Chapter 20: The White Phoenix Nest, Wutong Tree. (7)
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Bai Chunsheng didn’t need to understand because he was in Yan Jingqiu’s hands.
Yan Jingqiu claimed that he had been entrusted with a mission by the Orthodox Alliance to find the Five Elements, and Bai Chunsheng’s presence was opportune. Since they were both disciples of sects that had formed an alliance, they should assist each other.
It sounded perfectly reasonable to Yan Jingqiu.
Bai Chunsheng was left speechless and frustrated by Yan Jingqiu’s clever twist.
Over the next few days, he was commanded by Yan Jingqiu to search every inch of the Mountain Life Realm.
But he found nothing.
Of course, in such a desolate place, finding the legendary Five Elements was unlikely. Otherwise, the former master of the Mountain Life Realm wouldn’t have met such a sorry end.
When the signal sent by the scattered cultivators and the Middle Realm Sects came from the sky of the Mountain Life Realm, Bai Chunsheng was on the verge of tears. How could there be someone like Yan Jingqiu in this world, who couldn’t be reasoned with and insisted on acting independently?
Despite being told repeatedly, Yan Jingqiu remained stubborn and insisted on continuing the search in the Mountain Life Realm.
Bai Chunsheng had considered slipping away when Yan Jingqiu wasn’t paying attention, but that cunning Yan Jingqiu probably anticipated this and kept a close eye on him. He insisted that they were kindred spirits and feared getting separated in such a vast secret realm.
But Bai Chunsheng wouldn’t have minded getting separated at all. Hearing Yan Jingqiu’s words made him seethe with frustration.
Bai Chunsheng was wary of Yan Jingqiu recognizing him as Bai Jianghan’s grandson. Even though he had fully recovered the next day thanks to the astonishing resilience of the demonic beast, he still claimed to be severely injured and refused to revert to human form.
He insisted that his leg was broken and he couldn’t walk without being carried by Yan Jingqiu. Since Yan Jingqiu refused to let him go, Bai Chunsheng decided to make things difficult for him by clinging to him wherever they went.
On the day they exited the secret realm, Bai Chunsheng was overjoyed. He stayed in Yan Jingqiu’s embrace, flapping his wings eagerly, itching to fly. Yan Jingqiu gently pressed down on Bai Chunsheng’s back with his hand, preventing him from flying away.
As they journeyed out, cultivators from the three major sects and the ten great aristocratic families all paid their respects to Yan Jingqiu, who was holding a gray-feathered duckling. It wasn’t until Bai Chunsheng returned to the sect and heard the rumors swirling around that he realized how embarrassing the situation had been.
But he couldn’t blame himself; if anyone was to blame, it was Yan Jingqiu!
Upon returning to the Ten Thousand Demons Sect, Bai Chunsheeng hastily made his way to his grandmother Bai Jianghan’s abode, intending to complain to her.
To his surprise, there was already a guest seated in the Peony Pavilion, none other than the Red Peach Fairy from the Cuiwei Palace whom Bai Chunsheeng had encountered before. Today, she was dressed in a flowing cyan silk gown with wide sleeves, her makeup exquisite, and a hint of floral ornamentation between her brows.
She seemed to be engaged in a lively conversation with Bai Jianghan, laughing heartily. Bai Chunsheeng stepped forward and found himself a seat. Bai Jianghan noticed him and asked, “You’re back already?”
Just as Bai Chunsheeng was about to speak, he suddenly noticed two gray feathers in a box on the table in front of Bai Jianghan. These feathers looked very familiar, especially as Bai Chunsheeng stared at them more intently, he became increasingly bewildered.
Bai Jianghan noticed Bai Chunsheeng’s gaze and asked, “What’s the matter?”
Bai Chunsheeng pointed with his hand, and the box flew into his hand. His voice trembled as he said, “How did these end up here with you?” Before parting ways, Yan Jingqiu had mentioned that they might never see each other again and wanted to leave behind a memento as a keepsake. Bai Chunsheeng was preoccupied with thoughts of going home to report, barely paying attention to what Yan Jingqiu was saying, so he casually plucked two feathers to appease him.
But how did it end up back in Bai Jianghan’s hands?
Bai Jianghan took a sip of tea and smiled, “Oh, it was sent by that Yan lad from the Yan family. He said a few days ago while he was traveling in the East Sea, he caught a very interesting demon beast. It managed to escape from him. He thought it might belong to our Ten Thousand Demons Sect, so he asked us to identify it.”
The Red Peach Fairy on the side burst into laughter, “Which family’s kid is so unlucky, getting caught by Yan Jingqiu.”
“Well, since it’s what the Yan family wants, when we find it, we’ll send that demon beast back to the Yan family again,” Bai Jianghan laughed heartily, “It’s their own bad luck for ending up in Yan Jingqiu’s hands.”
It’s always amusing to see others’ misfortune, and the two female cultivators sitting there were laughing joyfully.
Of the three people, only Bai Chunsheeng wasn’t laughing, and his expression was quite unpleasant.
“I think these feathers resemble those of a bird-like beast, with a grayish hue, balanced spiritual energy, and a very familiar scent…” Bai Jianghan picked up one feather, about to identify what kind of unfortunate demon beast it was. As she spoke, her voice gradually faded away.
Bai Jianghan was taken aback and turned to look at her beloved grandson.
Bai Chunsheeng was already feeling quite upset from being bullied by Yan Jingqiu, and hearing his grandmother call him an unlucky child only added to his frustration. He lowered his head, sulking in silence.
Suddenly, it dawned on Bai Jianghan who the unlucky child was from.
Bai Jianghan slammed her hand down, shattering the table in front of her. “Damn it, Yan Jingqiu is going too far!”
Later on, Bai Chunsheeng learned from Bai Jianghan that the Orthodox Alliance was merely a loose agreement between sects and noble families, and there was no real mission involved. In short, Yan Jingqiu was playing him for a fool.
Then, when they were trapped in Lutai, having to sit in front of a cold campfire poking each other’s sore feet, Bai Chunsheeng learned that the Yan family had a divine mirror for detecting demons. Since the day he visited the Yan family for Yan Jingqiu’s birthday, Yan Jingqiu had already known it was him.
It was all intentional.
This series of events seemed to connect to Bai Chunsheeng’s not-so-wonderful memories in the Mountain Life Realm.
Seeing Bai Chunsheeng suddenly fall silent and his face turning almost pale, Yan Yi thought he might be having stomach pains from an old injury acting up. He asked, “Are you okay?”
Bai Chunsheeng still had a grim expression as he walked with his head down. After a while, he glanced at Yan Yi and threw out, “It’s nothing, just suddenly remembered some things.”
“Is it related to me?” Yan Yi asked casually.
Bai Chunsheeng was surprised at how accurately Yan Yi guessed, and exclaimed, “How did you know?!”
Of course, I knew.
Yan Yi thought to himself.
— Bai Chunsheeng must have remembered the past when they were in love.
Sometimes muttering to himself quietly and refusing to tell Yan Yi what he was saying, sometimes his face changed as he tried to suppress his excitement.
After observing Bai Chunsheeng’s subtle facial expressions several times, Yan Yi noticed that Bai Chunsheeng seemed to enjoy using unattractive expressions to clumsily hide his joyful expression.
Perhaps he was already feeling shy and embarrassed deep down.
Earlier, Yan Yi had been curious why Bai Chunsheeng liked such misty weather, thinking it was because Bai Chunsheeng, being an aquatic demon, liked environments with abundant moisture.
But it turned out that wasn’t the reason.
It was because of him.
That makes a lot of sense.
How adorable, and he even gets shy.
Perhaps, as Yan Yi had speculated earlier, Bai Chunsheeng could be his Dao companion.
Huge shoutout to @_nyanmaru_ on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
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