CH 8

The man had an entirely beautiful face–sharply outlined, with a tall and straight nose bridge, and pleasingly shaped thin lips. His appearance seemed to be one that, with only a slight smile, could seduce the most chaste widow. He wore black traditional Chinese garb imprinted with silver lines, which outlined seductive lotus imagery.1 Clothing that should have appeared fresh and elegant, when worn by the man, exuded darkness.

“… Senior.” Qin Kaiyi, who was held in the arms of a strange man, barely squeezed out two words. His heart beat like a drum. He had just witnessed the scene of the man murdering someone, and then been discovered. He feared that all signs pointed to imminent disaster.

“Haha.” Seeing Qin Kaiyi’s feigned calm, the man smiled: “Call me Zi Yang.”

“Brother Zi Yang…” Qin Kaiyi wanted to speak, but found that he truly had nothing to say. Could he really say to this Zi Yangpei2 that he had seen nothing, and expect the man to just let him go?

“What did you see just now?” Zi Yang Pei looked at the man in his arms, his countenance expressing cold amusement.

“I didn’t see anything!” Qin Kaiyi said without hesitation.

“Oh?” Zi Yangpei narrowed his eyes slightly: “You really didn’t see anything?”

“Really, I swear!” Qin Kaiyi gritted his teeth. He knew he was outmatched by the man in front of him. If the man actually attacked, Qin Kaiyi was afraid he would be killed with one strike.

“Truly clever.” Zi Yangpei smiled again. He was already handsome; when he smiled he was even more good-looking. However, Qin Kaiyi felt cold all over upon seeing this smile.

“If our Hua Lian sect could have a few more disciples as smart as you, then this type of situation would not occur,” Zi Yangpei said coldly, and then raised his hands and lightly slapped Qin Kaiyi’s waist and abdomen.

Qin Kaiyi, who was originally immersed in his shock from hearing the three words “Hua Lian sect,” almost screamed in pain at that gentle pat from Zi Yang Pei. What did this Zi Yang Pei do to him, why did it hurt so much!

“Don’t yell ah.” Zi Yangpei seemed to have expected Qin Kaiyi’s reaction. He directly cast a muting spell on Qin Kaiyi and watched as Qin Kaiyi’s complexion turned white.

“I put an interesting little thing into your body.” Zi Yangpei maintained a gentle smile, but said words that chilled Qin Kaiyi to the bone: “If you don’t want to die from the pain, you will obediently answer my question. “

The severe pain in his waist and abdomen made Qin Kaiyi tremble all over. If Zi Yangpei wasn’t hugging him, he probably would have fallen to the ground, unable to get up, long ago.

“Have you seen a sable in these past few days?” Zi Yangpei said.

“… I… haven’t…” Of course Qin Kaiyi couldn’t admit it. If he said that he caught the sable, maybe the demon in front of him would tear him apart.

“Liar.” Zi Yangpei’s eyes became cold, and he said: “Do you really want to die from pain?”

“…” Qin Kaiyi shuddered. He didn’t dare to guess whether Zi Yangpei really knew that he had encountered the sable, or was deliberately bluffing.

“I purposefully left my spiritual energy on that sable. Whether or not you have touched it, do you still want to hide that from me?” Zi Yangpei watched Qin Kaiyi look like he was about to faint, and strongly suppressed his anger, kindly urging: “You should obediently tell me, so as not to suffer such pain.”

“If I tell you will you let me go?” Qin Kaiyi felt disinclined to continue lying to Zi Yangpei, and tremblingly said: “First stop hurting me, then let’s talk calmly.”

“… Okay.” Zi Yangpei didn’t care–he’d already inserted the poisonous insect. He could cause Qin Kaiyi pain at will.

“I caught a sable a few days ago.” Qin Kaiyi slowly regulated his inner turmoil. He spoke indifferently, but his thoughts were churning madly. This situation is really far from good ah, however one looked at it, it seemed Zi Yangpei would kill him upon hearing the truth.

“Then?” Zi Yangpei was not in a hurry. He wanted to see what trick the little Taoist who was only at the foundation building level wanted to play.

“Then it ran away.” Qin Kaiyi said: “I don’t know what’s going on. It actually broke through the barrier I set and disappeared the next day after one night.”

“Oh?” Zi Yang Pei narrowed his eyes, as if to judge whether Qin Kaiyi had lied or not.

“It’s just a sable, why would I lie.” Qin Kaiyi changed his tone: “You aren’t actually planning to kill me?”

“Of course not.” Feeling slight interest towards this rude little Taoist, Zi Yangpei asked: “What’s your name?”

“Qin Kai… My name is Qin Shi.” Qin Kaiyi nearly blurted out his real name.3

“Oh? Qin Shi?” Zi Yangpei grinned: “Are you a disciple of the Lingshan Sect? Was the sable lost in the Lingshan Sect?”

“En.” Qin Kaiyi responded.

“Bring me in.” Zi Yangpei buried his head in Qin Kaiyi’s neck and whispered in his ear: “Don’t let others discover my identity, otherwise, I’ll have you wish you were dead.”

“… Okay.” Besides agreeing, Qin Kaiyi had no alternative. The fact that Zi Yangpei hadn’t directly decided to kill him was already a pleasant surprise.

“Don’t think about going to find your masters,” Zi Yangpei said softly. “That silly youngster Qing Xuzi isn’t worthy of my attention. If you don’t want to witness the destruction of your sect, just obediently listen to me.”

Though others might have doubted Zi Yangpei’s words, Qin Kaiyi believed them the moment they were said. Zi Yangpei’s identity couldn’t be any clearer to Qin Kaiyi. 

Zi Yangpei, Hua Lian Sect’s protector, stands on equal footing with the protagonist in the novel. He was originally the most terrifying demonic cultivator in existence, but because of failure to reach Ascension stage in his cultivation, he was forced to abandon his corporeal body and rebuild it. 

This old monster who had lived for who knows how long later became a great help to Shen Feixiao in becoming a god. After establishing a good rapport with Shen Feixiao, he even gave his little sister’s hand in marriage to Shen Fei Xiao.

Furthermore, the Hua Lian sect under his hands is the one sect in the novel that cannot be provoked. This sect is not only incomparably proficient in the practice of refining poisonous insects, but also has fear-inspiring secret methods to create talismans. 

How did this kind of troublesome character get sent to Lingshan now? Incredibly bitter at heart, Qin Kaiyi did not dare act negligently. He did not dare to imagine what would happen if Zi Yangpei knew that the sable was with Shen Feixiao. It could cause the entire plot to collapse.

“Little Stone (T/N: the Shi in Qin Shi means stone, Zi Yangpei is teasing him), are you very scared?” Zi Yangpei noticed that Qin Kaiyi’s breathing was slightly disorderly, and found it a bit funny: “Relax, if I find the sable, I will leave immediately.”

… And kill me on your way out, is that right? Qin Kaiyi thought silently, but although he thought so, he dared not say it. Zi Yangpei was one of his favorite characters in the novel. Naturally, Qin Kaiyi knew of his unpredictable personality. If Zi Yangpei was annoyed, would Qin Kaiyi be able to keep his insignificant life?

“Where did you lose the sable?” Zi Yangpei cast a spell on himself, and his appearance became ordinary while his clothes changed into the same Lingshan Sect Taoist uniform that Qin Kaiyi was wearing.

“My residence.” Qin Kaiyi was still thinking about what to do.

“Take me there.” Zi Yangpei whispered: “Has your master Qingxuzi been good lately?”

… After just calling another person a “silly youngster,” this guy decides to show concern for that same person. Qin Kaiyi secretly ridiculed Zi Yangpei, but of course on the surface, he looked very respectful: “Master’s health has always been good.”

“Oh.” Zi Yangpei appeared to respond nonchalantly.

At that moment, Qin Kaiyi came up with countermeasures. He himself would be unable to deal with this old monster Zi Yangpei. The only alternative was to involve his master Qing Xuzi. Although Zi Yangpei had preternatural power, he had suffered through a calamity and rebuilt a body. He was probably unwilling to fight with Qing Xuzi.

“Who are you to Qing Xuzi?” On the way to Qin Kaiyi’s residence, Zi Yangpei was still talking with Qin Kaiyi about his daily family life.4

“I am his disciple.” Qin Kaiyi was not stupid enough to further clarify his identity as the head disciple. The more he seemed to be a passerby, the more he could relax Zi Yangpei’s vigilance.

“I’m afraid you’re not simply a disciple.” Zi Yangpei smiled meaningfully when he heard Qin Kaiyi’s words: “Looking at how you’re not yet thirty but you’ve reached the middle of the foundation building stage, Qing Xuzi must value you greatly? “

“… Master is very attentive to all his disciples.” Qin Kaiyi had no choice but to answer politely.

“Haha.” Hearing Qin Kaiyi’s words, Zi Yangpei only chuckled, but said nothing more.

Arriving at Qin Kaiyi’s residence, Qin Kaiyi took Zi Yangpei into his dongfu (T/N: the abode of a cultivator that’s usually rich in spiritual energy, in a cave, and high up on a mountain).  Zi Yangpei was not very polite and went straight in.

“… How many days ago was the sable lost?” Zi Yangpei asked.

“Ah, it’s been more than a month.” Qin Kaiyi internally sighed, your spiritual energy is too powerful, it’s been a month since I touched the sable and your energy still hasn’t dissipated.

“More than a month…” Zi Yangpei’s brows furrowed slightly. If it had already been more than a month, he was afraid that it would not be an easy task to find the sable in the Lingshan Sect.

Just as Qin Kaiyi watched Zi Yangpei standing there at a loss, a clear voice rang out.

“Qin shixiong,5 are you there? Qin shixiong?” After hearing Liu Ling’er’s voice, Qin Kaiyi felt his head about to explode. Truly, if you feared something then it would appear. Liu Ling’er really came to join in on the excitement!

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