CH 25

Shen Feixiao didn’t know what was wrong with him. After Qin Kaiyi went out, he began to cultivate. However, he didn’t know why, but his originally clear state of mind experienced intense fluctuations.

The eggplant was aware of Shen Feixiao’s abnormality, and it circled around Shen Feixiao anxiously. It knew what happened to Shen Feixiao’s body, but couldn’t speak the human language. It could only pace around Shen Feixiao, squeaking. 

Shen Feixiao sat on the ground, frowning tightly. His originally calm spiritual power became like scaldingly hot boiling water, rolling around in his dantian. The pain from this out-of-control spiritual force had Shen Feixiao involuntarily letting out a painful moan. He gritted his teeth fiercely, and soon bright red blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

It was extremely difficult to break through the Qi Refining Stage to the foundation-building one.

The originally limited sea of qi continued to expand under the impact of spiritual force, and the meridians in the body could not bear the huge spiritual energy infusion, and even showed signs of damage. To some extent, Shen Feixiao’s luck this time was not good. 

“Mountain Cloud Notes” was originally a practice that went against the natural order. It described a method for gathering auras, which was enough for an ordinary cultivator to practice in even those places that had the lowest amount of spiritual energy. In the Lingshan Sect, because Shen Feixiao lived in place without much spiritual qi, he didn’t feel that anything was wrong. However, after Shen Feixiao entered the spiritual energy-rich secret realm, the power of Mountain Cloud Notes was finally revealed.

Not even half a month had passed, and Shen Feixiao actually rose to the foundation-building period from the Qi Refining period. However, the speed with which he broke through was too great, so that the instability in his foundation was hidden.

And this hidden danger revealed itself completely when Shen Feixiao was about to break through.

Out of control spiritual energy attacked Shen Feixiao’s state of mind, causing it to fall into chaos. Opening a pair of bloodshot eyes, Shen Feixiao suddenly smelled a strange fragrance which pulled his precarious mental state back from the edge of the cliff.

What was this smell? Why was it so fragrant? What actually was this… scent. With such thoughts, Shen Feixiao pushed up from the ground, stumbling to follow the wisps of that scent. 

The sound of water. Shen Feixiao, who stood on the shore, looked silently at the person bathing in the river.

The man’s body could not count as robust, but he was definitely neither thin nor weak. He had a firm physique and stood tall and straight. That skin was very white, but not wan–more like a warm jade, from which a kind of faintly flowing brilliance emitted. That slender body was a lot taller than his own, and clear water slid down the shoulders, flowing along a gracefully-shaped spine and finally reaching a pair of lovely buttocks.

Shen Feixiao never thought that his vision could be this good. Standing in the grass and looking at Qin Kaiyi from afar, he was bewitched for a while. Sluggishly staring at the person bathing in the limpid river water, he silently swallowed his saliva–how fragrant.

Originally having calmed down a little, Shen Feixiao’s mental state was broken the moment he saw the person in the river turning around. A golden mask firmly rested on the face of the man, but the beautiful lotus pattern etched on the mask seemed to bring a touch of exotic enticement. That pretty and flirtatious appearance instantly had Shen Feixiao losing his reason. 

Shen Feixiao couldn’t remember what happened afterwards; with only a rough sense from his chaotic memory… he seemed to have done something he shouldn’t have.

When he woke up, Shen Feixiao found his stiff body lying on a soft mat. He didn’t know where the masked man got these things. Of course, the most important issue now was obviously not this…

“Are you awake?” Qin Kaiyi was in a bad mood. He sat beside Shen Feixiao, his voice low.

“…” Shen Feixiao’s body stiffened further, but he didn’t answer Qin Kaiyi’s question.

“Don’t pretend, I know you’re awake.” Qin Kaiyi frowned slightly: “If you woke up then get up.”

“… En.” Lowly replying, the Shen Feixiao who knew he was in the wrong climbed up from the mat silently. He looked up at the masked person on the opposite side, and his eyes were immediately attracted to the wound on his neck. 

“What are you looking at.” Qin Kaiyi found out what Shen Feixiao was looking at, and said unhappily: “Look again and I’ll dig your eyes out.”

“Oh.” Shen Feixiao lowered his head again.

“…” Seeing Shen Feixiao’s stubborn appearance, Qin Kaiyi didn’t know what to say anymore. He struggled for a while, but still spoke. “Give me your hand.”

Shen Feixiao showed a puzzled expression, obviously not knowing what Qin Kaiyi meant.

“Give me your hand!” Qin Kaiyi’s mood became even worse. He really wanted to squeeze Shen Feixiao’s neck and vigorously shake it to see what kind of thoughts were actually contained in this dull gourd of a head. 

“Oh.” Obediently stretching his hand out to Qin Kaiyi, Shen Feixiao went silent again. 

“Alas.” Sighing heavily, Qin Kaiyi suddenly felt that he was becoming more and more like a stay-at-home dad. He looked at Shen Feixiao’s expressionless face and suddenly felt the impulse to pinch it. Of course, Qin Kaiyi did not make this impulse a reality…

Squeezing Shen Feixiao’s wrist a little bit and investigating, against all odds it seemed that Shen Feixiao had reached the foundation-building period. Within half a year, he went directly from an ordinary person to a foundation-building cultivator. Even Qin Kaiyi himself had no choice but to lament at how frightening the existence of the protagonist’s halo was. 

But now was not the time for his lament. Qin Kaiyi slowly probed a wisp of spiritual power into Shen Feixiao’s hand, and it followed Shen Feixiao’s meridians to his dantian.

Checking out Shen Feixiao’s situation, Qin Kaiyi frowned again. 

… What was with Shen Feixiao’s dantian? Qin Kaiyi felt more and more surprised as he investigated–Shen Feixiao’s dantian had turned into a whirlpool-like existence. Qin Kaiyi’s bit of spiritual power was absorbed immediately after entering and disappeared. Cold sweat emerged on his forehead. Qin Kaiyi didn’t dare to study this phenomenon further, and hurriedly withdrew his spiritual force.

Shen Feixiao looked at Qin Kaiyi’s worriedly frowning expression and wanted to say something, but he held back again. (T/N: he is still wearing his mask, perhaps the mask can make expressions). 

“You’re fine.” Qin Kaiyi was still at a loss with regards to Shen Feixiao’s body structure. He thought that since Shen Feixiao’s meridians hadn’t been hurt too much, there shouldn’t be too many problems.

Hearing Qin Kaiyi’s words, Shen Feixiao lowered his head and embraced the eggplant that had been squatting beside him. He pet the eggplant’s fur and began to fall into a daze. In fact, starting from when the masked person began to speak, his eyes did not move from that neck. That bright red bite mark made Shen Feixiao’s indifferent heart unable to calm down; it was so dazzling that he was unable to ignore it. 

Qin Kaiyi naturally didn’t know about Shen Feixiao’s confusion. What had happened had given him a not-so-wonderful idea. 

“Who really are you?” Shen Feixiao glared fixedly at Qin Kaiyi’s masked face, as if to stare a hole into it: “Why are you helping me?”

Qin Kaiyi gave Shen Feixiao a blank expression, too lazy to entangle with him again on this issue… he was now thinking about a more serious issue.

“Shen Feixiao.” Qin Kaiyi finished deliberating, and his voice was clear when he said: “I should go.”

“What?” Shen Feixiao didn’t react for a while: “You want to go?”

“En.” This was the result of Qin Kaiyi’s deliberations. He knew that Shen Feixiao was about to enter the hidden treasure trove to obtain items, but he didn’t have any interest in throwing himself into those muddy waters. If he hadn’t made a deal with Yan Gu, he wouldn’t even enter that treasure house. 

“Where are you going?” Shen Feixiao hugged the eggplant more tightly: “Why are you leaving?”

“Why should I stay?” Qin Kaiyi impolitely responded, “What do you think I’m here for?”

I thought you were here to protect me. Shen Feixiao didn’t say this out loud. He looked at those black eyes that peered out from behind the mask, and suddenly he couldn’t say anything. The masked man was the first person to be unconditionally good to him. Although this goodness might be mixed with other purposes, like a chick who’d seen its mother after just breaking its shell, Shen Feixiao for some reason just couldn’t let go of this pair of hands which protected him.

“You have to become strong.” Qin Kaiyi said this very sincerely. He knew that Shen Feixiao had no choice but to become stronger. In the following days, Shen Feixiao would undergo countless tests. These tests were abnormally cruel, but that didn’t matter; he believed that Shen Feixiao could definitely stand at the top of this world.

“Become strong?” Shen Feixiao numbly repeated Qin Kaiyi’s words.

“Yes, become strong.” Qin Kaiyi nodded seriously: “Only if you become strong can you really get what you want. Only when you become strong, can you not be stepped on by others. Understand?? “

“…” Shen Feixiao didn’t nod or shake his head, and he did not answer Qin Kaiyi’s question, but Qin Kaiyi could see Shen Feixiao’s meaning from his eyes–he understood.

“I’m leaving.” Qin Kaiyi softened his tone a bit, and he said: “In fact, I came to the secret realm only planning to see you. The rest is up to you.” 

“You knew that Qin Shi would send me in?” Shen Feixiao revealed his disbelief.

“…” Qin Kaiyi didn’t know what to say, he couldn’t actually tell Shen Feixiao that he was Qin Shi now could he?

“I get it.” Shen Feixiao’s voice was very soft, so soft that Qin Kaiyi’s heart inexplicably felt some fear: “Leave then.”

“En.” Qin Kaiyi did not stay in the end. Although Shen Feixiao’s reaction gripped at his heart, he could not stay. Today Shen Feixiao may only suck his blood, but who knows whether tomorrow Shen Feixiao would eat his flesh? He was not the protagonist. Without that ineffable halo, if he wanted to live, he had to think about his own insignificant life anytime and anywhere. 

Even though Shen Feixiao made him worried, Qin Kaiyi still had no choice–he had to leave.