Chapter 102: Crimson Flowers Hidden in White Bones (2)
Of course, in the end Bo Yan did not curse Yan Jingqiu for Bai Chunsheng’s benefit. He flicked his sleeve and left, and just before departing he tossed out a single line: “You’d better behave yourself.”
He even looked rather angry.
Clearly, Bai Chunsheng had not grasped the lesson as Bo Yan had intended. Instead, he said to Yi Zhou with some regret, “He went back on his word.”
Yi Zhou: “…”
After watching the attendants finish packing their luggage, Bai Chunsheng stepped out of the bamboo cottage and wandered leisurely to the front.
Quite a few others had the same idea. If something truly happened to Immortal Miaoyan, the already turbulent cultivation world would likely suffer another upheaval. It was better to leave early.
Servants in different uniforms hurried back and forth. Not far away, there had once stood another wooden palace, but it was now gone. It seemed that while Bai Chunsheng had been sleeping in, quite a bit of time had already been delayed.
The people of the Water Abyss Realm were to return first to the Ten Thousand Demon Sect, and Bai Chunsheng wholeheartedly approved. He had long wanted to return to the Star-Plucking Pavilion. After learning that Bo Yan had merely been Yan Yi in disguise while suffering from amnesia, his state of mind had undergone a dramatic shift—from a hostage who could not eat to an honored guest who ought to be waited upon.
Moreover, he had originally believed he would spend the rest of his life as a prisoner.
Now that he could return in full glory, Bai Chunsheng naturally wanted to go back and show off a little.
On the journey back, Bai Chunsheng curled up inside the flying dragon carriage and, after a long while, opened the Heaven’s Pride Board, which he had not checked in ages.
To his surprise, the one at the top was Yan Yi again.
Bai Chunsheng knew the reason. Yan Yi had not shown himself for some time, and due to unrest in the Middle Realm, many had died. In several nearby small worlds and spirit realms, there were occasional reports of demonic creatures appearing, causing panic among cultivators in the greater world. Naturally, they began to miss the peaceful era before Yan Jingqiu’s supposed death even more. Along with that, Yan Yi—known as the “Little Sword Sovereign”—had once again been praised and elevated.
Bai Chunsheng shook his head, feeling faintly guilty.
Yan Jingqiu had lost his memory for a long time because of him. Bai Chunsheng did not know whether that was good or bad, but he had to admit that upon learning Bo Yan had not yet recovered his memories, he had felt relieved. He understood the logic that whether one stretched out one’s neck or shrank it, the blade would fall all the same—but he felt that shrinking one’s neck made the blow easier to bear.
His state of mind now was vastly different from before. Yet he also knew that once Yan Jingqiu regained his memory and finished witnessing all the absurdities caused by his amnesia, Yan Jingqiu would still be Yan Jingqiu.
And perhaps Yan Jingqiu’s memory loss was inseparable from the tribulation he needed to undergo—something Bai Chunsheng could not help him with no matter what.
Just thinking about it gave him a splitting headache, and he could only sigh to himself for a while.
So naive was Bai Chunsheng that he had no idea Bo Yan was in the adjacent flying dragon carriage, watching him through a mystic bronze mirror—seeing him stare at the Heaven’s Pride Board while daydreaming and sighing.
“…”
Bo Yan was so angry he nearly clenched his fists. As if he did not know—ever since Yan Jingqiu had entered the Dao at twenty, he had dominated the top of the Heaven’s Pride Board.
—Bai Chunsheng must be secretly pining for him behind his back, gazing at those rankings in longing.
How could he possibly tolerate that?
One was troubled with worry; the other burned with anger. By the time they reached the White Bone Mountain Range of the Ten Thousand Demon Sect, both of them dawdled for quite some time before finally getting off the carriage.
The White Bone Mountain Range felt like spring in the daytime and like autumn deep at night—a gentle yet peculiar place.
Now the entire range was covered in pink vines. In a few days’ time, these vines would produce clusters of fine red blossoms called Bone-Hidden Crimson. They were unique to the White Bone Mountain Range and served no real purpose, yet they were one of its most remarkable sights.
The reason lay with the late Supreme Second Elder of the Ten Thousand Demon Sect, Gu Canghong. Her true form had been a man-eating demon vine. She had died in the war against the demonic forces, and after her death, she merged with the White Bone Mountain Range. Every spring and autumn, the vines would grow wildly, almost flooding the mountains. Since the White Bone Mountain Range had only two seasons—spring and autumn—these small flowers bloomed continuously until they withered and dried away.
This year was no exception. Following the paths of these delicate flowers, the sparsest patch led to the Star-Plucking Pavilion that stood by the lakeside.
The first thing Bai Chunsheng did upon returning was to visit Bai Jianghan’s dwelling. She had perished under the tribulation lightning, leaving no remains. Knowing her personality, she would never have liked a formal tomb or gravestone. Bai Chunsheng wanted to gather her belongings carefully, planning to one day deliver them to the Wutong Tree Sea.
After taking care of this, Bai Chunsheng was watched closely by Yi Zhou as he was escorted back to the Star-Plucking Pavilion. Bo Yan was not present. When he descended from the dragon carriage, a gray-robed, masked figure had come to see him, moving furtively, and Bai Chunsheng felt it was unlikely to be good news.
Bai Chunsheng wanted to explain to Yi Zhou: “I won’t run away. This place is my home.”
She nodded, unconvinced.
Bai Chunsheng: “…” Last time he had run off, which must have eroded her trust.
On the leafless tree directly in front of the main gate of the Star-Plucking Pavilion sat a beautiful woman in pink palace attire, waiting for Bai Chunsheng.
Shen Yuying saw him and smiled warmly: “Today is the seventh day of the third month. I thought back to our first meeting—it was on a day like this—and decided to come see you.”
Bai Chunsheng frowned, suspicious. He vaguely remembered meeting Shen Yuying for the first time at the Ten Thousand Demon Sect’s autumn banquet, which did not match the current season: “Was it really on this day?”
Shen Yuying: “No.”
Bai Chunsheng: “…”
Shen Yuying said lightly, “I just made up a reason; don’t take it seriously.”
Seeing Bai Chunsheng remain silent, Shen Yuying covered her mouth and laughed softly: “You were injured by my aunt Ling Jian in the Ancient Forest Spirit Realm; I hope you won’t mention this to the Lord.”
“…..” Ah, so she came to apologize.
Bai Chunsheng thought that if Shen Yuying hadn’t approached, he probably wouldn’t have remembered. Today, he had been planning to report this to Bo Yan anyway.
Seeing Bai Chunsheng’s serious expression, Shen Yuying did not know what he was thinking. Her voice was soft: “Consider this me owing you a favor. If you don’t tell the Lord about this, I’ll share a piece of news with you.”
“A few days ago, there was great chaos in the Southern Region. Everyone assumed it was a battle between the Tianqing Sect and the Xu family. In reality, that was not the case. The reason I returned late to the Water Abyss Realm was that I heard about this incident on the way, which delayed me considerably.”
“Although it appeared that the Tianqing Sect and the Xu family had broken ties, they had already secretly allied behind the scenes.”
“The reason is…”
Shen Yuying said, “The True Demons have been discovered in the Shattered Stone Mortal Realm.”
Scenes from the Shattered Stone Mortal Realm flashed before Bai Chunsheng’s eyes. He frowned: “What do you mean by that?”
“Oh, you didn’t know.” Shen Yuying explained: “Hongtao’s supervision was inadequate. She was ordered by Cuiwei Palace to eliminate the demonic presence in the Shattered Stone Mortal Realm. She followed orders to wipe out the entire realm, but because her killings were excessive, she was sent to the Ten Thousand Demon Cave to cultivate for atonement.”
“But those from the Tianqing Sect told me this was nothing but a complete trap. The place Hongtao destroyed wasn’t the real Shattered Stone Mortal Realm at all—it was just a virtual world copied by someone else.”
“The real demons had been growing in the actual Shattered Stone Mortal Realm, and now they have broken through the surface.” Shen Yuying continued: “The true chaotic era is coming. With the Lord’s protection, you shouldn’t suffer too badly in this turmoil.”
Shen Yuying added: “The reason the Tianqing Sect allied with the Xu family and kept this secret is that they discovered this demon, which grew in the Shattered Stone Mortal Realm and attacked the Southern Region first, looks exactly like the Daoist Changping who mysteriously died in the East Sea, Qiuru Mountain.
“They had long suspected that things were not as simple as they appeared on the surface.”
Huge shoutout to @_nyanmaru_ on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
