CH 66

Zhou Xuanlan bit off a piece of the candy figure, his thin lips curling up as the sweetness flowed from his teeth to his heart.

He gazed at the person in front of him, and his heart stirred slightly. Even though his main body was tens of thousands of miles away, he sensed something and reacted. He leaned closer to Shen Liuxiang, his voice carrying a hint of amusement. “Disciple also wants to sweeten Master a bit.”

Shen Liuxiang: “?”

Did he want to go buy a candy figure for him?

His clone’s gaze fell on the corner of his pale red lips, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. His heart was pounding so fast that it felt like it was about to leap out of his chest. Countless pairs of eyes were watching them on the street, and he hadn’t explicitly expressed his intentions. How could he kiss his Master in public like that?

But his main body…

In the midst of his hesitation, Zhou Xuanlan’s eyes flashed, and suddenly, he leaned closer to Shen Liuxiang’s face. His breath grazed over the moist lips, and it seemed like he was about to plant a kiss.

A loud shout came from ahead, “What are you two doing back there?”

Zhou Xuanlan paused, and Shen Liuxiang turned his head to see Xu Xingchen, who had stopped walking ahead. He was yelling at them to catch up quickly.

Looking at the handsome face so close to him, Shen Liuxiang reached up, pressed his forehead, and pushed him away, then touched his own cheek. “What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”

Zhou Xuanlan: “…”

His somewhat gloomy gaze landed on Xu Xingchen, but Xu Xingchen had no idea what was going on. Now that he had news about the Illusory Pill, he felt refreshed and returned to the Cloud Pavilion. He called for Jin Xiaojiu, “Bring some good tea.”

Xu Xingchen pushed open the door, entered the room, closed the window, and released his spiritual consciousness to scan around. Turning back, he momentarily forgot the name of the visitor from the Sword Sect and glanced at Shen Liuxiang, his eyebrows subtly hinting at something.

Shen Liuxiang looked at Ye Bingran. He hadn’t examined him closely before, but now he looked quite weary.

Ye Bingran’s robe was dusty, and his long hair, usually tied up neatly, had some strands scattered. His eyes were bloodshot, indicating that he had been traveling without rest.

Shen Liuxiang spoke, “Why don’t you take a rest first?”

Ye Bingran shook his head, took out a prescription from his storage pouch, and handed it over. “This was left by the former alchemist Lan. Master asked me to give it to you. Although the pill made according to this prescription can change the aura of a demon, it’s not perfect. It’s easy for it to lose its effect and even cause damage to one’s cultivation.”

Shen Liuxiang took the prescription, glanced at it, and then looked back at Ye Bingran. “Did you come here specifically for the disciples of the Sword Sect?”

Ye Bingran nodded slightly. Not long ago, the members of the Sword Sect disappeared in the Demon Realm. Before the incident, they sent back a brief message, indicating that they had been ambushed by the demon race, which was well-prepared.

The Sword Sect sent people to investigate and found some clues. Just then, a messenger bird from Shen Liuxiang arrived, so Sect Master Lan had Ye Bingran bring the prescription and rush to Qilin City. When he arrived, he saw the figure of a Sword Sect disciple on the outskirts. He was about to take action but triggered a hidden formation that almost dragged him into the abyss.

Thinking of this, Ye Bingran pointed a finger at the person on the table and said, “I haven’t thanked you yet.”

Zhou Xuanlan replied indifferently, “I was just testing the power of the formation.”

Those disciples and the ones responsible for escorting them disappeared under his nose without emitting any spiritual energy fluctuations. The formation runes did not appear either. If it was caused by the formation, then this formation was no small matter.

After handing over the prescription, Ye Bingran didn’t say anything more. He didn’t even take a sip of tea. He stood up and said, “I have other matters to attend to. I’ll take my leave.”

Shen Liuxiang understood his concern for the disciples in the sect so he didn’t try to persuade him further. He took out something from his storage pouch and threw it over. “A map of Qilin City.”

Ye Bingran raised his hand to catch it. “Thank you.”

He looked at Shen Liuxiang, and the coldness in his eyes involuntarily dissipated. He hesitated for a moment, his face showing a hint of doubt, and he asked somewhat abruptly, “Has Sect Master Ling ever had any contact with you?”

Shen Liuxiang raised an eyebrow. “We’ve had correspondence. Why do you ask?”

Ye Bingran’s long fingers gripped the map. When he heard Shen Liuxiang’s response, he tightened his grip and hesitated before saying, “Although it may seem like I’m trying to sow discord with these words, but…”

He paused slightly and continued, “You should be cautious around him.”

With that said, Ye Bingran saw Shen Liuxiang furrow his brow. He couldn’t help but lower his eyes, revealing a trace of helplessness.

“Farewell.”

Ling Ye and Shen Liuxiang had been senior and junior brothers for many years, and their relationship was naturally stronger than with an outsider like him. Shen Liuxiang didn’t reproach him for his words, which had already saved his face considerably.

Ye Bingran wasn’t sure if he was being overly cautious.

Over the past few years, he had vaguely remembered some things, especially why he had believed that the white-robed child was Su Baiche.

Back then, in the midst of a snowy storm, he had chased after him and hadn’t seen the figure of the white-robed child. Instead, he had encountered an elegant young man in blue robes, someone he recognized—a disciple of Qingling who had gained fame in the cultivation world, Ling Ye. So, he had stopped.

After a polite greeting, he had inquired about Su Bai Che.

Ling Ye had lowered his gaze, looked at him for a long while, and a warm smile appeared on his jade-like face. “Regarding the white-robed individual, of course, it’s our sect’s disciple, Su Bai Che.”

“Su… Bai… Che…”

The young Ye Bingran silently remembered these three words, and they stayed with him for decades.

As the blood moon gradually faded, Ye Bingran looked at the night sky, gripped his sword, and left the Cloud Pavilion.

Now that Ling Ye was the leader of Qingling, his character was beyond doubt. Ye Bingran didn’t know if he had misunderstood him or if Ling Ye had done it on purpose. Until he investigated secretly and found that there was no one named Su Baiche among the disciples of Qingling back then.

Given Ling Ye’s prestige in the cultivation world, if he were to reveal this matter, no one would believe him, and Shen Liuxiang might even think he was deliberately slandering Ling Ye.

So, Ye Bingran chose to play the role of the villain and offered a subtle warning.

After receiving the prescription, Shen Liuxiang couldn’t wait to start working on it. Zhou Xuanlan, thinking about the strange formation outside the city, felt uneasy. He took Luo Yu and the others with him as he left.

Before leaving, he hinted, “Master, with the power struggles among the Demon Kings, if we find a chance, I won’t let it slip away.”

Shen Liuxiang sniffed the herbs in his hand and raised his eyebrows slightly. “You just focus on your own tasks, and I’ll handle mine.”

Zhou Xuanlan relaxed his brows, nodded, and left.

Beside them, Xu Xingchen, who had been supporting his chin, looked at Shen Liuxiang and asked after yawning, “Where are you going?”

Shen Liuxiang replied, “To the residence of the Seventh Demon King.”

As per Ye Bingran’s information, the side effects of this Illusory Pill were consistent with what happened to Wenren Qin during the Blood Moon. It should have been eaten by Wenren Qin. Shen Liuxiang wanted to extract some blood from Wenren Qin’s body to determine which type of herb had been used, as its effects were still present after all this time.

When Shen Liuxiang arrived at the residence, there was no one around. He stuck his head inside, looked around, and when he saw a familiar figure, he called out.

Xiong You, who was on guard duty, felt a chill down his spine and broke out in a cold sweat. He rushed to the door, lowered his voice, and said, “Don’t make a sound. The Lord is resting.”

Shen Liuxiang furrowed his brow. “But I have something to discuss with him.”

Xiong You was about to say that even if it was a matter of life and death, it had to wait, but the spiritual energy in the surroundings suddenly condensed. Wenren Qin had just gotten out of bed, his fiery red hair disheveled, and his robe loosely hanging open down to his chest.

He rubbed his temples, suppressed the impatience on his face, and finally looked at Shen Liuxiang. “What’s the matter?”

Shen Liuxiang held a silver needle between his fingers and said, “I want to take some blood.”

Wenren Qin led him back to his room, put on his outer robe, and Shen Liuxiang glanced around the room. He unintentionally spotted a stuffed animal of a mythical beast placed by the pillow and widened his eyes.

This… wasn’t this…

Wen Ren Qin noticed his gaze and rolled up his sleeve. “A child brought this to me last night, saying that my true form is quite cute.”

Shen Liuxiang touched his nose. “I’m not very skilled at transformation.”

Wen Ren Qin chuckled softly. “I think it’s quite good.”

Shen Liuxiang fluttered his long eyelashes and didn’t respond. He inserted the silver needle into Wenren Qin’s arm and quickly withdrew it. “Alright, have you kept your promise from back then?”

Wen Ren Qin replied, “I have.”

Shen Liuxiang placed the vial of blood into his storage pouch and raised the corner of his lips. “In that case, prepare the scroll.”

With that said, he stood up and shook his sleeves, preparing to take his leave.

Wenren Qin lowered his eyelids, then suddenly reached out, grabbing his wrist and leaning close to his ear to say something in a low voice.

In an instant, Shen Liuxiang thought he must have misheard.

He turned his head, took a step back, but his wrist was firmly held.

Wenren Qin repeated, “Become my demon consort.”

Shen Liuxiang furrowed his brow, thinking that he might have misunderstood. He immediately responded seriously and used a bit of force to free his wrist. “I appreciate your kindness, but I have no such intention.”

Wenren Qin looked at him with a serious expression. “If you become my demon consort, I will obtain not only the scroll but the entire Demon Realm and even the Three Realms for you.”

Shen Liuxiang repeated, “I have no such intention.”

The room fell silent for a moment. Wenren Qin’s face didn’t show any surprise, just a touch of regret as he sighed. “Such a pity.”

He stood there with his hands behind his back, watching Shen Liuxiang walk out the door. His expression suddenly darkened.

But in an instant, a slow smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

It didn’t matter. He hadn’t really expected it, and fortunately, he had plenty of ways to achieve his goals.

T/N: Theory Corner Time! What is Sect Master Ling up to???? Either Ling Ye has also transmigrated or he has travelled back to the past. I think I’ll throw my bets on Ling Ye coming back from the past, since that would explain why he has such animosity for Zhou Xuanlan, and he seems to be trying to protect Shen Liuxiang… my guess is that he is trying to protect something in the future from occurring…