ATAVID CH13: Happy Birthday

“It is probably just an obsession.”
Jiang Qunyu thought about the original book’s plot; it had never mentioned the Hall of Eternal Life. Figuring it wasn’t an important plot point, he didn’t bring it up again.

Wei Xun didn’t reply either.
Inside the hall, only the soft sound of the soul lamps’ swaying flames remained. The intertwining blue and red light fell upon the two of them, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

The two stood there for quite a while. Jiang Qunyu cast a sidelong glance at Wei Xun, only to see his gaze fixed on a gloomy blue soul lamp beside him, unmoving for a long time.
Curiosity piqued, Jiang Qunyu leaned in next to Wei Xun and read the two small characters out loud: “Lin Qing?”

He leaned in too close, so close that his cheek was almost pressed against Wei Xun’s, and his nose could smell the faint cold fragrance on his body.
Wei Xun’s face suddenly darkened, his tone as if sinking into a freezing pool. Unable to bear it any longer, he shouted in a low voice: “Jiang Qunyu!”

“What is it?” Jiang Qunyu turned his head, somewhat unable to understand him.
He didn’t know where this temper came from, acting so incredibly irritable.

Wei Xun reached out again, pressing his fingertips against his forehead, once again poking Jiang Qunyu’s face further away. He said in a muffled voice, “Don’t get so close.”
“Baffling,” Jiang Qunyu curled his lips. “Weren’t we sleeping together the whole time during the winter? Besides, we’re both men, what are you being so prudish for?”

Wei Xun’s face was livid. He glared at him coldly for a few seconds and ultimately didn’t snap back.
He turned his head and once again gazed fixedly at that soul lamp, his voice as cold as forged ice.
After a long time, he finally said lightly, as if brushing it off, “It’s my mother.”

As his words fell, he raised his hand and carefully took down that soul lamp.
His fingertips brushed over the engraving on the lampstand. His movements were so light, as if afraid of shattering something, as he cherishingly stored it away into his Qiankun bag.

So it was his mother.
No wonder Wei Xun was so dead set on making a trip to the Floating Lantern Hall, and instead of taking his own soul lamp, he took another one.

Jiang Qunyu didn’t feel like walking anymore. With a shift in his thoughts, he transformed back into the black mist ball.
The entire ball spread out, lying softly on top of Wei Xun’s jet-black hair. His voice was muffled: “Was your mother good to you?”

After he was six years old, he lived in an orphanage.
And before he was six, Jiang Qunyu didn’t live a good life in the Jiang family.

His biological mother passed away when he was one year old. Later, his father remarried another woman three months after his mother’s death. That woman even brought along a son who was six months older than him.
The Jiang family was considered quite wealthy in Jing City. That woman worried he would snatch away the Jiang family’s inheritance rights, so she always tried every possible means to harm him.

At that time, Jiang Qunyu was only four or five years old, yet because of that woman’s instigation, he was constantly locked in solitary confinement by Father Jiang.
Sometimes locking him up for a few days, sometimes for a month.

In the beginning, Jiang Qunyu would still cry and complain to Father Jiang, but later, Father Jiang couldn’t be bothered with him either.
So whether he cried or not, even crying until his voice went hoarse, it was of no use at all to someone who didn’t love him.

Gradually, Jiang Qunyu changed.
He tried his best to learn how to be invisible, like a dusty little mouse, watching the warmth of that family of three, filled with jealousy yet utterly helpless.
He only wanted to grow up properly.

But perhaps her son was too much of a loser, contrasting with Jiang Qunyu so that no matter how much he tried to hide his brilliance, he was still far more outstanding than him, thus becoming a thorn in their side again.
The year Jiang Qunyu turned six, his half-brother broke the set of porcelain cups that Father Jiang collected.
That woman firmly insisted that he was the one who broke them.

Actually, this matter had many loopholes from start to finish. For instance, Father Jiang could have checked the home surveillance cameras, or asked the maids or the butler.
But he didn’t.
Just a disfavored youngest son, that’s all.

Jiang Qunyu was locked in solitary confinement once again.
On his seventh day in the confinement room, someone set a fire inside.
The fire was so huge, so huge that at the time, Jiang Qunyu thought he would definitely die inside.

It was the nanny who had always taken care of him who risked her life to save him.
The nanny hugged him, crying as she told him to go far away; that was all she could do for him.

Later on, Jiang Qunyu went to the orphanage.
He refused to speak, and no one came looking for him. The police had no leads, so the matter was just left unresolved like that.

At the age of fifteen, he played mobile games on his phone, started live-streaming, and was scouted by an esports company due to his talent.
From then on, he started playing esports.

Therefore, from childhood to adulthood, he had never experienced family affection or anything of the sort. Even when he was four or five and Father Jiang took him to sweep tombs, looking at the gentle smile of the beautiful woman on the tombstone, Jiang Qunyu’s mood didn’t have much of a ripple.

Wei Xun’s movements paused slightly: “Why would you ask this kind of question?”
“Just curious.” Wei Xun’s hair was like top-quality silk, soft and smooth. Jiang Qunyu lay on it and rubbed against it, resting comfortably.

He simply rolled around, the black mist condensing two thin pseudopods to gently hug the top of Wei Xun’s head, and hummed: “I am an inner demon, fatherless and motherless to begin with. What’s wrong with asking out of curiosity?”
He didn’t mention that wretched past, nor could he be bothered to.
Those rotten matters had been buried at the bottom of his heart for so many years that they had long worn down into painless scars; bringing them up would only seem hypocritical.

Wei Xun wouldn’t understand anyway, just as he didn’t understand why Wei Xun would be so obsessed with a soul lamp.
It was just that a ripple of envy quietly welled up in the bottom of his heart.
At least Wei Xun still had someone he missed, a soul lamp engraved with a name.
Whereas he had lived all these years like a speck of dust no one bothered to pick up, not even having a reason to be remembered.

The soul lamps in the hall were still swaying gently, the flames reflecting on Wei Xun’s profile.
Wei Xun had already turned around and was walking outside. His tone was flat: “I don’t know either. I’ve never seen her.”

Jiang Qunyu paused, thinking Wei Xun’s situation was similar to his own, and hurriedly said: “I’m sorry.”
He even rubbed against Wei Xun, inexplicably finding him much more pleasing to the eye.
At least neither of them had a mother.
At least, right now, he only had Wei Xun by his side, and Wei Xun only had him.

The two walked out of the Floating Lantern Hall.
The cold moonlight fell all over the ground, laying a silver radiance over the bluestone slabs.
The faint scent of apricot blossoms floated in the air. The wind swept through the nearby bamboo forest with a rustling sound, making the night seem even quieter.

Their silhouettes grew smaller and smaller as they walked further and further away.
Occasionally, fragments of their conversation scattered in the wind.

Jiang Qunyu suddenly remembered something and gently patted Wei Xun’s forehead with the black mist: “Oh, I forgot to tell you, Happy Birthday.”
Wei Xun paused, his pitch-black eyes slowly shifting. His voice was very light: “How did you know?”
“It was written on that extinguished soul lamp of yours just now. The third day of the third lunar month, the Shangsi Festival.”

Jiang Qunyu detailed, his tone carrying a bit of joy. “This is a good day; many people in the mortal realm will go out to perform cleansing rituals and pray for blessings.”
“So a few good words can actually come out of your mouth.”
Wei Xun gave a light chuckle. “You only know the first part, but not the second. Besides cleansing and praying, today in the mortal realm is also known as the Little Qingming. Spring energy floats, yin and yang alternate, and ghosts are most likely to haunt. It is taboo to wash or worship, and even more taboo to return late or walk at night. Those whose Dao heart is unsteady need to guard themselves in a quiet room, wearing willow talismans to protect their natal lamp…”

The more Jiang Qunyu listened, the more panicked his heart became, and even the black mist couldn’t help but shrink back.
“You truly don’t know what’s good for you! You don’t listen to good words, insisting on bringing up these unlucky things!”
Wei Xun curled his lips: “I am merely telling the truth.”

“Then will the two of us get entangled by ghosts?”
Clinging to his hair, Jiang Qunyu thought about it, only to feel that he and Wei Xun had committed a bellyful of major taboos.
If this were a thriller movie in the mortal realm, the two of them would have died eighty or a hundred times over by now.

“No.” Wei Xun denied it quite quickly.
Before Jiang Qunyu could rejoice, he saw Wei Xun’s lips curl into a bizarre smile, his tone gloating: “Because I am a ghost too…”
Jiang Qunyu: “…”

Fuck, he had spent so much time with Wei Xun that he almost forgot Wei Xun himself was a ghost.
Speechless for a moment, it took a long while before he said: “Then I really thank you so much.”
Wei Xun laughed out loud softly. The laughter scattered in the wind, mixing with the scent of apricot blossoms, surprisingly fading some of the gloom surrounding him.

Under the moonlight, his profile softened a lot, and even his footsteps slowed down. He was in a very good mood: “You’re welcome.”

The night was like overturned ink, the thick dense blackness spreading to the edge of the sky, swallowing even the stars without a trace left. Only a bright moon, covered by a faint veil of clouds, diffused a shallow light across the canopy of the sky.
The wind died down, and the forest grew quiet.
The sound of their footsteps and voices also gradually drifted further away, scattering in the slightly cool night breeze.

The silhouettes of one person and one inner demon shrank into a tiny dot in the boundless darkness, walking further and further away toward the direction outside the Lingxiao Sect.
Jiang Qunyu asked: “Where are we going now?”
“The mortal realm,” Wei Xun said.
The world was vast, and all was dead silent. Under the firmament, it was as if this massive world had all its sounds and outlines drawn away, leaving only each other.

*

*

The direct disciple of the Lingxiao Sect’s Fourth Elder, Baishu, had died.
The Fourth Elder, Huazhen, had his eyes opened wide, his eyeballs almost popping out of their sockets. Crimson blood vessels crawled all over the whites of his eyes, and his face was frighteningly ferocious.

He tightly gripped the wooden table in front of him, his knuckles turning white. Even his large, wrinkled, dry hands were trembling as he roared sternly: “I will definitely make that demon pay the price! Return my disciple’s life!”
“Huazhen, calm down for the time being,” the First Elder persuaded.

“Calm down?” Hearing this, Huazhen suddenly sneered. The veins on his temples bulged as he slammed his hand viciously onto the tabletop. The wooden table instantly cracked with fine fissures.
“Jinghe, the one who died wasn’t your direct disciple, so of course it’s easy for you to say! Baishu was the most talented disciple under my tutelage, reaching the Golden Core stage at such a young age. His soul lamp goes out just like that, and you tell me to calm down? Why don’t you tell me, how am I supposed to calm down?!”

He stood up abruptly. A profound black iron sword condensed in his palm, its sword wind fierce. He paced back and forth around the two disciples guarding outside the Floating Lantern Hall.
Hostility surged in his eyes as he coldly shouted a question: “This Venerable asks you two one more time, exactly who killed my disciple Baishu?!”

The two disciples were almost scared out of their wits, kneeling on the ground with trembling voices.
“F-Fourth Elder, we truly do not know… We only remember that last night, Senior Brother Baishu said he heard a commotion outside the hall and went out alone to check. After leaving, he never came back. We just thought Senior Brother had finished his watch and simply went back to rest…”

“You dare deceive this Venerable!” The Fourth Elder flew into a rage, clearly not believing this excuse.
The profound black iron sword suddenly descended. With a flash of cold light, only a miserable, shrill scream was heard as the left arm of one of the disciples was actually severed right off!

Bright red blood dripped steadily from the wound. The disciple endured the severe pain, his forehead drenched in sweat: “Fourth Elder, we truly dare not deceive you, every word we said is the truth!”
A sick madness surfaced in the Fourth Elder’s eyes: “Dare not deceive? What is there that you dare not deceive about?”

“This Venerable never even ordered Baishu to keep watch at the Floating Lantern Hall last night. How could he appear here? Moreover, right now even his corpse cannot be found, yet you still dare to quibble here!”
“Huazhen! Enough!” A deep shout suddenly sounded.

Sect Leader Jiang walked over slowly, his expression solemn as he sternly stopped his crazy actions. “On the spiritual senses of these two, there are traces of being intruded upon by something akin to a bewildering array. It was likely done by that demon last night; they are not intentionally deceiving you.”
The disciple whose arm had just been severed couldn’t even speak completely at this moment, trembling as he kowtowed: “I beseech the Sect Leader and Elder to see clearly…”

Sect Leader Jiang made a fist and coughed: “Since it is so, we can only search Baishu’s divine soul.”
Soul searching causes extreme damage to a cultivator. At best, the soul is damaged and it becomes difficult to enter reincarnation; at worst, the soul is directly shattered and scattered.

The Fourth Elder’s expression drastically changed: “But if that is so…”
Sect Leader Jiang cast a cold, heavy gaze, carrying an undeniable coercive pressure: “Fourth Elder, the big picture is more important. Once the matters here are resolved, I will personally light a soul lamp for him and send him to reincarnation. With the safety of the Lingxiao Sect at stake, you should be able to distinguish which is lighter and which is heavier.”

“… I will obey the Sect Leader’s orders.” The Fourth Elder gritted his teeth and agreed.
He formed a hand seal to write down Baishu’s birth date characters, closed his eyes, concentrated, and activated the Soul Searching Art.

Fifteen minutes later, the Fourth Elder abruptly opened his eyes. A mouthful of fresh blood spewed out, and two trails of bloody tears slid down from the corners of his eyes.
He roared in grief and indignation: “My disciple! That demon is actually so ruthless! Not even willing to leave half a piece of his divine soul behind!”

As soon as these words came out, the faces of the several elders in the Deacon Hall all showed great shock.
The Fourth Elder’s face twisted: “Sect Leader! Please grant me permission to personally go and slay that demon! This beast maliciously slaughtered our sect’s disciple, destroying his soul and erasing all traces; it is a monstrous humiliation to the Lingxiao Sect! I swear to behead it beneath my sword!”

Sect Leader Jiang’s expression was complex.
The Fourth Elder was already at the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage, with half a foot stepped into the Mahayana stage; he was a pillar of the sect.
If that demon’s cultivation was unfathomably deep, this trip forward might be a one-way journey with no return.

It would be better to dispatch some outer sect disciples; even if they were lost, it would be of no great consequence, and they could just recruit more next year.
Furthermore, those sects like the Xuanjian Sect were watching the fire from across the river; why should the Lingxiao Sect be the only one to pay such a price?

After a long time, he slowly spoke: “Huazhen, how much certainty do you have in eliminating the demon?”
The Fourth Elder said: “Fortunately, a few days ago, I planted the Thousand-Lead Powder on all the disciples under my seat. Even if my disciple’s divine soul is completely shattered, I can still follow the scent of this fragrance to find that demon. That beast currently only has the cultivation of the third layer of the Nascent Soul stage; I will definitely be able to grind its bones to dust and scatter its ashes!”

“If that is so, then you may go.” Sect Leader Jiang waved his sleeve to grant permission.
“Yes!” The Fourth Elder lowered his eyes, concealing the churning hatred within them, turned around, took his sword, and left.

*

*

Canglan City was located at the junction of the mortal realm, the immortal realm, and the ghost realm.
Those coming and going included ghosts, humans, and immortals. Good and bad people were mixed together, the crowds bustling, rubbing shoulders and stepping on heels.

Perhaps due to the geography, the common folk here got along extremely naturally. One could even see members of the ghost clan slinging their arms around cultivators’ shoulders and calling them brothers.
Wei Xun casually bought a bamboo hat to cover his head and conceal his face, and checked into an inn.

Jiang Qunyu liked liveliness, so he got down from Wei Xun’s head.
The condition he promised Wei Xun the day before yesterday had still not been collected from him. Jiang Qunyu kept feeling that something was wrong.

This person was absolutely plotting something.
However, not having to get on Wei Xun’s body, Jiang Qunyu was extremely willing.

Unfortunately, before Jiang Qunyu could enjoy a few good days, one day, Wei Xun suddenly yanked him out of the quilt.
The youth lowered his eyes to look at him, a warm smile hooking his lips. His tone was light yet brooked no argument: “Today it’s your turn to get on my body.”

Jiang Qunyu was stunned, only feeling a burst of churning in his divine soul, his vision spinning. By the time he regained his senses, he had already swapped bodies with Wei Xun.
Jiang Qunyu: “…”

Before he could even adapt to this body, the originally somewhat glaring sunlight before his eyes suddenly darkened.
It seemed he couldn’t see anymore.
By his ear came Wei Xun’s soft sigh.

His intonation rose slightly: “Can’t see anymore? I haven’t seen sunlight in a long time. You promised me, you’d let me look for a day.”

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