tree that’s more resilient than others, that’s all.”
Erlang looked at the road that forked at Guanyin tree. “Let’s head to the left.”
Gui Yin followed Erlang. “How do you know this is the right way?”
“The stars told me.”
“…It’s still daytime.”
“The stars don’t disappear in the daytime; we just can’t see them because the sun is brighter,” Erlang said with a raised brow.
…Why did that sound like such a reasonable, yet scientific explanation?
Erlang turned his gaze away and chuckled. “Whether you believe me or not, I’m still right. Look.”
Gui Yin looked up. His eyes widened as he slowed to a stop. In front of him was a man string up and tangled in the tree branches with a thin wire. His limbs were twisted in a grotesque fashion. The wire was wrapped around his neck and pulled tightly. His head wasn’t severed, but his tongue stuck out, as if he had been strangled to death. His left hand was facing palm upwards, as if someone had wrenched something from his death grip.
Erlang swept his sleeves and the body crumbled to the floor. He bypassed the body and clicked his tongue. His fingers approached the wire, but Gui Yin shouted.
“What’s wrong?” Erlang looked over his shoulder.
“The wire has poison,” Gui Yin hurried to his side, grabbing his wrist. “Don’t touch it.”
“Poison?” Erlang raised a brow. He turned to Gui Yin. “How do you know?”
“Look at his blood. If the wire wasn’t poisoned, then his blood on the wire has made it poisoned,” Gui Yin said. “So, don’t touch it.”
Erlang slowly smiled. He turned his wrist to grab onto Gui Yin’s wrist. His hand slowly slipped down to Gui Yin’s fingertips and he eventually intertwined their hands. “Gui-xiong, are you…worried about me?”
“You’re the palace lord of Huigu Palace. If you die while you’re with me, won’t your subordinates come for my head?”
“My subordinates aren’t that unreasonable,” Erlang said, smiling as Gui Yin tore his hand away. He glanced at the blackened blood at their feet and then back to the wire. “But poison, you say?”
“Mn. So—what are you doing!?”
Erlang lightly tapped the wire and placed his finger onto his tongue. Gui Yin stared at him in horror, but was only faced with an infuriating smile.
“Are you trying to die?!” Gui Yin scolded. He shoved Erlang away from the body and the wire, his face heating up. “You—”
“Gui-xiong, you don’t have to be so anxious. I’m immune,” Erlang said. He smacked his lips together. “The wire is indeed coated with poison. And it’s not poison native to Yinfeng Valley. So, that means, the ones who killed the person from Zhui Gui Den wasn’t the one who killed Yuan Gang.”
“That…if that’s the case, doesn’t that mean whatever he stole is with a third party now?” Gui Yin asked with a frown. He turned to Erlang. “What did he steal anyway that’s made multiple people come after him?”
“Mm…aside from the Heart of Yin Fire, what else is there that the ghost cultivators would worship?” Erlang raised a brow.
Gui Yin fell silent.
In Yinfeng Valley, there were three big groups and many rogue cultivators, but they were united by one thing—their self-claimed source of power, the so-called Heart of Yin Fire. The Heart of Yin Fire was a small purplish-green gem that seemed like a fire lived in it. It was said that this one gem had the ability to collect a great amount of Yin energy, which was crucial to ghost cultivators. Yin energy was not naturally occurring in the Mortal Realm, unlike demonic energy, so this was their get around—by living near the border of the Ghost Realm rather than living in a cemetery and hoping some extremely resentful and lingering ghosts also resided there.
But this was a communal object that most famously sat in the middle of Yinfeng Valley, embedded into the side of a large incense burner. What was an object that everyone coveted and would throw them into a racing frenzy if they lost it?
“What great event has taken place in the lower realms in the past thousand or so years?” Erlang asked, a moment after he saw how much Gui Yin was struggling.
Gui Yin’s frown deepened. He looked at Erlang. “Does it have something to do with Qiao Ceng (乔嶒)?”
Erlang’s smile slowly deepened.
Qiao Ceng, the mortal realm’s calamity that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere nearly nine hundred years ago. After a long battle of five years, Gui Yin’s shizun, Kui Wanming, and Gui Yin’s martial siblings had sacrificed themselves to seal him in a large stone structure in the middle of the ocean somewhere.
The last battle between Kui Wanming and Qiao Ceng had taken place near where Yinfeng Valley now stood. At first, no one had thought anything of it, but if what they sought after was concerning Qiao Ceng, then…
“Qiao Ceng’s Stygian Claw?”
Erlang shrugged coyly, but it was already enough of an admittance for Gui Yin.
The Stygian Claw was Qiao Ceng’s natal weapon. It had been stripped from him after Kui Wanning had sealed him, by the Beidou Alliance. The only reason it was in Yinfeng Valley right now was because a mole had been revealed in the Beidou Alliance’s upper ranks. When that person left, they left with the Stygian Claw. No one knew where it went, but rumors of it resurfacing in Yinfeng Valley spurned on the theories that the ghost cultivators had wanted to reawaken Qiao Ceng.
“But what would having his natal weapon even do?” Gui Yin murmured. “Is it just a symbol of power?”
“The Stygian Claw’s master is locked up. Although he hasn’t died yet, he may as well be. A weapon as powerful as that is masterless—who wouldn’t want it? There is only one issue,” Erlang said as they bypassed the wires. “Such a powerful weapon is arrogant and won’t just accept anyone as its master.”
“And this is the thing you want to give back to them?”
“Even if they have it, they won’t be able to use it,” Erlang said. “Besides, if you really want to bring it back to your side, I can pretend to be defeated and—”
“No need. As you said, even if they have it, they won’t be able to do anything with it.”
“But?”
“But what?”
“There’s a ‘but’ to your sentence,” Erlang said. He met Gui Yin’s gaze. “But it’s concerning that Yinfeng Valley really does want to help Qiao Ceng?”
“…Precisely.”
“You know, I also find it strange. Yinfeng Valley was established hundreds of years after Qiao Ceng was sealed. Not to mention, Qiao Ceng isn’t a devil cultivator, but a scorpion demon. Everyone’s on the devil path, but they’re fundamentally different, so why would Yinfeng Valley want to help Qiao Ceng? And Qi Du Tower—why did they worship Yalun?”
Gui Yin frowned. He glanced at Erlang. “You’re insinuating the two must be related and that they are trying to bring devil cultivators to their side?”
“I’m not insinuating anything. I’m only asking questions,” Erlang shrugged.
Gui Yin looked at his breezy smile and turned away with a huff. He fanned himself faster. “Frustrating to death.”
Erlang chuckled. “Heaven’s Will cannot be—be careful!”
Gui Yin’s heel slipped. His eyes widened as he slid down. For a moment, he attempted to pull himself out, but the tunnel had a strange suction to it. Once he fell in, he could only keep falling. After about a minute, Gui Yin landed on the other side with a hard thud, but the aching never came.
Gui Yin quickly lit a talisman and looked down. Erlang had cushioned his fall.
“Are you stupid? Would I have gotten hurt from that?”
“But we didn’t know what would be down here,” Erlang protested. He hissed slightly and laid back down with a groan.
“You…what’s wrong with you?” Gui Yin asked, lightly patting his chest. He glanced at the hand that was still on his waist and then to the limp one at his side. “Did you land on your arm wrong? Where does it hurt?”
“…Back.”
Gui Yin quickly got off of him. Erlang slowly sat up and let out a sigh as he pointed behind him. “I landed on a sharp rock. You see? If I hadn’t cushioned your fall, you would have landed on that!”
Gui Yin moved the talisman closer. It was indeed a sharp rock. He frowned and shifted towards Erlang, his hand gently brushing against his lower back. After examining closely, he let out a sigh of relief.
“If anything, it’s just bruised,” Gui Yin said. “It’s not like you’ll die.”
Erlang rested his arms against his propped up legs and smiled.
“What are you smiling at?”
“You still made sure I wasn’t really injured before you say such cold words,” Erlang said. “Gui-xiong, you’re very kind.”
“Kind my ass,” Gui Yin mumbled. He stood and looked up.
As expected of this kind of plotline, the mysterious hole had disappeared.
He sighed and turned to Erlang. “Come on. Let’s find a way out.”
Erlang doting on Gui Yin and Gui Yin being kind in his own way, them working out mysteries together, ough my heart (๑˃ᴗ˂)
Thank you for the update ❤️💯
I love their interactions and them bickering
i love writing they’re dumb bickering 😭 thanks for read!
😆this chapter is just full of cute and funny moments❤️❤️
thanks for the chapter!!!!!
Where did the tunnel suddenly come from? Werent they near a tree?
I love their banter and convos. Thank you, I am really loving this novel !!
aw thanks for reading!