Chapter 104: Crimson Flowers Hidden in White Bones (4)
Bai Chunsheng and Bo Yan looked at each other. Bai Chunsheng asked, “And then?”
“And then what?” Bo Yan still tried to act as though nothing more had happened.
Bai Chunsheng spread his hands. “It didn’t end there, did it?” Since Tianqing Sect had accused Bo Yan of killing Immortal Miaoyan, they certainly weren’t making baseless claims. Nor would they have backed down so easily after a few words of denial from him.
Bo Yan had parted on bad terms with the people from Penglai Island and Tianqing Sect, but the matter was far from over.
After a moment of silence, seeing the stubborn look in Bai Chunsheng’s eyes and knowing he couldn’t hide it, Bo Yan finally said, “Tianqing Sect announced that in seven days’ time, they would convene a meeting at Lumen Mountain with all the clans and sects under heaven.”
He sneered. “Who do they think they are? Just because they summon me, I have to go?”
Bai Chunsheng remembered what Bo Yan had said earlier. “Why did they claim they have leverage on you? What leverage could you possibly have?”
“…How would I know?”
Bo Yan looked at Bai Chunsheng for a long moment, privately thinking that the greatest leverage in his life was right here asking such a foolish question.
In truth, it was highly unlikely that Bo Yan had killed Immortal Miaoyan. Others might not have known, but Immortal Miaoyan practiced the principle of “following the natural way.” The fact that his lifespan was nearly exhausted was no secret among the upper ranks of the cultivation world. Though no one knew exactly when he would die, it would be within a few short years.
And for cultivators with long lifespans, a few years passed in the blink of an eye.
Bo Yan truly had no need to kill him. Besides, at the time, he had even wanted Immortal Miaoyan to officiate his and Bai Chunsheng’s marriage. Even if negotiations had failed, there would have been no reason to kill him.
As for old grudges, that was even more impossible.
Bai Chunsheng glanced at him. Yan Jingqiu had still lost his memories—what past enmity could there have been?
After thinking it over again, Bai Chunsheng decided to set aside Immortal Miaoyan’s death and instead consider Tianqing Sect’s motives. Why would they frame Bo Yan for murder? That opened far more possibilities.
Shen Yuying had just mentioned that Tianqing Sect had captured a demon from the Fragmented Stone Mortal Realm and allied with the Xu family of the Southern Region. Daoist Changping’s death concerned Tianqing Sect’s very survival. They must have been fully occupied investigating the real cause of his death, with no manpower to spare for probing the death of Immortal Miaoyan of Penglai Island. And now they were willing to offend a peak Mahayana cultivator like Bo Yan over a well-liked but already deceased Immortal Miaoyan. That was hardly a wise decision—not one Jiang Ji would likely make.
Unless the two matters were connected from the start.
At that thought, Bai Chunsheng suddenly understood.
In recent months, several of the cultivation world’s great pillars had collapsed in succession. Mahayana cultivators and mighty Tribulation-stage figures had encountered trouble one after another. Few people knew that Bo Yan was actually Yan Jingqiu. To the world, he was simply another peak Mahayana cultivator.
If that were the case, then even if Bo Yan refused to attend, Tianqing Sect must already have prepared a second method to deal with him. Bai Chunsheng worried that if he didn’t go, Tianqing Sect would take further action against him.
Thinking about all this gave him a headache. “Seven days from now, the Lumen meeting—are you going?”
He had expected Bo Yan to say something like, “Go? That would be giving them face,” and was already preparing to persuade him. Instead, Bo Yan curled his lips into a smile. “Of course I’m going.”
“They may not have the right to summon me,” Bo Yan said, “but whether I want to go watch the spectacle is another matter entirely.”
“If I don’t go, they’ll twist right and wrong as they please and seize the initiative. I won’t hand that over to anyone.” He sneered. “I’d like to see what leverage of mine they claim to have.”
It was good that Bo Yan had this clarity. Bai Chunsheng hadn’t expected such an answer. The words he had prepared caught in his throat and instead became, “…I want to go see it too.”
“You don’t need to worry about me. If the sky falls, I’ll hold it up,” Bo Yan said.
Bai Chunsheng refused to admit he was worried. “I’m not.”
Bo Yan paused. “If you’re not, then you’re not. It’s best that you aren’t.”
He comforted himself inwardly—otherwise, keeping Bai Chunsheng confined like this would have made him feel guilty.
Bai Chunsheng: “…”
Hearing that, Bai Chunsheng felt oddly displeased.
Tch. What an ungrateful thing.
Yet Bo Yan’s self-comfort did nothing in the end. The more he thought, the angrier he grew. It was only after Bai Chunsheng’s reminder that he seemed to awaken from a dream and realize that their relationship had always been one of outward harmony but inward discord—lovers bound together by force.
Bai Chunsheng had never been willing. Why should he care what Bai Chunsheng thought of him?
These past few days, Bai Chunsheng had thrown tantrums and he had felt heartache, treating him with the intimacy of true lovers. But in reality, nothing had changed.
Perhaps Bai Chunsheng’s improved mood was only because he had learned Immortal Miaoyan was dead and that, for now, Bo Yan had not found another figure of sufficient status to officiate their marriage. Their wedding date had been indefinitely postponed.
Maybe that was why Bai Chunsheng had suddenly treated him kindly. Only days ago he had gone on a hunger strike over the matter, unable to eat or sleep. How else could his attitude have shifted so abruptly?
Bo Yan didn’t want to think of Bai Chunsheng this way, but the facts forced him to.
His gaze darkened, his expression turning solemn.
Bai Chunsheng couldn’t see beneath Bo Yan’s mask, only felt him staring silently. It was unsettling. He asked warily, “Why are you looking at me?”
Bo Yan said coolly, “I want to kiss you.”
So that was all. Why make it so frightening?
Thinking this, Bai Chunsheng lifted his chin toward him. “Then come here. Why are you sulking?”
As if he were the one throwing a tantrum. Bo Yan thought so as well, yet he couldn’t help stepping closer. He told himself he was merely seeing what trick the little thing was planning next.
And then—
Bai Chunsheng wrapped his arms around Bo Yan’s neck, lifted his mask, and firmly, sweetly, planted a loud kiss on his lips.
The impact on Bo Yan was immense. It was as if he had lost his memory—every dark thought vanished. He stood there stunned.
Bai Chunsheng let go, assuming that was enough. Boldly, he even patted Bo Yan’s shoulder and tilted his chin with proud composure. “Satisfied?”
Bo Yan said in a restrained voice, “No.”
Then swiftly—and not very restrained at all—he scooped Bai Chunsheng up from the soft chair in his arms.
Bai Chunsheng’s eyes widened. “Hm?”
He struggled instinctively. Bo Yan warned, “Try seducing me again. Move once more and see what happens.”
Bai Chunsheng: “Huh???”
…
Bai Chunsheng had successfully coaxed Bo Yan, though he didn’t realize it himself.
For the next six days, he drifted in a dazed state.
Whenever he thought of it, he felt annoyed.
Bo Yan clung to him like some sticky creature. This golden dragon was like a scaled puppy, constantly wanting to lick and kiss his treasure. He seemed to wish Bai Chunsheng could be saturated inside and out with his scent, as if he could build a nest in the Star-Plucking Pavilion and circle him there forever.
Whenever Bai Chunsheng found a moment of clarity, he wondered whether Bo Yan had reached that age and needed to visit Huayan Temple to seek a calming talisman to paste on this wicked dragon’s forehead.
One morning, after waking and reaching beside him only to find empty space, he saw Bo Yan loosely dressed in a bathrobe, writing something on a paper crane for correspondence. Bai Chunsheng felt faintly relieved. “What are you writing?”
Bo Yan replied, “We’ll depart for Lumen Mountain tonight. No need to rush—we’ll arrive later.”
Bai Chunsheng was surprised. “I’m going too?”
He had thought Bo Yan would lock him up. After all, back on Penglai Island he had sneaked out and been caught. Now even Yi Zhou didn’t dare let him out of her sight. How could Bo Yan possibly take him along?
Since the day Bai Chunsheng had removed Bo Yan’s mask and kissed him, Bo Yan had never worn it again. Clearly, Bai Chunsheng understood what this meeting represented—it was a banquet meant as a trap.
How could Bo Yan feel at ease leaving him behind at the Star-Plucking Pavilion? With absolute confidence in his own strength, of course his precious one, his treasure, his very eyes—
Bo Yan raised an eyebrow and smiled. “I’ll place you in the safest place under heaven.”
“Where?” Bai Chunsheng asked.
Bo Yan said, “Just stay by my side.”
Huge shoutout to @_nyanmaru_ on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
