CH 15

Finally clear-headed, Gu Feng pushed Su Mujin away. Su Mujin, who was pushed away, was a bit muddled, but his gaze immediately locked on to Gu Feng.

He licked his lips, showing only the tip of his dark red tongue, and said, as though he needed to fully express himself, “I’ve long wanted to know how Gege tastes. Hmm, not bad . . .” 

Not bad? Not bad!? Your mom’s not bad! Veins popped on Gu Feng’s forehead, and his hand felt itchy, like it wanted to hit someone. But now was not the time to argue over this sort of thing. His face was stormy as he turned to Tao Yao, and his voice dropped dangerously low, “What did you do to him? Quickly release him.”

“It’s nothing harmful. It merely arouses one’s innermost desire, that’s all.” Tao Yao’s face was playful as she spoke.

A single stone cast gives rise to many waves. Within Gu Feng’s heart arose a stormy sea. He incredulously asked, “You mean to say that he . . . has those sorts of feelings for me?”

“How else do you think my array would have affected him? He won’t stop being attracted to you. His feelings are deeply rooted.” Tao Yao looked at Gu Feng, completely baffled. She failed to understand why the other party was questioning her about a matter so incredibly obvious. 

Impossible! But what if it’s true? Gu Feng felt shocked and uneasy. He didn’t actually doubt Tao Yao’s words, because he had long seen the signs. But he never dared to think along those lines. Now, since he knew, what ought he to do?

They were originally the same person. How could it be possible to develop this kind of sentiment? If such an earth shattering matter was announced, I’m afraid nobody would believe it. He ought to have been disgusted by his emotions, but his heart was not repelled in the least. He even felt a bit of secret delight. This is actually . . . scaring me a little. Su Mujin doesn’t know it’s weird, but I know!

His heart couldn’t bear to reject, but it was unable to calmly accept. It was truly contradictory. Still, without waiting for him to figure it out, Su Mujin came over and once more held onto him, rubbing against him as if he wanted to try once more. Gu Feng helplessly said to Tao Yao, “Quickly release him . . .”

Initially, Tao Yao wanted to refuse, but then she had an epiphany, and unexpectedly nodded her head, saying, “I can agree to release him, only you must promise to help me look for someone.”

“ . . . okay, I promise. Release him first.” Gu Feng was in a difficult situation as Su Mujin’s movements grew more and more unbridled. Gu Feng didn’t want to injure his companion and could only passively defend himself. It was both mentally and physically exhausting.

With just a wave of Tao Yao’s hand, the rosy ray of light dissipated. And Su Mujin . . . fainted in a glorious heap.

Gu Feng let out a sigh of relief. He really didn’t know how to face his companion at this moment. Coming to a silent decision, he asked Tao Yao, “When a person who was affected by that thing awakes, do they remember what happened when they were under its influence?”

“Rest assured, it’s unlikely he’ll remember,” Tao Yao lied without batting an eyelid. Actually, it was possible to remember a bit, but given the circumstances, she was pretty sure that Su Mujin would think it had been all part of his illusion. Tao Yao didn’t think the details were worth mentioning. 

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“What about them?” Gu Feng cast an uneasy glance at his teammates who were still passed out.

“I’ve already concealed this place. It’s very safe. They won’t wake up for the time being.” Tao Yao spoke while encircling the peach grove with a boundary. Then she took the lead to walk toward that place she had mentioned previously. 

Gu Feng set aside his worries, and kept pace with Tao Yao.

He followed her beneath the giant peach tree, then she used some unknown magic method, and the surroundings abruptly moved and rippled. By the time Gu Feng realized what was happening, they were in a completely new location.

Gu Feng’s eyebrows slightly rose when he saw the scene of a ruined log cabin, and a lone ancient tree, the trunk of which was larger than Tao Yao’s tree by manyfold. It wasn’t hard to imagine it had once sported luxuriant foliage, but unfortunately it had long since withered and died. Under the tree sat a table with two chairs, made entirely from wood, but they had rotted after all this time. The air here was deathly still and filled with a bleak aura.

“This is where Lingsu Jiejie lived. She always yearned for a human life. She built this house one log at a time.” Tao Yao walked over to the giant tree, and caressed its trunk, her tone sentimental. 

“Is the person you want me to look for is related to that?” Gu Feng pointed to the wizened tree and asked.

Tao Yao didn’t speak, as if immersed in some sort of depression she was unable to free herself from. She silently walked to the cabin and pushed open the dilapidated door.

Contrary to expectations, the inside of the cabin was neat and tidy. It seemed that someone often cleaned and maintained it. Except for Tao Yao, he couldn’t think of who else it could have been. The interior was simple with only a desk, a bed, and a chair. Upon the desk were stacked many papers. Gu Feng picked up those papers to have a look, only to discover that each of the papers held the painting of a man. Sometimes drunk, sometimes practicing the sword, sometimes sitting in meditation — the man’s appearance was handsome and bright, with a hint of mystery. The paintings were extremely lifelike, and it was hard not to be affected by the emotions of the one who had painted them.

“That is an immortal master, and also . . . the one Lingsu held in her heart.” Tao Yao seemed to know what Gu Feng was going to ask, and opened her mouth to explain, then paused, picking up one of the paintings before she continued, “I want you to find the woman depicted in this painting.” 

As soon as he saw the woman in the painting, Gu Feng was shaken. She was at least ninety percent similar in appearance to Gu Yunxi. What was going on?

“Tell me more about her situation. People sometimes look alike, and I want to avoid recognizing the wrong person.” Gu Feng collected himself, and maintained his composure as he asked.

Tao Yao blanked out for a bit, then suddenly showed a nostalgic smile. She gently said, “Naturally I’m only just a little peach tree. But Lingsu can already transform her appearance. She always took good care of me. Lingsu wasn’t originally called by that name . . .”

. . . 

Lingsu was originally called Lingshu, as she started out life as a tree. When she was ignorant, with only a bit of spiritual understanding, she grew in an ordinary hamlet. Because her leaves could save people, the people there called her Lingshu. In those days, she innocently thought her name was Lingshu.

Later, she was discovered by cultivators, and a battle among them broke out over her. The cultivators’ warfare was disruptive, and caused the buildings in the hamlet to collapse. The mortals who lived there were frightened out of their wits and fled. Lingshu was very sad, feeling those mortals probably met a grim end. At that time, a man appeared, stepping down from the Heavens with the setting sun illuminating his body. He was handsome to the extreme. Lingsu practically stared at him. She had never seen such a gorgeous man before.

The man looked gentle, but was surrounded by a mysterious and unpredictable aura. When he showed up, the other cultivators were unable to make a move. He swept his glance around, and released a bit of his impressive force upon them, then derisively said, “Get out of here!”

“I-its . . . His Excellency Yan Jun, let’s leave immediately!” The group of cultivators were full of trepidation and fear, and quickly dispersed entirely. For this reason, the remaining mortals were able to keep their lives. 

“If you continue to stay here, you’ll bring calamity upon them. It would be better to come with me.” The man called Yan Jun stood before Lingshu, and smiled as he spoke.

Lingshu saw that kindhearted and good looking man, and felt an unspeakable delight within her heart. With that delight, her leaves began to tremble. Yan Jun smiled, and took Lingshu back to the celestial mansion.

This was how Lingshu and Yan Jun met for the first time . . .

Yan Jun searched the celestial mansion for a place to plant Lingshu. He seemed quite fond of this tree, always taking some time each day to come and spend with her. 

He sometimes practiced his sword beneath the tree, sometimes had tea, and sometimes sat in contemplation, but what he did the most was to move the black and white pieces of his chessboard back and forth. This chessboard was extremely simple, half white, half black. A single glance would reveal it was nothing precious.

In a flash, one hundred years passed by. In this time, Yan Jun almost entirely occupied Lingshu’s life. Every day, Lingshu silently observed Yan Jun. As long as she could see him, she was happy. Lingshu naively thought these kinds of days could continue until the end of time.

Until one day . . .

That day, Lingshu waited from sunrise ‘til sunset, and from moonrise ‘til moonset. But Yan Jun never appeared. That was merely the beginning. The following month, Yan Jun also failed to appear. 

Lingshu was anxious. She urgently wanted to see Yan Jun. What would it take to see him? If only she could move, then she could go search for Yan Jun.

With the impetus of this obsession, Lingshu was able to change into human form for the first time.

“So it turns out this is a human form? Wonderful! Now I can go look for Yan Jun.” Lingshu looked at her human appearance in amazement. With a hop and a skip, she set off to look for Yan Jun.

Lingshu wandered around the celestial mansion for many days, until at long last she ran into Yan Jun who had just returned. 

“Yan Jun, where did you go? I’ve been looking for you for days.” Lingshu caught sight of him and her face filled with surprised delight as she ran up to question him.

Not recognizing the pretty young girl who was looking for him in the immortal mansion, the mighty cultivator was somewhat at a loss. His expression subtle, he suspiciously asked, “Young Lady, might I inquire as to who you are?”

“I’m Lingshu.” Lingshu resolutely believed that was her name.

Who is Lingshu? Yan Jun remained silent, and didn’t continue to question Lingshu. Rather, he took out the chessboard he always carried with him, and began to fiddle with it. 

The Author has something to say:

Don’t worry, it’s not cruel. The process of confirming intentions still needs to continue. Furthermore, Yan Jun and Lingsu will be written about later, so they need a special introduction.