Chapter 171: Torrential Realm pt. 10
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Rumble…
Lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, and the silver moon was already covered by dark clouds.
Lightning illuminated Jing Yue’s face. His eyes were red, and there were bloodstains on his face that hadn't dried up, making him look like a devil from hell.
Jing Yue climbed up the stairs. Dead bodies littered the long steps behind him, while the remaining guards in front of him retreated unconsciously at this moment. They feared this murderous god from the bottom of their hearts.
Since these people didn’t make a move, Jing Yue took no notice of them. He walked all the way to the end of the long steps. When he was about to enter Royal Purple Palace, the guards finally returned to their senses. They glanced at each other, picked up their weapons, and tried to attack Jing Yue from behind.
To their surprise, Jing Yue seemed to have eyes behind his back. Mini Canglan Sword zoomed out quickly. Under the shadow of the sword, frost spread in all directions. The flowers and trees on the mountain froze instantly, and this space was trapped in Jing Yue's ice domain.
Ice dust floated in the air like bright star lamps, and ice sculptures in different poses remained on the long steps.
When Jing Yue took back the Mini Canglan Sword and looked up again, he saw a figure outside the palace gate.
The figure stood against the light and blended into the night. Only the outline of his face was still reflected under the warm light.
Jing Yue's heart suddenly felt warm, and the corners of his mouth curled up uncontrollably. “Yanzhi, I'm here to fetch you.”
He took a few steps forward and saw Qin Yanzhi's smiling eyes. The other party stretched out his hand, “I was waiting for you.”
The moment the two clasped hands, lightning flashed in the sky again, and a drop of rain hit Jing Yue's face. With a wave of his sleeve, the fog in this area instantly cleared, and the silver moon revealed its face again.
Under the moonlight, their shadows intertwined and merged with each other.
Besides each other, their eyes also reflected the moonlight.
“My beloved apprentice, ahem… ahem.”
A-Wu, who appeared from his hiding place, wanted Jing Yue to bring his grand-apprentice to greet him. But the next moment, all his words got stuck in his throat.
Suddenly, his apprentice hugged the man who was suspected to be his grand-apprentice tightly. That posture made his hair stand on end and his scalp tingled. This feeling came out of nowhere. A-Wu frowned and thought about it. After a long time, he finally came to his senses. If this embrace happened between a man and a woman, he would think it was normal, but if it was two men…
A-Wu shuddered, rubbed his chin with his finger, and a hint of understanding crossed his eyes. It turned out that the men from the West expressed friendship so passionately.
At this time, he suddenly heard the sounds of chirping, which was quite familiar. A-Wu looked down. It turned out that his apprentice’s little spiritual pet ran to his feet. It was standing on tiptoe, stretching its neck, and holding its wings in front of its chest. The furry face couldn’t contain its intoxication.
Lan Ji-ji was indeed intoxicated. It was such a beautiful day and absence made the heart grow fonder. According to the routine, Jing-jing and Hooligan should kiss before pouncing on each other. In the end, the fire would burn, rain would pour, and water and fire would blend together!
“Chirp! Kiss! Hurry up and kiss!”
The blue phoenix's beak kept opening and closing, feeling extremely anxious, when suddenly someone said, “What are you doing?”
Lan Ji-ji was taken aback for a moment. Its small body froze and its eyes went blank.
After a while, it sat down on the ground with a sudden feeling of sadness. Ji-ji had changed. Ji-ji was no longer the pure Ji-ji of the past. The so-called rotten door was a bottomless pit. From now on, Ji-ji would be gay-ji…
(TN: Wordplay in this case. The character Fu 腐 as you can find in Fujoshi and Fudanshi means ‘rotten’, so the rotten door refers to falling into the BL pit. Ji-lao 叽佬 which is Ji-ji’s name and ‘lao’ meaning dude or guy is a homonym for 基佬 which refers to gay guy.)
The blue phoenix wallowed in misery alone, but Jing-jing didn’t understand its melancholy.
At this moment, Jing Yue also hugged Qin Yanzhi tightly. He could smell the cold fragrance that belonged to Qin Yanzhi alone, and it was enough to make him overlook the bloody stench on his body.
Of course, he could also feel that Qin Yanzhi's strength had improved a step further, especially the strength of his physical body, which was no longer comparable to the Return to Void cultivators of later generations.
What happened to Qin Yanzhi? At this moment, Jing Yue didn't want to ask. He just wanted to calm down and feel the other person's existence.
From the moment he met Qin Yanzhi just now, all the fear, uneasiness, joy, and confusion that he experienced since arriving in Torrential Realm gradually settled and froze. His surging heart returned to peace again.
Because only at this time, Jing Yue felt that he was real. A-Wu was his past and future, but only Qin Yanzhi was his present.
“I missed you.”
Jing Yue felt a ticklish numbness in his ears. It was Qin Yanzhi's warm breath. He closed his eyes and said softly, “I miss you too.”
Qin Yanzhi, “I have something to tell you...”
Jing Yue, “Hmm?”
Qin Yanzhi, “Actually, I…”
“Apprentice, is that my grand-apprentice?”
A sudden voice interrupted Qin Yanzhi's words. When he looked up, he saw a man standing very close to them, looking at them curiously.
Qin Yanzhi's eyes darkened slightly. He let go of Jing Yue a little and stood on guard. When did this person come? With his cultivation, he actually didn’t realize it.
Jing Yue was also taken aback and immediately exploded in embarrassment. How could he forget? Shizun was still around!
So, he didn't bother to listen to what Qin Yanzhi had to say. He quickly stood upright and said solemnly, “Yanzhi, this is A-Wu, my Shizun.”
Qin Yanzhi, “…” Shizun?
After less than half a year apart, his status was downgraded again?
Qin Yanzhi looked at A-Wu secretly. Seeing the other party's arms crossed over his chest and waiting for his greeting, he tried to guess what was so special about A-Wu that made A-jing willingly recognize him as his Shizun.
Whether he was willing or forced to do so, Qin Yanzhi could still tell. Jing Yue obviously respected and trusted this Shizun, but the two had only known each other for half a year at most. Based on Jing Yue’s character, it was not that easy for him to drop his guard.
Qin Yanzhi was full of thoughts, and at the same time, A-Wu was also looking at him.
The young man in front of him had a good appearance like white jade, not inferior to Jing Yue at all. A-Wu was very satisfied, but he couldn't figure out why this grand-apprentice didn't come forward to greet him.
Just as he was about to make a fuss, his obedient apprentice said with guilt on his face, “Shizun, I lied to you.”
A-Wu: ???
Jing Yue, “Yanzhi is not my apprentice, but my future Dao partner.”
“What?”
A-Wu heard but didn’t understand, and only realized after a while. “A-Are you saying he’s not your apprentice?”
Jing Yue nodded in shame, “Yes.”
A-Wu, “Then I don't have any grand-apprentice either?”
Jing Yue, “…Yes.”
A-Wu, “But I have an apprentice’s husband? Apprentice’s wife? Apprentice-in-law?”
Jing Yue, “…Shizun can think of it that way.”
There was another peculiar silence, and A-Wu suddenly said, “You lied to me.”
Jing Yue, “Shizun, this matter…”
He was about to explain when A-Wu hit him with one hand. He raised two fingers with the other hand, and the stone sword behind his back was launched right at Qin Yanzhi!
Jing Yue got pushed hundreds of feet away, but he didn't feel uncomfortable. Where he stood just now, Qin Yanzhi and A-Wu were already fighting fiercely, but A-Wu’s movements were obviously held back. Knowing that the other party simply wanted to test Qin Yanzhi's skills, he felt relieved.
He guessed right. A-Wu wanted to try this person's swordsmanship to see if his sword intent was really as sharp as the yellow talisman refined by Jing Yue. But the more he fought, the more excited and exhilarated he became. He had not felt this fervent and wholehearted feeling of every move and style for hundreds of thousands of years!
A-Wu's whole body was boiling. Although he didn't display the strength of Mortal Tribulation, his sword moves were fully displayed, but he was only on par with Qin Yanzhi.
He liked this feeling of fighting on equal footing and preferred to win from such parity. A-Wu racked his brains and forced himself to go further. Suddenly, he felt a chill on his shoulder. It turned out that his robe was ripped by Qin Yanzhi's sword energy. If the opponent intended to hurt him, his arm would be severed by this time.
A-Wu withdrew his sword and laughed. “Good! Very good!”
He patted Qin Yanzhi on his shoulder. “I have nothing to teach you. You’re stronger than me.”
Qin Yanzhi was taken aback. He could feel that this person was far superior to him in strength, but he was indeed inferior to him in terms of swordsmanship. But the other party actually admitted so openly that he was not as good as a junior really surprised him.
Jing Yue's Shizun was a straightforward person.
When he was alone with Jing Yue, Qin Yanzhi mentioned this matter, and Jing Yue said with a smile, “In my heart, Shizun must be the best Shizun in the world.”
Qin Yanzhi, “In my heart, you are the best Shizun in the world.”
Jing Yue paused and looked into Qin Yanzhi's eyes in astonishment. He saw the affection and nostalgia in the other's eyes, as well as many complicated and incomprehensible things.
A strange thought suddenly came to his mind, and before he could ask, his guess became a reality.
“I remember everything, Shizun,” Qin Yanzhi said slowly. That simple sentence carried a burden that lasted for more than ten thousand years.
Jing Yue stared with wide eyes. “You…”
“I remember.” This time, Qin Yanzhi's tone became more certain. He held Jing Yue's hand, with a smile in his eyes. “I remember that I’m Yi Wang, your second disciple.”
Jing Yue, “…”
It was surprising, but not really unexpected. Jing Yue had gone through too many surprises and fright during this time. At least for this matter, he had been mentally prepared to some extent.
After that, Qin Yanzhi talked about the scenes he saw in the Forsaken Flower, and Jing Yue was distressed and moved as he listened. When he learned that the other party entered three ‘hun’ into the sword, Jing Yue suddenly realized. No wonder he couldn't sense the destiny of master and disciple with Qin Yanzhi. It turned out that Qin Yanzhi’s soul was fragmented in this lifetime.
But that wasn’t right either. If Qin Yanzhi lost three ‘hun’, how could he be reincarnated?
“What’s wrong?” Qin Yanzhi noticed the difference in Jing Yue's expression.
Jing Yue hesitated for a moment and said, “Yanzhi, can you let me enter your soul-mind to take a look?”
Qin Yanzhi was slightly startled. “Of course.”
After that, he closed his eyes, and his trembling eyelashes betrayed his nervousness.
Qin Yanzhi didn't forget what happened the last time his consciousness entered Jing Yue’s soul-mind.
Jing Yue was very nervous too. Last time, Yanzhi's consciousness entered his soul-mind to help him dispel the remnant soul that tried to take possession of him. This time, he was about to enter the other party’s domain and inspect Qin Yanzhi's soul-mind inch by inch.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
(TN: In Daoism, every human soul灵魂 ‘linghun’ is made up of 3 魂 ‘hun’ and 7 魄 ‘po’. For easy reading, I used ‘soul’ for ‘hun’ in earlier chapters, but for this chapter and the next, ‘hun’ and ‘po’ have to be differentiated between a person’s soul, so I’ll be using pinyin for these two terms. QYZ splitting his soul was mentioned in Chapter 161.)