Of course Yan Qing couldn’t go to sleep and shut his mouth. On the contrary, he became even more annoying, insistently asking, “Why? I can’t fall asleep. What? Could it be that I’m saying something illogical?”
Xie Shiyi took a deep breath.
At this time, a small, ghostly blue butterfly flew over and settled on Xie Shiyi’s brow. Yan Qing’s eyes turned, and since he was bored, he simply reached out and caught the butterfly with his fingers as if he were seeking death. At the same time, his hand covered Xie Shiyi’s eyelashes.
Xie Shiyi stiffened, his tone like ice. “Let go.”
Yan Qing felt Xie Shiyi’s eyelashes violently trembling, brushing past his palm until his heart itched. He stuck out his head and said, “Don’t move, I’m helping you get rid of this insect.”
When Xie Shiyi spoke, it felt a little as if he were crushing ice with his teeth. “If you don’t want to be thrown into the river, then let go right now.”
Yan Qing had fought with him ever since they were little, so how could he suffer this threat? He chuckled twice.
He felt like at the time, Xie Shiyi really wanted to drown him into the river, but in the end, he resisted.
In fact, it was like this between them most of the time. They hated each other until they gritted their teeth, but they could do nothing about it.
In fact, that time at the end, he felt like Xie Shiyi truly wanted to kill him. Of course, he felt about the same.
But the irony was that once Yan Qing obtained a body and stood in front of him for real, Xie Shiyi could no longer hold his sword.
In their childhood, they argued back and forth, and they thought that when their souls separated, they’d have a decisive battle where only one could survive.
But beyond their expectations…their farewell was quiet.
They parted at the place where the gods had fallen.
At the moment he pulled out his sword Regretless, the countless bones around them groaned, their cry shaking the heavens. Xie Shiyi had just gone through a foul battle, and his dantian was in chaos, while his spiritual energy had scattered around. Under immense pressure, he staggered, half-kneeling on the ground. Regretless pierced the ground. He had always had a divine appearance, clear as icy jade. It was rare that he looked as miserable as he did now.
But Xie Shiyi only carelessly wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, his raven-black hair falling over his shoulder, and then looked apathetically at him.
Xie Shiyi’s eyes were beautiful, with light glittering in them, falling into their dark, icy depths.
Yan Qing had seen him in every state, when he was furious, smiling, harsh or detached. But this was the first time he had seen him so…quiet. His eyes were as peaceful as the surface of a lake.
What was he thinking of?
At the time, Yan Qing had been wondering about this.
But he knew he couldn’t overthink it. If he thought about it too much…he might not be able to leave.
Yan Qing had just gotten a body. His face was covered in blood, and he was breathing deeply. He bound his hair and turned, never giving Xie Shiyi another glance. He walked toward the exit of the heap of bones, without saying a word.
Their separation came with no words of farewell.
It was just like when they met each other—without forewarning.
The wild wind howled past the snowy bones, the open wilderness without a sound. Time returned to the eternal night.
Yan Qing pursed his lips and thought numbly, “Things are pretty good this way. There’s no need for us to fight and make this unsightly.”
But that gaze lingered on his back, stubborn and unmoving. It was quiet, yet it was like a blade piercing him to the depths of his soul.
***
The vivid blue butterflies fluttering around them brought his memories back to him, then swept them away again.
At heart, Yan Qing sighed indistinctly.
Trouble saw there was light ahead, and yelled in excitement. “Ah? We’re out.”
Yan Qing covered his mouth. “Quiet. This is Zixiao’s Void Comprehension secret realm. If you disturb his consciousness, nothing good will happen to us.”
But Trouble was an idiot. “What the heck is a Void Comprehension secret realm?”
Yan Qing said, “You could say we’re in Zixiao’s memories right now.”
Trouble was shocked. “What? Isn’t Zixiao dead?”
Yan Qing smiled. “He lived until the Void Comprehension stage, and he had such great strength. When his life came to an end, of course he wanted to leave something behind.”
He left behind the memories that were enough to cause an obsession during his life.
Yan Qing came here to find the memories Zixiao had about Trouble. The likelihood wasn’t great, but what if there were some? Trouble appeared before Zixiao’s death. A man should have a clear impression of his death, right?
A Void Comprehension secret realm was constantly changing. No one knew what would happen in the next moment.
Yan Qing held on to Trouble, and in the blink of an eye, they appeared on the main street of a village with smoke rising from its chimneys.
Black clouds covered the sky. It was about to rain.
Trouble: “Where is this place?”
Yan Qing looked at a young man dressed in black and wearing a hooded straw raincoat, standing in the field with a machete. He said softly, “Shut up.”
The man holding a machete and returning through the rainy night was Zixiao.
Eighteen years old, Zixiao walked slowly toward them, rainwater dripping from his hand around the machete. The flashing lightning revealed a dignified face.
A scar stretched from his cheekbone to his mouth.
Zixiao’s right eye seemed to have suffered an injury. Its color was dull and greyish.
His brows were full, and there was a foreboding air in his eyes. Without anger, he was still imposing.
Yan Qing thought this memory would be like a film, complete with background sound.
But it wasn’t. It was like a silent film.
He saw Zixiao walk into a house holding his machete, and kill two old people and a young girl.
Zixiao’s hand was pale and trembling around his machete, and the fury in his face was almost tangible under the flash of lightning. His eyes were scarlet, and he roared something.
The two old people in the house didn’t resist. They were shocked as the machete pierced their lungs, their eyes widening. The worry in their eyes actually surpassed the terror.
A small girl came out of the house, and saw what was happening in the courtyard. She was scared stiff. She was barefoot, her hair in twin braids, and there was a small mole on the bridge of her nose. Red-eyed, she rushed over, yelling something. But Zixiao was like a demon in human form. Fury had taken over his reason, and he swept out his machete. In a flash of light, the girl’s head rolled into the water collecting in the yard.
Trouble blinked. He had only just come into spiritual consciousness, and he didn’t really understand human emotions and desires. “What is Zixiao doing? He had to specifically remember himself killing people? No wonder he thought he was so impressive.”
Yan Qing shook his head. “That isn’t it.”
He could read lips. The last thing the girl cried out was…“Gege.”
At eighteen years old, he murdered his father and mother. At last, on a green hill, there were three lonely graves.
He thrust his machete into the ground, and once he kneeled, thirty years passed.
Trouble stuck his head out. “What’s going on with Zixiao?”
Yan Qing explained, “He probably killed his parents and sister by accident.”
Trouble almost spewed out his saliva.
But Yan Qing didn’t feel much about it.
There were so many ridiculous yet true things in the world.
Yan Qing hadn’t entered the secret realm in order to see Zixiao’s passionate emotions. He didn’t have a single trace of interest in his life. So he took Trouble along and followed quietly after Zixiao, watching Zixiao’s righteous, action-filled life from the perspective of an outsider.
Zixiao didn’t use a sword, but a machete. His machete was called “Skyrage.”
The sky was filled with rage, and the spirits were filled with fury.
After ruthless slaughter, they left their bodies to the open plain.
Even the name of his machete revealed the feeling of rage.
It was the same as Zixiao himself.
He was violent and easily-angered, dissatisfied even with endless killing.
Yan Qing thought that if he followed Zixiao to the end, he could find the time relating to Trouble.
He hadn’t expected that the memories would freeze at the sixth scene.
The sixth scene.
It was a visit between sects.
The smoke from the incense burners rose into the sky, and divine sparrows and spiritual herons cried out in harmony. White mist formed a ribbon of jade, winding between the lush mountains and vivid water.
A girl dressed in aquamarine robes jumped down from a cloudship. She had a lovely disposition and a sweet smile.
She followed a woman in white with a similar appearance, and cast Zixiao a careless glance. Just after, she revealed a vibrant smile. She had a finely-shaped nose and vermillion lips. Her skin had the warm whiteness of pure fat, and her nose…carried a mole. The mole was in the exact same position as the mole of the girl who had died that rainy night.
Trouble muttered, “Who’s this girl? Why does she look like she’s not up to anything good?
Yan Qing couldn’t resist laughing out loud. “I guess this is what you call sensing a kindred spirit?’
The girl in blue robes was young in age, but she already had Nascent Soul cultivation. If you put her in the outside world, she would count as someone with outstanding talent, but among the gathering of excellence that was the nine great sects, she seemed a little inferior. The girl in white beside her was far more brilliant. At a similar age, she was already at Great Ascension level.
The two were twin sisters.
The first one was gentle and easy-mannered, while the second was bright and charming. They had the same features, but different bearings. “Peonies and beauties bring happiness.” One was named Jing Ruchen, and the other was named Jing Ruyu.
Yan Qing wanted to look on.
But the memory stopped there.
Suddenly, it was as if wind and snow swept past all of the Void Comprehension secret realm. In the scene, everyone kept their angry or smiling expressions. Their feet paused mid-step, and their wineglasses were lifted high.
Their bodies gradually dissolved in the wind and snow…
Yan Qing: “......”
Void Comprehension secret realms were ever-changing, as they existed in the void. Their structure was maintained by the entirety of the deceased cultivator’s spiritual strength, and they contained the cultivator’s thousands of vivid memories. Those with good fortune might be able to peer into the dead person’s martial arts, spiritual weapons or talismans, thereby receiving a great opportunity.
With such a small probability, they actually managed to meet Xie Shiyi inside?
After going through a beating, Trouble was no longer so big-mouthed. When he sensed danger, he burrowed into Yan Qing’s sleeve in a puff of smoke.
***
The author has something to say:
Something’s happened, so the next two chapters will be six thousand characters each.
This novel will enter VIP status around Friday.
The word count is low, so I’ll send out three hundred red envelopes below this chapter to express my apologies.
[cela: No, seriously, I’m thanking you.]
In fact, at the start, I thought of many beginnings.
I thought of a linear beginning, starting from Yan Qing’s first time transmigrating into the novel. I thought of starting at the Bluecloud Conference, or with a mundane day in the sect. But afterwards, I looked at the overall story, and decided to begin at Springturn Sect, where many conflicting characters gathered.
I know you all just want to see the gong and show being in love. Don’t worry, that’s all I want to write about too. But I really feel that the plot is there to enrich their characters.
Also, don’t believe in rumors and don’t spread them either. I have some drafts saved, but not the whole novel!!! Or I should say I failed to write a draft for the whole novel QAQ, sorry.
***
cela: 1 hour and 18 minutes
Thank you for the chapter!! ❤️❤️
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