Song Qingshi was wearing T-shirt and jeans, walking on an endless sea of clouds. He looked around everywhere. He knew that he was looking for something, but he couldnât remember what it looked like. He only remembered the most dazzling glow in the sky.
He kept walking forward, kept searching; even if this path of clouds had no end, even if he fell down countless times from exhaustion, his body so tired that he could hardly move, only able to move forward by crawling, he was still unwilling to stop his searching footstepsâŠ
Atop the path of clouds, another him appeared. He was wearing layer upon layer of snow-white vestments, his long fine hair falling to the ground. It was the same face, the same cold aura. His eyes could comprehend any profound books but he could not understand any emotion.
Because his heart was empty; there was nothing.
Song Qingshi suddenly understood something. He slowly stepped forward, took out his heart and put it in little by little.
At the moment when the heart and the body merged, the two souls broke apart into countless specks of light. They re-intertwined and mended each otherâs deficiencies. From then on, the heart found the place where it should be and the body found its missing emotions. The separated jigsaw puzzle was recombined and became a blank picture scroll, waiting for colors to be added.
A strange string of words came out from the depths of the sea of clouds; repeatedly, beating in the depths of his soul like a drum.
âOne thousand three hundred and forty-nineâŠâ
âOne thousand three hundred and forty-nineâŠâ
ââŠâŠâ
Song Qingshi suddenly opened his eyes and found that he was in the water. He tried to get up but the left side of his body refused to obey. He accidentally choked on his saliva in his struggle. Someone beside him quickly got up, stretched out his hand to steadily supported his lower back. He was scooped out of the water and dripping wet, was taken into someoneâs arms.
The warmth of those hands was hotter than ordinary peopleâs. It had the roughness of calluses, rubbing against his delicate skin, it brought with it bursts of softness.
The personâs breathing sounded a bit heavy, like an imminent storm over the sea, seabirds flapping their wings, bringing with it constrained breathing.
Those eyes in the dark stared at him like those of a predatorâs, reunited with a long-lost prey. It was filled with greedy desire, becoming more and more dangerous.
Song Qingshi was groggy and he burrowed into this dangerous embrace. He couldnât tell where he was or what day it was. After a long time, he slowly came to his senses and realized that something was not right.
Immediately afterwards, the feeling of danger instantly disappeared. The luminous beads lighted up one by one, breaking through the darkness, illuminating Yue Wuhuanâs handsome face. Under the light of the luminous beads, his dark golden phoenix eyes had turned into and unclear, dark and gloomy black. That alluring glamorous tear-shaped mole below his left eye was still there. It was obviously still the same gentle appearance but there were some subtle indescribable changes that made his appearance even more magnificent.
Is it a problem with the light? Why does he feel like Wuhuan has changed his personality?
Song Qingshi realized that he was not wearing any clothes and the water on his body had gotten Yue Wuhuan wet. He embarrassedly raised his head, wanting to change into his clothes but then found something even more terrible. He said, voice hoarse, âWu-Wuhuan, ho-how did I become shorter?!â
His juvenile frame has always been a sensitive topic for him. So he usually wore loose robes and garments to cover it up. He managed to barely avoid losing face by relying on his height. He remembered that he was about the same height as Yue Wuhuan before being struck by the Tribulation Lightning. Now after he woke up, Yue Wuhuan was half a head taller than him⊠do-donât tell me, was a shrinkage in height a side effect of failing the Tribulation?
Song Qingshiâs heart broke. He was too ashamed to face anyone.
Seeing his absolutely wretched appearance, Yue Wuhuan wanted to laugh, but retrained himself. Finally, the corner of his lips twitching, he said helplessly, âMaster, you have been sleeping for ten yearsâŠâ
Song Qingshi was given a dreadful fright. Stutteringly, he asked, âTen years? Then, m- myâŠâ
Yue Wuhuan affirmed, âYour little white mice are fine. I raised them well and bred a lot of them.â
Weâre sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so weâre going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
He moved his body a little and his toes bumped against a wet bamboo pillow. It seemed that this was where Yue Wuhuan had been sleeping these past years.
How can a place like this possibly be suitable as a bedroom? How was this suitable as a study?
Song Qingshi couldnât help but ask, âHave you been resting well these past years?â
Yue Wuhuan smiled and said, âDonât worry, I donât actually sleep here much.â
Because these past years, he hardly ever slept. He had been getting his rest whenever he passed out.
Song Qingshi stared at him for a long time but saw no trace of lying on his face. The bedding next to him showed no traces of having been moved. He felt that there was something suspicious about this whole matter but he couldnât think of what. He had no choice but to set it aside for now.
He quickly checked his body and found that the burned body on the left had already recovered to how it was before. Only that when he was in a coma, he mobilized all his spiritual power to suppress the fires in his body and so the newly grown meridians had not been used. They were jerky and dry; a little painful as well. His fingers were a bit numb. He needed some time for rehabilitation. His throat too was a little stiff from not having spoken for a long time. But overall, there werenât any major problems.
Song Qingshi thought back to the time of the Heavenly Tribulation. Not quite daring to believe it, he concluded, âYou healed me?â
The wounds from the Heavenly Tribulation had been very severe. The injuries had been complicated. Being able to come out of that alive was already extremely lucky. These had definitely been complicated injuries that a person who has just began studying medicine wouldnât have been able to handle. His only hope had been that his injuries werenât as serious as he thought and Yue Wuhuan could rely on the medicines in the treasure house to take his life back from the brink. After waking, he would have handled it slowly. He never expected that Yue Wuhuan could heal him so wellâŠ
âI have failed many times,â Yue Wuhuan explained as he stretched out a few fiery red vines on the ground behind him, dexterously opened the suitcase and took out a set of brand-new clothes. He sent it over, and said lightly, âI exhausted all the books in the library and tried a variety of treatment methods. Finally two years ago, I refined the Muscle Regeneration pill, which I turned into a spiritual liquid and matched with the Blood Flower powder. This managed to repair your physical body. But Master, you still wouldnât wake up⊠I have been studying for a long time, and recently discovered that there was a point in Masterâs soul that would not fuse together. So I used the Soul Harmony Pill and guided it using the golden needles to fuse the scattered souls. Then, you finally woke upâŠâ
âThank you,â Song Qingshi was used to refining medicine. He knew how much effort it must have taken to make these seemingly, based on their names, simple medicine. He was searching for words to praise the intelligence of his familyâs little angel when he suddenly noticed the vines next to him. He stared at them in disbelief. âBlood King Vine?â
The Blood King Vine grew in lands of extreme heat. It was a rare fire-attribute plant. It possessed a portion of intelligence. After it grows up, it could occupy an entire mountaintop, devouring all the creatures on it, sucking their blood, burning and devouring their souls. All life within a hundred miles of it would wither and die until it was annihilated.
Because of its overbearing way of survival, it had already gone extinct in the distant past. Occasionally, magical implements using the Blood King Vines could be seen being sold in the market. But these were dead remnants and their effect wasnât very potent.
âIt wonât hurt Master.â Yue Wuhuan controlled the Blood King Vine to drape the coat on Song Qingshiâs shoulders. He then bent down, fastened his belt for him and explained, âI accidentally obtained this in the secret realm. This Blood King Vine is a seedling. It had lost its body ten thousand years ago and in its soul state, it was sealed within a barrier. It wanted to be close to me and so I decided to try to refine it into my soul to let it become a part of my body. I never expected I would actually succeed.â
There are many methods to refine the Blood King Vine in ancient books and there had been a lot of attempts. But there had only been one successful case, an unknown ancient Shenjun. Yue Wuhuan is not a reckless person. Although he has been tempered by the rank-skipping Lightning Tribulation, his physique now much stronger than that of ordinary Foundation Building cultivators, this matter was still extremely risky, even Nascent Soul cultivators wouldnât dare try it, unless⊠There had been no other choice.
Song Qingshi felt that he had a stomach full of things he wanted to ask, but he didnât know how to voice them out. He also knew that he wouldnât get a real answer.
Too much has happened in ten years.
He decided that heâll investigate these slowly after he manages to go out.
As soon as Song Qingshi took a step, his body lost its balance. The left half of his body went soft, unable to exert any force. His whole body fell forward and he was firmly held in Yue Wuhuanâs arms once again.
Although he knew that this situation was temporary, it cast a strong mental shadow over him. It was as though he had returned to the days when he was gradually losing his body. He wasnât afraid of any physical pain but was extremely afraid of this kind of numbness in his limbs.
He was terrified but he didnât dare say it. Yue Wuhuan has done so much for him. He canât trouble him any longer with this little psychological problem. He also didnât not want him to worry about it anymore. But for some reason, he couldnât let go of his tight grip on Yue Wuhuanâs robe. The tenser his body became, the more rigid it became; and the more rigid it became, the more afraid he was. Muscles that hadnât been nourished by spiritual power for several years gradually fell into convulsions.
Yue Wuhuan realized that there was something wrong with him. He quickly carried him in his arms and walked out of the secret room.
The layout of the bedroom was exactly the same as it was in the past. The beddings had been regularly changed and washed with the familiar herbal aroma.
Yue Wuhuan placed him down with the greatest of care. He had the vine fetch a jade hairpin from the dressing table. He carefully massage the meridians and acupuncture points in his instep. He said, comfortingly, âItâs alright. Take deep breaths. Relax⊠You havenât moved for a long time. This situation is normal and youâll be better soon. I will massage your hands and feet several times a day. After half a month at most, youâll be able to move about freely.â
âEn.â Song Qingshi felt embarrassed. Even his ears were red. He wanted to make like an ostrich and bury himself under the quilts.
Did he mean to say âshyâ? Song Qingshiâs ears became even redder. Stumblingly, he argued, âIâve always been the one to heal myself when I get injured.â The he in this realm had almost no friends. Even when heâs injured, he can only rely on himself. He was used to handling everything himself. âReally, when my hand was ripped off in a secret realm, I sewed it back on by myself when I came back. Iâm not afraid of pain at all!â
This situation was just unexpected. He was usually very capable of fighting, full of manly spirit! Although he might not be able to keep from shedding tears if itâs too painful, he was sure that he would deal with everything first before cryingâŠ
Yue Wuhuanâs massage stopped for a moment. He raised his eyes and said seriously, âWith me, you wonât be dealing with it by yourself in the future.â
Song Qingshi thought for a long time and nodded embarrassedly, âOkay.â
Yue Wuhuan didnât speak any more and concentrated on getting his muscles to relax. A cool breeze blew from outside the window, sending in the faint fragrance of flowers. The world seemed to have lost its voice; it was so quiet that only their breathing could be heard. Song Qingshi looked at the person in front of him. Suddenly, he realized what about him felt different. His temperament had changed.
The original Yue Wuhuan was like an extravagant and gorgeous flower with some thorns to prick your hand. But the Yue Wuhuan now has become a bare-edged sword, his features were filled with dashing spirit that could cleave through any obstaclesâŠ
Once he relaxed, the spasms gradually disappeared. Song Qingshi moved his fingers. After making sure that he could still move, he tried not to think about it and leave it to practice later.
He looked at Yue Wuhuanâs now even more beautiful face and suddenly remembered something very important. âHow did you manage outside these past years? Did you use a disguise? I donât mean anything by it, just that⊠There are many bad people in the immortal realm. Even Iâve been the victim of several attempted abductions by those who misjudged me to be easy to bullyâŠâ
This kind of thing has happened many times. Every time he went out, there were people who tried to knock him out with drugs or cheat him into being abducted.
He cleaned up these bastards in a brutal way and the situation got a lot better after his notoriety spread.
âMaster encounters these kind of things because he has a single water-type spiritual root.â During the diagnosis and treatment, Yue Wuhuan discovered that although there were two types of fires hidden in Song Qingshiâs body, his spiritual root was actually the opposite water-type spiritual root. He suppressed the flames by cold force and combined with his poison abilities, it turned into a truly physique.
However, in the eyes of ordinary cultivators, those with a single water-type spiritual root were the type with very poor combat ability. Very few were strong ones. Their most common function was for double cultivation or they were refined into the best cultivation furnaces.
Had Song Qingshi not been strong enough, with a very special physique that made others unable to control him, what would have awaited him would have been similar to what Yue Wuhuan had gone through, a hell where one was better off dead.
Just thinking of the filthy thoughts those evil cultivators would have directed to Song Qingshiâs body, Yue Wuhuan was so disgusted that he wanted to go out and kill someone. He warned, âIn the future, Master must never let anyone know your spiritual root. Moreover, you mustnât believe in other peopleâs sweet talk. Donât just carelessly agree to become someoneâs Daoist companion or engage in double cultivationâŠâ
Song Qingshi earnestly agreed. But he didnât understand what spiritual roots had to do with Daoist companions. In any case, he hadnât met a suitor in more than a thousand years, so it shouldnât be a big problem.
When he was attending school, his seniors teased him, saying that a medical dog like him who only knew how to read books, answer problems and do experiments could never find a girlfriend, even if he werenât sick.
At the time, he had been a bit dejected. If⊠If he found someone he liked, he would definitely be better at licking their shoes than his senior brothers! Preparing hot water, buying breakfast and even handing over his debit card would all have been easy!
Yue Wuhuan knew that he rarely went out and didnât understand these kinds of malice. He also didnât want to dirty his heart. Heâll wait until later to educate him on these things. He began to answer the previous question, âI practiced the Cold Jade technique and Poison Control Method given to me by Master. I used my spiritual power to seal the toxins in my body.â
He circulated the poisons in his body and countless multi-colored and terrifying patterns appeared on the upper half of his face. It scattered in disarray all over his forehead, around his eyes, the bridge of his nose and his cheeks. It also covered the dazzling tear-shaped mole, destroying all the beauty. The lower half of his face retained its original appearance, creating a contrast that made the entire display more tragic and hideousâŠ
Song Qingshi was shocked. âDevil Mask Snake Venom?â
âEn, the way Master suppressed the flames served as inspiration.â Yue Wuhuan smiled happily, âI extracted and purified the Devil Mask Snake Venom, added some other drugs and had it appear on my face. This way, whenever I went out to deal with things, although it gives others a fright, it can get rid of all the troubles. Once news of Wuhuan Gongziâs disfigurement spread, it became much safer for me.â
Song Qingshi couldnât help reaching out and touching it. The skin was still very smooth and the feel was no different from the original.
Yue Wuhuan let the toxins continue to spread. He smiled, âIf anyone suspects and starts to get any ideas, I just let go of the spiritual confinement on the toxins and the Demon Mask Snake venom will spread all over my body, making him lose all interest.â
Song Qingshi looked at the pattern on his body and felt a little distressed. However, he had to admit that it was a better method than using a disguise.
This venom in his body can put an end to all evil thoughts. Moreover, beautiful things, once completely destroyed, would arouse pity in others. At least, they will no longer be interested in thinking of all those unbearable sceneries in front of him nor will they use his past to humiliate him. However, such a face would be met with fear, disgust and contempt. This was not the kind of malice that ordinary people could bearâŠ
âI donât care about this face. Without this face, people can see my other strengths. And itâs not completely destroyed since I was afraid Master would be sad.â Yue Wuhuan understood his intentions and removed the toxins, revealing his beautiful face once again, his phoenix eyes filled with doting tenderness, âIf Master likes this face of mine, I will only show it to you from now on, okay?â
The red vines twined around Song Qingshiâs feet. It swayed to and fro, acting like a spoiled child.
âOkay,â Song Qingshi understood and immediately praised, âWuhuan looks the best!â
Yue Wuhuan laughed, exceedingly happy.
He got up, took off his clothes that got wet from the water droplets and put on a red slim-fitting brocade robe. A thin golden rope was strapped around his waist. He practiced swordsmanship all the year round and his posture was as tall and straight as poplar; gone was his weak and delicate appearance of before.
The vine brought over a brocade box. Inside the brocade box was a golden mask. The mask was exquisitely crafted with asymmetrical wings spread out on both sides. A woven red ribbon was hung from the left side and the ribbon was tied with three bright and vibrantly colored little gems.
He casually gathered his hair behind his head, leaving only a few slightly wavy bangs. He then put on a mask to cover all the places where the Devil Mask Snake Venom had spread. With his voluptuous lips and light honey-colored chin, it actually created an ostentatiously domineering and aggressive beauty that made people unable to look away.
Song Qingshi once again sincerely praised, âThis mask is really beautiful.â
The corners of Wuhuanâs mouth rose slightly. He was extremely delighted. âMaster is already awake. I canât make you lose face when I go out.â
He had deliberately controlled the venom to cover only half of his face in consideration for when Song Qingshi woke up. Just like how a male bird must spread its beautiful wings to win the favor of the bird in his heart, he also didnât want the person he likes to see him looking ugly. He wanted him to see only his good-looking side.
Song Qingshi saw that he had carefully thought of everything and was completely relieved. He turned to other questions of concern, âIs everything alright in the Medicine Kingâs Valley? Thereâs nothing wrong?â
âNothing much, only thereâs something thatâs a bit troublesome.â Yue Wuhuan waved his hand and the red vine once again took a thick stack of letters and handed them to Song Qingshi. âAn Long wrote to you. You should read them. â
Song Qingshi flipped through the letters. At first, An Long would send a letter once every two or three months. They were all ordinary greeting letters. They sent all kinds of gifts with the occasional amusing anecdotes. After five years, they were replaced by questions as to why he hadnât replied. The number of letters also increased. He seemed to have guessed that something had happened to Song Qingshi. He questioned Yue Wuhuan harshly. The contents of the letter for the last six months became threats on Yue Wuhuanâs person, saying that he was going to slaughter him.
Yue Wuhuan said helplessly, âAt first he thought you were angry or that you had gone into closed door cultivation refining medicine. He wasnât at all suspicious. Later, I began to collect medicines and movements to reorganize the Medicine Kingâs Valley became somewhat big. He became suspicious and kept questioning me. I was forced to reply, to stall and delay him. In the end⊠he found clues from the types of medicines I bought and he investigated the Heavenly Tribulation at the Medicine Kingâs Valley. Knowing that Iâve assumed control of the Medicine Kingâs Valley, he thought that you were seriously injured or that your body perished and that I took the chance to seize controlâŠthis matter canât go on any longer. Fortunately, Master has woken up and can personally send a reply to explain.â
Song Qingshi became more speechless as he looked. âIs this guy still trying to break through?â
Yue Wuhuan said, âHe made a charge twice already. The poison formation and the maze formation in the west has been destroyed. Even though I have repaired and strengthened the formation, the Gu Kingâs cultivation is formidable and his methods, strange. If he charges again, Iâm afraid the array wonât be able to hold onâŠâ
Establishing a formation required a lot of spirit stones, all of which were demolished by this Alaskan MalamuteâŠ
Song Qingshiâs mouth twitched from heartache. However, the matter of his injury had to be concealed. He couldnât blame Yue Wuhuan for resolutely withholding the truth. Because the truth had been concealed, An Long thought he had met with an accident and did this stupid act of demolishing his house. And so, he also couldnât blame An LongâŠWho was to blame then? He could only blame himself for losing consciousness too quickly; he didnât have time to hand anything over.
Fortunately, his right hand could still move. Heâll have to hurry up and write an explanationâŠ
The Medicine Kingâs Valley had limited resources and couldnât stand being damaged again.