"I get it!" Cheng Sheng yelled back to them.
The people beneath them ducked when they passed by over their heads.
"That mask… it can parasitize the spirit servants!" Cheng Sheng said when Chen Han, Li Tian, Feng Mo, Tang Zhe, Tang Yun, Guo Cheng and Shan Lu flew beside him.
"What?!" they exclaimed in shock and almost fell off of their swords. "The mask of that spirit servant that night the Guhe Sect caught?!" they said.
Cheng Sheng adjusted his had for it to not fall off of his head. "Yes." he answered. "I stored that spirit servant's corpse for it to not be touched by anyone. This is why I had a bad feeling when I saw it…" he frowned. "It's the same feeling when I saw the Eating Worms!" he told them.
They all looked at each other with worried expression on their faces.
"This is bad, isn't it?" Shan Lu asked.
"Obviously." Guo Cheng sighed. "It was just the Eating Worms at first, then the spirit servants…" he muttered.
"Do we have to deal with these masks now?" Tang Yun anxiously asked.
"For now, I don't think so." Cheng Sheng answered and jumped down the Shapeshifting Blanket in a smooth motion when they reached the Yunxiao Inn. "I think that the enemies are also experimenting after we've caught the Eating Worms and found out the existence of the spirit servants." He explained as they all entered.
"If this mask is a parasite, why does it look like a mask?" Chen Han asked.
"If the Eating Worm can look like a talisman, then why can't this parasite look like a mask?" Cheng Sheng asked back.
"A disguising skill?" Li Tian asked.
"Well… since I myself can see it as a mask, too, like you all…" Cheng Sheng spoke as they went to the Yunxiao Inn's garden and entered Bai Tan's space there.
"This parasite… is really a mask?!" Feng Mo explained. "Da shixiong…" he muttered as they all stopped when they saw Fei Yin curiously looking at the mask by his feet.
"Da shixiong!" Li Tian exclaimed.
Fei Yin turned. "Huakai Sect? You're also here?" he was surprised to see the four familiar people.
"Fei Yin." Chen Han called.
Fei Yin turned, then nodded at Chen Han. "Brother-in-law." He called.
Chen Han's face darkened and Li Tian immediately pacified him. Everyone knows Chen Han hates Fei Yin because he felt Fei Yin stole Cheng Sheng, his younger brother, from him. Such a love of a brocon.
"Da shixiong. So you've seen it." Cheng Sheng spoke as he walked towards Fei Yin.
Fei Yin nodded. "What's this strange creature?" he asked.
Everyone fell silent. Although Chen Han hates Fei Yin, but they tacitly didn't answer and let Cheng Sheng speak since they noticed that Cheng Sheng doesn't talk about the current events to Fei Yin. That means that Fei Yin's memories are frozen five years ago. It's understandable, though, since he 'died' five years ago.
Thus, they let Cheng Sheng speak of the things to Fei Yin.
"A parasite. Da shixiong, you didn't touch it, did you?" Cheng Sheng asked as they looked at the 'mask' inside a transparent crystal.
"If I did?" Fei Yin asked.
Cheng Sheng's body froze and his brow twitched as he looked at Fei Yin who grinned. "… you didn't." he said and turned back to look at the creature.
Fei Yin chuckled and decided to stop teasing Cheng Sheng. "This creature looks odd." He spoke.
"So you saw through it, that it wasn't a mask but a creature?" Tang Zhe was surprised as he looked at Fei Yin.
"I saw it moved." Fei Yin answered.
"I don't know what this creature is, but it should be a parasite." Cheng Sheng spoke. "I have encased the spirit servant's corpse with the mask still on its face, but since we didn't see its corpse now and only the mask left, this mask should be a parasite and must have eaten the spirit servant's corpse." He explained.
Everyone's faces turned green in disgust. A parasite that can eat its host… it really is like the Eating Worms, but worse since it ate its host whole!
"Sheng, why are the things you are saying sound dangerous?" Fei Yin asked and frowned as his brows knitted while he looked at Cheng Sheng.
Cheng Sheng froze and inwardly cursed. He forgotten that Fei Yin is here and was absorbed explaining to the others earlier. "It's not, really." He answered. "With my skills, they are trivial things." He told Fei Yin.
Chen Han, Li Tian, Feng Mo and the Huakai Sect. "…" ha. Let's see how you'll bluff your way out. They thought as they watched Cheng Sheng and Fei Yin on the sidelines.
"Really?" Fei Yin asked as his brows raised, feeling doubtful as he stared at Cheng Sheng's face.
Cheng Sheng nodded and forced a smile. "Really." He answered.
"Then tell me what happened to your cultivation." Fei Yin spoke.
Cheng Sheng froze, as did Chen Han, Li Tian, Feng Mo and the others. They stared at Fei Yin with widened eyes.
Cheng Sheng is the most shocked. How did he find out?! He thought as he gaped at Fei Yin while the other was just staring at him, looking patient like the past, as if he has all the time to wait for Cheng Sheng, whether to listen to him explain and or wait for him to finish his meal…
Cheng Sheng's eyes reddened and Fei Yin's pupils shook when he saw that his lover who usually wouldn't cry is about to cry before him. And it's because of him. "Sheng… I'm sorry." He said as he pulled the other to his embrace.
"… how did you know?" Cheng Sheng asked as he forced his tears to not fall. He can't cry… not before Fei Yin! He thought as he closed his eyes. But, suddenly, he felt that familiar warmth that he had lost these five years… how can his heart be unmoved, and his tears to not fall?
Thus, Fei Yin felt his chest became wet. Cheng Sheng cried. "I…" Fei Yin spoke with a hoarse voice as he touched him with all care. "I found out after I hugged you when I came out." He answered.
Chen Han, Li Tian, Feng Mo and the Huakai Sect are shocked. Fei Yin… Fei Yin found out that Cheng Sheng lost his cultivation! Will he blame them for making Cheng Sheng sacrifice too much of himself while they just sat on the sidelines? They thought.
Chen Han clenched his fists. The feeling of guilt returned. He was the one who struck Cheng Sheng, after all, when he should have protected the other instead. Cheng Sheng is his younger brother whom he should have protected instead of harmed!
Cheng Sheng didn't answer Fei Yin's question. He just hugged him tight before he pressed an acupoint, making Fei Yin's body limp and he fell unconscious.
"Da shixiong!" Li Tian and Feng Mo cried.
"I just rendered him unconscious." Cheng Sheng told them as he lied down Fei Yin's body on the grass.
Fei Yin who isn't unconscious but is acting unconscious. "…" if he doesn't want to speak, fine. I can wait… again. He thought and made a soundless sigh.
"Let's go talk outside." Cheng Sheng spoke as he took out a qiankun pouch. The crystal that is encasing the parasitic mask flew inside the qiankun pouch.
Nobody spoke and silently followed him outside. As soon as they left, Fei Yin opened his eyes and sat up. He knows that Cheng Sheng also knows that he wasn't unconscious. But, he respects his lover's decision. If Cheng Sheng doesn't want to say anything, no one can make him… aside from him, Fei Yin. But, Fei Yin doesn't want to force Cheng Sheng. He loves him more than himself. Thus, how can he wrong him?
"Ai." Fei Yin sighed as he removed the grasses that stuck on his long hair. … hair? He thought as he looked at his hair. Why do I feel that my hair should have a different color instead? He thought.
Like… silver.
…
"A parasitic mask?!" everyone exclaimed after the Huakai Sect called them all to the Yunxiao Inn.
"It's the other way around. It's a mask parasite." Cheng Sheng spoke then paused. "Or it isn't a mask at all, just a parasite that looks like a mask…?" he muttered as he tilted his head.
Everyone. "…" enough. Just stop. We're feeling more confused! They thought.
As if hearing their thoughts, Cheng Sheng really did drop the matter of the name of the parasite. "Anyway, sect leader He." He called. "No one touched the mask, right?" he asked.
"There… there should be no one." He Run nervously answered.
"Since xiao Bao watched over them, then there should be nothing wrong with them." Cheng Sheng spoke.
He Run sighed in relief. He almost lost his son. He can't lose his disciples, too! Even if they aren't his flesh and blood, but he treated them as his children!
"So, what is this parasite… that looked like a mask, about?" they asked.