CH 17

Within the tunnel, Yan Xuan desperately tried to find even a trace of Yi Ning’s trail, leaving no cave unsearched. Finally, in the cave at the end of the tunnel, he found a scent that was incredibly similar to Yi Ning’s

It was mild, the misty scent of snow pines. 

“Are you here to rescue me?” It was a woman’s voice.

Yan Xuan turned his head with the intention to leave, but his footsteps suddenly halted. He turned his head back to take another look at the woman.

Similar. She looked too similar to Yi Ning, their faces were basically identical. It was just that her expression took on a trace of charm.

A quiet and graceful elegance and a heavenly allure were blended together strangely. 

Seeing Yan Xuan stop, the woman’s face stiffened and she forced a smile. “I understand now. You’re here to play too, aren’t you?” After she finished speaking, she gently took off her outer robe. Her inner robes were as thin as a cicada’s wings and could barely conceal her body and her actions seemed to be inviting Yan Xuan to do something.

Yan Xuan wasn’t a fool. There were countless people who wanted to send themselves into his arms within the Demon Palace. He only paid slightly more attention to this face that looked like Yi Ning’s.

It made him pause to wonder, what would it be like if Yi Ning did something like that?

Beyond the water curtain, when Yi Ning saw Yan Xuan rushing into the cave, he frantically called out to him, only for Yan Xuan to seemingly not be able to hear him. Yi Ning watched as Yan Xuan made to leave, then double back, then saw the woman take off her outer robes, as if seducing Yan Xuan.

Why was it like this?

Yi Ning watched blankly, and had already forgotten to continue calling out Yan Xuan’s name.

He also couldn’t hear what they were talking about.

Did Yan Xuan like women like this? 

On the other side of the water curtain, the woman delicately stood up and moved towards Yan Xuan, reaching out a hand to remove his clothes, but was avoided by Yan Xuan.

“Not similar.” Yan Xuan suddenly huffed out a laugh, his voice deep and a little threatening. “Tell Fu Zhuo to stop with his little games. I don’t need anyone to replace him.” He turned away, then looked back to leave behind one last sentence, “You can’t replace him either.”

Their eyes weren’t all that alike, neither were their noses, their figures were even more different. In any case, there wasn’t anywhere where they were similar.

The moonlight is beautiful, so why use candles. 

Only Fu Zhuo would find human slaves to relieve his desires, Yan Xuan would never.

He only wanted Yi Ning.

Right when Yan Xuan was about to leave, the woman suddenly rushed forward to hug him. Yan Xuan swiftly pulled out his saber and initially intended to slit her throat. However, once he saw that face, no matter what, he didn’t have the heart to do it, and could only use the hilt of his saber to distance himself from her.

F*ck. He didn’t have the ability to pull a sword against Yi Ning. Even if it were just someone who looked like Yi Ning, he wouldn’t be able to do it the moment he thought about Yi Ning. 

Yan Xuan said with loathing, “It was Fu Zhuo who told you to find me, wasn’t it? Scram back to his side, don’t disgust me.”

Beyond the water curtain, Yi Ning’s fingers twitched. From his point of view, they looked like they were embracing.

His rationality told him that Yan Xuan wasn’t the kind of person to fall for honeytraps. This was a plot, and someone was deliberately stirring things up.

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Like nine years ago, a pair of cool and indifferent eyes.

Yan Xuan moved away from the woman’s side, frantically opening his mouth to say something, only for Yi Ning’s voice to sound out, “First, let’s find Fang Shilan and rescue those people.” 

He didn’t look at the woman, hastening his footsteps to leave the cave sooner. Yi Ning didn’t want to stay here any longer.

When he walked past Yan Xuan, he was stopped by Yan Xuan grabbing onto his wrist. “I…” Before he finished speaking, Yi Ning interrupted his words. “I know it’s a plot. I don’t need an explanation.”

He understood everything, was clear about everything. This was Yi Ning, someone who wouldn’t let anybody or anything bother him.

“Yi Ning, this is a honey trap set up by Fu Zhuo.” 

“I know.” Yi Ning inhaled deeply and repeated.

They could only barely be called friends, even if there was something between those two, so what? Yan Xuan didn’t need to explain anything to him.

After leaving the cave, Yi Ning wanted to find a link between all the clues they unearthed, but no matter what, his heart wasn’t in it.

His head was filled with the image of Yan Xuan embracing the woman. His hand, the saber that didn’t land, and the woman’s outer robes scattered on the floor. 

That person called Fu Zhuo first sent Liu Rugeng to seduce Gong Xiuxian and poison him, then worked with Fang Shilan to find a woman to cling onto Yan Xuan.

What did he want to do? There was nobody in the world who would do something without a motive, Yi Ning was deeply aware of this fact.

Yan Xuan walked behind Yi Ning and closely observed Yi Ning’s entire body. Only after verifying he was unharmed did he secretly exhale in relief.

“After we find Fang Shilan and solve this case, I will return to the sect.” Yi Ning suddenly spoke up, “You don’t need to worry about the poison either. When the Sect Leader exits seclusion, he will help me deal with it.” 

Yan Xuan’s pupils narrowed and his voice darkened. “What is the meaning of this?”

He wanted to part ways after using him and return to Gong Xiuxian to continue their murky entanglement?

Yi Ning turned around to look at him and said quietly, “I simply do not wish to trouble you further.” Yan Xuan also needed to have his own life eventually, and now that Gong Xiuxian knew that he and Yan Xuan had an intimate relationship, he wouldn’t dare to touch him lightly. This was enough.

The most important thing was that he couldn’t endure himself always worrying over what Yan Xuan was thinking. 

Yi Ning felt that because he had just been betrayed by Gong Xiuxian, then suddenly had Yan Xuan treating him well, he ended up developing some complex feelings towards Yan Xuan.

Right, it was like this.

“What do you take me for, Yi Ning? A dog who you can call and send away as you wish?” Yan Xuan laughed coldly. “As long as I don’t find you annoying, you’re not allowed to return to your sect.”

Seeing Yi Ning not replying, Yan Xuan softened his tone and continued, “I will help you dispel the poison, and I will take care of Fang Shilan too.” 

So, don’t go.

His heart felt sour, and he wanted to stand firm, but after hearing Yan Xuan’s words, Yi Ning once again felt a little greedy for this little bit of warmth.

He didn’t know why Yan Xuan treated him this well.

However, they are friends. No matter what Yan Xuan did, he wouldn’t doubt. 

After a long while, Yi Ning nodded and said, “Alright. I understand.”

Gan’er hopped and skipped around, searching for Fang Shilan’s scent. However after checking countless caves and finding not a single person, she fell asleep on the floor in exhaustion.

After a while, she felt a foot gently kicking her butt. Gan’er rubbed her eyes, then mumbled childlishly, “What is it, can’t you see I’m sleeping? Go away, go away.” Gan’er flipped over, then used a small hand to swat away the foot kicking her.

“Tan! Gan!” An angry voice rang out. 

Gan’er immediately scrambled up, patting away the dirt on her body and saying embarrassedly, “Ve-Venerable Lord, why are you here? I’m still searching for Fang Shilan’s scent, hehe.”

Yan Xuan pursed his lips and said through gritted teeth, “Wipe away your drool.” Why on earth did he select Gan’er to be the Elder of the dog race back then.

“Venerable Lord…” Gan’er sobbed and hugged Yan Xuan’s leg. “I know I was wrong.” After speaking, she sneakily shot a look at Yi Ning standing behind Yan Xuan, begging with her eyes for him to save her.

Yi Ning received Gan’er’s call for help, then, sighing, said to Yan Xuan, “Don’t bully Gan’er anymore.” 

He knew that Yan Xuan was only holding anger in his heart because he wanted to return to Mingguang Sect.

However, Gan’er ultimately wasn’t in the wrong. Children liking to sleep was a very normal thing.

Hearing Yi Ning finally pay attention to him, Yan Xuan huffed lightly then said, “Bully her? I’m disciplining my subordinate.” Following which, he picked up Gan’er and dropped her in front of him, then asked, “Where’s Fang Shilan now?”

The tunnels twisted and turned, making finding Fang Shilan incredibly time-consuming, especially also because she knew this place like the back of her hand. She could use formations to relocate those women at any time. 

Gan’er perked up her nose and sniffed intensely for a while, then reached out a hand to point towards the tunnel to the left. After a while, she pointed uncertainly to the right.

“Both of these directions have Fang Shilan’s scent.” Gan’er rubbed her head, unaware that Yan Xuan had just killed one of Fang Shilan’s false bodies.

Hearing her words, Yi Ning headed towards the right tunnel. “It should be a false body as well. I’ll go right, you go left.” By his side, Yan Xuan dragged Yi Ning back. No matter how unaware he was, he could also tell that Yi Ning was still bothered about something.

Could it be that Yi Ning felt disgusted by the sight of that woman who looked exactly like him hugging him? 

“Let go. There’s no time.” Yi Ning randomly found another weak excuse and pushed aside Yan Xuan’s hand.

Yan Xuan’s face darkened and he said unpleasantly, “No, if you meet Fang Shilan, you won’t be able to defeat her.”

Again with his lack of cultivation. Yi Ning knew Yan Xuan was only doing this for his own good, but he really didn’t want to rely on Yan Xuan anymore. He turned back and said seriously, “Didn’t Fu Zhuo already say that if Fang Shilan dared to hurt me, he would kill Mu Xiaoyun? So Fang Shilan won’t do anything to me.”

Even after being locked behind the water curtain, Yi Ning’s body truly didn’t have a single scratch. 

However, Yan Xuan didn’t want to hear it. He laughed coldly and said, “Fu Zhuo?”

He would rather be protected by Fu Zhuo, who he had never met before, than continue to follow him?

“Then go.”

Hearing his words, Yi Ning’s hands and feet felt a little cold, but this was obviously what he wanted to hear. 

Nevermind, it’ll be fine once he gets used to it. Just like before, when he didn’t have Gong Xiuxian and didn’t have Yan Xuan, he could also live very well by himself.

He didn’t need to rely on anybody.

“Give me my sword.” Every since Yan Xuan confiscated his sword, he never returned it to Yi Ning.

Yan Xuan untied his sword and tossed it to him. His movements were decisive, as if he truly didn’t care. 

The sword was still warm from Yan Xuan’s body heat. Yi Ning gripped his sword tightly and walked into the tunnel to the right. At the same time, he heard the sound of Yan Xuan and Gan’er’s retreating footsteps.

He really left, so why did Yi Ning’s heart feel empty?

Yan Xuan treated him very well sometimes, but would also randomly get angry. The thread of rationality within Yi Ning was constantly being plucked by Yan Xuan. He desired to be closer to him, but also couldn’t help retreating because of that closeness.

In the end, Yan Xuan was unwilling to get close anymore. 

Yi Ning sighed lightly. Then, just let it end here. There were no people underneath this sky who couldn’t leave each other.

In the beginning, he had thought that Gong Xiuxian would cultivate and ascend with him. Yet, even if he didn’t have Gong Xiuxian, wasn’t he also passing his days as usual? If he didn’t trust Gong Xiuxian initially, he also wouldn’t be in the position he currently was.

The deeper he walked into the tunnel, the wider it grew.

After an unknown amount of time, the ground gradually began to get a little damp, and there were even shallow puddles dotting the path. The wet and soft earth was like the riverbed of a receding river. 

The next instant, a drop of water fell by Yi Ning’s foot, landing in a puddle with a clear splash.

“Who!?” Yi Ning subconsciously turned his head back, only to see Yan Xuan.

Didn’t they just agree to split up? Why was he here? Even Yi Ning didn’t realise that his heart suddenly felt like it was stuffed full of something soft, feeling numb and fuzzy.

He heard Yan Xuan call out to him, “Yi Ning.” His voice was uncharacteristically gentle. 

Yi Ning froze.

As I’m getting busier now with my final year of uni, I think I’ll have to push back the update timing. I’ll keep it on Sunday, but there won’t be any set time. I think this gives me a fair bit more flexibility.