CH 20

TigerLily [Translator]30-37 minutes

Seeing the murderous corpse kneeling to Ji Ning, everyone present was stunned. Several of the children from the twelve aristocratic families nearly choked, their faces alternating between red and white as they felt like fainting.

That savage corpse had recognised a master…he actually recognised that person as his master… aF9 jy

The teenagers felt shaken to the point they wanted to vomit blood.

Although none of them were from the Xiao family, they knew that a refined corpse should only accept their summoner as their master and that they had no spiritual wisdom at birth. Their intelligence would be slowly increased through daily refining.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

After Qin Ruwang became a murderous corpse, they lost all hope of taking back control. A murderous corpse is nothing more than a bloodthirsty animal that disregards all orders, their only instinct is to kill. They’re simply monsters that have to be destroyed, but with so few of them, how could they try and subdue a two thousand year old corpse? It was a miracle they had escaped alive so far, how could they think about killing?

They had still suffered heavy losses. They had all lost expensive treasures and had been forced into a terrifying and humiliating situation, but now this strange young man appeared and the corpse recognised him as its master. It even spoke to him and demonstrated an unexpected intelligence. wN1EFn

What was the reason?

The teenagers were so petrified they stood frozen for a long time. It was not until the monarch, in his black imperial robe, straightened up and turned his head to look at them, that they woke up from their dreamlike state and scrambled to retreat.

They quickly understood that the identity of the young man must be special. It was likely that he was very powerful or very old, and probably wasn’t human, otherwise why would the corpse bow its head to him when he hadn’t done a thing?

A murderous corpse and an unrevealed monster. Neither were characters they were capable of handling, let alone the two of them together. If they didn’t take the opportunity to escape, they would really end up dying here!

xeYH3v

One of the more timid teenagers gritted his teeth and smashed a qi-imbued locket to the ground. Even though he knew using it would destroy his cultivation, he would rather lose his cultivation than his life inside the tomb.

A gust of black wind enveloped the teenagers and swept them away, out of the underground palace and back outside of the mountain.

The underground palace stood silent, leaving only Ji Ning, Qin Ruwang and Yun Dao, who was still unconscious.

Seeing the young monarch standing silently in front of him, Ji Ning was unable to feel happy to see him again. Instead, his heart was bitter, filled with feelings of regret and self-loathing. dvCgoQ

In the end, he had still been too late and couldn’t stop Qin Ruwang’s body from being refined. If he had come here directly instead of resting his soul, he could have stopped this from happening.

【This was not your fault.】

The voice of Future echoed in his consciousness. Although it rarely took the initiative to speak to him, it still tried to comfort him.

【I would not have allowed you to transfer your soul to this world without resting. If you did not rest, your soul would be irreversibly damaged and the consequences would be too severe.】 bhEY4d

【Due to the unstable state of your soul, the pill you just took could have directly killed you. Although it is possible to resurrect you, you should cherish your life as much as possible.】

【If you can’t even look after yourself, how can you save others? Please try to remember this Ji Ning.】

「Thank you for comforting me Future.」

Ji Ning’s heart warmed as he sincerely thanked Future. BCGfal

Now that this had already happened, it was useless to waste time regretting it. Instead, he should try and make up for it. Besides, it wasn’t like he was helpless.

He had experienced a cultivation world before. The secret artifacts and magical weapons of that world were numerous and strange, with a vast range of powers. Now that the worlds were merging, he might be able to meet the protagonist of the cultivation world, which could give him the chance to properly resurrect Qin Ruwang.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

【You are welcome.】Future paused slightly and added,【We are partners, I will do my best to help you.】

「You’re also my friend.」Ji Ning replied, smiling. fTctS0

【Then I wish you all the best.】

Future said, cutting the connection between them.

Ji Ning patted his face and sorted his emotions out.

He had been in much worse situations than this and solved them. This time wouldn’t be a problem either, he believed in himself. yS4wHC

The first thing he had to do was figure out Qin Ruwang’s situation.

He didn’t understand corpse refining and didn’t know if the corpse retained its own soul and memories, but he guessed that it didn’t, otherwise Qin Ruwang wouldn’t have called him master. They didn’t have that kind of relationship before.

Ji Ning circled Qin Ruwang and asked tentatively, “Who am I?”

“You are my master.” Qin Ruwang resheathed his sword and replied. gfVGv6

What did he mean by master?

Ji Ning silently made theories, then asked, “No matter what I said, would you do what I asked you to?”

“Yes.”

It seemed Qin Ruwang truly regarded him as his master. But why? 3EW2dC

Ji Ning felt the same confusion as the young man from the twelve families. He couldn’t understand why Qin Ruwang chose him as his master. He had just been standing there and hadn’t done anything to capture his attention.

Could it be that he subconsciously felt close to him due to the influence of their past memories together?

Making such a guess, Ji Ning asked again, “Do you remember your name?”

He received only silence in response. It seemed that Qin Ruwang really didn’t have any memories, therefore Ji Ning couldn’t determine the reason why he decided Ji Ning was his master. oRNgHW

Maybe this was a good thing in some ways…Ji Ning thought. The reason for that was the same as with Ying Qianqiu and the others, to avoid more pain in the future.

“Qin Ruwang,” he patted the young monarch on the shoulder and said, “This is your name, remember it well.”

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Qin Ruwang nodded slightly, his movements still vaguely stiff.

“A-Ning…A-Ning…” af3n4Y

At this moment, there was a faint murmur from inside the tomb. The comatose girl’s injuries had healed a lot and she was slowly waking back up. Yun Dao’s eyebrows were pinched as she called Ji Ning’s name in an uneasy and fragile voice.

Oops, Yun Dao was going to wake up, but he didn’t want her to recognise him.

Ji Ning stroked her face, wondering where he should hide to wait for the effects of the Huaxing pill to pass, when he suddenly felt his vision tilt and a prickling sensation spread across his body. When he looked down, he saw two white paws.

He had changed back…the timing was pretty convenient, but if he wasn’t human, would Qin Ruwang think his master was missing or that he had been tricked? ky54ah

Ji Ning had the appearance of a cub again and uneasily raised his head towards Qin Ruwang. The Emperor had lowered his head to continue looking at him but showed no other reactions and behaved very calmly.

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll stay in this form…”

Ji Ning had wanted to say these words to Qin Ruwang but had forgotten he’d returned to the body of a cub. However, he had still spoken, with the soft and milky voice of a child.

He guessed it was the residual effects of the Huaxing pill. x1FYJh

“C-Rlcu!”

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“Sister, it’s alright, he won’t hurt you…”

A cute and childlike voice entered the girl’s ears, making her startle as a snow white cub jumped on top of her. Nestling into her arm, he said, “Don’t be scared, we’re safe.”

“…Xue Tuan? You can talk?”

Startled, Yun Dao called out the nickname she’s given to the cub. Although Ying Qianqiu had named the little guy ‘Yingxue,’ she thought the name wasn’t cute enough, so she changed it to Xue Tuan in private. refS9d

…

Hearing her call him that, Ji Ning felt faintly troubled. That girl really resembled him, he wasn’t good at naming either. He had named her ‘Yun Dao’ because she was a cloud beast, while she called him ‘Snowball’ because he was a snow beast cub.

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Yun Dao was shocked, not only because the cub could suddenly speak, but also because he told her not to worry, why was this? What happened whilst she was unconscious?

“I ate a funny ball and now I can talk to you.” 3OX2n

Ji Ning lied casually. He had already smashed the rest of the uneaten Huaxing pill, both to destroy the evidence and to stop Yun Dao from feeding him the rest of it.

He pretended as if he had just learned to speak and was still unskilled with it, as he explained to Yun Dao what had happened, mixing together truth and lies. For example, he told her the person who gave her the healing medicine was Qin Ruwang after Ji Ning had asked him to, and that while Ji Ning was able to talk he couldn’t change into a human form.

“Really?”

The girl was happy to hear the corpse had recognised the cub as its master, but she still felt somewhat suspicious as she was certain she had seen A-Ning’s face before. Had she really been mistaken and seen A-Ning instead of Qin Ruwang? dN87Rb

This was too much…

She looked at the silent monarch and her injured abdomen seemed to ache again, making her shrink back, a little scared.

The light in the underground palace was dim. Qin Ruwang was wearing a crown piece mian and most of his face was covered by falling jade beads, so Yun Dao was unable to see his appearance, but in her heart she was certain he had a ferocious face. How could she mistake that for A-Ning?

“So, you’re saying the bastards of the twelve families escaped, right?” qgrIZ3

The girl regained her strength and began to pick up her items off the ground, temporarily keeping them inside the undamaged beast bag. With beautiful eyes and a sullen face she said, “Hmph, it’s really unpleasant for them not to die here.”

Ji Ning felt slightly embarrassed. Listening to the girl’s bragging, he roughly understood the whole story. It turned out that she was the one who made the sneak attack first, which caused every one of the following disasters.

However, he didn’t think what she did was wrong. Ying Qianqiu and the twelve families were enemies, it should only be expected that she would make trouble for them. Not to mention, it was because of her that Qin Ruwang wasn’t taken away by those teens and Ji Ning was able to see him again.

“Let’s go back, let’s go back.” c2KLlm

After scolding the teenagers bloody, Yun Dao finally calmed down. She relaxed her face and smiled with a smug expression.

Although she had been injured this time, Xue Tuan had stolen their extremely powerful corpse which was a huge gain. She had to reward Xue Tuan when they got back.

“Let’s go Ruwang.”

Ji Ning walked over to Qin Ruwang and rubbed his head against his leg. He intended for Qin Ruwang to follow them out, but unexpectedly, the corpse bent down slightly, and picked him up with both hands, cradling him against his chest. KLB3ON

However, because he was a murderous corpse, his embrace was as cold as ice. Ji Ning couldn’t stand it with his small body and trembled all over.

Qin Ruwang walked for a while, aware of his trembling, then suddenly raised his hand and pulled the Mian headpiece off his head, throwing it to the floor. The jade beads spilled across the ground, making soft clinking sounds and his long, inky hair spilled loose across his shoulders.

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Hearing the sound behind her, Yun Dao who walked in front, turned and saw Qin Ruwang’s face. Her eyes widened.

He looked completely different from what she’d expected. Qin Ruwang was born both handsome and elegant. If it weren’t for the fact that he had passed away, leaving a faint aura of death surrounding his whole body, how noble and romantic he should look. So4FTZ

The girl began to wonder how such a person ruled most of the world before his death but the next second she almost choked herself laughing, her shoulders trembling to contain herself.

Qin Ruwang had gently placed the cub on top of his hair, so that he wouldn’t feel cold but he looked so funny that Yun Dao couldn’t stop herself from laughing. It took her a long time to recover as she clutched the wall to stabilise herself.

Ji Ning hugged his tail and curled into a ball without feeling embarrassed. He quite liked staying there, Qin Ruwang walked slowly to keep him secure and wouldn’t allow him to fall.

Yun Dao walked out of the tomb and stood in the corridor, looking for a way out. The underground palace was too big, she somewhat remembered the way she had come, but she had been so panicked when she ran away from Qin Ruwang that she no longer remembered which directions she’d taken. Iwcfg1

Qin Ruwang passed in front of her and turned to the right. Yun Dao figured he should know his way around here, so followed behind him, but they ended up travelling deeper and deeper until they arrived at the main tomb. Back where Qin Ruwang’s coffin was stored.

The main tomb was a mess, rubble and dust scattered everywhere around a broken coffin, traces of the earlier fight between Qin Ruwang and Yun Dao.

When they entered the tomb, Yun Dao remembered how she’d reached this place the first time, but was certain Qin Ruwang had taken them the long way round. They could have simply walked out, why would he return to the main tomb?

Qin Ruwang said nothing, moving towards the broken coffin with the cub on his head. He bent slightly to retrieve an object and cleaned it off on his sleeve, staring at it. 1onpGe

Yun Dao sneaked a look and saw it was a silver half-face mask of an unknown material. Although two thousand years had passed, it still looked new, with exquisite carvings of complicated patterns sculpted across it. The small bloodstains on the metal added a hint of savagery to its beauty.

She leaned in to look closer and determined that no matter how precious the mask was, it was only an ordinary thing that couldn’t help with her cultivation, which made her interest in it fade.

“Why did you bury it with you?”

She asked, glancing towards Qin Ruwang, then immediately shook her head and muttered. cQshj

“Forget it. If you don’t have any memories, why would you remember this? But you’re very persistent, even if you’ve forgotten everything, you still thought to take this away. It must be very precious to you, right?”

Qin Ruwang held the mask close and remained silent.

But Ji Ning recognised the mask immediately. After all, he had worn it for ten years.

In Qin Ruwang’s world, Ji Ning was the God son of the Wushen Kingdom, a close ally of the Xia Empire. Every ten years a God son and Goddess daughter were given to the Xia Empire. The God son could calculate the fate of heaven and the Goddess daughter refined the elixir of life. 308X4B

Although that world had a court palace background, there was indeed a belief that the Goddess daughter’s longevity medicine could prolong life and Ji Ning, as the God son, could predict events of the future.

He and the Goddess daughter lived in the Emperor’s palace for several years, both as guests and prisoners.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

The two of them carried a very high status in the palace, second only to the monarch. As long as they opened their mouths, the Emperor would satisfy any of their demands, but at the same time, until they died they could not take half a step outside of the palace gate. In this life, they could only serve the Emperor of Xia.

Even if the Emperor did not restrict them, neither of them had the ability to escape. Because they stole the secrets of the Gods and violated the nature of Yin and Yang, their bodies were extremely weak to the point where they couldn’t walk. They could only be transported in carriages. QLdhft

Their lives were also short. The Wushen Kingdom sent new Gods sons and Goddess daughters every ten years because that was the amount of time they had to live.

For Ji Ning, this was a hateful world. When he first arrived, he was unable to walk and lived in a haze of confusion. Later, he tried to walk by himself and collapsed after three steps, unable to move.

At that time, because his skin had been broken, the palace servants around him were almost sentenced to death. After that, he never walked by himself again.

As long as they were in front of others, the God son and Goddess daughter had to wear masks, so that no one apart from the Emperor could see their true faces. MBj SP

When he first entered the world a banquet had been held, during which the mask of the Goddess daughter accidentally fell. All of the palace servants and concubines present at the time were executed, spilling a river of blood across the floor. Not even the three year old prince was spared. He died crying under the blade of a guard.

Ji Ning had only been young when it happened. When he finally opened his eyes, the ground was crimson. He was stunned silent, the mask on his face felt warm, as if it too was dripping with blood.

The Goddess daughter put her mask back on and sat down in silence. After a while, tears dripped out from under her mask.

They couldn’t do anything to stop it. This was the rule of the Wushen Kingdom. After becoming the chosen divine envoy, they could no longer be seen as mortals. If someone saw their true appearances, they had to die, otherwise it would cause great disasters. JANH7o

Seeing his wives and children die in front of him, the Emperor of Xia smiled calmly and raised his glass to them.

“I pray my great Xia country will be prosperous and eternal!”

Although many had died at the feast, no one considered it the act of a tyrant. They believed that it was normal to be executed for disrespecting the Gods. Many people even thought they deserved to die.

Only Qin Ruwang was different. Born of a slave girl, he was a forgotten and unloved prince. He had received nothing but bullying and humiliation since childhood with no one to save him. He had struggled in that quagmire for more than ten years and had no reason to believe in God. O9QkjT

Later, when he grew up, Qin Ruwang believed in neither ghosts nor Gods and had no respect for the Empire. He killed his father and brothers and was given the name ‘messenger of death’. He besieged the kingdom of God and created a dynasty that stretched in all directions, marking his name for eternity.

But even Qin Ruwang was just an abandoned child in the beginning.

At the end of the banquet, Ji Ning sat distracted in the chariot, gazing unseeing at the scenery in the garden. By chance he spotted a slender figure half hidden in the vegetation.

This was the beginning of the book’s plot. Qin Ruwang’s mother went to the banquet, not to dine, but to serve the other nobles as a slave girl. UOEDn3

She saw the face of the Goddess daughter and was killed on the spot by the guards, but her child was still waiting for her in the garden. He didn’t know that his mother would never return to him again.

Ji Ning felt miserable and couldn’t help but ask the guards to stop and bring Qin Ruwang over to him.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

The boy stood in front of the chariot. Although he had never seen the God son, he could guess his identity and immediately knelt down and saluted him, despite the fact he held no respect for him in his heart.

“Come up, come with me.” zdfdpP

Ji Ning sat in the chariot, hidden by transparent white gauze, as he waved his hand gently towards the boy.

If he wanted Qin Ruwang to fall in love with him, they had to interact, but he didn’t do it for this purpose. He really couldn’t bear the thought of leaving such a young child to suffer the loss of his mother alone in this treacherous palace.

The servants who served the God son knew the favour Ji Ning was bestowing when he spoke these words, and their hearts filled with envy. They shouted for the boy to thank the God son for his gift but although the boy gave thanks to Ji Ning, his response was not to get on the chariot, but to politely refuse.

“I’m sorry, Lord God son, but I can’t leave with you until my mother comes back.” QoKX9

Hearing his answer, the palace people’s faces twisted, as if they were looking at a madman. They had never seen anyone dare refuse the God son, even his majesty would not so easily reject his proposal.

“…” Ji Ning closed his eyes and his voice was slightly hoarse when he spoke again, “Then I’ll wait with you, come and sit.”

They sat together and waited silently until the sky fell dark, for someone who would never come back. The palace servants urged Ji Ning to return for his medicated baths and meals, worried he would faint. Ji Ning just asked again,

“Would you like to come with me?” aU2YpC

Qin Ruwang just shook his head.

“Then I’ll look for you again tomorrow.”

Ji Ning said patiently, watching the boy leave the chariot, before he returned to the palace that belonged to him and the Goddess daughter.

For three days in a row, the God son went to find the boy every day. The news spread like wildfire in the palace, reaching even the Emperor’s ears. They said that the God son favoured the unpopular, forgotten prince. HUMC c

“I don’t understand what’s so strange about my child that has troubled the God son to go to find him repeatedly?”

The monarch was humble in front of his divine envoy and used the simple 'I'. Facing his question, Ji Ning just smiled lightly and replied, “That boy is destined for me.”

That kind of answer would sound delusional from anyone else, but from the God son, it appeared reasonable.

“If the God son likes him,” The Emperor thought for a moment then said, “It wouldn’t hurt to give him to you. It would be an honour for him to serve by your side.” awmdFg

“Then thank you, your majesty.”

With the Emperor’s promise, Ji Ning returned to the palace but was greeted by the worried eyes of the Goddess daughter.

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“The child knows…”

The Goddess daughter bowed her head guiltily, tears rolling down her face. Qin Ruwang was being held down by palace servants, his eyes red as he glared at the two deities with hatred. lF9PzH

He knew that his mother had died because of a God’s child.

The little cub lay on top of Qin Ruwang’s hair, his dark eyes staring so intensely at the mask that Yun Dao wondered if he’d burn two small holes right through it.

“Okay, Xue Tuan, don’t look anymore, we’re going back now.”

The girl wanted to poke at the cub’s head, but when she reached out her hand, Qin Ruwang glanced at her. His gaze made her ears tremble, so she anfrily took her hand back and called for him instead. gXwfJr

Ji Ning came back to his senses and found that he’d been in a trance for a long time. He raised a paw to touch the tip of his nose and replied in a soft voice, “Okay, sister Yun Dao.”

“Good, good, this was all thanks to you this time. When we get back, your sister will definitely make them cook a feast for you!”

The girl smiled brightly, the unhappiness she had felt encountering the twelve families’ children swept away. Recognising the way back out of the underground palace, she walked lightly ahead. Before they left, she even encountered another unexpected fortune.

“It’s the corpse alchemy writings of the Xiao family!” HEhU1o

She picked up the papers the teenagers must have dropped when they fled and shouted in surprise.

The countless gold and silver treasures buried in the underground palace were useless to her, but the Xiao family’s corpse alchemy was very different. They happened to have picked up Qin Ruwang, but if they used these practices they would be able to further refine him.

“Let’s see…ah, this is useful…and this is useful too!”

The self-satisfied expression on the girl’s face didn’t match her image. The more she looked, the brighter her eyes became. Later, she even started muttering nonsense, as she thanked the teenagers and clutched the papers closer to her body. 9r340P

Ji Ning was also curious about what was written in those notes. He hoped there might be something in them that would let Qin Ruwang recover his memories.

Walking out of the underground palace, there was a deep mountain behind them and a large forest in front of them. Yun Dao crushed a talisman that summoned the mount she’d left in Tiandu city.

“I want you to carry them.”

Yun Dao pointed at Qin Ruwang and the cub. She was certain the corpse didn’t have any wings but she was perfectly capable of flying herself and didn’t actually need the mount. k O0my

But sensing the aura of death from Qin Ruwang’s body, the mount actually rolled to the floor wailing, as if begging its master to spare its life.

Helpless, the girl sat on the mount herself and used her own qi to lift up Qin Ruwang alongside them as they returned to the flying carriage.

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Yun Dao led Qin Ruwang and the cub back to Ying Qianqiu’s carriage. As soon as they were back inside the carriage, she couldn’t wait to show off, “Qianqiu, look what we brought back!”

“…” Ul3Jrw

The silver haired man glanced up and his fingers froze on the book’s pages, his eyes darkening slightly. Qin Ruwang stared back, his fingertips brushing across the hilt of his sword.

“Don’t make trouble!”

Seeing Qin Ruwang’s dangerous movements, Yun Dao hurriedly chimed in, but he ignored her. It wasn’t until the cub that lay on his hair patted him with his paw that he retracted his hand.

“A murderous corpse?” asked Ying Qianqiu. xAZ8Xl

Yun Dao hurried to explain their previous experiences, but lied about her injuries, saying they came from the teenagers of the twelve families, otherwise Qin Ruwang would definitely have been punished for them.

“When I fainted, I thought Qin Ruwang was A-Ning.”

When she spoke about Ji Ning, the girl’s expression fell and her tone was aggrieved, “I must have missed him too much…It doesn’t matter, we’ll bring him back.”

She smiled and regained her usual lively appearance, pointing at the cub to say, “By the way, Yingxue ate a Huaxing pill and can now speak. He’s an expensive cub, if one pill can only make him talk, I don’t know how many it would take to make him human.” LbsiEG

Hearing what she said, Ying Qianqiu turned to look at Ji Ning. His eyes were unusually deep, as if he could see right past Ji Ning’s lies. Ji Ning couldn’t help but feel guilty, worried that Ying Qianqiu would know.

Fortunately, Ying Qianqiu was only silent for a moment, before his eyes softened and he nodded slightly towards Ji Ning.

This gesture was meant to call him over. Ji Ning had gotten very close with Ying Qianqiu and naturally responded to his call. With a neat jump, he moved onto Qin Ruwang’s shoulder and slid down his arm.

But when he was halfway down, Qin Ruwang’s hand suddenly grabbed his body and moved him back on top of his head, his hand cradling him slightly to prevent him from moving. GkqQbz

“Don’t go.” Said Qin Ruwang, “Dangerous.”

Ying Qianqiu’s expression didn’t change but he put his book down and called again, “Yingxue.”

Ji Ning’s tail twitched and he didn’t dare not go. After all, he still had to rely on Ying Qianqiu for food, housing and transportation. He nuzzled against Qin Ruwang’s hand but this time Qin Ruwang was unrelenting. Instead of putting him down, he turned around and walked away.

Ying Qianqiu stood up from the table and followed them slowly. Worried by the escalating situation, Yun Dao hurried over to Ying Qianqiu and said, “It doesn’t matter, they can’t get out, they can’t get out.” jVedhl

She called to Ji Ning, “Yingxue, can’t you talk? Make him stop, can’t he listen to Qianqiu?”

“It’s alright Ruwang. Qianqiu isn’t dangerous, he’s my friend.”

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Ji Ning had forgotten he could speak and quickly called out to Qin Ruwang.

Hearing his voice, Qin Ruwang’s footsteps really slowed and he picked up Ji Ning with both hands. His pale and handsome face was expressionless but he looked at Ji Ning silently, as if to express his doubts about Ji Ning’s words. uaUp5V

“It’s really all right.”

The cub rubbed against Qin Ruwang’s palm again, then jumped down. This time he wasn’t stopped, so he happily jumped in front of Ying Qianqiu and shouted, “Qianqiu…Qian?”

The cub’s voice trailed off and he looked at the silver haired man with uncertainty.

Yun Dao next to him also widened her eyes as, in an instant, Ying Qianqiu’s profound qi poured out of him, causing the furnishings inside the carriage to shake slightly. The beasts who pulled the carriage sensed the outpour of dangerous energy emanating from the car, causing a ripple of neighing to spread. oRlkMt

Ying Qianqiu appeared to have frozen but his mind was racing.

He had heard that voice before.

Many years ago.

It was shortly after he had been accepted by Ji Ning’s family and was just beginning to build a relationship with them. Ji Ning’s sister had once shown him a jade slip with a voice recorded on it and said happily that it was her brother from when he was young. oVzi2G

“Sister, sister, wait for me…”

A soft and tender voice came from the jade slip, accompanied by a burst of hurried footsteps, as if the boy was anxiously chasing after his sister.

Hearing this voice, how could the proud and arrogant young man bear it any longer. He blushed deeply and tried to snatch it but his sister moved faster and threw it to Ying Qianqiu, saying with a grin that she was gifting it to him and he had to take good care of it in the future.

Later, the young boy had repeatedly threatened Ying Qianqiu to get him to hand over that jade slip but Ying Qianqiu would rather be bullied by the boy than hand over that precious treasure. s2eLPf

「Wait for me.」

「Wait for me.」

Xiaoxiao, who used to tease him, disappeared in a moment. Lost in a sea of corpses and an ocean of blood. All that remained was that one sentence, repeated over and over.

Wait for me. lV3vOj

He had waited.

For countless days and nights, he had clutched that jade slip in his hand, embedding every note of his voice into his heart.

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So, even after only hearing a few words, he knew this was the same voice that had haunted him.

Had his delusions become true or was he looking at a demon? ifJN8B

Okay this chapter is twice as long as usual and I almost had a heart attack when I first saw it. Then I looked at the chapter lengths and they’re all like this?? I’ve been tricked, I swear. I thought the whole book was lovely 3000 character chapters but the rest of them are all 6000-10,000. Bleh. As a result, I’m sorry to say that I’m dropping from three chapters a week to two, please still love me ／(=´x`=)＼

Also, my author says she writes sweet romances and she’s a damn liar. This is one of the most dogblood plots I’ve ever read. I’m in near tears for both Ying Qianqiu and Qin Ruwang, I can’t decide who I love more in this chapter – Qin Ruwang’s utterly adorable but I have a thing for depressed scholars (can’t find a better way to put that :w)

Finally, with the longer chapters comes more chances for my mistakes – it feels like my English gets worse every day, so if you see a mistake on any chapter please say in the comments, I’d really appriciate it!

GM7LC6