CH 16

Resisting the impulse to bully Yi Ning and pretending to not understand his words, Yan Xuan said, “What is the Immortal Master doing?”

Yi Ning tightly pursed his lips. He knew that he was purposely riling him up and wanted to turn his head and walk away, but the words had already been spoken and couldn’t be taken back. 

He shut his eyes, then grabbed Yan Xuan’s hand and placed it on his lapel.

He’ll just take it as he got bullied by a dog.

After a beat, Yan Xuan finally couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing, grabbing hold of his collar and pulling him to face him, saying in a low voice, “Immortal Master, sometimes, I think you’re a little foolish.”

He was usually so smart when faced with matters like with Fang Shilan, so why is it that whenever Yan Xuan teased him, he would take his words at face value? 

Doesn’t he know how alluring he is?

Yi Ning’s face was red as he slapped aside Yan Xuan’s hand and hastened his footsteps. He was afraid that if he looked at Yan Xuan’s face any longer, he wouldn’t be able to resist giving him another slap.

He shouldn’t have been soft-hearted just now!

Behind him, Yan Xuan rubbed his nose, in a good mood as he thought about how Yi Ning looked just now with his face red. Cute.

Looking towards the depths of the tunnel, the light from the lanterns stretched out in long lines that disappeared into the darkness. Under their feet was soil that was soft and damp, and a warm breeze blew from somewhere within the tunnels, causing one to break out in sweat.

However, this place was indeed very safe.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Yi Ning and Yan Xuan finally heard movement from ahead. It was seemingly a cavern, and within the cavern, two people were exchanging words in hushed voices. Yan Xuan immediately let out his demonic fog to suppress their presence.

“You dare to bring your human slave here!” It was Fang Shilan. 

“Just for fun.” This person’s voice was unable to be identified, only that it was a man’s.

“But he’s a man!” Fang Shilan said, a little enraged.

Yan Xuan and Yi Ning patiently waited for them to continue.

After a beat, the man chuckled lightly. “It’s only fun if it’s a man. Don’t you also know the taste of a man?” 

Yi Ning’s lips twitched. He’d never expected that the words that came from the man’s mouth were nothing but obscenities.

To the side, Yan Xuan acted as if he found it odd, transmitting his voice to Yi Ning and asking, “Immortal Master, what taste does a man have?”

If not for fear of alarming the people inside, Yi Ning would really be unable to resist anymore. He expressionlessly pushed away Yan Xuan’s face when he pushed forward.

Inside the cavern, the two people were still talking. 

Fang Shilan said, impatiently, “Alright, hurry and think of a way to stabilise the fetus, Yan Xuan has already detected it.

“Tbe vbc’a cffv ab kbggs jybea Tjc Wejc. Ktfgf’r pera bcf atlcu sbe tjnf ab gfwfwyfg, vb cba vjwjuf Tl Rlcu’r ojmf jcv ybvs, batfgklrf P klii xlii Ze Wljbsec.” Ktf wjc’r nblmf kjr qlamtfv fzagfwfis ibk, jcv bcis ktfc tf wfcalbcfv Tl Rlcu vlv tlr nblmf yfmbwf ufcaifg.

When he heard his words, Yi Ning froze, thinking he misheard. The air around Yan Xuan suddenly chilled.

Yi Ning’s intuition told him that this man was the person in the shadows directing his fate, the one who drove a wedge between him and Gong Xiuxian, and was now trying to do the same to him and Yan Xuan. 

He couldn’t resist wanting to stick his head out to catch a glimpse of this man’s appearance, only for Yan Xuan to press him into his embrace.

The demonic fog boiled up and Yi Ning was hugged by Yan Xuan with his mouth covered.

The next moment, the shadow of a rat appeared on the wall of the cave, which swiftly transformed into the shape of a woman.

Yan Xuan’s breaths lightly scattered on Yi Ning’s neck, and the latter’s limbs were also tightly restrained. 

When his warm body met Yan Xuan’s ice-cold fingertips, Yi Ning shivered, feeling an unfamiliar sense of nervousness.

Fang Shilan walked out from the cave, looked around, then walked back in like she didn’t see Yan Xuan and Yi Ning.

“Take your slave away, leave the rest to me.”

The man said happily, “Go then. I’m tired of this human slave, so send him to Yan Xuan for him to play with, he’ll surely like the gift.” 

When his words fell, the entire cavern was plunged into silence. The people inside had already left.

Yi Ning was finally released by Yan Xuan, and he panted lightly.

“It’s Fu Zhuo.” Yan Xuan’s gaze darkened as he spoke quietly beside Yi Ning’s ear, “Why does he know you?” Furthermore, he dared to use such a disgusting voice to talk about Yi Ning’s face and body.

This name was completely unfamiliar to Yi Ning, let alone knowing the person. 

He shook his head. “Who is Fu Zhuo? What does he look like?”

Yi Ning urgently wanted to know who Fu Zhuo was. His intuition told him that Fu Zhuo was behind many of the things that were happening to him. Perhaps, even the obscene tragedy spoken about in that book was as a result of his machinations.

Yan Xuan, seeing him asking so urgently, suddenly didn’t want to say anything anymore. His tone was chilly as he replied, “I don’t know.” What was he asking such in-depth questions for? Yan Xuan had never seen Yi Ning be so interested in a man before.

His heart was unhappy, and regardless of how Yi Ning pursued the topic, Yan Xuan refused to say another word regarding Fu Zhuo. 

“Yan Xuan, I want to hear.” Yi Ning was a little frantic. Without knowing anything about Fu Zuo, there were a lot of clues he couldn’t line up.

But I don’t want to hear.

Yan Xuan turned his face away, kicking at the pebbles by his foot, urging, “Go find those pregnant women first, we’ll talk about everything else later.”

Now that things had already reached this point, if Yan Xuan was unwilling to say anything, Yi Ning also didn’t have any way to force him. The two of them walked into the cave in silence. 

A little cave was linked into a larger cavern, separated by a thin curtain of water. The floor was similarly paved with heated jade, and the roof of the caverns had air vents where cool air flowed in.

Fang Shilan sure did take good care of these women.

Through the water curtain, they could be seen lying on daybeds chatting, their bellies already slightly obvious.

It was said that demon fetuses grew incredibly quickly, and unlike human pregnancies which take ten months, these demon fetuses only needed one month of gestation to be born. 

The walls of the cave were filled with carvings of spells. Since Yi Ning had researched various kinds of spells, he could tell that the spells were those used by some rural spirit ladies to ensure the health of a fetus.

She’d even brought out these kinds of spells. It seemed like Fang Shilan was truly determined to protect the demon fetuses in these women’s wombs.

Passing through the water curtain, the scene before their eyes disappeared. Yi Ning’s pupils shrunk. It was actually an illusion. Behind them came Fang Shilan’s indifferent voice. “Venerable Lord, Immortal Master, don’t waste your time. They’ve already been taken away.”

Yan Xuan raised his brow, Yinzhen shooting out of his hand. 

“Wait!” The blade stopped an inch from her throat. Fang Shilan’s gaze looked steadily at Yan Xuan. “Venerable Lord, I know that I won’t be able to walk away from here alive, but I have some words for you.”

She inhaled a deep breath, gaze unwavering as she watched Yan Xuan’s saber shift away. Knowing that this was the chance Yan Xuan was giving her, she forcibly maintained her physical shape and said, “Many thanks to the Venerable Lord. If I haven’t guessed wrongly, has the  Venerable Lord and Immortal Master affirmed their relationship?”

Fang Shilan couldn’t think of any reason that would make Yan Xuan willingly draw his own blood to neutralise the poison, besides if Yan Xuan liked the person.

Furthermore, the attitude Yan Xuan had towards Yi Ning was completely different from nine years ago when he was still the Demon Venerable. 

Yi Ning’s body stiffened. He obviously didn’t tell Fang Shilan about he and Yan Xuan’s fake bond, so how could Fang Shilan tell?

“You are both very strong, so strong that even if you chose each other, you wouldn’t be affected by the oppositions of others. Moreso, you wouldn’t have to undertake life-threatening risks to conceive a child to hold the other’s affections.” Fang Shilan’s gaze was blazing, and she seemed to be a little worked up.

“But I am not like you. Ever since I married into this place, I’ve become a sorrowful woman.”

She concealed her identity and appeased her mother-in-law, appeased the uncles and aunts, appeased her husband, and appeased the citizens of the city he overlooked. The only person she couldn’t appease was herself. 

Humans and demons, from the very start, had no other ending.

Yi Ning lifted his head to look at Yan Xuan, the golden light shining on his face making him seem a lot gentler. His eyebrows were like an inky mountain range, his lashes like crow feathers. If only he weren’t so cold and crazy, he would surely have a lot of girls fancying him.

He suddenly thought, would a Yan Xuan like this fall for a human?

Following which, Yi Ning dispelled that thought. With a childhood like Yan Xuan’s, it would be a miracle if he didn’t hate humans, how could he fall in love with one? 

In front of them, Fang Shilan’s eyes were glazed over with tears and her voice was choked up. “Sometimes, I really envy you. Venerable Lord, you also like the Immortal Master, don’t you? Then you can understand my feelings. I only wish to stay by his side, that’s all.”

Yan Xuan remained silent, and from Yi Ning’s point of view, his expression was unchanged. After a long time, Yan Xuan revealed a dangerous smile and said, “Your feelings?”

He lowered his gaze, bringing the saber to her neck, restraining his smile and saying, “Why do I need to understand your feelings?”

Fang Shilan stared at him in astonishment, tears still hanging on her cheeks. “Venerable Lord, what do you mean?” 

“Even if you say these things to me, I’m still going to kill you. You’d be better off begging Yi Ning to save you.” Yan Xuan didn’t care about things like this. It was just that Yi Ning wanted him to do it, and begged him to save those pregnant women, so he agreed to step in.

Fang Shilan wiped away her tears, and her frail face revealed some amusement. “As expected, the Venerable Lord wouldn’t fall for the pity play. I had thought that after you entered a bond with someone, you would be a little more soft-hearted.

When his words fell, Yan Xuan suddenly pierced forward with his saber. Immediately, Fang Shilan’s body turned into an immense rat, as thick as the length of a forearm, that was nailed to the cave wall.

A fake body! Yan Xuan jerked his head back, yet Yi Ning was already nowhere to be seen. 

A misdirection.

It was all his fault. If only he killed Fang Shilan when she was speaking…!

“You’ve already affirmed your relationship with the Immortal Master, haven’t you?” “You also like the Immortal Master, don’t you?” “Now you should also understand my feelings.”

Yan Xuan gripped his fist tightly, his pupils taking on a layer of gold, rushing towards the other caverns. 

Yi Ning lay in a corner and slowly opened his eyes. Before him was still a curtain of water, and across it was another cave. There was a splitting pain in his head as Yi Ning recalled what happened before he fell unconscious.

At that time, he was focused on Yan Xuan, and in a moment of inattention, someone came from behind him and held a cloth over his face, knocking him unconscious. However, he seemed to be unharmed, so it seemed like Fang Shilan heeded the man named Fu Zhuo’s warnings and didn’t harm him.

He sat up and looked past the water curtain to see a slim woman with her back facing him. Could it be that she was also being trapped here?

Yi Ning wrinkled his brow and wanted to move past the water curtain. He didn’t expect that the moment he reached out his hand, the water would suddenly increase rapidly in speed and slice open his fingers. 

It seemed like there was a formation placed here.

This sort of formation was from the demon race. According to Yi Ning’s past experience, it probably could only be broken from the outside in.

Wait for Yan Xuan. Once Yan Xuan is here, it can be dispelled.

Yi Ning suddenly realised in hindsight that he seemed to be unconsciously depending on Yan Xuan. His expression was a little frazzled, and he thought about how, when Fang Shilan asked Yan Xuan, ‘You like the Immortal Master too, don’t you?’ and Yan Xuan’s unmoving expression, as if she was talking about a stranger. 

He’d better think of a way to break the formation himself. Even if he didn’t have his cultivation, he just needed to trial and error and find the formation’s core. He’d still be able to escape that way.

Yi Ning pursed his lips. In the future, he couldn’t depend on Yan Xuan anymore.