CH 18

“Why did you follow me?” Yi Ning suppressed the look in his eyes, masking his emotions and speaking with a plain tone.

Actually, he didn’t want to say this. It was just that he had just resolved himself to maintain a distance from Yan Xuan, yet the other had followed him. 

Yet Yan Xuan seemed to not care about what he said, slowly walking towards him, every step seeming to be treading on Yi Ning’s heart. He nervously gripped his sword hilt tighter

Up until Yan Xuan stopped in front of him, gently reaching out his arms and hugging him. Yi Ning’s body stiffened, feeling a little icy. Yan Xuan’s hug left Yi Ning suddenly at a loss.

What did he want to say? Yi Ning’s heart pounded furiously and he had a premonition about what it was.

Yan Xuan hugged him tightly in satisfaction, nudging his head at the juncture between Yi Ning’s neck and shoulder. He sighed out, “Why isn’t the Immortal Master resisting?” His other hand wound tightly against Yi Ning’s waist and pulled him closer against him. 

Yi Ning’s face flushed. He couldn’t deny that just now, his mind had been filled with what Yan Xuan wanted to say to him, to the point that he had forgotten to push him away.

“Hm?” Yan Xuan urged purposefully, “If it’s me, can I do whatever I want?”

These words were a little strange. Yi Ning lifted his eyes to look at him, only for his chin to be caught by Yan Xuan.

“It’s okay if I kiss you?”

Yi Ning was stunned, all the walls that he had built up to protect himself were smashed through by Yan Xuan, on the verge of collapse.

Even he didn’t know what he should say at this point. The air became thin, causing his heart to stutter and leaving him only with the desire to retreat, escape, and leave this place. Yi Ning subconsciously recited the hex, “Thirst.”

After a long pause, Yan Xuan’s hand still remained on his waist, and his expression was unchanged as he smiled faintly. “What did you say?”

Yi Ning’s pupils shrunk, a coldness crawling up his spine. 

He tightly clutched his sword hilt, then recited again, “Thirst.”

Yan Xuan’s face, illuminated under the amber glow of the lights, seemed a little strange, gentle, and unfamiliar.

Yi Ning stared at his face, then after a long while, chuckled helplessly.

That’s right, how could Yan Xuan do something like this to him. 

He lifted his sword and said coldly beside “Yan Xuan”’s ear, “What I detest the most is people playing around with me.” In the next second, Yi Ning mercilessly stabbed his sword into “Yan Xuan”’s stomach, his movement as swift as lightning.

That one strike contained all his inexplicable, ugly and despicable feelings.

Fresh blood scattered into the air.

“Yan Xuan” smiled, seeming incredibly satisfied, and praised, “As expected of Immortal Master Yi Ning. I nearly had to kiss you with this hateful face.” 

Yi Ning’s expression darkened. He had already guessed the other person’s identity.

Doubtlessly it was that crazy man discussing the taste of a man with Fang Shilan– Fu Zhuo.

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Things happened too quickly, Yi Ning didn’t have the time to overthink and pierced forward with his sword.

“Yi Ning!” One of them yelled. When he turned his head, he turned out to be another Yan Xuan. “He’s Fu Zhuo!”

Yi Ning: … 

No matter which one was the real Yan Xuan, it proved that Yan Xuan still sneakily followed along.

Wasn’t he unhappy with him, why did he still sneakily follow along?

Was he scared that he would die too easily? Yi Ning unconsciously felt like laughing.

“You’re the bastard who’s Fu Zhuo.” The other Yan Xuan flung him into a wall, black demonic fog containing lethal poison bubbling up in his hand. 

This was the demonic fog that belonged to half-demons. Was this the real Fu Zhuo?

“After sealing me for nine years and coming to strengthen the seal every year, are you so stupid as to not be able to recognise me?” The Yan Xuan who had been pressed onto the wall kicked the other one away, fuming at Yi Ning.

Yi Ning’s lips twitched. This one who spoke so unpleasantly should be the real one, yet he was a little unwilling to show he recognised him.

The other Yan Xuan wiped away some blood, and said with a cold smile, “You are me? Then tell me, what’s Yi Ning’s favourite food?” 

Yi Ning: ? What does this have to do with me?

Furthermore, even the real Yan Xuan couldn’t possibly know what his favourite food was.

The air seemed to have coagulated, the three of them brandishing their swords and looking at each other.

After a while, someone finally spoke. 

“Tangerines.” Yan Xuan turned his face away, the tips of his ears faintly red. “You like tangerines, right?” Perhaps it was Yi Ning’s misperception, but he seemed to see a trace of teeth-gritting embarrassment from his face.

What he was referring to was that day when the boy gave them a fruits basket, the tangerine they shared.

Yi Ning’s eyelashes trembled, and he was suddenly unable to meet Yan Xuan’s eyes, saying in a small voice, “Who said I liked to eat them?”

However, he had managed to determine which was the real one. 

Yi Ning had just wanted to stab forward with his sword, only for the other one to lunge towards Yan Xuan. The two of them were instantly entangled in a fight, unable to be differentiated.

Oh no, he had just managed to tell them apart, and now they’re mixed up again. Yi Ning rubbed his temple. If this went on, Fang Shilan would have already moved all the women already.

If only Gan’er were here, she would be able to tell them apart with a sniff. However, Gan’er had gone down the left tunnel. Without his cultivation, along with the fact that Fu Zhuo had a half-demon’s demonic fog, it was even harder to tell them apart.

Their blades flashed in the darkness, and the two of them fought on equal footing, even their demonic fogs were suppressing each other. The scene before him caused a memory to surface in Yi Ning’s mind. 

It seemed like in the past, there really was someone called Fu Zhuo. On his travels, he heard people say that this person had a good relationship with Yan Xuan, both equally evil and vicious and were birds of a feather. He was also a demon who raised hell and caused rivers of blood to flow.

It was just that he had heard Fu Zhuo had been killed by his birth father, and many people had rejoiced. He never expected that Fu Zhuo didn’t die.

Yi Ning had never seen Fu Zhuo before, so he didn’t have a deep impression of him. He had only occasionally heard of his evil deeds.

This person was vicious and merciless, killing countless people. Yan Xuan was much tamer in comparison. 

However, that was also possibly because nine years ago, Yan Xuan focused all his attention on hovering by Yi Ning’s side and harassing him, so he was too lazy to do things like massacring people.

Yi Ning’s only time seeing Yan Xuan kill someone was also the day he sealed Yan Xuan away.

It was a Mingguang Sect disciple in charge of sweeping, reduced to ashes by a half-demon’s demonic fog. When he rushed over, what he saw was Yan Xuan wielding his saber, his face splattered with blood and demonic markings covering his body, standing over the body.

At that time, he lifted his eyes, his golden pupils shimmering with a dim light. 

“Yan Xuan, stand there and don’t move.” Yi Ning suddenly spoke An idea suddenly came to him, and he remembered something.

The two Yan Xuans simultaneously stood still, appearing incredibly obedient. Yi Ning lowered his lashes, retrieving a jar of realgar wine from his storage ring and splashing it over both of them.

“F*ck!” Yan Xuan cursed, black python markings surfacing on his body, his pupils turning golden.

Now it’s easy to tell them apart. 

Yi Ning rubbed his nose in embarrassment, looking towards Yan Xuan, who had been drenched by realgar wine, and said lightly, “I apologise.”

Yan Xuan pursed his lips, lifting his saber and stabbing it into Fu Zhuo’s heart. He wasn’t in a good mood right now.

Not because Yi Ning had just poured wine over him, but because his mind was filled with the image of Yi Ning standing together with Fu Zhuo. Just what did he do to Yi Ning?

Seeking death. 

Yinzhen stabbed into him and, blood spilling from his lips, Fu Zhuo gripped onto the blade of the saber and chuckled, “Yan Xuan, long time no see. Why are you still following Yi NIng around even now? Are you a dog he raised?”

“Good. I’ll be waiting.” Fu Zhuo laughed mockingly, then turned his head to look at him and coquettishly batted his eyelashes. “Immortal Master, goodbye.”

The next second, Fu Zhuo was engulfed by the demonic fog, turning into an enormous, black rat.

He was a half-demon of the rat race. 

This was how he could use that rat as a fake body, and he probably also hid his real body somewhere underground like Fang Shilan’s tunnels.

Most importantly, Yi Ning suddenly understood where the hex poison on him came from.

Because Fang Shilan had once said that only the rat race could cast a hex poison. Wasn’t Fu Zhuo also from the rat race?

Yi Ning’s expression suddenly darkened. The many clues in his brain suddenly linking together. It seemed like the person directing Liu Rugeng was also Fu Zhuo. 

What was his goal? Why did he target him?

Everytime he pondered a question, Yi Ning tuned out everything around him, and he didn’t notice Yan Xuan walking towards him with a dark expression.

“Where did he touch you?” Yan Xuan’s tone was vicious, derailing Yi Ning’s train of thought. He said innocently, “What did you say?”

Seeing him not answering, Yan Xuan walked over, looking over Yi Ning’s body. His expression became unpleasant. 

“He hugged you.” It wasn’t a question but a statement.

He could even sniff out the lapel pin that Gong Xiuxian gifted him, let alone the fact that Fu Zhuo had hugged him. Yan Xuan stood in place, the tip of his saber still dripping with Fu Zhuo’s blood. Even if what he killed was just a fake body, and on the surface Fu Zhuo appeared to be unaffected, he definitely suffered some heavy wounds. Yan Xuan regretted not slashing him a few more times.

Hearing his words, Yi Ning forced down the sides of his lips and said lightly, “So what?”

“Nothing.” Yan Xuan expressionlessly wiped away the blood on his saber, already slicing up Fu Zhuo a countless number of times in his head. 

Realgar wine trickled down his hair and fell to the ground with a dripping sound. Sticky and slippery, causing Yan Xuan both pain and itchiness. After a pause, he said, a little unwillingly, “Do you have a handkerchief? Wipe this off for me.”

Like a little child throwing a tantrum. Yi Ning nearly failed to suppress his laugh, taking out a handkerchief from his storage ring and tossing it at him.

“Is it so funny? Wipe it clean for your husband.” Yan Xuan caught the handkerchief, saying each word through gritted teeth.

After speaking, he stuffed the handkerchief back into Yi Ning’s hand, staring right at him, as if saying that he wouldn’t rest until Yi Ning wiped it off for him. 

So obstinate, with a bad temper. However, Yan Xuan truly treated him well. He had to admit that when Yan Xuan appeared just now, Yi Ning suddenly felt at ease.

Ultimately, Yan Xuan treated him as a real friend.

Thinking to this point, Yi Ning unfolded the handkerchief, and slowly lifted his hand to wipe at Yan Xuan’s hair.

Yi Ning’s unique, mild scent of snowy pines drifted over, causing Yan Xuan’s heart to slow down. Unconsciously, his body stiffened. 

However, when Yi Ning’s hand was halfway to him, it paused.

“Lower your head.”

Yi Ning said darkly through gritted teeth.