CH 35.2

translator: baumkuchen  editor: ellabells

“Yin Xun!!!” Lu Qingjiu called out his name. He rushed towards the person before him and lunged, grabbing ahold of Yin Xun’s sleeve. “Where did you fucking go, I was searching for you for so long!” 

Yin Xun said, “Ah… I just went out for a little something.” He scratched his head and made an apologetic expression.

“What thing?” Lu Qingjiu didn’t believe his excuse at all. He grabbed Yin Xun’s wrist and started to drag him back home. “I know you’re not human, you don’t need to worry about me having something against that. Let me tell you, Bai Yuehu isn’t human either. I’m the only normal person in our home…”

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Hearing this, Yin Xun’s expression started changing erratically.

Still worried that Yin Xun wouldn’t believe him, Lu Qingjiu explained, “Bai Yuehu is a fox spirit. I’ve seen his tail before, it’s white and fluffy, it feels really good.”

Yin Xun’s face twisted, “What did you say?”

“I said he’s a fox spirit… What’s wrong?” Lu Qingjiu asked.

“Nothing,” Yin Xun said, “I… I was just asking casually.”

Lu Qingjiu said, “Where in the world did you go? Nevermind, I won’t ask, if you want to talk about it, then talk about it, if you don’t, then never mind. You haven’t eaten for the past few days, you must be hungry. I made dinner… Quickly come back with me and have some food.” He kept prattling on, just like a naggy mother who had finally found her runaway child. 

The whole way back, Yin Xun remained quiet. Only when they reached the entrance to the courtyard did he finally speak in a low voice, “You really don’t mind?”

“Mind what?” Lu Qingjiu asked.

“That I’m not human,” Yin Xun said.

“What’s there to mind about that? It’s not like you’re going to hurt me,” Lu Qingjiu said very calmly, “Oh, right, I forgot to tell you about our family’s pickup truck.” 

“What is it?” Yin Xun was shocked.

“It’s a slug,” Lu Qingjiu told Yin Xun the terrible truth, “I remember you seem to be a little allergic to slugs…”

When Yin Xun heard the word “slug”, his entire face twisted. He said, “Slug? Slug? Is it the kind of slug that I’m thinking of?”

Lu Qingjiu, “Yep, that one.” 

Yin Xun, “Shit, that thing can even be used as a car? I fucking said that it made my butt itchy…” He thought of the image of a slug and shuddered, then said in a tearful voice, “From now on I’m never going to sit in your family’s pickup truck ever again.”

Seeing Yin Xun’s disdain for his family’s cute pickup truck, Lu Qingjiu was outraged. “Are you crazy? If you don’t take the pickup truck then are you actually going to walk to town? You’ve already been dead for so many years, can’t you grow up a little?”

Tlc Wec, “…” Lf jmaejiis mbeivc’a gfoeaf atlr.

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Tlc Wec tjv lcvffv ubcf tecugs obg rfnfgji vjsr. Lf mbeivc’a fja jcsatlcu tf wjvf, bcf ylaf kjr fcbeut ab ulnf tlw vljggtfj. Dea obgaecjafis, tf vlvc’a jmaejiis cffv ab fja bg tf vlvc’a xcbk tbk tf kbeiv tjnf regnlnfv obg jii atfrf sfjgr.

Lu Qingjiu watched Yin Xun eat with a gaze full of fatherly love, making Yin Xun’s skin crawl. He called out weakly, “Qingjiu…”

Lu Qingjiu said, “Dumb child, eat more, you’ve really suffered for these past few years.”

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Yin Xun, “…” 

“Come, have this chicken drumstick,” Lu Qingjiu said, “What are you just staring dumbly for, eat.”

Yin Xun swallowed his mouthful of saliva, already a little regretting his decision to disappear for a few days. Actually, he still hadn’t thought through how to explain himself to Lu Qingjiu. He had been scared that Lu Qingjiu wouldn’t accept him, so he thought to first hide for a few days and see how things turned out. But who knew that before he could hide for more than a few days, Bai Yuehu came to find him with a heavy expression on his face and ordered him to get the fuck back home, or else he’d eat him on the spot.

When it came to Bai Yuehu, Yin Xun didn’t dare to test his patience at all and hurriedly got the fuck back.

Drumsticks usually exclusively belonged to Bai Yuehu. Today, they fell into his bowl. Yin Xun thought, could this be his reward for surviving through this crisis… 

However, just as he picked up the drumstick with his chopsticks, he felt a cold stare fall onto his back. Yin Xun couldn’t take it. His hand shook, and the chicken drumstick fell back into the bowl.

“Yuehu, you’re back,” Lu Qingjiu looked at Bai Yuehu, who had appeared at some point at the door, “Come over, I found Yin Xun.”

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Bai Yuehu didn’t say anything and walked over and sat down opposite of Yin Xun. His gaze fell on that big chicken drumstick in Yin Xun’s bowl.

The chicken drumstick was braised. It was fatty and oily, making anyone hungry when they saw it. Very hungry… Bai Yuehu reluctantly reigned in his strength to avoid snapping his chopsticks. He looked at the very happy Lu Qingjiu, then looked at the increasingly frightened Yin Xun and forced out two words, “Eat, then.” 

Yin Xun, “…” Was this a fucking chicken drumstick or was it his fucking last meal.

“Eat,” Lu Qingjiu urged gently from next to him.

Eventually, under the two men’s very different stares, Yin Xun could only tearfully take a bite of the chicken drumstick. As he swallowed it down, Bai Yuehu’s stare bored into him. Yin Xun felt like what he was biting wasn’t a drumstick, but his own leg…

“Yuehu, there’s still this one, you should eat, too.” Thankfully, at that moment, Lu Qingjiu’s interruption diverted Bai Yuehu’s attention. He said, “Quickly eat, you two must be hungry.” 

Only then, did Bai Yuehu withdraw his stare to go off to gnaw on his own chicken drumstick.

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This was the most fear-filled meal Yin Xun had had since Lu Qingjiu came back. After he finished eating, even his clothes were soaked. Lu Qingjiu had even exclaimed in surprise, so even dead people can sweat.

“I actually can’t be considered a normal dead person,” After Yin Xun put down his chopsticks, he began to explain to Lu Qingjiu, “My death hasn’t been registered with the local government, after all.”

“Then what kind of dead person are you?” Lu Qingjiu said. 

Yin Xun said, “It’s a long story… The year ”Pangu”creator created the universe…”

Lu Qingjiu, “…”

Bai Yuehu said coldly, “Speak human.”

Yin Xun immediately got to the point, “Sorry, I drowned when I was ten years old.” 

Lu Qingjiu, “…”

Bai Yuehu, “…”

“Nevermind, if you don’t want to talk about it, then don’t force yourself.” Currently, Lu Qingjiu had already developed a fatherly love as big as a mountain towards this childhood friend who’d been met with many difficulties in his life. “I know the bitterness in your heart, I know it all. I’ll reintroduce you to everyone. This  is Bai Yuehu, a fox spirit. He’s not human, like you. This is Xiao Huan and Xiao Hei, they’re apparently spiritual beasts called Dangkang. This is Su Xi, he’s also a fox spirit…”

Yin Xun, “…” 

Lu Qingjiu said, “So you should relax. You being a dead person is actually really ordinary here, it doesn’t matter.”

Right, clearly, the odd one out in this home was actually the home’s owner, Lu Qingjiu…

Upon thinking of this, Yin Xun let out emotional tears and embraced Lu Qingjiu. Lu Qingjiu stroked Yin Xun’s head, saying in a shaky voice, “Xun-er ah, you’ve suffered, Daddy… no, I will take good care of you from now on.”

Off to the side, Bai Yuehu was incredibly disgusted by those two. He even put down his chopsticks. 

Yin Xun, who was being embraced by Lu Qingjiu as a child to be taken care of, suddenly gained an ill-gotten sense of courage. He asked, “That… I’d like to ask, is Mister Bai… really a fox?”

Lu Qingjiu let go, and looked towards Bai Yuehu. “Or else?”

Bai Yuehu gave Yin Xun a cold stare. He said, “Yes, what else?”

As his words fell, nine big, beautiful, white tails appeared behind him. Yin Xun’s jaw dropped. 

Lu Qingjiu shamelessly moved behind Bai Yuehu and began stroking his tails. “Look, like I said, Bai Yuehu’s a fox spirit. His tails feel so good.” After he said this, he saw the look in Bai Yuehu’s eyes soften and followed by crinkling into a smile.

Yin Xun watched on from the side. When the tails behind Bai Yuehu appeared, his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. His fingers twitched. Of course, he didn’t have Lu Qingjiu’s courage, he didn’t dare reach out and stroke Bai Yuehu’s tails… Even though whether these tails were actually Bai Yuehu’s was up for debate.

Lu Qingjiu, stroking his tail, was very happy. Bai Yuehu also crinkled his eyes in a smile. For a time, this scene was very harmonious, except Yin Xun was inching quietly towards the door.

When he was done touching Bai Yuehu’s tails, confirming the identity of his family’s fox spirit, Lu Qingjiu placed his gaze back on Yin Xun. He said warmly, “You probably haven’t had a good rest for these past few days, you should go home early. Remember to come over tomorrow for breakfast.” 

Yin Xun pursed his lips, clearly hesitating over something. At last, he seemed to finally summon his courage, and said, “Do you want to hear about what happened to me?”

Lu Qingjiu nodded. He naturally wanted to, it was just that if Yin Xun wasn’t willing to talk, he wouldn’t force him. Everyone had a past they didn’t want to remember. There was no need for him to dig up others’ old wounds just to satisfy his own curiosity.

“If I tell you, you can’t dislike me.” Yin Xun’s voice was low, sounding a little down. “Okay?”

Lu Qingjiu said, “I won’t dislike you.” He paused for a moment. Afraid that Yin Xun would overthink it, he raised an example, “Take my family’s pickup truck. I already know it’s a slug, but don’t I still like it very much?” 

When he heard the word slug, Yin Xun couldn’t help but shudder. “…Can you not bring it up?” He really was very afraid of these soft-bodied mollusks. Even after he died, his fear of such animals hadn’t decreased at all.

Lu Qingjiu shrugged, making an innocent expression.

“You two can talk,” Bai Yuehu said, indifferent, “I just so happen to need to go out.” After he said this, he got up and left, leaving the house to Lu Qingjiu and Yin Xun.

“Let’s go to the courtyard,” Lu Qingjiu said, “The grape wine I’ve been making is about done. If you want, we can drink a little.” 

“Nah.” Hearing this, Yin Xun laughed. Lu Qingjiu was just as gentle as he remembered, easing his nervous mood. In the end, no matter if Lu Qingjiu accepted this already-dead man or not, he would never regret having been friends with Lu Qingjiu.

The two walked to the courtyard and sat down under the moonlight. Yin Xun was silent for a moment before slowly opening his mouth to speak, “Do you still remember what I said before about a child once drowning in the mountains of Shuifu village?”

“I remember,” Lu Qingjiu had a deep impression of Yin Xun’s story because when they went up onto the mountain with Zhu Miaomiao, they had been met with that same thing.

“That child wasn’t some other person,” Yin Xun slowly spoke the shocking truth, “That child was me.” 

Lu Qingjiu’s expression froze on his face. He asked, “But… aren’t you standing in front of me right now?” And everyone in the village knows you exist.

Yin Xun’s expression turned strange. He said in a low voice, “Yes, the reason I can still interact with other people, still live in the mortal world, is because after that incident, something happened.”