CH 165

Chapter 165: Recovering memories

When Huo Zaiyuan gradually regains consciousness, the first thing he is aware of is being held in an embrace. An extremely familiar warmth and hug, as if it is…

Brow furrowing lightly, his long eyelashes flutter. As his eyes open unhurriedly, the first thing he sees is a pair of dark eyes filled with tender affection.

“Zhan – Zhanye…”

“Un, I’m here.” A soft smile emerges on his face at Huo Zaiyuan’s startled expression. Leaning down, he kisses the youth’s temple.

“Your injury…” Recalling Cheng Mingcheng’s claws piercing his shoulder and chest, Huo Zaiyuan’s heart aches. When he tries to struggle out of Long Zhanye’s arms to check on the other man, he abruptly realises that he doesn’t have a sliver of strength in his body.

“Everything is fine now.” An arm curling around Huo Zaiyuan’s waist to prevent him from trying to move anymore, a free hand reaches up to unbutton his shirt, exposing his left shoulder and chest. Unblemished, honey-coloured skin is revealed. Not a single scar can be seen, let alone a wound. It is as though Long Zhanye has never been injured in the first place.

“No wounds. How…how is that possible…you were clearly injured…” Shock shifts into amazement as Huo Zaiyuan reaches up to drag his fingertips across the unmarked skin, not quite daring to believe his eyes.

“I was indeed injured and nearly lost my life. However, this one event resulted in you placing the Dragon pearl in my mouth, thereby awakening the memories slumbering within my soul,” Covering the hand on his chest with his own, Long Zhanye states softly before pressing a kiss to Huo Zaiyuan’s palm.

“Memories slumbering in your soul? What do you mean…?”

“Hmm…I should probably explain it as the memories of my previous life.” Gathering the fabric of Huo Zaiyuan’s long sleeve, Long Zhanye pulls it up to expose the silver dragon tattoo around his slender wrist. “This tattoo acts as the medium between the Dragon pearl and the interdimensional space. During that time, when I sent the bamboo house into this space, I changed the Dragon pearl into a white jade brush. That brush was given to you as a token of my love… But you don’t remember any of it now.”

“What…what are you talking about? Zhanye, I don’t understand what you are saying…” Huo Zaiyuan truly cannot make heads or tails of Long Zhanye’s odd words.

“In my previous life, I was called the Heretical Dragon, and you were him.” Hand lifting, Long Zhanye points towards the portrait hanging on the back wall of the house.

Following the direction of his finger, Huo Zaiyuan’s gaze lands on the portrait depicting someone he is very familiar with, as well as the flamboyant, cursive script of three characters, ‘Huo Tianji’. Up until now, he had always thought that this person is his ancestor. Now, Long Zhanye is unexpectedly telling him that he was Huo Tianji in his last life. This one sentence is like a bombshell, destroying his perception of everything.

“I – I – ”

“Actually, saying that you are him is also not quite right.” Placing an arm under the curve of Huo Zaiyuan’s knees while the other tucks him close. Long Zhanye lifts him up in a princess carry, bringing him over to the portrait. “More specifically, little Yuan is born from a fragment of his soul. The day when Tianji broke through and reached the topmost level of the “Mysterious Nine Dragons Heaven” Art, he became the strongest individual within the Taoist sect. It took him nine jiazi to reach that point. You, however, reached the sixth level in a mere two years. Thus, here is a clear evidence that you are different from him.”

“Nine jiazi. A jiazi is sixty years, and he…” Huo Zaiyuan’s eyes widen in astoundment.

Listening to Long Zhanye’s words, he can’t help the shock running through his being.

“The Taoist sect practises “Heaven Entrapment Path”, which only has six levels. The “Mysterious Nine Dragons Heaven” method little Yuan practises is mine…or should I say, the Heretical Dragon’s and Tianji’s creation.” Looking at the adorably dazed expression on the typically sharp child’s face, a pampering smile curves his lips. “Little Yuan is born from a fragment of Tianji’s soul, which is why you do not possess a core. Thus, the spiritual energy you gain through cultivation can only run through your meridians, making it a spiritual body. This time, because of rescuing me, you exhausted every drop of spiritual power, hence your current vulnerable state.”

“So what can be done? Don’t tell me I will remain like this for a lifetime?” Huo Zaiyuan frowns when he fully processes Long Zhanye’s words.

Immediately after, he attempts to circulate his inner spiritual energy, only to realise he can’t seem to grasp it firmly. Not only that, but the energy from every inhale disperses instantly as soon as it enters his body.

Compared to Long Zhanye suddenly going from an ordinary person to someone who has a better grasp of cultivation than him, Huo Zaiyuan is more disheartened by the fact that his cultivation seemed to have completely vanished.

“With me by your side, you naturally do not need to worry about it.” Long Zhanye drops a kiss on his cheek, trying to soothe away the distress on his lover’s face.

“That’s good,” Huo Zaiyuan breathes a sigh of relief, his heart calming down instantly.

After his rebirth and practising Taoist Arts, constantly cultivating for two years has resulted in it occupying half the space in his heart, the other half being Long Zhanye. Supposedly, if he can no longer cultivate, it would take away half the light in his world.

“That’s right, Zhanye, did you see another young man with me when you woke up?” Huo Zaiyuan asks as soon as he remembers Lian Xiang who appeared and saved him at the most crucial moment.

Long Zhanye said that he was the Heretical Dragon in his previous life, the Dragon pearl was one of his many possessions, and thus he is able to enter this space without the slightest obstruction. However, Lian Xiang is not like them. If both Zhanye and himself are in this space and Lian Xiang is left alone outside…Huo Zaiyuan doesn’t feel too good.

“I told that little Buddhist monk to return to the safe zone first.”

“He still has his hair, so how is he a monk…” Huo Zaiyuan murmurs with a face full of black lines.

He was not so distracted that he missed the fact Lian Xiang possesses black hair around the same length as his.

“He was best friends with Tianji, and was originally a Taoist practitioner. I don’t know why he suddenly entered Buddhism, but one can tell his identity just by feeling his spiritual signature.” Carrying the person in his embrace back to bed and setting him down on the blanket, Long Zhanye brushes their lips together. “Disregarding the matter between Tianji and that little monk, I care more about another matter.”

“What is it?” Huo Zaiyuan’s heartbeat thumps rapidly as he gazes up at the handsome face, as though a deer is jumping around in his chest.

This man above him is clearly the same person as he was before, but for some reason, Huo Zaiyuan feels there is something amiss…like he has become a tad more enigmatic…

“Restoring your cultivation.” Thin lips curving upwards, Long Zhanye’s fingers tread lightly through the long, silky hair, stroking the top of his head and moving down, past his neck to rub lightly across his collarbone.

“Uh-huh, that is indeed an important matter. What should we do?” Huo Zaiyuan tilts his head to the side in question, gaze wandering over Long Zhanye’s face.

Why does he get the feeling that this man is planning to do something indecent?

“Although I really want to wait for you to take the initiative…currently, you have no strength to move, so forget it. You only need to be good and lie down. Just let me take care of everything and love you dearly.” Long Zhanye’s voice drops to a sensual whisper, closing the distance between them and all but ravaging those delectable, red lips.

“Wh – what …mmm…” What are you talking about?!

Huo Zaiyuan is given no chance to voice his question as he is drawn into a deep and slow kiss. At the same moment, Long Zhanye’s lean body settles down above him, pinning him to the bed. Nimble fingers and calloused hands drag two scorching trails up his hips, his waist…

That big goddamn rascal…

Looking at the beet red face of the youth beneath him, Long Zhanye is well aware that a large part of it is due to fury.

“As I have already told you before, “Heaven Entrapment Path” practised by most Taoists only has six levels. The “Mysterious Nine Dragons Heaven” method little Yuan practises has nine levels. Now that your inner spiritual energy has depleted to nothing, relying on the Immortal peach tree alone to fully recover will be insufficient. Therefore, there is only one other method to return you back to full strength. You need to break through the sixth level and reach the seventh…”

“Then I’ll just go ahead and do that. Come on, get off me already…” Pushing with all his strength against the man on top of him, Huo Zaiyuan becomes increasingly annoyed when he discovers he might as well be shoving a brick wall.

“Beloved, do you know how to break through to the seventh level?” Instead of easing off Huo Zaiyuan, Long Zhanye deliberately presses himself closer, lips brushing against a delicate earlobe.

Hot breath tickling his sensitive ear, Huo Zaiyuan’s blush intensifies, turning his face redder.

“Meditate, absorbing dormant spiritual energy…dammit! Get off!” Giving up shoving at Long Zhanye, he is reduced to beating his fists on the broad shoulders and back. He is seriously considering whether biting him would work.

“No, no ~ Beloved, the seventh level is very different from the sixth. From here on, dual cultivation is required ~ !”