Thirty minutes was more than enough to cause a ruckus in Yinfeng Valley.
Gui Yin played his own personal concert as Langxia roughly steered Fenghua away from any oncoming traffic. By the time thirty minutes had passed, most of the people under the Void Saint’s command had either been banished into oblivion or had retreated in hopes of living to see another overcast day. Around the twenty-five-minute mark, things started to get a little dicey.
“Erlang,” Gui Yin called out somewhat panicked as a group of five started to gain ground on them. “I think we have to land somewhere.”
Langxia glanced around at the ground. At this point, most of the ghost cultivators that had thrown themselves at them had dispersed. He guessed that the Void Saint had finally caught news and had started dividing people to chase after Yankui and them instead. Now, on their tail, were ghost cultivators who were clearly of a different level that would not be able to fly off with just one or two notes.
Langxia quickly found a random area to land. Fenghua returned to Gui Yin’s hand as a fan and the two men faced off against the group of five.
The white masked man gave a false smile as he stepped forward. “To think that you would visit us before you’ve even announced your return to the world. We are honored, Lord Immortal Ninglan. But to what do we owe the pleasure?”
Gui Yin let out a long hum as he met Langxia’s gaze. He laughed awkwardly and gestured towards the skies. “My companion and I have heard that the skies around Yinfeng Valley are perpetually dark. We wanted to come and take a look. Who knew that it could coincide with a prison break! How embarrassing.”
Langxia turned his head away as a smile threatened to tug at his lips. The expressions on their opponents ranged from outraged to speechless. Even with their faces mainly covered, it wasn’t very difficult to see how ridiculous they found this situation.
“Then, if you’ll excuse us, we’ll first—”
Gui Yin swiftly blocked the shot that was thrown at Langxia. He clicked his tongue and let out a short huff. “How could you attack an unsuspecting man? That isn’t very gentlemanly behavior!”
“I’ll show you gentlemanly!”
The person who had attacked first jumped on Gui Yin. Three others followed while Langxia was left to face the one person who had spoken before. The man’s gaze darkened as he summoned a hoard of ghost hounds. Langxia watched—clearly unimpressed.
The hounds rushed towards him, teeth bared and saliva flying every which way. Langxia’s expression tensed. He let out a low grunt in disgust as he extended his left hand. A set of swords appeared against his palm. He shifted, threw the two swords upwards and swept his left hand across the air. When he caught the falling object again, it had turned into a black and silver staff, both ends bejeweled with red rubies.
He jumped into the air, carrying the pack of hounds with him. With one swoop, the hounds fell back into the ground, all heading for their master.
The man flinched and stepped back to dodge.
The hounds exploded into dust, one after another. In a fit of anger, the man lifted his hands to summon more, but when he looked up, he watched in a petrified state as the staff penetrated through the remnants of the ghost hounds and headed straight for his own face.
The man’s mask shattered, revealing a white skeleton underneath. The staff continued further and broke through the ghost cultivator’s skull. His last cry was carried away by the wind, just like his body that had returned to dust.
Langxia landed. He flicked his staff with a look of distaste and immediately turned on his heel to help Gui Yin.
Four against one was hardly fair, but Gui Yin still managed to hold them off until Langxia entered the fight. Once the two of them joined hands, the tides shifted in their favor. In a very unromantic and off rhythm dance, one ghost cultivator was forced into Gui Yin’s sword while the other’s head was knocked off by Langxia’s staff. The other was then pierced in the eye by Gui Yin and the remaining one had his natal weapon shattered by Langxia.
Gui Yin let out a soft sigh as he twirled Fenghua back into its fan form. He smiled at Langxia and gave him a thumbs up.
“Nice team work.”
“I told you that we’re the perfect pair,” Langxia said.
Gui Yin rolled his eyes. He was just about to suggest they leave when Langxia was suddenly knocked back by a huge shadowy mass.
Gui Yin abruptly turned towards the sky as a man, dressed in vibrant red robes, slowly descended to the ground. His dark eyes narrowed as his gaze flickered between Gui Yin and Langxia. A hollow smile slowly stretched across his lips.
“I was wondering who was making a mess in my territory,” the man said, his tongue curling around each word as he bit out each pronunciation. He took a step forward. “It turns out to be Lord Ninglan and Huigu Palace’s master. My apologies; please excuse my lack of decorum.”
Gui Yin helped Langxia stand. He glared at the man and flourished Fenghua until it turned into a sword again. “Who are you?”
Langxia gripped Gui Yin’s shoulder with his free hand. His gaze flickered towards the ghost cultivator’s arm. A slow smile, filled with schadenfreude graced his lips.
“It’s been a while, Sir Void Saint,” Langxia said. “In the time we’ve been apart, it seems you’ve gotten yourself into quite a mess! Whatever happened to your arm?”
The childish glee in Langxia’s voice made even Gui Yin curious. He glanced at the Void Saint’s arms and found that his right arm was indeed missing. His eyes lit up slightly. What a stroke of karma!
“It’s nothing. A child’s dumb luck,” the Void Saint drawled. He smirked. “It’s slowly growing back. But how about you? Is that lotus root doing well for 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 pulled Gui Yin behind him. “Quite well. I can even do this now.”
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Because they had been trying to draw the crowd away from Yankui and the others, they had flown deep into Yinfeng Valley. Now that they were trying to avoid the Void Saint, they could only fly back the way they came from.
Langxia could feel pressure building in his chest as they rode, but he swallowed the blood back down. He glanced back and threw out his staff again, just as Gui Yin flung Fenghua to the wind. With the combined attack, the Void Saint was temporarily blocked. The two cultivators’ natal weapons battled the oncoming danger as Langxia and Gui Yin flew even further ahead.
Gui Yin clicked his tongue in irritation. “Shui Meng isn’t working on him!”
“It is. It’s just near negligible.”
Gui Yin turned to Langxia worriedly. “Can you hold on?”
Langxia glanced at Gui Yin. When he saw the cold sweat trickling down Gui Yin’s cheek, he finally remembered that Gui Yin was probably feeling a fraction of the pain he also felt.
Langxia smiled and hummed softly, but Gui Yin’s expression only turned more severe.
Fenghua and Langxia’s staff flew back towards them as the Void Saint caught up again.
The weapons were back in their hands, but this gave them little advantage.
The Void Saint began a full-frontal attack.
Swarms of wasps, coated in shadow, flew straight towards Gui Yin and Langxia. Gui Yin pulled Langxia behind him and put up a large shield. However, no matter how sturdy and large the shield was, the pair of them were still pushed down. Langxia held onto the floating platform they were on and urged them forward.
Gui Yin gripped Fenghua with one hand while the other held onto a hand sigil. He gathered his spiritual energy in Fenghua and swept across the air. The wasps were blown back, temporarily revealing the sky and giving Langxia some time to steady them.
Gui Yin placed his hand on Langxia’s back and poured in his spiritual energy. “Hurry.”
Langxia took the hint and sped up their escape.
Unfortunately, the Void Saint didn’t want to let them go this time. Another wave of wasps hammered at Gui Yin’s shield. The crack started slowly, but it soon began to split into branches and crawled its way around its entire surface.
Gui Yin hurriedly released Langxia, created another hand sigil, and fortified the shield.
But running and defending didn’t seem to be an option the Void Saint would let them have.
Although Gui Yin had deflected the wasps multiple times, they came back heavier and even more persistent. Langxia glanced back at the horrific scene and glanced down.
“Qinle.”
“W-what?” Gui Yin squeezed out, his gaze flickering back towards him.
“I think we could die here.”
Gui Yin felt a chill run down his back. “What the hell are you saying!? Why are you saying such unlucky things?!”
Langxia smiled. “But at least if we die here, we die together.”
“Are you crazy? You’re the last person in this world I want to die with! Think of something!”
“I do have an idea,” Langxia said as he slowly straightened.
“Then, do it!”
“But I need your total trust in me.”
Gui Yin glanced back at him. Langxia was watching him steadily. His brows were slightly furrowed as he waited for Gui Yin’s answer.
The decision only took a second to make.
A second later, Langxia had broken from Gui Yin’s shield and had flown straight for the Void Saint.
The shield shattered and wasps swarmed on. Luckily, Gui Yin was fast enough to produce a fire talisman. With the fire talisman, the wasps were burnt to a crisp. Unluckily, the wasps were made of demonic energy and sent Gui Yin into a coughing fit the moment they disintegrated.
Above, two colors clashed together—one gold and one a red tinged black.
Langxia attacked the Void Saint’s new injury, but the Void Saint was nimble. With each attack, another was sent forth. It was clear that these two people were on the same level.
Gui Yin watched impatiently from below. He waited silently for Langxia’s signal. He tried to still his beating heart that was ramming against his chest in anxiety. Not only did he need to concentrate, he also couldn’t let his own emotions get in the way of Langxia’s decision making.
Minutes passed as the two men clashed together. Soon, they were heading towards the center of Yinfeng Valley.
Gui Yin glanced down at the gaping chasm beneath and couldn’t help but gulp slightly. Even from the altitude he was at, he could hear the screams of the forgotten and deceased.
“Now!”
Now?
Gui Yin’s hands reacted faster than his brain. He threw out Fenghua and attacked the Void Saint from behind. The fan split into four swords—three heading for the Void Saint’s arm and legs while one headed for his neck.
The Void Saint nimbly dodged, but doing so, he ran straight into Langxia’s hands.
Langxia’s hand shot out and grabbed onto the Void Saint’s neck. The two men’s gazes collided. A crazy smile took over the Void Saint’s lips. Before the staff or any of the swords could penetrate him, he reached out, grabbed Langxia by the front of his robes and forced them both to plummet towards the earth.
Gui Yin’s eyes widened as he watched two men fell from the sky. He immediately dove after them, his hand fumbling for Langxia’s hand.
He added momentum to his falling speed, but the Void Saint was clearly pulling them down even faster. Gui Yin’s face turned red from desperation. His fingers just barely brushed against Langxia’s as the three of them plunged towards Scattered Souls Ridge.
Just before they passed the opening of the chasm, Gui Yin miraculously caught a hold of Langxia’s sleeve. He forced himself forward a little more, grasped onto Langxia’s hand and shot an Immortal Binding Cable from his sleeve to wrap around the massive rock above. His feet slammed into the ground. For a moment, he felt that his ankles might have snapped, but the feeling faded when he was suddenly dragged forward. He held onto the cable tightly as he tried to pull Langxia back up.
The Void Saint’s maniacal laughter echoed off the walls of the chasm.
“A life for a life—I think this is quite fair!” the Void Saint shouted.
Gui Yin gritted his teeth. “Psychopath—who even wanted to take your life?!”
Langxia’s vision was beginning to blur. His grip on Gui Yin’s hand tightened as he tried to fling the Void Saint off of him.
“You let His Excellency’s vessel run away,” the Void Saint said. “I have to at least give him something else in return!”
Gui Yin wrapped the Immortal Binding Cable around his palm three times and tried to pull Langxia up, but it seemed like there was a massive mountain on the other end. No matter how hard Gui Yin tried, he could only feel the strain of his muscles. The cable started to cut into his hand. Gui Yin clenched his jaw and wrapped it around his wrist a few more times. It only pulled them up by an inch.
The other end grew heavier.
“Lord Ninglan, I suggest you let go now,” the Void Saint sang happily. “You are not a person I can touch.”
Gui Yin scoffed. “Are you crazy? Do you actually want to die here? You realize if I let go here, you’ll be doomed to an eternity of suffering, right!?”
The Void Saint laughed. “As if that means anything to me! My life has been suffering since I started on this path! A life that cannot grant death—do you think that is a life normal humans can live?”
“Clearly not,” Gui Yin grumbled. He drove his heel into the ground and looked at Langxia. He pursed his lips and took several steps back, only to be yanked forward again.
The searing pain mounted in his chest made it hard for Gui Yin to breathe, but he knew that it must be a billion times worse for Langxia. The hit from earlier had already been hard enough and after all that struggling, Langxia was probably at the end of his rope.
“Hold on a bit longer,” Gui Yin whispered. His fingers dug into Langxia’s arm. “Just hold on.”
Langxia’s eyes emptily scanned Gui Yin’s face. A soft smile slowly appeared. “Qinle.”
“Stop it.”
“It’s okay.”
“Stop,” Gui Yin said, his hand desperately holding onto Langxia’s as his grip began to loosen. Anxiety clawed at his airway. He even loosened his grip on the Immortal Binding Cable so he could slip forward a centimeter more to get a better grip on Langxia. “What are you doing?”
“Do you trust me?”
“I hate when you ask that question!” Gui Yin shouted. “You know I hate trusting people, so stop asking me that question!”
Langxia’s smile widened. His hand was now limp in Gui Yin’s hand. “I need you to let go.”
“Cut the crap,” Gui Yin hissed, his fingernails digging into Langxia’s hand. “He’s crazy, but you want to be crazy with him too!?”
“Good, good! With you out of the picture, His Excellency will finally achieve what he wants most!”
Gui Yin ignored the ramblings of the mad man and only held onto Langxia tighter. “Stop it. You’re being ridiculous. If you fall down there, you’ll die.”
“I won’t die,” Langxia said. His hand was slipping from Gui Yin’s. He glanced at their hands for a second before he looked back up at Gui Yin. “I still want you to live.”
Gui Yin’s eyes widened. A part of him wanted to scream and throw a tantrum, but when he was faced with Langxia’s calm expression, he found his own grip loosening. In the last second, Gui Yin desperately grasped onto Langxia’s fingers, but it was already too late.
The weight that was dragging Gui Yin into the chasm disappeared all at once. He flew back from the recoil and landed on amongst dirt and jagged rocks. He stared blankly ahead at the darkness and slowly realized what had just happened.
Gui Yin released the cable and ran towards the chasm.
A burst of light shot out from within, followed by a cacophony of desolate screams.
Gui Yin was once again shot back by the force. He fell to the ground, his palms scrapped up as he watched the golden light fade and fizzle out. Tears stung the edges of his eyes as a familiar sense of loss congealed into a lump in his throat. His hands shook as he slowly crawled forward until the light disappeared completely.
Gui Yin stilled. He slowly sat back. His bloodied hands were folded against his lap. There was a subtle heat rising behind his eyelids. His fingers slowly dug into his palms as he stared blankly ahead.
“…Erlang?” Gui Yin softly whispered. His lips pressed together as he crawled forward a few more steps. “Erlang, don’t scare me…Erlang?”
The name was spoken softly, but was a whisper in the cold wind of Yinfeng Valley.
Gui Yin slowly collapsed. He lowered his head as his mind began to spin. What should he do? Should he jump in there as well? Would he be able to find Langxia if he went down there? Or would he die as well?
He closed his eyes tightly as his shoulders trembled.
It was like that time again. On a beach, in a bed of jagged rocks, a storm raged overhead as Gui Yin watched Kui Wanming die. And, again, there was nothing he could do about it.
Gui Yin’s breathing grew heavier until he was gasping for air. He coughed violently and knew that he should leave now, but something made him stay. He pressed his forehead to the ground as he tried to suppress his coughs. His throat felt raw and no matter how he tried to slow his breath, they only came back out in quick gasps.
Gravel crunched in front of him.
Gui Yin’s ears twitched. His heart jumped to his throat as he immediately looked up.
The man slowly walked towards him with a slight pout on his lips. “I’m back.”
Gui Yin stood up shakily and quickly rushed up to him. His hands brushed against Langxia’s face, then trailed down to his missing arm. He looked at Langxia tensely and pressed his lips together as tears fell from his eyes.
Langxia watched him blankly. He swayed slightly and fell against Gui Yin’s shoulder. “Qinle.”
“Huh…?”
“Home…let’s go home…”
Gui Yin quickly nodded. He hugged Langxia tightly and hummed. “Let’s go home.”
Gui Yin keeps making me laugh out loud akdhakxhs
also AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA LANGXIAAAAAAAAAAA THEYRE GOING HOMEEEEEEEE T-T
Damn! Poor Gui Yin, my man was falling apart
Oh no I almost went crazy😭 they’re going back home yayy!!