CH 112

Cultivation always involves hardship, and Jiang Qingyue was well aware of this. He was prepared for it because no matter how hard or tiring it was, he had to strive to keep up with his brother.

But this method of cultivation… uh, it was something he hadn’t expected at all.

So he kept moving around and crying.

Even before starting to study, he couldn’t bear it. The first night together was exhausting, and he just wanted to rest without even thinking about learning such a difficult skill.

But Ren Shuhan didn’t let him off the hook.

In this aspect, Ren Shuhan’s willpower was much stronger than his. Perhaps it was because body cultivators were naturally good at controlling their own bodies and challenging their limits. Now that Ren Shuhan had already satisfied one need, he wasn’t as immature anymore and could be said to be quite proficient.

So, following the teaching philosophy of high standards and strict requirements, Ren Shuhan insisted on staying up all night to finish teaching him the entire book and completing the accompanying exercises rigorously.

Each page guaranteed at least the time it took for an incense stick to burn for practice. After practicing the entire book once, they would consolidate it twice more to deepen his memory.

During the second round, Jiang Qingyue was gasping for breath from crying so much.

But that didn’t mean he would go easy on the child.

No pain, no gain. How could one become outstanding without enduring hardships? Ren Shuhan sternly comforted him, “Be good, baby, let’s do it again.”

With red eyes, Jiang Qingyue sniffled, “I don’t want to anymore…”

“No, you can’t give up,” Ren Shuhan pinched his ear. “Learning must be completed without interruption.”

Poor Jiang Qingyue began to kick and threw a tantrum softly, “QAQ I don’t want to!”

Ren Shuhan easily suppressed him, “You’re almost done learning.”

Actually, they were only halfway through.

The practice workbook wasn’t categorized by difficulty, so the effects were similar throughout. Jiang Qingyue’s body was extremely flexible, perfectly meeting all the requirements of the exercises, and sometimes even performing exceptionally well. However, he was too soft, so soft that sometimes Ren Shuhan couldn’t bear it, couldn’t continue teaching, and became restless.

But the longer the cultivation went on, the greater the demands on physical and mental strength. While Jiang Qingyue could handle studying, in terms of stamina and mental strength, he was just average. So Ren Shuhan had to take care of him, practicing while feeding him water and food, and tenderly comforting him in his ear throughout to try to stabilize his spirits.

Although Jiang Qingyue resisted from time to time, feeling aggrieved.

“Baby, you’re already very good,” he stroked Jiang Qingyue’s sweaty back. “I love you, just hold on a little longer.”

Jiang Qingyue: “…I don’t love you anymore, you beast.”

Ren Shuhan: “…???”

Although it was just a moment of anger, as a teacher with a bad temper, Ren Shuhan still punished him slightly, making him cry even more pitifully.

During the learning period, at Jiang Qingyue’s strong request, they had two breaks. After the first break, they took a bath together, and then they didn’t come out of the hot spring until after the second break. At that time, Jiang Qingyue accidentally fainted.

He was so delicate…

Ren Shuhan felt very distressed, so he temporarily let him off, dried his hair, and carried him back to bed to sleep.

Then the next morning, they resumed morning study sessions.

After all, he was so weak because he had been spoiled by himself before. If he couldn’t bear to punish him in other places, he absolutely couldn’t continue to indulge him in such an important cultivation path. Well, that made sense. Ren Shuhan thought.

When Jiang Qingyue was awakened, he was momentarily confused, then suddenly reacted and fiercely bit Ren Shuhan’s finger that was stroking his lips. “I really don’t want to anymore!”

Ren Shuhan chuckled silently behind him, “But didn’t you really want to before?”

“Stop waiting until I’m angry to stop,” Jiang Qingyue said with a hint of tears in his voice, sounding domineering. “The consequences will be severe.”

“Baby, be a bit more mature,” Ren Shuhan nibbled on his neck, mumbling. “Don’t throw tantrums so easily.”

Jiang Qingyue was infuriated.

As soon as he woke up early this morning, Jiang Qingyue realized that his past memories had suddenly returned!

It turned out that his self-sustained binding system he had previously researched had appeared, prompting him: “Host’s energy is declining, spirit is close to collapse, temporary protection mode activated, memory compression package opened forcibly, and spirit and physique values ​​for the host are enhanced.”

And Ren Shuhan was still clueless, busily bullying him…

Jiang Qingyue: …Teach me? You’re still a bit too young.

He regained his strength, tried to turn over, and prepared to teach this still somewhat naive Ren Shuhan a lesson about love…

But he couldn’t move.

After struggling for a while, Jiang Qingyue felt weak all over, realizing with sadness that even though he had plenty of experience and his psychological age was several times that of Ren Shuhan’s, he still couldn’t win in practice.

In the end, he had to give up and obediently cultivate for a while.

“Well,” when it was over, Jiang Qingyue’s eyes were vacant, lying limp on the bed, feeling like he was almost a useless person now. He admitted, “I really learned it, cultivation needs to be gradual, you can’t rush into it.”

And this also involved talent. He had experienced countless battles, yet he couldn’t compare to a newly awakened talented player. It was really unfair, sigh, exhausting.

“The remaining scrolls only have this much,” Ren Shuhan gently stroked his arm, a bit regretful. “You’ll have to figure out the rest through practice.”

“Um, I’ve already figured it out.”

Jiang Qingyue didn’t even want to rest close to him now, just wanted to keep his distance. So he pushed hard, but Ren Shuhan didn’t budge, and he almost fell off the bed himself.

Ren Shuhan quickly caught him before he could fall, holding onto his butt and the back of his head, then took him to bathe.

Jiang Qingyue hid in the hot spring in the backyard, far away from him, resting his head on his arm, watching him prepare breakfast in the nearby kitchen, chatting with him absentmindedly.

“Oh, by the way, brother, I suddenly remembered something,” Jiang Qingyue said, “Apart from the matters of the He Huan Sect, is there anything else you need to tell me?”

Ren Shuhan suddenly felt a chill.

What was with that tone from his darling?

Was this what it meant to mature, to grow up? But the change seemed too sudden! Suddenly, he felt a bit overwhelmed!

“…Can you give me a hint?” Ren Shuhan slowed down his chopping of cilantro.

Jiang Qingyue instantly became unhappy, “Figure it out yourself.”

He hadn’t even mentioned something as important as memories from his past life, it was really not acceptable.

You see, although Ren Shuhan himself didn’t care, the previous Jiang Qingyue had quite a bit of insecurity about this matter, always feeling inferior to Jian Ci.

Ren Shuhan was stunned for a moment, “I haven’t said anything to Yun Xiangrong! You saw it yourself, how innocent I am.”

Jiang Qingyue: “It’s not her, I’m not talking about the He Huan Sect, did you even listen carefully to what I said? Are you tired of me already just after our wedding night? Don’t come over!”

He splashed water angrily.

Dear, what’s gotten into you…

Ren Shuhan was afraid he might catch a cold, so he turned back to continue cooking noodles for him and hurriedly explained, “Could it be Jiang Zhixi? I haven’t even said a few words to her in total over the past two years. I’ve been hiding in the He Huan Sect and not returning home because I don’t want to interact with her.”

“Hmph,” Jiang Qingyue pouted, looking at him grievously. “I understand about having a confidante. I’ll behave, I understand.”

Damn, this was the first time Qingyue had acted like this!

Ren Shuhan felt all the hairs on his body stand up, and after putting down the vegetables, he poured a glass of water for Qingyue first: “I promise I won’t talk to her in the future. No, it’s not a promise to you, it’s from the bottom of my heart, I refuse to talk to her again, because, because I…”

Jiang Qingyue coldly watched him struggle to come up with an excuse, then knocked over the cup of water he handed over.

But in the moment before he retracted his hand, Jiang Qingyue regretted it, fearing he might burn Ren Shuhan, and reached out to push the back of his hand instead.

Ren Shuhan grabbed his hand back, interlocking their fingers, deftly caught the cup with his left hand, not spilling a single drop, and brought it to Qingyue’s lips, coaxing him to open up: “It’s warm.”

Jiang Qingyue obediently drank the water, glaring at him all the while.

Ren Shuhan couldn’t help but release his hand, gently touching his delicate Adam’s apple as he wiped away the water from his lips.

“It’s not her!” Jiang Qingyue said.

“Then who else?” Ren Shuhan was baffled, “Ah Lu? That’s all in the past, I’ve already reprimanded him firmly back then!”

“What?” Jiang Qingyue widened his eyes, “He was also after you?”

Ren Shuhan: “…No, I, uh…”

The atmosphere became even more awkward.

Ren Shuhan turned back to the kitchen, deciding to cook quietly.

Normally, in such situations, he would just grab Jiang Qingyue’s face and squeeze his cheeks together, urging him to confess what he was thinking.

But today, for some reason, he felt empty inside.

Qingyue suddenly became assertive, and after he had bullied him all night, Ren Shuhan found it difficult to be as harsh as usual.

So Ren Shuhan silently cooked the noodles and brought them over, trying to appease him with this ordinary-looking bowl of noodles.

Jiang Qingyue, tired and angry, was almost falling asleep by the poolside.

“Qingyue?”

Since he didn’t get a response, Ren Shuhan took the initiative to lift him up and dry him off. Qingyue found a comfortable position in his warm embrace and dozed off for a while, until he was fed while being held.

“No need,” Jiang Qingyue half-slept, half-woke, feeling embarrassed, so he used chopsticks to eat by himself, saying hesitantly, “It’s Jian Ci.”

Ren Shuhan didn’t catch on immediately: “Hmm?”

What about Jian Ci? Did I miss something?

“Oh, right,” Ren Shuhan realized, “I was planning to go see Jian Ci and ask him directly. If necessary, I might have to kill him. Should I report this to you as well?”

He thought Jiang Qingyue would understand.

“Not necessary,” Jiang Qingyue took a bite and leaned back, offering him noodles with his chopsticks, “You should eat too.”

Ren Shuhan leaned down to kiss his cheek, “I’m fasting, not hungry, I just want to eat you.”

Jiang Qingyue blushed, ate for a while, and secretly sighed at his husband’s really ordinary cooking skills, but thankfully, his appearance and voice were appetizing enough to finish the meal.

But in the end, he only ate less than half a bowl, deciding not to force himself.

Ren Shuhan noticed the issue and tasted the soup from the bowl.

“It’s him,” Jiang Qingyue didn’t want to dampen his enthusiasm for cooking, so he continued the previous topic, “Jian Ci likes you.”

Ren Shuhan: Sputters

“Oops,” Jiang Qingyue handed him a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, “You nearly choked, when will you mature a little?”

Ren Shuhan: “…It’s not that… What you said, it’s easily misunderstood.”

“I mean exactly that!” Jiang Qingyue, not knowing how to explain further, simply stopped talking, “We’ll return to Lantern City tomorrow, you’ll find out when you meet him.”

“Why the rush?” Ren Shuhan said seriously, “Your studies…”

Jiang Qingyue covered his mouth, not letting him ramble.

They couldn’t stay in this courtyard planned for their honeymoon anymore, because Ren Shuhan, who had just awakened, was terrifyingly strong. Jiang Qingyue had experienced it firsthand last night and didn’t want to continue practicing.

Ren Shuhan stayed to rest with him for another day, and then he insisted on taking a detour back to Lantern City, visiting a few scenic spots along the way.

Traveling during the day was too tiring, so Ren Shuhan refrained from bothering him at night.

When they returned to the Jiang residence, Ren Shuhan realized the problem and was about to tidy himself up when Jian Ci also arrived.

Jiang Qingyue’s remark about Jian Ci liking Ren Shuhan didn’t faze him at all. Ren Shuhan thought he was joking—

What? Really? The real Jian Ci had raised him, he was like a father figure in his heart, and this impostor Jian Ci was someone he had never seen before. It was just too absurd to be taken seriously even as a joke!

Then he horrifiedly discovered that it was indeed the case.

As Jian Ci arrived and issued another challenge, Ren Shuhan accepted it on behalf of Jiang Zhixi. The moment he saw Jian Ci, all memories were fully unpacked, and Ren Shuhan left two deep marks on the challenge letter.

“Ren Shuhan,” Jiang Zhixi spoke with her preset ‘cold’ voice, “You’re finally back?”

Ren Shuhan looked at her for a moment, didn’t say a word, and turned away.

Jiang Zhixi: “?”

What’s going on? He didn’t tell me he was back, and now he suddenly appears, takes away my challenge, and doesn’t say anything?

Wen Xin intervened and helped explain, “Let Ren Gongzi handle it for you.”

Jiang Zhixian felt awkward, “Is this appropriate?”

“It is,” Wen Xin, not good with words, said expressionlessly, “Mistress Jiang, please don’t stand on ceremony.”

Jiang Zhixi had no words.

Didn’t you guys think your behavior was inappropriate to me???

But there was someone even more clueless.

Jian Ci had lost face again, coldly snorted and left.

It’s obvious that my disciple is worried I’ll be hurt by Jiang Zhixi, so he wanted to stop this match! This foolish woman is just waiting to be slapped in the face—

His inner thoughts were heard word for word by Ren Shuhan, who had just left not far away.

This idiot, still the same after so long.

Ren Shuhan’s footsteps didn’t pause for a moment as he returned to his courtyard, hastily confessing to his wife, “I didn’t speak to either of them today!”

Jiang Qingyue first examined him up and down, then laughed and pounced into his arms, pinching his cheeks.

“Why are you so silly? I was just teasing you,” Jiang Qingyue said.

Ren Shuhan’s back was covered in sweat. He thought, Who knows if it’s a joke or not, it’s not funny at all!

“Really,” Jiang Qingyue kissed his earlobe shyly, coaxing him, “If I can’t even trust you, then there’s no one in this world worth trusting, not even myself.”

Ren Shuhan didn’t understand the deeper meaning of his words, so he hugged him and patted his back, saying, “It’s not about trust or not, it’s what I want to do.”

He didn’t want to do anything that would make Jiang Qingyue unhappy.

This time of rebirth, although the days were not much different from before for Ren Shuhan, his sense of satisfaction was mostly psychological. Because if he wanted a honeymoon, he could choose a comfortable living environment in the main world, but they chose to come back here.

Being able to genuinely care for the person he liked, to take care of him, hug him, kiss him, confess to him, marry him, and spend his true life with him, that was what Ren Shuhan wanted.

However…

There was one regret that Ren Shuhan could never make up for.

Fortunately, soon, he would be able to avenge the real Jian Ci himself.

The person who didn’t know he had already died in the future, Ren Shuhan would personally execute him again.

This time, it would be a farewell.

Uuuuh, I feel like this chapter was all over the place…and those two seemed kinda ooc at first lol??? oh well

Thank you for reading