CH 96

The game was over, and Ren Shuhan was about to go home.

Although the revenge was successful, he didn’t feel any joy. Instead, he felt a bit empty.

At home, Jiang Qingyue had changed out of his shirt and put on a white outfit he used to wear frequently. He held the book from the original world in his hand, smiling and waiting for him, just like when they were sixteen, when he stood at the gate of the Jiang Mansion holding a lantern, waiting for him to come down from the Cold Mountain Sect1Cold Mountain uses the Han (Cold) from Ren Shuhan’s name, just like his previous nicknames in other worlds!  to pick him up.

Tender and lovely, still as soft and delicate as a flower bud.

When Ren Shuhan was sixteen, he couldn’t help but want to kiss him, but he was afraid of scaring him, so he could only gently hold his hand.

At that time, they didn’t know what would happen later.

Ren Shuhan was two months older than Jiang Qingyue and officially joined the Cold Mountain Sect after his sixteenth birthday.

Before that, he had been lodging at the Jiang family in Lantern City.

The Lantern City, formerly known as Dengfeng Prefecture, was rich in jade and was also called Little Jade Capital. It was the second largest city in Qiongzhou, second only to the capital city, Jingping. However, two years ago, a cultivator emerged and ascended to the immortal realm, riding the wind on a sword and leaving the mortal world, shocking the emperor and changing the name to Lantern City.

After nightfall, the tallest building in Lantern City, Jade Pavilion Mountain, would light up with ten thousand oil lamps, illuminating the entire mountain and Daoist temples, like a fairyland, burning all night long, in tribute to the immortal and praying for the blessings of the immortal realm for the Great Xia Dynasty.

The head of the Jiang family was originally just a scholar, but he suddenly became a celebrity and had some influence in Lantern City. It was because that immortal was surnamed Jiang and was said to be a distant nephew of the head of the Jiang family, so he received quite a few rewards from the imperial court.

Jiang Qingyue was also a distant nephew of the head of the Jiang family.

But the treatment he received was completely different from that of the relative of the immortal, and this matter is a long story.

When Ren Shuhan first saw him, he was still very favored.

At that time, Ren Shuhan was six years old, stronger than ordinary children. Jiang Qingyue, who was the same age, was as thin as a four or five-year-old girl, wearing a clean white cotton coat with three white fluffy circles on the cuffs and collar, making him look like a fairy child, which stunned Ren Shuhan.

“You came from the seaside. Have you seen the sea?” The little fairy child squatted in front of little Ren Shuhan and asked him seriously.

“I don’t remember,” he replied, wolfing down the food the other gave him and shaking his head. “My master said he took me on the road for a year, only to rush over from the Longmen Pass, and we haven’t even entered Qiongzhou when we got separated.”

Ren Shuhan was a baby rescued from the sea by Jian Ci.

Jian Ci was a Daoist, somewhat proficient in the arts, and traveled around all year round. When he passed through Longmen Pass in Liangzhou, he found this baby who survived being drowned in the water. He was very surprised. The baby still had a jade pendant with his name and date of birth attached to him. He guessed that he might have a connection with immortals, so he adopted him, temporarily staying in the pass, and when he grew up a bit, he let him become his disciple.

But when Ren Shuhan was five years old, there was serious flooding in Longmen Pass, and Jian Ci had to take him with him to the south to make a living with the refugees.

This distance was not short, and Ren Shuhan seemed to be naturally weak and sickly. After walking more than half of the journey, one day, he finally fainted.

Jian Ci asked a wandering doctor nearby to see him. After he was almost done, he went out to get medicine with the prescription given by the doctor. When he came back, he found that both the doctor and the child were gone without a trace.

It turned out that this wandering doctor had changed his profession long ago and specialized in stealing children.

In those days, when people couldn’t even afford to eat, who would steal children and have to support them to eat? But in fact, this child kidnapper was stealing children precisely to solve the problem of eating…

He sold the children to the market.

During the famine, women and children were the staple food, cheaper than pork, and (it was said) tasted better than mutton.

This child trafficker used to be a doctor. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have fooled Jian Ci. At a glance, he could see that little Ren Shuhan was actually not sick at all, and his body was rare and strong. Fainting was entirely because he didn’t eat enough.

No sickness, not suffering from any disaster, and still sellable.

Jian Ci was a long-time vagrant, though he had some foundation in cultivation, he was very weak. He mostly relied on performing tricks and selling his skills to make a living. With little money and even selling the jade pendant on Ren Shuhan’s neck, he managed to support the child for several years. Now, even the landlords had no surplus food, so they could only let Ren Shuhan drink rice soup every day. Jian Ci had been fasting for many years, so he had no problem, but the child was still in the growth stage and needed a lot of nutrition, which naturally couldn’t be provided.

When the child was lost, Jian Ci thought about it and realized that it might not be a bad thing after all.

After all, he couldn’t afford to keep him.

As for finding him? There were no clues. Jian Ci could only treat it as if he had wasted several years, and continued on his way to Qiongzhou.

After being sold to the market, the child Ren Shuhan was indeed in high demand, because he looked good and was healthy. Fortunately, he wasn’t sold separately. The cook grabbed his arm and was about to immerse him in the river to clean him up and prepare to preserve him, serving a big client for the winter. But unexpectedly, Ren Shuhan regained consciousness in the water, suddenly became stronger, broke free, and ran along the river!

The river was already turbulent, and with continuous heavy rain, the cook watched him being washed away by the water but couldn’t catch up. He thought he was dead and just considered himself unlucky.

But Ren Shuhan was quite comfortable. After entering the water, he had to adapt on his own and transformed into his true form:

A small dragon.

He still remembered what his master said, to go to Dengfeng Prefecture in Qiongzhou, because it was a land of plenty, different from the capital city of Jingping. The taxation was not heavy, and there were many Daoist temples and martial arts sects, suitable for cultivation.

So he followed the river in the direction of Qiongzhou, eating a lot of unpalatable fish along the way. His physique became even stronger than when Jian Ci brought him, and he finally arrived at Dengfeng, just in time for it to be renamed Lantern City.

With the emperor’s amnesty, Lantern City opened its gates wide to accept refugees.

The Jiang family prospered, setting up porridge sheds everywhere to provide relief.

Little Ren Shuhan stole a piece of cloth and wrapped it around his waist to beg for porridge. After begging in circles, when he reached the third circle, he was discovered by the servants of the Jiang Mansion and pulled out.

“Don’t beat him,” young Jiang Qingyue appeared in time to stop the servants. “I want to ask him something.”

The servant hesitated and said, “Young Master, you have already sheltered too many refugees today. If this continues, we won’t be able to sustain ourselves, and it won’t be good for the Master.”

Jiang Qingyue had to say, “Then he’s the last one. I’ll take him out to play, and you don’t have to watch over us.”

The servants breathed a sigh of relief and drove the two children to the mansion’s garden, assigning two people to watch over the little beggar before returning to continue their hard work of pulling people from the queue.

Young Jiang Qingyue then took Ren Shuhan to the kitchen and got him a lot of food.

“Aren’t you afraid of getting scolded?” Ren Shuhan asked worriedly.

“It’s okay,” Jiang Qingyue said in a childish voice, “It’s not a problem to raise a little child like you.”

What he didn’t expect was that this was not an ordinary beggar. He was a young dragon in his infancy, really able to eat, and he ate up the entire kitchen in minutes, still not satisfied, and even wanted to eat the flowers, plants, and small animals in the garden.

“No, no more…” Jiang Qingyue hurriedly stopped him. “If you eat more, you’ll be found out.”

Ren Shuhan finally stopped.

But with such a commotion, it would naturally be discovered by the adults. Soon, the head of the Jiang family summoned him and made a decision to adopt him and treat him like Jiang Qingyue, and would also do his best to find his lost master for him in the future.

The reason was simple: he was not ordinary.

According to the child’s own account, his master was a Daoist with a foundation in cultivation, who adopted him because he saw that he had immortal fate. Seeing how much he could eat now, he was definitely not an ordinary person.

The Jiang family rose to prominence because of the Daoist who achieved Foundation Establishment. Now they especially valued cultivators, and even called back all their distant relatives, buying their children with money to raise in the mansion. When they reached twelve years old, they would be sent up Jade Pavilion Mountain together to show their aptitude to the cultivators.

That was also the reason Jiang Qingyue was here.

“So your parents didn’t want you?” Ren Shuhan looked at him, feeling mixed emotions.

Such a good-looking child, actually sold for only ten taels of silver… he thought, when I was bought at the market, they even spent two taels on me!

“Yeah,” Jiang Qingyue lowered his head, tugging at his fingers somewhat self-consciously. “My father is a countryman, my mother is a courtesan, and my blood relationship with the Jiang family is already very distant. It’s already good that they bought me. Although I don’t have parents here, there are many servants to take care of me, much more comfortable than at home.”

Not having to endure hunger, not being beaten and scolded at every turn, and escaping the strange and uncomfortable gaze of his biological father watching him.

Ren Shuhan’s fists tightened.

“Don’t worry,” he comforted Jiang Qingyue, “My master is very kind and can teach me many skills. When I find him, I will bring you to live with him. By then, my master will be your master, and we can build our own family without having to care about others.”

Ren Shuhan knew his own uniqueness, suspected that he was not human, and secretly told Jiang Qingyue a little bit, only saying, “This is something my master hasn’t even told me. In the future, I will definitely achieve great things and earn big money to support you.”

Although young Jiang Qingyue didn’t reply, his cheeks were flushed, and in his heart, he had agreed.

From then on, the two of them lived and ate together, were close to each other, and studied and played together on weekdays. Occasionally, Ren Shuhan would be taken out to identify people, to see if it was his lost his master. Unfortunately, they never found him.

Time passed, and the two children grew up to be twelve years old.

The age to ascend Jade Pavilion Mountain.

Ordinary people knew almost nothing about the immortal realm, because even if immortals appeared in the mortal world occasionally, they all asserted that the mortal realm was just that, and there were no extraordinary talents who could achieve the way of the Dao. But the recent immortal named Jiang, who emerged out of nowhere, achieved enlightenment on Jade Pavilion Mountain. Before leaving, he left a few pieces of jade in the Daoist temple, guiding the way:

When a child is twelve years old, if they can evoke the light within the spirit stone, they have immortal aptitude, innate spiritual roots, and will definitely be able to go through Foundation Establishment. However, whether they can achieve Golden Core in the future depends on the situation.

This time up the mountain, a total of seventeen children went.

When they came down from the mountain, Ren Shuhan became the most eye-catching one, because when he held the spirit stone, the stone shone brightly, and then dispersed, all absorbed into his body, to be used for himself.

“This is great talent!” The cultivators of Jade Pavilion Mountain were all shocked. “He will definitely achieve a Golden Core in the future!”

The head of the Jiang family was overjoyed.

Foundation Establishment level cultivators were common, but they were just stronger than ordinary people, able to fly on a sword for a short time. They didn’t have any useful skills, almost all used for performing tricks, and were comparable to swindlers in the martial world. Golden Core cultivators, on the other hand, appeared only once every few hundred years.

Among the children who went together, there was also a distant relative named Jiang, a girl who also had spiritual roots. She was brought back by the Jiang family’s mistress and raised affectionately by her side, while the other children remained unknown and were sent away after coming down from the mountain.

Some of the children cried and wanted to stay, so the Jiang Mansion agreed to Ren Shuhan’s request and picked two children with good looks and agile movements to stay as servants.

Jiang Qingyue was one of these two people, taking care of Ren Shuhan closely.

Previously, Jiang Qingyue had been very attentive in taking care of Ren Shuhan, and after becoming a servant, it seemed like there was no change.

“Don’t worry,” Ren Shuhan said to Jiang Qingyue after Jiang family borrowed a small courtyard for them and they moved in. Ren Shuhan set up a small kitchen and held Jiang Qingyue’s hand, saying, “You treated me well, and I’ll treat you well, just like before. Don’t worry about what others say. Not only do I owe you my life, but we also have years of friendship between us.”

Jiang Qingyue’s cheeks turned slightly red as he nodded in agreement.

Within two days, Ren Shuhan’s reputation spread, and Jian Ci came knocking on the door.

In fact, over the past few years, the Jiang family had been helping Ren Shuhan search for Jian Ci, and Jian Ci had heard about it.

However, Jian Ci was of average ability. Although he had Foundation Establishment, he couldn’t even ride a sword. After coming to Lantern City, he thought about the hardships of the past few years and just wanted to retire to his deceased foster mother’s hometown, which was the Cold Mountain Sword Sect where he had stayed during his childhood.

The Cold Mountain Sect was a martial arts sect in the martial world, a small sect in the outskirts of Lantern City. Seeing Jian Ci return, they thought he was somewhat capable and without saying much, gave him an elder-level mountain to live on, and even sent two young boys to serve him, keeping him quite comfortable. This was a case of being content with what you have.

Later, Jian Ci heard that his unlucky disciple was still alive and was in the Jiang family, looking for his master. Jian Ci thought about it…

And decided not to go and claim him.

Although he had raised him for several years, Jian Ci was indifferent by nature and didn’t have deep feelings for the child. Moreover, the Jiang family was wealthy, and raising a child was not a problem for them. Since they were willing to help him find his master, it meant they treated him well. There was no need to bring him back to the idle Cold Mountain Sect. Although he was called an elder and the eldest disciple, in reality, it was just about living a peaceful life, farming, and raising chickens…

And most importantly… Ren Shuhan was just too good at eating!

Since the Jiang family was willing to raise him, let them do it.

So, after two years passed, when he heard that a child named Ren had shone brightly on Jade Pavilion Mountain, Jian Ci couldn’t sit still and decided to go and claim his relative.

But the Jiang family wasn’t foolish. When the kid was on the brink of death, you didn’t come to claim him, but now that he’s made a name for himself, you come? Do you think we’ll just give him to you?

“You dare to ask people from the Cold Mountain Sect?” scoffed Mr. Jiang.

So Jian Ci discussed with Mr. Jiang and reached an agreement. He would visit the child once a month, for a short time, two or three days at most. For the rest of the time, he wouldn’t come to disturb them. Ren Shuhan could either stay at the Jiang family to study or go up to Jade Pavilion Mountain, following other Daoists to learn martial arts.

Mr. Jiang agreed.

However, strangely, Jian Ci finally got the chance to see the child, but he never came once, and then he suddenly disappeared, seemingly not returning to the Cold Mountain Sect either.

No one cared about Jian Ci’s disappearance until the eve of Ren Shuhan’s sixteenth birthday, when Jian Ci appeared at the sword trial held on Jade Pavilion Mountain, won the first place with unexpected assistance, and shocked everyone.

Before leaving for the Cold Mountain Sect, Jian Ci left a sentence at the meeting, letting the Jiang family know that his unruly disciple could formally join the sect after turning sixteen.

The Jiang family didn’t dare to neglect it anymore and quickly prepared gifts for Ren Shuhan to go up the mountain.

Ren Shuhan thanked Mr. Jiang and promised to repay the favor in the future. When he went up the mountain, he not only brought the gifts prepared by the Jiang family but also brought “little servant” Jiang Qingyue.

“We’ll go together,” Ren Shuhan kept his promise and wanted to give Jiang Qingyue a home of their own. He was also curious about the Cold Mountain Sect and his master whom he hadn’t seen in years, eager to learn new martial arts. He happily told Jiang Qingyue, “My master has always treated me well. He must be doing well now, which is why he asked me to come back and find him.”

Jiang Qingyue obediently nodded, following his lead as they went up the mountain.

At that time, they didn’t know that the Jian Ci at this moment was no longer the true Jian Ci, but rather Yu Xi who had crossed over.

This Jian Ci had a face as cold as water, a tone as icy as frost, accepted the gifts, but stopped Jiang Qingyue at the door.

After being separated from his disciple for ten years, Jian Ci just gave a cold glance at the hands held by the two in front of him and said the first words:

“Who is he?”

“He’s a childhood friend of mine,” the sixteen-year-old Ren Shuhan, who was already taller than Jian Ci, said with his head lowered. As he spoke, he shyly scratched his cheek with his fingers and smiled subtly. His gaze shifted to the opposite direction of Jiang Qingyue and said, “His name is Qingyue.”

Jian Ci looked coldly, feeling annoyed.

Indeed, this kind of transmigration was not interesting at all. Next time, he should remove the original memories before transmigrating, and remember to add a protagonist halo so he wouldn’t have to play the villain himself.

“Nonsense!” Jian Ci sighed at the thought and indifferently said, “Can anyone from the Cold Mountain Sect just come here? Send him back to the Jiang family.”

If you are confused by the sudden shift in this chapter… DON’T WORRY I’M CONFUSED TOO T________T lmao no but for real, this is a new arc and I’m guessing that what we’re seeing now is Ren Shuhan and Jiang Qingyue’s ORIGINAL lives/memories? But at the same time, Yu Xi is here too so… I’m not sure what is going on lol?

Anyways… HE’S A LIL DRAGON!!

Thank you for reading