Translator: transcendentwings
TN Note: another monster of a chapter, would you prefer me to split these so you’ll get more weekly-ish updates or just keep it as one chapter and wait a little longer for it?
CW/TW: this chapter is somewhat suggestive, not exactly explicit though (I think), and there is a briefly touched upon forced intimacy, let us just agree here that intimate relations (including kissing) need to consensual and no reason should be used to justify otherwise
In the blink of an eye, Xu Xingzhi’s continuous liquor binge already lasted for three days.
During the day, he rose regularly and dealt with the various affairs of the sect, but as soon as night arrived, he would seek someone out to get utterly plastered.
Everyone spread that Jiu Zhideng and Xu Xingzhi of Fengling Mountain had long been engaging in the entanglements that came with being dual cultivation partners in private, as such, his departure from the sect was a grievous blow to Xu-shixiong.
Many female disciples of Fengling believed these rumors to be true and when they ran into Xu Xingzhi who was casually fanning himself as he strolled around during the day, they were all full of sympathy. In private, they all discussed how Xu-shixiong may seem like an unruly rogue on the surface, but treated emotions like gold.
Xu Xingzhi had always been a person who was displeased to hear people gossip about others. Even if he were to pick up on some hearsay, it would always just enter on the left and leave on the right, while the rest of his troubles and worries were transferred into the wine, utilizing drink until it was exhausted, guaranteeing intoxication.
Qingjing-jun loved wine, but his capacity for liquor was really not worth mentioning. The amount of half a jug was enough for him to quietly mount the rooftop and strip its tiles.
This led to Wen Xuechen, Qu Chi, and Zhou Beinan staying overnight at Fengling for several days due to their concern over Xu Xingzhi’s wellbeing.
On the first day, Qu Chi accompanied him to drink alcohol. Who knew that after three cups were drained, he would stagger to his feet and pull a quilt over himself to sleep regardless of Xu Xingzhi’s cries from behind him.
On the second day, Xu Xingzhi called Zhou Beinan over instead. Zhou Beinan possessed a decent capacity for alcohol, but according to his hot temper, he couldn’t stand for this current worthless appearance Xu Xingzhi sported. After suppressing his ire and going along with him for a few rounds, he exploded and rolled up sleeves without another word, wanting to beat him.
The two brawled, stopped, drank two glasses, then rallied their fists again. In the end, Zhou Beinan, who couldn’t out-drink him, was hauled back to the guest room by Xu Xingzhi while he muttered under his breath endlessly, Xu Xingzhi, laozi is most irked by this face of yours, every time I go out with you, not a single d*mned girl would look at me.
On the third day, it was Wen Xuechen and Qu Chi’s turn to join him on his drinking session.
Because of Wen Xuechen’s heart ailment, he couldn’t touch a drop of alcohol while Qu Chi had slept from the first day until noon of this day. He knew that his capacity was too poor and didn’t dare to get involved with this calamitous liquid again, thus all the wine on the table was poured into Xu Xingzhi’s belly.
Wen Xuechen was a man of few words, Qu Chi was genteel, and drinking while in a depressed mood made it easy to inebriate a person, thus on this day, Xu Xingzhi finally became smashed.
He roared rambunctiously with inexplicable laughter as he supported himself on Wen Xuechen’s shoulder and slapped Wen Xuechen’s thighs with a loud papa: “Xuechen, Xuechen, let’s go to the main palace of the demonic sects to visit Xiao-Deng ah.”
Wen Xuechen was whacked so hard that even his face turned white.
Qu Chi hurriedly pulled Xu Xingzhi to his side and coaxed the other to kick up a row with him instead.
While soothing Xu Xingzhi, he whispered gravely: “Xuechen, I’ve never seen him so troubled before. Was Jiu Zhideng really that important to him?”
“Definitely important. However, for him to act so unlike himself, must be because he feels guilt in his heart.” Wen Xuechen answered simply.
Qu Chi was baffled: “Why would he feel remorse ne. Was it because Jiu Zhideng only had the heart to die during his demonic transition and Xingzhi couldn’t bear to do it? But the fact that he found it difficult is human nature ah, besides Jiu Zhideng wouldn’t blame him. In the past, we all saw how sincerely he treated those two shidi of his. . .”
Wen Xuechen: “That is exactly what he regrets. . . . He took care of Jiu Zhideng too well.”
After he became tipsy and mellow with drink, Xu Xingzhi refused the two’s offer to send him off and returned to his palace alone in a wobbly manner. Wen Xuechen and Qu Chi verbally agreed that they wouldn’t be seeing him off, but ultimately still followed behind him all the way to the gate of his palace. They watched Xu Xingzhi cross its threshold before they were rest assured to return to their respective temporary residences to settle down.
However, when Xu Xingzhi passed through the gate, he stumbled a few times and went sprawling under the plum tree where he ultimately remained, sleeping soundly.
It rained all night a few days ago, drizzling until dawn. The plum blossoms in the courtyard were shaken off, fluttering pieces of scarlet formed a thin, colorful yet striking blanket which reflected brightly in the purifying moonlight like jade.
Xu Xingzhi laid quietly under the plum tree, surrounded by its crow-black branches, a layer of verdant green, scattered hints of crimson, and the beautiful scenery on a good day magnified his drunkenness from six points to nine.
With eyes covered by a drunken haze, he noticed that someone had gradually approach with a cloak and lantern, softly calling out to him: “. . . Shixiong?”
Xu Xingzhi looked over with sleepy eyes and could only see a blotch of light and an indistinct exquisite face: “. . . Chongguang.”
“Shixiong is intoxicated?” Meng Chongguang put the lamp by his feet, stretched out his arms to loop them around the other’s back, his tone of voice low and heavy, “. . . Because of Jiu Zhideng?”
In a daze, Xu Xingzhi felt that had found someone whom he could confide in regarding the gloom in his heart without being ridiculed.
“Xiao-Deng is too upright. . .” He leaned on Meng Chongguang’s shoulder and mumbled indistinctly, “If I knew he would have to go back early on, I wouldn’t have guided him like I did. . . I shouldn’t have taught him like that.”
The mellow aroma of wine on Xu Xingzhi’s lips carried a faint seductive fragrance making Meng Chongguang’s Adam’s apple roll slightly: “Shixiong. . .”
“. . . Xiao-Deng entered the sect earlier than you did and stayed with me longer than you have.” Xu Xingzhi was held by Meng Chongguang, wanting the warmth of the person before him to soak into his body as he recounted the numerous memories he shared with Jiu Zhideng in a gentle tone of voice, yet he never noticed that upon hearing “Xiao-Deng”, these two words, Meng Chongguang’s lips curved slightly downwards in displeasure.
“The starry sky tonight is really good. The first time he called me Shixiong was on the rooftop, whilst we stargazed for the first time. He could recognize all of the constellations. . .”
“If only Xiao-Deng liked to laugh. It’s such a shame, a pity, after all, a smile or a laugh always can make life a little better.”
“He told me that apart from his mother, he knew almost no one else in the main palace of the demonic sects, even Sa Si. . .”
At this point, Xu Xingzhi couldn’t speak a word further.
A fiery heat pasted themselves onto his slightly icy lips. Xu Xingzhi only felt the back of his neck being gripped while a hand snaked its way up his chest, firmly grasping the strong and beautiful muscles on the left side of his chest, the fingertips precisely pinching and fiddling with the blasted center point.
Xu Xingzhi’s low cry was calmly swallowed by the other party.
Bent knees pushed Xu Xingzhi’s legs aside, forcing his legs to have nowhere to be placed as he could only spread them apart.
Xu Xingzhi was kissed until he became muddled, he only felt that the thing obsessed with him was unbearably soft, yet also patient and terrifying as it refused to let him even have the space to breathe.
Xu Xingzhi was shocked for a moment and forgot the usefulness of his nose. The more he couldn’t breathe, the more he wanted to open his mouth and just like this, he lost his defenses briefly, allowing the cat-like tongue to easily gain access to his mouth and provoke him wantonly.
. . . Like an oriole singing gracefully and fluently under the flowers, and like spring water flowing stagantly and unsmoothly under the ice.
After the rough but soft tongue reluctantly retreated, Xu Xingzhi regained the ability to breathe in embarrassment and panted heavily, his cheeks flushed.
. . . Chongguang? . . . Earlier it was Chongguang who, to himself. . .
While he was in a daze, Meng Chongguang circled around and stopped behind Xu Xingzhi, imitating Xu Xingzhi’s usual posture of hugging them when they were children and used his long legs to imprison Xu Xingzhi in between arrogantly. Grasping onto Xu Xingzhi’s deep jade-colored long hair band with one hand, he wound it around his wrist twice then pulled it backwards while he pinched Xu Xingzhi’s chin with his fingers at the same time, forcing the other to turn his face to the side.
The alcohol invaded his body making his body extremely weak. Realizing that the situation turned in a strange direction, he became a little panicked: “. . . Chongguang?”
Meng Chonguang kneaded the skin of Xu Xingzhi’s neck with his fingertips, his eyes utterly infatuated.
“Shixiong, I don’t want to hear you mention Jiu Zhideng. He’s gone, and the person by your side now is me. . . . And solely me. You only need to look at me and that’ll be enough.”
Xu Xingzhi was slightly stunned. He suddenly felt his neck itch and couldn’t help but raise his head in the direction of the other’s force. The feeling of his body not being under his own control stained his eyes with a thin layer of powerless anger: “Chongguang. . . Stop making a fuss, Shixiong really has no strength right now, cease teasing Shixiong.”
Meng Chongguang smiled when he heard those words, opened his lips, and slowly used his teeth to nip at Xu Xingzhi’s throat, sucking the other’s ceaselessly undulating Adam’s apple.
The weird sensation nearly made Xu Xingzhi call out, but before he could make a noise, he abruptly remembered something.
—The guest house where Zhou Beinan and the others, the three of them, stayed wasn’t too far from his room.
Once he realized that, he swiftly compressed the cry that was about to make its presence known, transforming it into a subdued and hoarse croon: “Don’t—uh-en!”
Xu Xingzhi’s feeble resistance seemed to please Meng Chongguang very much, He brought the wrist and fingers entangled with the hairband down causing Xu Xingzhi’s scalp to tingle with pain as he had no choice but to be placed in the forced posture with his fragile neck exposed, ripe for the picking.
He caught a whiff of the light fragrance of plants which definitely wasn’t the scent of the plum blossoms pervading in the courtyard, rather it was a crisp and natural smell.
Xu Xingzhi’s head, which was numb from the heat of the wine, also buzzed continuously. Feeling humiliated, he tried to push Meng Chongguang away, yet his hands and feet felt unexpectedly soft like mud, refusing to listen to his intentions.
“. . . Shixiong, I’m so jealous ah.” Meng Chongguang finally halted his mouth’s movements, his lips trailed along the arc of his neck all the way to the base of Xu Xingzhi’s neck, pushing his voice into Xu Xingzhi’s ear with a low murmur, blowing a breath of hot air, “Shixiong always takes the fact that Jiu Zhideng-shixiong entered the sect four years before I did as a point of comparison, Chongguang isn’t resigned.”
He continued: “. . . I never dreamed that there would be such a good person like Shixiong in this world in the past. If I knew, I would’ve sought my way here long ago to accompany Shixiong every day. . .”
Xu Xingzhi only felt that such intimacy was immoral. His ears were scorched by Meng Chongguang’s breath, but when he registered that the target of his venting was Meng Chongguang, his anger softened slightly instantly: “Chongguang, don’t do this, you and I are. . .”
“Shixiong, Chongguang likes 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.
Xu Xingzhi felt like he was struck by lightning. From the angle he was forced to take, he could only capture the tip of Meng Chongguang’s ear from the corner of his eye.
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Xu Xingzhi had never had these types of thoughts before and was at a loss, losing his ability to speak and think, allowing Meng Chongguang to smile and whisper quietly by his ear: “He is no longer here. I won’t let Shixiong off again. . . . Shixiong, you’ll be mine sooner or later.”
Those lips roamed around several times, before they landed on Xu Xingzhi’s lips again. After rubbing gently for a moment, they suddenly became domineering again. His lower lip was pulled and bitten several times, leaving behind pleasant tooth indentations, following immediately, a piece of something delicate and soft warmly reached into his mouth again, back and forth, causing Xu Xingzhi to pant heavily as his forehead became damp with sweat and a few strands of his hair hung down messily and disorderly, clinging to his temples.
Tied in marriage, Orion’s belt is in the sky. What night is this night, to catch a husband.
. . . Xu Xingzhi abruptly flipped over and sat up.
The moment he opened his eyes, he saw the bed frame engraved with the motif of flowing clouds and Xu Xingzhi thought he was still immersed in the memory of the original owner at first.
It wasn’t until he discovered that he could control his body independently that he was sure that he had returned.
This place wasn’t the stalactite cave under the cliff where the three of them took shelter, but a large-scale palace. The surrounding decorations were mainly carved from stone. A miniature lotus-shaped stone censer emitted bursts of residual smoke as a pinch of vanilla had already burned out, and only a few grass cores were still within the hollowed-out patterns huffing a red ember.
This was Nan Li’s palace which Xu Xingzhi had seen in Ye Buyi’s memories.
Surveying the surrounding environment clearly, Xu Xingzhi not only didn’t feel relieved as if he had just woken up from a long dream, instead his heart palpitated unbearably and it took a lot of effort for him to hold back the urge to vomit.
It started with a kiss and ended with a kiss. He had been imprisoned in the memories of the original owner for so long that he could no longer tell the difference between reality and fantasy.
He found that the relationship between the original owner and Meng Chongguang wasn’t as simple as he had imagined.
What made him even more uneasy was that he clearly remembered that in the late night talk between shixiong-di, the original owner mentioned that if there was an afterlife, he only wished to have a father like Qingjing-jun and a sister like Yuan Ruzhou.
. . . In Xu Ping’s memory, his father, Xu Sanqiu, had a gentle temperament, could accompany him to drink at the same table, tolerated his mischievousness, willfulness, and even his lack of enthusiasm to engage in honest work.
Xu Wutong was sensible, well-behaved, and occasionally had the attitude of a young maiden which made her love acting petulant with him. She would sit quietly on the stone steps with him and watch the stars, appreciate the moon and would also cook a bowl of hot pear soup for him as hangover soup after he drank.
If he didn’t have such a family, according to his temperament, he probably would’ve already taken the sky as his roof and the earth as his hut, roaming the world as he pleased, or else why bother be attached to the door of a home that would be open for him at any time or that bowl of hot soup?
If it wasn’t for such a household, why else would he trouble himself to try his best to return to the real world?
However, the memories of the original owner forced him to honestly face many suspicious points.
—Why did he show up here, why did he take over Xu Xingzhi’s life?
Why did what was originally Xu Xingzhi’s earnest wish become reflected into his reality?
Why did it have to be him who had to do these things?
When the World’s Consciousness arranged for him to come, it had accused him of “critically disrupting this world line with the novella”, now that he reflected upon it, it was all just a load of bull.
. . . It was just a book of words written in characters with ink. If it was thrown onto a second-hand bookstall, no one would even ask for it, how could it possess such skill?
At the beginning, his mind was still in chaos and he was forcibly dragged from his warm bed at home to this dark and foreign land. He was already mired in confusion when he was subsequently tossed into the savage wasteland and was nearly cut up by the dual-bladed monster. Following that he had only just managed to retain his life with much effort when he ran into Meng Chongguang.
He didn’t even have time to mull over the reason why the Worlds’ Consciousness had dragged him into this mess for a moment when he was forced to receive the dagger to take on the missive of killing Meng Chongguang in cold blood.
. . . F*ck.
The fragmentary details entangled his brain like weeds and gave him a migraine. Even the realization that the relationship between the original owner and Meng Chongguang wasn’t normal wasn’t as bad in comparison.
He reached out one hand and touched the dagger bestowed upon him by the Worlds’ Consciousness that was buried under his pillow. He wasn’t sure if it was a coincidence, but it just so happened to be placed on the left side of the pillow such that if Xu Xingzhi wanted to draw the dagger he would only need to raise his hand.
Xu Xingzhi felt sick to his stomach after clenching the dagger for a while and stuffed it back to its original position.
After finishing these few simple movements, Xu Xingzhi felt that his bones hurt from lying down for so long and lifted his legs to slip off the bed. Who would’ve known that when he wanted to straighten his knees and exerted force, the world would spin around him.
Precisely at this moment, a head peeked out from behind the closed door, just in time to see Xu Xingzhi alight from the bed and stagger backwards, about to fall.
“Aiai, ai!”
A pair of hands reached out to Xu Xingzhi in an instant, however Xu XIngzhi still passed through his body and crashed to the ground, hitting his head with a gudong.
Zhou Beinan froze for a moment, lifted his hands to look at his translucent palms then laughed in derision at himself.
He shifted his eyes and saw Xu Xingzhi curled up with his head in his arms and simply crossed his arms and snickered gleefully: “Lying down for a full four days and you wanted to roll out of bed the moment you opened your eyes as if you wouldn’t fall flat on your ass.”
Xu Xingzhi felt around the floor with dazed eyes for a long time before he found the edge of the cot, then supporting himself on the edge with his elbow, he was barely able to sit up when the vertigo hit yet again.
The first thing he said when he was able to speak was: “After lying down for four days, you caught a whiff and came as soon as I woke up? Are you just running over to me because you’ve got nothing to do ah?”
Zhou Beinan, who had just been drinking and roughhousing with him in his dream just now, turned red in the face, “Scram, don’t plaster gold onto your own face, I was just afraid that you would accidentally pass away on the bed and there wouldn’t be anyone there to collect your remains.”
“Afraid that I’d be dead, so why did you try to catch me just now?”
Zhou Beinan lied without blinking: “. . . Who the f*ck wanted to catch you? Besides, do you think I can grab a hold of you in my current state? Ah?”
“You can’t and yet you still tried.”
Zhou Beinan rolled his eyes, feeling suffocated, but still resigned himself to his fate and sat shoulder to shoulder with Xu Xingzhi against the base of the cot: “The dog bit Lu Dongbin.”
Xu Xingzhi grinned, stretched out his hand to tug the bed curtain over and wiped the dust that was rubbed onto his hand off.
A joke was just spoken of in jest, Xu Xingzhi actually fell really heavily this time. It was as if a honeycomb exploded in his head, buzzing and screaming for a long time before he regained his composure and was able to interrogate Zhou Beinan: “. . . I’ve slept for four days?”
. . . No wonder Zhou Beinan was already able to roam around.
“En. No matter who attempted to rouse you, you wouldn’t wake. Yesterday Lu Yujiu came to see you and was even frightened into tears by you.” Zhou Beinan seemed as if he would be discomfited unless he was able to stimulate Xu Xingzhi with some searing words, “Are you a pig?”
Xu Xingzhi didn’t mind at all: “Father, how is the injury on your shoulder?”
Zhou Beinan: “. . .”
Zhou Beinan, who failed to gain a verbal edge over Xu Xingzhi, was rather annoyed: “Laozi is feeling great, I just can’t use my spear for a while.”
Zhou Beinan obviously wasn’t too attentive to his own affairs. He quickly stared at Xu Xingzhi, and asked in return: “What was the matter with you? Ever since you entered the savage wasteland, you’ve always been sleeping excessively, it couldn’t be that there is something wrong with your body is there?”
Xu Xingzhi was speechless momentarily.
As far as the current situation was concerned, something significant really had happened to him, from the skin to the bones, he has possessed another person.
Seeing that Xu Xingzhi was reticent, Zhou Beinan started to develop the drive to get to the bottom of things. He caught hold of the other and pressed: “What exactly is wrong with you? So preoccupied. You weren’t like this before. In the past. . .”
When he mentioned the past, he shut himself up first without prompting, then mulled over his words for a bit before he opened his mouth to continue: “That’s right, you’ve been with Jiu Zhideng all these years, he made things difficult for you didn’t he?”
Xu Xingzhi was taken aback and registered that the other had misunderstood something, and the misunderstanding was also quite large.
However, after thinking about it, he didn’t deny it, rather muddle through it vaguely: “Not bad, at least I finally came over.”
Xu Xingzhi was really scared off by the mix of truths and falsehood from the Worlds’ Consciousness and now he desperately needed to grasp onto something, anything reliable to stabilize his mind that was disturbed by the memories of the original owner.
. . . Qu Chi was already out of his mind and couldn’t be counted on; Meng Chongguang was too pensive and difficult to deal with; Lu Yujiu was only an intermediate disciple before entering the wasteland, and may not be aware of all the secrets hidden in the past; Tao Xian even less so, merely an outer sect disciple of Danyang Peak.
Ruzhou. . .
Thinking of this name, Xu Xingzhi felt as if he was punched in the heart and it felt really stuffy and uncomfortable.
If it weren’t for the memories of the original owner, Xu Xingzhi would’ve never discovered that she and Wutong shared so many similarities, so much so that he didn’t dare to face Yuan Ruzhou now.
Relatively speaking, as the eldest young master of Yingtianchuan, Zhou Beinan was the most informed about internal affairs, and most importantly, he was the least duplicitous, even if Xu Xingzhi asked a little more deeply, he wouldn’t have to be worried about being exposed by the other.
. . . To put it bluntly, he was plain foolish.
Sure enough, before he could ask any further questions, Zhou Beinan sneered: “The cub that you brought up is quite ruthless when he bites back at people. Although we didn’t treat him all that well in the past, it still shouldn’t incur a grudge of killing the father and murdering the mother ba? If he wanted to silence us, then he should’ve just done it, at least give us a quick and decisive end. Trapping us in here is clearly trying to slowly grind away at us until we’ve lost our lives.”
Xu Xingzhi used a basic action to cope and offered up a wry smile to get past this.
Zhou Beinan’s heart was also truly very soft, Xu Xingzhi only revealed a slight expression of weakness and he started to feel awkward and coughed dryly: “. . . But in the end, it’s not entirely your problem. . . Whatever, let’s stop discussing this, okay ba.”
Xu Xingzhi couldn’t hope for more and was eager to hear him say more, so he swiftly picked up the conversation: “Do you know what happened to Xuechen? I haven’t heard any news when I was on the outside.”
“Xuechen, Wen Xuechen. . .” Mentioning Wen Xuechen, Zhou Beinan’s clenched jaw trembled a few times, “Xiao-Xian’er was about to give birth when she finally found me in the wasteland. She personally told me that she came from Qingliang Valley, Xuechen was no longer. . . he’s dead.”
When he heard those two words, for some reason, Xu Xingzhi felt a lump in his throat as if he were choked by a dry and hardened blood clot. The blood clot exuded a cold chill and made his throat sore from its frost.
He heard himself utter: “How could Xuechen be dead?”
Lu Yujiu briefly touched upon Wen Xuechen with him before and only vaguely mentioned that “Wen-shixiong may not be in this world anymore”. At that time, Xu Xingzhi hadn’t been plagued by doubts about the Worlds’ Consciousness yet and assumed that Wen Xuechen might’ve ultimately fallen prey to his heart condition, that wasn’t impossible.
However, now the fact that Wen Xuechen was genuinely no longer in this world was shoved right in front of Xu Xingzhi.
And this news was brought by Zhou Xian who was married to Wen Xuechen.
Xu Xingzhi suspected that the body and memories of the original owner have already sunk in too deeply, otherwise how else would it explain why he was in so much pain that he wanted to gouge his heart out.
Xu Xingzhi possessed a good memory and knew the names of the divine artifacts guarded by each sect. He also remembered that the artifact safeguarded by Qingliang Valley was called “Taixu Bow”.
According to Lu Yujiu, among his ghost servants, several of them were his Qingliang Valley shixiong, which meant that the other wasn’t alone when he attempted to burglarize the divine artifact.
And based on Xu Xingzhi’s current understanding of Wen Xuechen, he was cold and rational, and would exhaust all of his efforts to conspire and utilize all possible methods for the sake of the righteous sects, just like Xu Xingzhi’s initial judgment that this person would never attempt any acts against the righteous sects or bring disaster upon them.
It was conceivable that if Lu Yujiu and the others in Qingliang Valley stole the Taixu Bow of their own accord and were discovered by Wen Xuechen. . .
Various possibilities surged up layer by layer like the bubbling boiled water and the impact sent Xu Xingzhi reeling.
He blurted out: “Was it because of the ‘Taixu Bow’ that he—”
As soon as those words slipped out, Xu Xingzhi bit the base of his tongue hard.
The sharp pain brought him back to his senses, but what he shouldn’t have leaked had already been exposed.
If it were the usual Xu Xingzhi, even if he were faced with Zhou Beinan whose thoughts weren’t so deep, he would still have followed the temptation and tried to draw intelligence out of the other’s mouth slowly and would never have cut to the point so boldly.
If the Worlds’ Consciousness deceived him. . . If the matter of Meng Chongguang and the others stealing the divine artifacts that year wasn’t what Xu Xingzhi had previously conjectured in advance, then the way in which he questioned the other now, wouldn’t it just. . .
Coming to this conclusion, Xu Xingzhi broke out in a cold sweat as if there were bugs crawling up his spine and the muscles of his back were so tense that they twitched.
Zhou Beinan also fell silent and after a while, he shrugged his shoulders slightly and actually smiled.
“. . . Taixu Bow? . . .” Zhou Beinan repeated those three words, “Taixu Bow. . . Such a marvelous Taixu Bow. . .”
Xu Xingzhi was a little befuddled for the moment.
Did he remember incorrectly? Wasn’t the artifact guarded by Qingliang Valley the “Taixu Bow”?
Zhou Beinan turned his head around to stare at him, his lips trembled faintly and his eyes were bloodshot: “. . . You don’t know?”
It didn’t feel pleasant to be stared at, Xu Xingzhi’s Adam’s apple rolled up and down swiftly, his brain cells rapidly firing away to come up with something to patch up his slip up just now: “I. . .”
However Zhou Beinan rushed ahead of him to speak, suppressing his excuse in his throat deeply: “Yes, that’s right, I forgot, you really weren’t aware. . . When the incident occurred, you were already no longer at Fengling Mountain.”
He raked through his hair violently with the hand that was still mobile, gnashed his teeth then continued with a mocking smile: “There was no ‘Taixu Bow’, from the beginning to the end, there was no f*cking ‘Taixu Bow’.”
Xu Xingzhi felt all the blood in his body freeze for a moment.
“. . . What does that mean?”
Zhou Beinan whispered softly: “The divine artifacts were fake. The divine artifacts of the four sects, they were all hoaxes, the real artifacts had long been destroyed in the conflict between the immortals and demons thousands of years ago.”
Xu Xingzhi’s head buzzed with a weng.
If that were the case, then the so-called “Divine Artifact Appreciation Conference” that appeared in the memories of the original owner. . .
He wasn’t a fool and instantly understood various things in the time for a spark of fire.
—That year when Nian Zai was emboldened into rebellion, stoking the flames of war and inciting a world of chaos, Qingjing-jun, Yue Wuchen, was miraculously born and as one man and one sword, he fought in exchange for worldwide peace, for the tranquility and respite of the world, how beautiful it was.
However, if the divine artifacts still existed, the four sects obviously only needed to utilize the artifacts and they would be able to easily suppress the unrest, otherwise why was it necessary for the cultivators to fight so intensely and require Qingjing-jun’s power to turn the tide?
As for the Divine Artifact Appreciation Symposium set up for the purpose of showing off their might, after some deliberation, one would realize that it was just a grand event of unveiling and acknowledgement in name only, and was actually just a bluff in truth.
If there really was overwhelming confidence backing it up, then why would flaunting be needed to display it ne.
Xu Xingzhi rapidly sorted out his thoughts.
—Meng Chongguang and the others stole the divine artifacts and wanted to use them for a certain purpose, but found that they were actually duds. It was impossible to conceal the act of the theft, so Zhou Beinan and Meng Chongguang had no choice but to allow themselves to be captured without putting up a struggle.
In order not to leak this secret that the artifacts of the four sects were all fakes, and to punish them severely as an example, the cultivators of the four sects decided to throw the disciples who participated in this matter into the savage wasteland.
Xu Xingzhi felt that this explanation was relatively satisfactory. At the very least the Worlds’ Consciousness didn’t lie about this point.
However, a certain sentence Zhou Beinan uttered still roused his concern.
What did he mean by “. . . When the incident occurred, you were already no longer at Fengling Mountain”?
The original owner left Fengling Mountain before the divine artifacts were stolen?
Xu Xingzhi was sketching out the timeline in his mind when he heard the door hinge let a hoarse sigh escape again.
Meng Chongguang, dressed in the classic Fengling Mountain robes, strode in.
As soon as he saw Meng Chongguang, Xu Xingzhi immediately thought of the kiss that caused his mind to descend into turmoil and faint for four days and his lower back started to burn up, even the rhythm of his breathing was disrupted as if he tasted that sweet and satiny flavor in his mouth again.
Meng Chongguang didn’t seem surprised by Xu Xingzhi’s awakening nor by Zhou Beinan’s arrival. He stood by the entrance, crossed his arms behind his back and smiled: “Zhou-shixiong.”
These three words were both warm and moving, but Zhou Beinan only felt his scalp tingle just by hearing them. After secretly muttering a “f*ck”, he forcibly pulled himself out of his emotional outburst: “Okay, fine, I’m leaving right now.”
He walked towards the wall and disappeared in the blink of an eye, but Xu Xingzhi clearly saw that before departing, Zhou Beinan turned his head back and shot him a sympathetic glance.
With this directed look, the prickle of numbness the other felt over his scalp swarmed over Xu Xingzhi’s.
After sitting on the ground for so long, Xu Xingzhi was finally able to gather some strength. He supported himself on the bed to help himself up, brushed the dust off his body, and straightened as he moved to sit by the stone table. He lifted up the teapot that was on the table and shook it slightly, the tea inside of it had long since dried up.
He placed the folded fan that he had been holding at hand since just now on the table and circulated his spiritual power as he recalled from the original owner’s memories, transforming the fan into an inexhaustible flagon of wine.
Meng Chongguang also sat down at the table.
Xu Xingzhi poured a full cup, but before the cup was brought to his lips, Meng Chongguang covered the mouth of the cup.
There was displeasure hidden in his eyes: “Shixiong, don’t use this thing.”
Meng Chongguang’s finger was barring between his lips and the rim of the cup, which made Xu Xingzhi remember some not-so-pleasant things causing him to instinctively avoid it: “. . . Why?”
Meng Chongguang pursed his lips: “. . . After he left, you drank constantly, but later you thought you didn’t have enough wine so you made this storage ring method to store the liquor.”
Xu Xingzhi was really thirsty and didn’t think too deeply about who the “he” was referring to so he merely dodged the other’s hand with the cup still in hand: “I’m not addicted to alcohol anymore, I just want to quench my thirst.”
When Xu Xingzhi brought the cup to his lips again, he deliberately changed direction and avoided the spot in which Meng Chongguang’s fingertips were pressed against just now.
The light in Meng Chongguang’s eyes dimmed again.
While he drank, Meng Chongguang stared as his Adam’s apple slid back and forth under a thin layer of skin. After a while, he abruptly asked: “Shixiong, do you have a lot to talk about with Zhou-shixiong?”
Xu Xingzhi almost choked and a drop of wine trickled down from his lips, trailing down his chin until it disappeared into his clothes.
He was only wearing his inner robes so when the wine dripped down, he swiftly pulled his lapel so as to not stain them.
Seeing the hint of white from his neckline, Meng Chongguang pressed the tip of his tongue against his clenched teeth, then quickly bent over and lightly licked the line of Xu Xingzhi’s exposed clavicle.
Xu Xingzhi jolted in response and abruptly used one hand to bring the unknotted lapel button close, but after doing so, he suddenly felt that this posture was a bit girlish and could only switch to glaring at Meng Chongguang, a faintly veiled threat emanating from his eyes.
Yet Meng Chongguang didn’t retreat and only advanced as his arm looped around Xu Xingzhi’s waist and kneaded the deep muscle lines etched on the side. Compared with his open and honest movements, a thin layer of grievance surfaced in his eyes that were fixated on Xu Xingzhi: “Chongguang only wanted to help Shixiong tidy up.”
The original owner’s memories up until beneath the plum blossom tree were forcibly interrupted by this little b*stard Meng Chongguang with his forced kiss.
Although Xu Xingzhi didn’t want to view the next scene, now that Meng Chongguang was pasted against him at such a close distance, he still couldn’t help but wonder what exactly happened afterwards.
How far did his relationship with Meng Chongguang progress to?
Had he truly already. . .
When Xu Xingzhi was still Xu Ping, he often went to those money squandering establishments that sold special services as well. However, he had only thought that the girls there were beautiful and eye-catching and just by listening to them sing a Huaiyang tune would already put him in a good mood. As for any actions a step further, he had never considered before because, despite the fact that his father was very lenient with him elsewhere, he was very strict in regards to matters between men and women. Xu Xingzhi himself wasn’t very interested in this either, as such he really didn’t have any experience in these affairs.
Now, he failed to embrace a gentle and fragrant soft body, and was instead tucked into a man’s arms. This feeling was rather strange.
Thinking of his father Xu Sanqiu, Xu Xingzhi was in a brief daze before he refused: “. . . Don’t hug me.”
Meng Chongguang didn’t think he would be rejected by Xu Xingzhi and immediately showed a hurt expression. He didn’t speak as his eyes became misty, only his fingers that clasped Xu Xingzhi’s sides like iron didn’t seem to have any intention to withdraw at all.
Xu Xingzhi naturally didn’t dare to offend Meng Chongguang so he made up a blind excuse: “I haven’t bathed in a few days, yet you. . .”
Meng Chongguang clung to him and whispered with a gentle voice: “Shixiong, don’t worry. These few days that Shixiong has been lying in bed, I have wiped Shixiong’s body and changed your clothes daily.”
Xu Xingzhi: “. . .”
If he didn’t know what desires Meng Chongguang harbored for him, Xu Xingzhi would definitely have praised this child in his heart for his filial piety.
However, after being exposed to the truth, Xu Xingzhi only felt his face burn unbearably.
On the other hand, Meng Chongguang seemed to think that it wasn’t enough as he lowered his voice, leaned into Xu Xingzhi’s ear, and murmured under shallow breaths: “I also confirmed something that I’ve always wanted to affirm.”
Xu Xingzhi felt that every inch of skin he touched seemed like it was scorched by flames: “. . . What?”
“I’ve been thinking. . .” Meng Chongguang kissed Xu Xingzhi’s earlobe, satisfied to see the very same place flush crimson, before continuing to whisper, “Shixiong has been with Jiu Zhideng all these years. I was afraid that Jiu Zhideng bullied Shixiong, so I secretly tested it out. . .”
Xu Xingzhi took a deep breath as an ominous feeling took over.
Meng Chongguang’s seductive voice slid past his ear: “Shixiong is very tight. I’m happy.”
The expression on Xu Xingzhi’s face changed suddenly and he promptly broke out of Meng Chonguang’s arms, scrambled up and took a few steps back.
He wasn’t sure whether it was an illusion or something else, but Xu Xingzhi only felt a vague sense of abnormality in the spot where the seat made contact with his rear.
Sensing Xu Xingzhi’s resistance, Meng Chongguang’s eyes became hooded, as if a little depressed, but he quickly raised his head back up with a dazzling smile on his face: “. . . I was joking with Shixiong.”
Xu Xingzhi only felt the sensation that his ears were on fire.
Ever since Meng Chongguang’s kiss shoved him into the original owner’s sea of consciousness again, more and more things have gone beyond Xu Xingzhi’s imagination and control.
Meng Chongguang before him could be labeled as the biggest and most troublesome variable.
. . . If Meng Chongguang really shared those kinds of affections with the original owner, then wouldn’t he also have to. . .
Fortunately, Xu Xingzhi had always been able to adopt a lighthearted perspective and became fully prepared in a few brief moments.
Even if Meng Chongguang and the original owner had already made love with each other in the past, that was the original owner’s business; If the other still wanted to, besides obeying, was there a second path to take?
Either way this was the original owner’s body, not his own, if Meng Chongguang desired it, then he’ll just let him have it.
After figuring this out, Xu Xingzhi also realized that he was getting too emotionally invested in this story.
—Since Meng Chongguang already knew the location of the key fragments to the savage wasteland, his only prophetic advantage no longer existed. Now he was but a mere spectator.
Moreover, since the last time he left behind good impressions at Hutiao Ravine and learned from Zhou Beinan that the year title outside of the savage wasteland was the same as his original one, Xu Xingzhi had felt hopeful.
Perhaps. . . Perhaps he also lived in the same world as this group of people only that they didn’t know each other.
If he could rely on Meng Chongguang’s power to return to the present world, he would be able to look for his family.
Mulling over this, Xu Xingzhi steadied his mind then sat back at the table and poured himself some more wine.
Without Meng Chongguang, Xu Xingzhi wouldn’t be able to leave the wasteland, so struggling was useless, it was better to just close his eyes and sit back for the ride.
Meng Chongguang confirmed that Xu Xingzhi wasn’t angry before he breathed a sigh of relief and leaned close to the other’s body again, a plea in his eyes: “Shixiong, so many days have passed since then, can’t you just forgive Chongguang for what he did back then?”
Xu Xingzhi didn’t answer.
He was indeed ready to dedicate himself to Meng Chongguang for the sake of the original owner, but he didn’t want to make this move unless it was absolutely necessary.
Thus he changed the subject: “Where will we go to retrieve the key shards next? Wutou Sea? Or Huawai Land?”
“Let’s set off again until after Shixiong and Zhou Beinan have recovered.” Meng Chongguang didn’t get the answer he wanted, making him reveal a sad expression, but he felt fortunate enough to be able to still lean so closely against Shixiong, “. . . We’ll head to Huawai Land.”
In the main hall of Fengling Mountain in the present world, Jiu Zhideng was reviewing texts at a desk and correcting them with cinnabar.
There were no other people in the hall except for himself as he was surrounded by four walls and a heavy door that severed all external noises, making it as quiet as a deserted mountain which thousands of birds have abandoned.
The moment the door was pushed open from the outside, Jiu Zhideng suddenly raised his head and inquired: “Is Wen Xuechen back?”
As soon as those words rang out, the clanging of blades and spears and cries of pain from outside the palace shattered all his conjectures. The brightness in Jiu Zhideng’s eyes returned to the frigidity of towering mountains and distant rivers: “Who is attacking?”
The disciple below vaguely realized that what they brought was not the news that Jiu Zhideng was expecting to hear thus they wanted to bury their heads into their chests from fear: “. . . Answering Shanzhu, the leader is Xu Pingsheng.”
Jiu Zhideng: “Again?” His tone was very light.
“Yes.”
Jiu Zhideng continued to dive into the mountain of bamboo slips like the vast sea, holding a brush to dip into a trace of cinnabar, making an annotation before he casually ordered: “Kill them.”
“Shanzhu. . .” The disciple who came to report seemed to hesitate.
Jiu Zhideng reacted swiftly and looked over his shoulder, clearly capturing the flickering waves of light of reflected scales covering the sky.
“Is he worthy of our use of the Fengling Mountain’s protection array?” Jiu Zhideng put down the bamboo slips again, “Who did he come with?”
The disciple faltered again and answered: “. . . With Sa Si.”
After Jiu Zhideng frowned slightly, he stretched out his hand and pressed tightly on the blade at his waist without another word.
That disciple’s sight blurred briefly and Jiu Zhideng’s figure already disappeared from the high position above while the edge of that bamboo slip still retained some residual heat.
The author has something to say: today’s is just pure candy la! (emboldened and assured while putting hands on the hips)
Author’s Chapter Summary:
A kiss from behind, mountainous assault, under the plum tree.
The translator has something to say: and the plot thickens again, all these inconsistencies between the different accounts of what was supposed to be the same event as well as the dramatic irony
I’m really itchy to beat MCG up ><
Thank You for the new chapter (´∩｡• ᵕ •｡∩`) ♡ I don’t have any opinion, if it’s easier for You to split chapters, then just do that ^^
MCG!!! Becoming unlikeable by every chapter 😫