Langxia was never one to despise silence. More often than not, he tended to welcome it. However, if the atmosphere was stagnant, he would begin to feel a little uncomfortable. At that time, he would make friendly conversation. However, this time, friendly conversation didn’t seem to be working with Gui Yin.
Langxia glanced over at him again. “You’re not even looking properly.”
Gui Yin stood up and frowned at him. “Then, are you looking at all?”
Langxia fell silent for a moment. He debated what his next words should be.
Seeing his struggle, Gui Yin finally sighed. He shook his head and turned around. “Forget it.”
Langxia hesitated and silently followed Gui Yin.
Gui Yin had just parted the leaves, when he heard Langxia’s voice beside his ear. “If you want to ask, you can ask.”
Gui Yin looked back over his shoulder. Langxia waited patiently, as if he had been expecting a question all this time.
“What happened? Why did you lose an arm?”
“It happened during the fall of Huigu Palace. Some people found out that I was watching them, so they wanted to get rid of me. It was that Void Saint,” Langxia said.
“You already knew about Half Moon Cult?” Gui Yin asked.
Langxia shook his head. “It’s because they were tied to Qi Du Cult. I found them through following Qi Du Cult. Originally, I thought Qi Du Cult was where it ended, but who knew an even bigger fish would bite the line?”
“So, because you had overstepped, they decided to wipe you and your sect out?”
“Precisely.”
Gui Yin frowned deeply.
“They thought they killed me, but they didn’t. What else do you need to be worried about?” Langxia said.
“But the fact that they could hurt you means that they’re a formidable enemy,” Gui Yin said.
If the Void Saint had fought in the war, who knew if they would have won.
Langxia smiled. He lightly touched the top of Gui Yin’s head. Gui Yin flinched and looked at him in surprise.
“If it’s the two of us together, he won’t be able to match us,” Langxia said. “And the only reason he got my arm that time was because I had been careless. I underestimated him. I won’t be doing that again.”
The congested feeling in Langxia’s chest was slowly alleviated. Gui Yin scoffed and flourished his fan.
“What an arrogant thing to say,” Gui Yin muttered. He glanced at Langxia and smacked his arm lightly a few times. “Alright, alright. Let’s hurry and look for the place Siyi talked about. It’s getting dark.”
Langxia smiled to himself as he concentrated on searching for traces of demolishment.
Originally, from what Qin Siyi said, this entire area has a large mountain. And the mountain had a large opening, carved out to make their secret hideout. The passageway led down into a large set of stairs and the stairs led to a set of heavy double doors. However, no matter where they looked, there was no mountain. There was no opening and there certainly wasn’t an underground lair.
“I just don’t believe they were powerful enough to move away an entire mountain,” Gui Yin said.
Langxia hummed. “Me either.”
Gui Yin wanted to speak, but he paused as he watched Langxia close his eyes. He waited patiently until the other man opened them again. He walked three steps to the right and pointed. “Here.”
Gui Yin stepped up behind him and looked around over his shoulder. “This?”
Langxia ostentatiously flicked his sleeve.
Gui Yin watched in awe as the scenery in front of him crumbled away like shards on a broken mirror. With one simple movement from Langxia, the realistic illusion completely collapsed. A mountain extended to the sky, filling their view.
Compared to the verdant and lush grass they stood on, the moment they approached the entrance of this mountain, everything seemed to have wilted and dried up. Even the trees, which were partway between this boundary, was half wilted and half flourishing.
Gui Yin laughed in disbelief. He turned to Langxia with shining eyes and gave him a thumbs up. “Good job.”
Langxia chuckled. “Thank you.”
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.
Langxia gestured towards the entrance and bowed his head in a gentlemanly fashion. Gui Yin rolled his eyes at his antics, but still flourished his fan and stepped in.
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Soon, they were met with the large double doors that Qin Siyi had mentioned.
Gui Yin frowned. “The resentful energy in this room is very strong.”
Outside, demonic energy had already tainted their surroundings. Who knew that when they went lower, they would encounter something even worse?
Fenghua transformed into a sword in Gui Yin’s hand. He stepped forward and tentatively pushed the doors open.
They were immediately assailed by a stale, coppery stench. The large steps led down to a dais at the very bottom. Carved deep into the dais was an array. The array had clearly been a different color previously, but after long term use, the grooves had become stained a worn out red. The array was carved out to the edges and led to the moat around it. Only when Gui Yin was on the edge of the stairs did he realize that this moat was used to catch the blood of the victims.
He lifted his head and looked around.
Faint green fire had flickered to life the moment they stepped in, meaning that, to some degree, this hell hole still worked. The air was heavy and pressed down on Gui Yin’s throat. He suddenly had the same feeling that he did when he was back in Ghost Valley. An abrupt cough left his lips.
Langxia glanced over. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Gui Yin muttered. He looked around. “I have a bit of asthma.”
When he was much younger, he had been cursed with asthma. Because it wasn’t a heavy case, his parents had ignored this issue and when he became a cultivator, the issue had subsided. However, throughout his years on the battlefield, this asthma seemed to have come back in a more trouble form. Whenever he was around heavy demonic energy, it would be triggered. He would have to take a few deeper breaths in order to breathe. It was difficult control his breathing whenever he fought.
Langxia felt a bit incredulous. “Asthma?”
He had never heard of a cultivator who had asthma.
Gui Yin glared at him.
“Do you have an inhaler?” Langxia asked.
There was no concern behind his words—only genuine curiosity.
“No, I do not. It isn’t that bad,” Gui Yin said. He coughed again and looked around. His eyes drifted to the side door. “Over there—that’s where the resentful energy is the strongest.”
“Seeing as how the array on the ground is arranged, I think it’s safe to assume that behind that door is where they harvested the energy,” Langxia said. He glanced at Gui Yin and lightly touched his head. “Stay here. I’ll go take a look.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“No. Stay here,” Langxia said.
Gui Yin frowned, but still remained where he was as Langxia nimbly flew over to the other set of steps without touching the array below. When he landed on the other set of steps, he looked the doors up and down with the leisure one might have when browsing books. He breathed out a long sigh before lifting a leg and kicking the doors down.
Gui Yin watched, wide-eyed, as the doors slowly collapsed with a loud thump.
Langxia stepped on the doors and walked inside.
Inside was another array that was expertly drawn on the floor. In the middle of the floor was a large cauldron. Even after years of being used, the traces of the victims could not be erased. The sounds of their screams seemed to linger, flow around, and circulate in this small room. Langxia glanced at the ground in distaste. He lifted a hand and used his sleeve to cover his nose. He stepped into the room and looked around.
Aside from the cauldron and the array, there was little else.
“What an unfortunate bunch,” Langxia said. He thought about it for a moment before he reached out and touched the side of the cauldron.
The screams of the dead filled his mind in an instant. Many screamed for revenge while others pleaded for a chance to live. Their voices, however, were broken, raspy, or breathy. Others sounded like they were drowning and some were cut off mid scream. Depending on how strong the soul was, their resentment would remain engraved in time. The less fortunate would never be heard from again.
Langxia withdrew his hand. He stepped out of the room and flew back to Gui Yin’s side. The distance between him and Gui Yin as he landed was a bit too close, causing the other to take a frazzled step back. Langxia smiled softly. He glanced back at the door as he pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his hand.
“There’s another array on the ground. I’m not quite sure what it’s for, but I’ll draw it out for you when we return. There is also a giant cauldron in the middle and it was filled with resentment. The energy must have been stored there until they could move it,” Langxia said. He burned the handkerchief and turned back to Gui Yin with a small smile. “Other than that, it was just an empty room.”
“An array on the ground,” Gui Yin muttered.
He glanced at the massive array that was carved into a dais. “This must be for gathering the resentful energy, right?”
Langxia hummed in agreement. “It should be.”
Gui Yin let out a frustrated sigh. He was knowledgeable about a variety of arrays and matrixes, but he had never studied those that belonged to the devil path. He could make all the assumptions he wanted, but he would never have a proper answer.
Langxia watched his struggle for a moment. “May I make a suggestion, Qinle?”
Gui Yin looked up curiously. “What is it?”
“Your head disciple’s little lover is a member of Half Moon Cult, isn’t he?” Langxia said. “Once we save him, can’t we just ask about these arrays?”
Gui Yin’s eyes lit up. He tapped Langxia chest with his fan. “Brilliant!”
“Hardly. Qinle would have thought of it soon anyway,” Langxia said.
Gui Yin smiled and turned his back on the gory scene. “Alright, then, let’s head back and see if Su Wen every dropped off that information he said he had.”
“Yes, sir.”
Langxia glanced back at the accursed place. His eyes slowly darkened and he lowered his gaze in a silent prayer. The souls of the dead had already been sacrificed. A prayer and a purification would have done nothing for them. Langxia was only doing it symbolically to comfort himself.
The trip back to Yunjing Pavilion was as swift as their trip there.
When they returned, the sun had already set.
Gui Yin clicked his tongue as they strolled into the set. “How come we always return at night?”
“It’s safer to travel slowly than to rush forth,” Langxia said.
“You’re right,” Gui Yin agreed. “But we made it back in one day.”
Langxia thought about it for a moment and turned to Gui Yin. “It’s because you’re skilled.”
Gui Yin laughed at his ridiculous statement.
Langxia smiled softly as the two of them followed the path to Shuangye Peak.
There was a tacit understanding between the two of them that they would be skipping dinner that night. After they had both gotten ready for bed, Gui Yin rolled up in the blankets and peered curiously over at Langxia, who was still hovering by the door.
“What are you doing?” Gui Yin asked.
Langxia glanced back and revealed a dimpled smile. “I’ll be right back. You sleep first.”
Gui Yin shimmed under his covers and frowned slightly. “Where are you going?”
“Why? Can’t sleep without me?” Langxia asked with a raised brow.
Gui Yin rolled his eyes. He scoffed and dimmed the lights. Soon, Langxia could only see Gui Yin’s turned back. “Goodnight.”
Langxia chuckled. “Goodnight.”
The door opened and creaked with a close.
Langxia stepped out into the soft moonlight. He let out a low whistle. The branches above rustled and Su Wen dropped down.
“Master.”
“The materials?”
“Here,” Su Wen held up a box full of scrolls. “Where should I put them?”
“Qinle’s study,” Langxia said.
Langxia followed Su Wen as he subtle touched the tips of his fingers on his right hand. He leaned against the door frame and watched as Su Wen carefully arranged the documents.
“Su Wen.”
“Yes, Master?”
“Lord Xun taught you a few things in order to take care of my arm, right?”
Su Wen froze and slowly turned to look at him. “Did you break another?”
“No,” Langxia denied the accusation. He lifted his false arm. “But come take a look anyway.”
Su Wen showed a helpless look on his face as he quickly abandoned the documents and rushed over. He took a hold of Langxia’s arm and tugged his sleeve up slightly.
After a few minutes, Su Wen breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s fine.”
“Is it?” Langxia raised a brow. He flexed his fingers. “How come I feel like it’s not working properly?”
Su Wen smiled stiffly. “Isn’t it because you haven’t been taking your medication? Besides, Lord Xun says you must consistently use your arm, or else it’ll just—”
“It’s late. I think you should head back,” Langxia said.
Su Wen pressed his lips together. He softly closed the doors and continued to nag Langxia. “Master, even if you don’t want to hear it, this servant will still say it. I know you find this false arm inconvenient, but isn’t it more inconvenient to get another one? Isn’t it nice to just have one and let it integrate into your body? It’ll be like you have a regular arm again. With your cultivation it isn’t even that difficult. Why do you keep—”
“Su Wen.”
“…Yes?”
“I’m tired,” Langxia said. He had one hand on the door as he looked at his attendant. “Goodnight.”
Su Wen listened to Langxia’s sweet farewell and pursed his lips reluctantly. “…Goodnight.”
Langxia chuckled. “Thank you for delivering the materials.”
Su Wen nodded with a small pout still on his face. In the next second, he disappeared, leaving Langxia to be greeted by the night air.
He glanced at his hand and sighed.
It was inconvenient. He would almost rather chop it off again and just leave his arm as a stub.
Before he stepped back in, he pulled out two bottles. He took one pill from each bottle and closed his eyes to circulate the spiritual energy. He worked it through his arm and then each individual finger. He even did all the exercises that were prescribed to him. A cold sweat began to bead at his brow.
Every time he took his medicine, the nerves in his arms would feel as if hot lava had been poured through. Yet he still had to work through each movement slowly and guide the medication with his spiritual energy until the pain faded. Even then, it would leave a prickling sensation that would last a few days.
Langxia released a shaky breath. He pushed the doors open and stepped in.
He had been planning on moving softly, so as not to disturb Gui Yin, but to his surprise the man was already sitting up and staring right at him.
Langxia froze. He smiled apologetically. “Were Su Wen and I too loud?”
“Are you hurt?”
Langxia shook his head. “No.”
“Did you get poisoned?”
“No,” Langxia said with a soft laugh. He thought about it and thought that Gui Yin must have seen him take the two pills. “The medicine I was taking was what I normally take for my arm. It really isn’t anything.”
Gui Yin watched him steadily. “Then, does it hurt?”
“It won’t hurt,” Langxia said.
He walked over, took his shoes off, and laid down. In the process, he tugged Gui Yin down with him. With a short yawn he turned away. “Let’s sleep now. Sorry for waking you up.”
Gui Yin stared at the back of Langxia’s head. The pain had come suddenly, but was enough to startle him awake. Even now, it had disappeared, but Gui Yin felt like he could still feel a faint tingle of its aftereffects.
He hadn’t gotten injured today. He hadn’t even gone to see the cauldron. There was nothing that could have possibly caused his arm to ache.
Then, he remembered what Langxia said.
As he watched Langxia fall asleep, Gui Yin couldn’t help but wonder—who was more pitiful? The one who suppressed their emotions or the one who pretended that he wasn’t hurt?
happy disability pride month to this chapter specifically (๑˃ᴗ˂)
im really loving how we get to know Gui Yin’s feelings described through what Langxia is feeling and vice versa
I really enjoyed this chapter what with an asthmatic cultivatvator (a first!) And another essentially taking anti rejection medication for a magical prosthesis. So cool.