Chapter 31: Futai (7)

“Take my clothes off?” Yan Qing froze, blinked in bewilderment, then asked whatever came to his mind, “Yaoyao, why would I need to take my clothes off to form my Nascent Soul?”

Xie Shiyi rarely explained things to others. His voice was slow and measured as he lowered his gaze, channeling a trace of spiritual energy into the cold spring. In a cool, detached tone, he said, “Forming a Nascent Soul is the process of a cultivator condensing spiritual energy into their ‘true self.’ You once reached the Soul Formation stage, so your ‘true self’ has long been set. To reshape a Nascent Soul, you must first break before you rebuild. The process of breaking the ‘true self’ is very painful.”

Yan Qing was rather curious. “Painful? How painful is it?”

Xie Shiyi insipidly looked at him. “It’s a pain you won’t be able to endure.”

These words greatly amused Yan Qing. He said through his angrily gritted teeth, “Something I won’t be able to endure? Like what?” In his past life, he had walked through Wangu¹ Gorge and traversed Shifang² City, and yet nobody had dared speak these words to his face!

Xie Shiyi sarcastically said, “It’s roughly like falling off the roof ten thousand times.”

“…”

Yan Qing swallowed back all the biting mockery and ridicule he had just been about to spew.

Once Xie Shiyi brought this out as a point of comparison, Yan Qing was struck dumb and couldn’t find the words to retort.

In the beginning, their impressions of each other were quite bad—he thought Xie Shiyi was antisocial and apathetic, a suicidal maniac. Xie Shiyi thought he was spineless and cowardly, an impatient wastrel.

That summer night when they dispelled their bygone enmity, surprisingly felt as if it were a lifetime ago.

Yan Qing couldn’t help but laugh. He recalled himself from his memories and helplessly said, “Alright then.” He lifted his hand, exposing his pale, slender wrist from under his sleeve. As his fingers unhurriedly removed his crown, a cascade of fine black hair followed it. A strand of raven black hair settled on his collar bone, where the skin was cool-toned, pale, and satin-like. The shallow hollow seemed like a silent invitation, with a hint of spring’s warmth rippling through it.

Although he knew Xie Shiyi wouldn’t be looking, Yan Qing, when his fingers reached his belt, still coquettishly called out, “Please maintain propriety, Immortal Venerable.”

Xie Shiyi stood behind him and let out an extremely low, extremely cold scoff.

Yan Qing gathered his black hair and rolled his eyes. He could imagine Xie Shiyi’s expression without even needing to look back.

He discarded his outer robe, undid his inner garments, and stepped into the cold spring with a natural ease.

Although this pool in Yuqing Peak’s plum forest was called a cold spring, it wasn’t the least bit chilly. The water was milky white, and Yan Qing’s inky black hair and red thread floated atop the surface as he used his fingers to stir the cold spring. Suddenly, he had a thought and asked with a smile, “Yaoyao, did you come here often in the past?”

Xie Shiyi refused to answer this question. Instead, he indifferently said, “Form your Nascent Soul. I’ll be on the side keeping watch.”

Yan Qing: “Ah.”

He leaned back against the rim of the pool and closed his eyes. In his hands, he grasped a couple blades of torn grass that conveniently happened to be near him, breaking them one by one. To Yan Qing, the process of forming a Nascent Soul was a facile one, so easy that he couldn’t even be bothered to spare a modicum of his attention toward it.

The only thing occupying his mind was Xie Shiyi’s cold sneer filled with mockery.

The more Yan Qing thought about it, the angrier he got, and he aggressively snapped the grass in his hand. He thought, why hadn’t he taken the opportunity to bully Xie Shiyi like this at the beginning!?

The tepid water wrapped around his skin, and as his spiritual energy condensed around his Dantian, a warmth radiated outward. Yan Qing found a sensitive point and poured his spiritual consciousness into it, finally beginning to form his Nascent Soul in earnest.

The plum blossom petals fell like drops of blood, landing on his hair and shoulders, then sliding off into the pool, as graceful as a kiss.

Xie Shiyi calmly stood behind him.

Yan Qing suddenly thought.

Actually, this situation was pretty entertaining. If the roles were reversed, then it would just be their reunion from their past life in Shifang City.

*

In Shifang City, Yan Qing was a legend.

In Shifang City, there was a Young City Lord who was infamous for his viciousness, his looks, his inscrutable moods, and the daggers hidden behind his smiles. In fact, Yan Qing’s hobbies were too strange, his words were too insidious, that even in a city of evil-doers like Shifang, nobody cared about his “legendarily beautiful” face. Whenever his name was mentioned, it was always with a suppressed fury that nobody dared to speak aloud.

The Red Lotus Pavillion, as its name would suggest, was filled with red lotuses.

The pavillion was located above a lotus pond. It was richly ornamented from top to bottom with red, and the winding corridors had nine bends and ten curves. Spotlessly white skulls, sparkling and translucent, hung from the ceilings, while lanterns ignited with ghostly blue flames illuminated the path.

On the day of the Demon Realm’s Hundred Cities’ Pilgrimage.

Yan Qing bit down on his folding fan, tying up his hair as he walked out. Rows of elegantly dressed men and women kneeled in the hallway, their heads bowed in silence.

Beside him, the old eunuch wore a grave expression that hadn’t changed in ten years, like he was perpetually in mourning. He held a horsetail whisk, and his face was covered in deep wrinkles. Trailing behind were a group of young eunuchs, all “kindly and thoughtfully” assigned to him by Huai Mingzi.

With a nasally voice, the old eunuch pointedly said, “Young City Lord, your seven immortal and six mortal souls³ are unstable. According to this old slave, dual cultivation is the fastest method to solidify your souls. These people were selected by this old slave from all over Shifang City for you, and not a single one is lacking in appearance, physique, or constitution. Please take a look. Do any of them satisfy you?”

Yan Qing absentmindedly tucked a strand of inky-black hair behind his ear and retrieved the fan from his mouth. Red sleeves lightly brushed over the wood planks of the winding corridor until his steps finally came to a slight halt. His gaze fell upon a youth dressed in white.

The youth sensed his attention and immediately straightened up his kneeling posture. Slowly, he lifted his head and exposed a smile towards him.

“Young City Lord.” A timid, soft, sweet sound. A fresh, pure, cute face. A petite body one could fully embrace with one grasp.

A figure fully swathed in white silk, only making it seem more lovely and pitiful.

Yan Qing blinked and curiously asked, “You knew you were about to see me, so you wore mourning clothes in advance?”

The youth: “…”

The old eunuch: “…” He began kneading his horsetail whisk.

Yan Qing continued walking forward. This time, a lovely young lady, caked in makeup, draped in clothing that half-covered, half-exposed her, and full of tender feelings that seemed to be brewing, exposed a smile towards him.

Yan Qing gasped in shock and pointed at her with his fan, stopping her in advance. He spoke with gentle persuasion, “Don’t smile, miss, absolutely do not smile. Do you know what my Red Lotus Pavillion’s winding corridors are made out of? Scarlet sandalwood, a thousand pounds of gold per plank. Every time you smile, your face sheds a layer of powder, and I’m afraid it will be very difficult to sweep up when the time comes.”

The young lady: “…”

The old eunuch began kneading his horsetail whisk harder.

Yan Qing walked around the Red Lotus Pavillion just like an emperor selecting a concubine. And a very fussy, snarky, and hard-to-please emperor at that.

“Look at how hard this auntie is crying. Eunuch Qi, I hope you didn’t kidnap women from ordinary families. What if they have a three-year-old kid at home? You really have no morals.”

The young girl who was feigning tears for a pitiful, glossy-eyed look: “…”

A young boy wanted to use the strategy of “letting loose in order to gain control”⁴ right in front of his face. As soon as he saw him, he started screaming and crying that he was going to jump into the pond, swearing on his life that he would never yield, his face full of pure determination. “Let me go! I will never be yours!”

Upon seeing this, Yan Qing turned around to look at the old eunuch. The old eunuch lifted his chin and puffed his chest, his entire being conveying “this has nothing to do with me.”

Yan Qing’s lips slightly hooked up, and profoundly said, “Eunuch Qi, isn’t it strange and contradictory how people with no brains can still manage to overthink everything?”

“…” The old eunuch was so infuriated by his veiled jab that another wrinkle practically etched itself onto his face.

Yan Qing didn’t stop as he reached the doorway. A black frog jumped out of the lotus pond and landed at his feet with a ribbit. The procession members who had suffered a journey of torment following this “emperor selecting a concubine” instantly held their breaths with rapt attention.

Yan Qing lowered his head and pensively watched the frog for a few moments. He then opened his fan and covered his face with a smile, his peach blossom eyes curving. “I’ll say, Eunuch Qi, you’re really too considerate, even offering up your own family member to me.”

Eunuch Qi…

Eunuch Qi was already so hopping mad that his eyes were about to roll back, and he was going to faint!

But fortunately, as someone who was able to stay by Yan Qing’s side for many years, he was not an easy person to deal with. He quickly swallowed his anger, grasped his horsetail whisk, and followed him. With eyes as dark and cruel as a viper, he delicately said, “This old slave is simply curious. Bold and vigorous, fresh and pure, old, young, men, women—these past years, this old slave has searched for hundreds of thousands of types. Young City Lord has never been satisfied. Is there anyone under the heavens who would catch Young City Lord’s eye?”

Yan Qing, with his red robes, black hair, and white skin, looked every bit the picture of romantic elegance. He corrected him and said, “Eunuch Qi, you’re mistaken. In this world, it’s not beauty that’s hard to come by, it’s fate!”

Eunuch Qi quietly fumed. “Fate? This old slave would like to hear more.”

Yan Qing lazily wrangled with him. “Marriage is something arranged by the heavens. So naturally, fate too must come from above.”

“My fated person ought to walk the same path as me, guided by the heavens.”

“Yes, she should be born in the Cave of Ten Thousand Ghosts—among the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, through the haze of smoke, treading on white bones to approach me.”

Eunuch Qi: “…” More like approaching you to take your life!

The Demon Realm was located at the bottom three layers of the Nine Heavens⁵ and its atmosphere was saturated with suffocating yin and smoggy ghost aura. The Cave of Ten Thousand Ghosts, in particular, served as the burial mounds of evil-doers across thousands of years. Anyone who could survive there definitely shouldn’t be messed with.

Shifang City was the capital of the Demon Realm. The so-called Hundred Cities’ Pilgrimage was merely a formality to those who only recognized the law of slaughter.

As Yan Qing walked along the street, people moved out of the way like a receding tide. When the entire city heard that he would make an appearance, thanks to the old eunuch by his side, each and every person painted their faces garishly and wore gaudy clothes, terrified that their “stunning good looks” might catch the eye of their excessively licentious Young City Lord, who would then drag them back to the Red Lotus Pavillion.

“Paying respects to Young City Lord.”

“Paying respects to Young City Lord.”

A stream of people knelt along the road.

Whether tall and sturdy young men or gray and venerable elderly, everyone had dressed as colorfully as a peacock or a field of vibrant flowers.

Yan Qing drew in a sharp breath and passed through the flower field while shielding his eyes with his folding fan, unable to bear the sight.

The gates to Shifang City simply didn’t open, and today was no different. The City Lords of other cities had all gathered in front of the gates, obscured by the black fog shrouding them due to living in the Demon Realm year-round. Their expressions were gloomy as they waited in unison for Yan Qing to scale the city gates and pour wine as an offering to the earth.

Although it was called a wine offering, the wine cup was actually filled with blood, the blood of Hei City’s City Lord who had previously trespassed upon Shifang City.

That person’s skull still hung in front of the gates of Shifang City. It was intended to warn as well as to threaten.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve kept you waiting.”

Yan Qing said everything with a hint of a smile, languid and warm.

Yet, when this silhouette appeared atop the city, everyone below held their breath, suppressed the killing intent in their eyes, and did not speak.

Yan Qing’s pale hand rested atop a battlement, and the soul silk on his wrist trailed downward. The Zhinu⁶ Thread was an ancient celestial artifact, dazzlingly bright and beautifully elegant. Yet everyone below the city gates knew how terrifying it could be when it pierced through a person’s eyeballs and entered their consciousness, slicing their spirit into splinters.

Yan Qing thoughtfully looked down, then asked, “It seems we’re missing someone, hm? Chi City’s City Lord didn’t come?”

The old eunuch by his side faintly said, “Answering Young City Lord, Chi City’s City Lord went to the Cave of Ten Thousand Ghosts a few days ago.”

Yan Qing smirked slightly and meaningfully said, “How strange, he unexpectedly went to the Cave of Ten Thousand Ghosts. And here I thought he would come to Shifang City for revenge.”

The old eunuch smiled fakely. “No way, Young City Lord must be joking.”

Yan Qing said, “Where’s the wine cup?” The old eunuch clapped his palms and called for people to bring up the three wine cups filled with blood.

The cups were made from jasper, and their walls were transparent. The liquid swayed within the cup and emitted a slight demonic glow.

Yan Qing was used to riling people up and lazily quipped, “How come the blood seems to be lacking? Eunuch Qi, you didn’t drink any behind my back, did you?”

Eunuch Qi chuckled and said, “How could this old slave have the stomach? Young City Lord must have misremembered.” Deep down, he was furious—if he had the chance to do anything behind Yan Qing’s back, he already would have killed him a thousand times over!

Yan Qing carried a wine cup, walked forward to the front of the wall, and hooked his lips in a smile. With a curve of his sleeve, he poured out the cup of blood from the top of the city.

The blood became a long string and dripped onto the ground in intermittent drops.

Yan Qing smiled and said, “Since the City Lord is in seclution, I will be in charge of the Pilgrimage this time.”

“If you ask me, Hei City’s City Lord died in a pretty strange way. There are so many ways to pay a visit to Shifang City, so why did he choose the most extreme one? People who don’t know any better might even think we’re terribly inhospitable.”

The City Lords standing below: “…”

After Yan Qing finished speaking, he then slowly added, “I’ve heard that Chi City’s City Lord was like a brother to Hei City’s City Lord. It’s truly such a pity.”

His tone was very light, the last syllables evaporating like smoke as he softly smiled.

“Unfortunately, it seems he wasn’t able to make it for the final brotherly farewell.”

As he finished pouring out the second cup, his fingers slowly loosened, and the jasper cup fell to the ground with a “bang,” shattering instantly.

“Yan Qing!”

Accompanying the bang was a shout full of repressed despair.

The obscuring fog howled, the evil ghosts yowled. Shifang City becamethe capital because of its critical location, right across from the Cave of Ten Thousand Ghosts—

The Demon Realm had no sun, and even during the daytime the sky was dusky grey, with heavy black clouds, muddying heaven and earth. Yan Qing seemed to have expected this, and calmly took the third jasper cup. With robes as red as blood and wrists as pale as ice, he seemed to be the only beauty in the world.

“Yan Qing!” The sound came from the Demon Realm’s Chi City’s City Lord, and was brimming with both hatred and fear. But now it carried an additional tremor, so strong that the surrounding audience could recognize it as the thread of a desperate plea.

Yan Qing also paused. His eyes, which always seemed to carry a smile yet were actually exceptionally cold, looked up toward the city gate tower.

The Demon Realm was gloomy year-round, surrounded by fog, surrounded by obscurity, surrounded by untearable, neverending night. The Cave of Ten Thousand Ghosts was the root of all evil. Yan Qing, having walked out from within, knew what it was like inside. There were mountains of white bones, there were reeking rivers of blood, there were black flowers that bloomed ubiquitously and fed on human flesh. Now, as he stood atop Shifang City’s city wall, he watched as a person climbed out from there.

Chi City’s City Lord was missing a hand and his hair was dishevelled, and he acted as if something terrifying was pursuing him from behind. He crawled on the ground, trembling as he moved, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. “Yan Qing—!” He raised his head, shouting himself hoarse, his eyes filled with pleading.

But that final howl was silenced by a hand as cold as carved jade.

A hand extended from the black fog, pale, slender, and grasped his neck, leaving no room for resistance.

At the moment of snapping, the light in Chi City’s City Lord’s eyes slackened, his mouth overflowed with blood, and he slowly collapsed onto the ground.

All inside and outside Shifang City went still, and Yan Qing was also silent.

Everyone stared at the person who walked out of the Cave of Ten Thousand Ghosts.

Everything in the Demon Realm had to do with blood or darkness, yet at a glance that person had utterly no relation to either.

Blood steadily dripped from the tip of his sword. He walked forward, stepping over the corpse of Chi City’s City Lord, stepping over the scattered bones everywhere, his snow-white robes remaining pristine and cold, untouched by the world. His hair was like a waterfall of ink, and his physique was tall and upright, as elegant as a bamboo stalk in the snow. He walked through hell as if idly ambling through a palace.

From the moment his hand choked the life out of Chi City’s City Lord, every person could feel the might of his cultivation opressing them—the apex of Soul Formation.

In the entirety of the Demon Realm…only Yan Qing and Huai Mingzi were his match.

The old eunuch was so frightened blood drained from his face. “Young City Lord! This person is bad news! Shouldn’t we notify the City Lord?”

Yan Qing fiddled with the wine cup in his hands and cast a glance downward, his expression obscured by the shadows of the city wall. He said, “No need.”

The old eunuch said, “What? Young City Lord! Where are you going—”

The various City Lords were all startled into vibrating with anger like cicadas in winter.

“Who are you!?”

“Trespassing upon Shifang City calls for execution with no exceptions!”

But, when the city gates of Shifang City opened, they were all stunned once again.

“Shifang City’s gates opened?”

“Young City Lord!”

“Yan Qing…”

The ground was still littered with cup shards and blood drops. The pitch-black city gates slowly fanned open, light and shadow shifting in their wake, as Yan Qing’s silhouette appeared at the end. He seldom exited the city gates. If he wasn’t in the Red Lotus Pavillion knocking skulls for fun, then he was on top of the city wall slaughtering people with the soul silk, red robes whipping around him demonically.

Unexpectedly, the only time he stood before Shifang City’s gates was to welcome this uninvited guest.

The old eunuch hurried down, surprised and angry, shrilly yelling, “Young City Master! Why did you open the city gates!?” Nobody knew what that snow-white god of slaughter was up to. Huai Mingzi was currently in seclusion, and with that person’s apical Soul Formation cultivation, it seemed as if a life or death struggle was really about to take place, and nobody would come out of it for the better. Deep down in his hateful heart, he had a sinister thought that it would be best if Yan Qing and this person began fighting and both sides suffered losses, leaving him to reap the benefits.

Actually, during this entire time period, Yan Qing’s mental state had been extremely tense.

Hei City’s City Lord had suddenly backstabbed him as if his fuse was ignited. Huai Mingzi’s apprehension toward and vigilance against him had become stronger and stronger, and still he had no idea what that old coot was planning.

At his side was the old eunuch possessing unfathomable motives, and the Red Lotus Pavillion was packed with so-called beauties that seemed to come in all shapes and sizes, yet in reality all harbored concealed killing intent.

Utilizing his easy-going, cheerful persona, he had aloofly examined each person around him. However, today all hints of a smile vanished completely from his face.

Yan Qing’s robes skimmed the ground, and the red thread on his wrist winded around his fingers coil by coil.

The wind whipped around wildly, and stray bones blanketed the floor of the Cave of Ten Thousand Ghosts.

Xie Shiyi ignored the blood still dripping from his sword, and emerged from the dark chaos, his white robes like a clearing sky, his lifted gaze like snow falling onto a lake.

Out of nowhere, Yan Qing thought, “I really don’t know how the prestigious Upper Heaven Wangqing Sect managed to raise a killing machine like him.”

Everyone was waiting for Yan Qing to make a move. Or waiting for this uninvited guest to make a move. But the two people merely gradually walked toward each other, neither of them speaking a word.

The white bones loomed before the Cave of Ten Thousand Ghosts, just like the night when the Land of Fallen Gods was torn asunder.

An encounter without warning.

A separation without goodbye.

Even once they reunited, neither seemed to know the exact relationship between them.

Yan Qing had previously poured out three wine cups at the top of the city, and when he saw Xie Shiyi his mind uncharacteristically wandered, suddenly thinking of something from a long time ago. Xie Shiyi didn’t like drinking wine, and he hated pear blossom wine the most. Thus, Yan Qing, who was originally indifferent towards wine, stubbornly took it upon himself to make pear blossom wine the ultimate pursuit of his life—anyways, he was happy as long as Xie Shiyi was suffering.

At the End-of-Class Banquet of the Ascension Pavilion, fellow disciples gathered, toasting and exchanging cups of wine. Xie Shiyi was first in their class, and under Yan Qing’s “helpful guidance” was forced to accept many toasts. He drank all the way until the end, then ran back to his room with a cold face and sat expressionlessly in front of the bed to sober up. Yan Qing, stifling his guffaws, said, “No way, you can’t even take this much?” Xie Shiyi, at the end of his patience, shot back, “Are you sick in the head?” Yan Qing smugly replied, “My bad, I can drink a thousand cups without collapsing, I assumed you were the same.” Xie Shiyi pursed his lips and gave him the silent treatment.

The people outside were in a drunk frenzy, and began wailing tearful farewells and roaring their lofty ambitions. The bells hanging on the eaves lightly chimed, and Yan Qing curiously blinked his eyes. “Xie Shiyi, have you even thought about what kind of person you’ll be in the future?
Xie Shiyi, although drunk, was just as clear-headed as when sober. If anything, the cruelty and edginess in his bones only became more pronounced. He coldly laughed, “Hopefully I’ll be a stranger to you.”

Yan Qing wasn’t angry, and even applauded him. “How wonderful, great minds think alike.” He deliberately provoked him, “Yaoyo, I recently learned a new spell, I must test it out for you. Otherwise, once we’re strangers it’ll be a missed opportunity.”

At the name “Yaoyao,” Xie Shiyi’s originally already cold face grew even colder.

Yan Qing taunted, “Yaoyao, close your eyes.”

“Yaoyao, I can control a bit of wind now.”

His disgustingly perverse way of calling “Yaoyao” turned Xie Shiyi’s face that was initially glowing slightly red from the wine back into a cold pale white. The blurriness in his eyes dispersed to reveal an expression like he was looking at an idiot.

Reluctant to pay him any attention, he ultimately climbed up onto the table and shut his eyes to sleep. But how could Yan Qing let him have his way? Yan Qing reached out his hand, manipulating the wind outside to hit his face and prevent him from sleeping.

“Don’t go to sleep! Yaoyao!”

“Xie Shiyi!”

Yan Qing actually wanted to control the wind to open his eyes. But beginning to learn to control spiritual energy always had its many mishaps. Hence, in a moment of carelessness, he let the wind tear into the apricot tree outside, and instantly the leaves, petals, and dewdrops all came crashing down onto Xie Shiyi’s face.

Xie Shiyi: “…”

Yan Qing: “…”

Yan Qing rushed to apologize with an obsequious attitude before Xie Shiyi flipped out. “I’m sorry! Xie Shiyi! I’ll help clean this up right away, you just go right to sleep!” Hell knows whether this lunatic would self-harm just to make him suffer too!

Xie Shiyi let out a shaky exhale, choosing to screw his eyes shut and ignore him, thin lips pursed into a line. Therefore pitiful little Yan Qing could only control the wind to remove the leaves and petals from his face. He didn’t dare slip up again, and had no choice but to hold his breath anxiously and focus seriously to remove the dewdrops of his lashes, the flowers on his brows. Stroke by stroke, it ended up as if the wind itself was drawing his brows and smoothing his temples for him.

When his fingers reached his lips. Xie Shiyi’s eyes suddenly flew open, as if his drunkenness was revived. There was a flame within his eyes, and his face was slightly blushing, as he gnashed his teeth with anger and asked, “Are you done fooling around?”

Subconsciously, Yan Qing wanted to say, “apparently not.” But nobody would have a good time if either of them truly pissed the other off. So, Yan Qing, as a lonely soul from another world, could only say, “I’m done, I’m done.” But he wasn’t satisfied, and had to get in one last gross, “Good night Yaoyao.”

Yaoyao: “…”

Yaoyao seethed with anger the entire night and found it hard to sleep.

“Young City Lord, be careful!”

The instant the Buhui⁷ Sword moved.

Xie Shiyi’s wide sleeves whirled, his pupils lifted, and his pitch-black eyes seemed to encompass endless flurries of snow. He looked at Yan Qing entirely like a stranger.

Yan Qing hardly had time for distraction. He peacefully watched that sword intent, not moving a muscle.

Everyone in Shifang City was suddenly flooded with joy and worry—

Joy because Yan Qing was dead.

Worry because Yan Qing was dead.

Joy because this person possessed such immeasurable strength, even Yan Qing could be beheaded under his sword.

Worry because this person possessed such immeasurable strength, even Yan Qing could be beheaded under his sword.

Xie Shiyi cultivated the Path of Heartlessness, severing his seven immortal and six mortal souls, and consequently his sword intent was chilling to the utmost degree. As it brushed past his ear, it felt like a lonely wind from the distant heavens, carrying shards of snow that grazed against his skin.

Yan Qing had thought this sword intent would pierce through his body.

He didn’t expect that the moment Xie Shiyi approached, the Buhui Sword would shatter like ice crystals.

And at the same moment, one of his hands pressed upon Yan Qing’s shoulder, he moved forward, his body leaned closer, assuming a position both intimate and treacherous beyond compare.

But in the eyes of onlookers, when the two people crossed swords, it seemed as if it was Xie Shiyi who had been bested.

Xie Shiyi had emerged from the mountains of corpses and rivers of blood within the Cave of Ten Thousand Ghosts, yet his breath still remained as cold as ice, descending like a shroud that enveloped him completely.

With his lips pressed beside his ear, he softly said, “Take me back, Yan Qing.”

TN: guys my tiktok blew up so i’m stepping back from translating to focus on my new life as a celebrity~~ jk, anyways the wifi in my apartment is broken so updates are gonna be slow(er) cuz i used up all my hotspot data rip </3

1. 万骨, ten thousand bones ↩

2. 十方, ten directions ↩

3. 七魂六魄, the immortal souls represent thoughts, emotions, will, etc., the mortal souls represent your bodily sensations, desires, primitive drives etc. ↩

4. 欲擒故纵, loosening the reins to grasp them better ↩

5. Nine Heavens refers to the whole world, ik “heavens” is a misleading name but that’s the direct translation ↩

6. 织女, weaver girl (from the folk tale) ↩

7. 不悔, no regrets ↩