Yan Jianlan had recently become very absorbed in medical arts.
The vast medicinal garden of Yan Family Mountain was already filled with all kinds of spiritual plants he’d planted. Madam Wan sent over another pile of seeds. Yan Jianlan, holding the pile of seeds in distress for a long while, finally decided to buy the adjacent mountain as well.
After Sheng Jiao gradually handed Xiezhi Sect’s major and minor affairs to Juan Xunfang, he didn’t need to return to Xiezhi Sect for half a month at a time. At this moment, he was sitting upright by Yan Family Mountain’s secluded pool waterfall, fishing.
The waterfall roared down from the high mountain edge, splashing snow-white misty spray, bringing cold, sharp wind.
Sheng Jiao in black robes, with a dark red cloak draped loosely over his shoulders, sat upright holding a fishing rod, eyes lowered, quietly waiting for fish to bite.
Below the waterfall, the water flowed rapidly with great noise. Fish were even less likely to bite obediently, but Sheng Jiao sat there confidently, sitting for an entire day without moving position.
For a whole month straight, Sheng Jiao hadn’t caught a single fish—treating it as cultivating body and mind.
Yan Jianlan ran down from the mountain with quick steps like a sprite accidentally entering the tranquil mountains—lively and nimble. Standing on a tall tree from afar, he called out: “Sheng Jiao!”
Sheng Jiao didn’t even open his eyes, continuing to sit there.
Yan Jianlan, wearing crimson inner robes with a black cloak over them, swiftly swept over. Before standing steady, he was splashed in the face by water mist from the waterfall. He quickly formed a hand seal to block the mist and crouched before Sheng Jiao to poke his face.
“Sect Master Sheng, I want to buy a mountain to plant spiritual medicine.”
Sheng Jiao remained unmoved: “Buy it.”
“Juan Xunfang said I was spendthrift last time.” Yan Jianlan muttered quietly. “So I need to tell you in advance.”
Sheng Jiao finally opened his eyes, glancing at him.
Telling him in advance made it not spendthrift?
Yan Jianlan grinned at him. After reporting, he happily got up to go buy the mountain.
Sheng Jiao said: “Do you still have spirit stones?”
Yan Jianlan nodded.
Yu Tuishan had indeed left him many things. Even the entire Evil Qi Road was in Yan Jianlan’s hands. But Yan Jianlan felt he’d “washed his hands of it,” so he had Yan Yuhu help him oversee it.
Without “Abandoned Immortal Bone,” Evil Qi Road returned to its original black market trading. The spirit stones earned each year were nearly astronomical. After saving for a few more years, he could probably buy all the mountain ranges beside Yan Family Mountain.
Moreover, Yan Jianlan was very good at making money. He could spot business opportunities in any trivial matter. In just a few months, the spirit stones he earned were actually more than Sheng Jiao’s salary at Xiezhi Sect.
But after nodding, Yan Jianlan seemed to come up with some mischievous idea and immediately shook his head like a rattle drum.
He grinned and leaned forward, supporting himself on Sheng Jiao’s knee: “I have no spirit stones. I’m so pitiful—even to buy a mountain to plant spiritual herbs, I can only pick the northern mountain with poor spiritual power. I wonder if the spiritual herbs grown there will work? Sect Master Sheng is so wealthy—reward me with a few, won’t you?”
Sheng Jiao watched him perform with an indifferent expression, reaching out to lightly flick his forehead, making Yan Jianlan lean back.
Yan Jianlan looked at him in surprise, unable to imagine Sheng Jiao would make such a gesture.
“Reward.” Sheng Jiao said indifferently. “In the inner room, there’s a storage ring with osmanthus patterns in the small box. Go get it.”
Yan Jianlan paused, feeling that after spending so long with him, Sheng Jiao’s temperament seemed to gradually differ from his previous “upright and proper” self.
But this version of Sheng Jiao seemed more human. Yan Jianlan loved it immensely, saying pretentiously: “Sect Master Sheng is generous. Thank you for the reward, Sect Master.”
With that, he bounced off cheerfully.
Sheng Jiao watched his retreating figure before continuing to fish.
But as he fished, his brow furrowed slightly, as if remembering something.
In that storage ring, he seemed to have placed something else.
Yan Jianlan moved quickly, gracefully flying back to Yan Family Mountain’s residence, humming a tune as he went to the inner room to find the osmanthus-patterned storage ring in the small box.
The feeling of freely spending someone else’s spirit stones was wonderful.
Yan Jianlan wasn’t polite with Sheng Jiao at all, pouring out half the spirit stones into his own storage ring, planning to buy another mountain to nurture with spiritual power. Once it formed spiritual veins, he’d take on a bunch of disciples and glorify Yan Family Mountain’s name.
Yan Jianlan could happily envision the future by himself. When he’d taken enough spirit stones and was about to seal the restriction, his peripheral vision suddenly caught what seemed to be a plain, unadorned box in the corner of the storage ring.
Yan Jianlan raised an eyebrow.
Sheng Jiao’s secret stash?
Just as he was about to look, Sheng Jiao suddenly pushed the door open and hurried in, still carrying the cold aura from the waterfall. His gaze swept over the storage ring in Yan Jianlan’s hand. Frowning slightly, he said: “Found it?”
“Found it.”
Sheng Jiao walked forward and nodded to him: “Mm, give it to me.”
Yan Jianlan said “Oh” and obediently gave him the storage ring.
Being so obedient, he probably hadn’t seen that box.
Sheng Jiao took the storage ring, quickly pouring divine sense into it to check on the box.
But looking left and right, he still couldn’t find the “treasure vault” in the corner.
Sheng Jiao’s frown deepened. A bad premonition grew in his heart. Looking up slightly, he saw Yan Jianlan suddenly give a mischievous smile, revealing the box he’d hidden behind him, grinning: “Sect Master Sheng, you’re so anxious—are you looking for this?”
Sheng Jiao: “…”
Sheng Jiao’s face darkened. He stepped forward quickly to snatch the box back: “Give it to me.”
Yan Jianlan’s reaction speed was extremely fast. He immediately stored the box in his own storage ring—the one Madam Wan specially customized for him. Even with their spiritual powers merged, it couldn’t be opened.
“Hey, no.” Yan Jianlan grinned cheekily. “You’re hiding a secret stash from me—that won’t do. Confiscated.”
If this were before, Sheng Jiao would have ignored him and let him be. But this time, Sheng Jiao frowned: “Stop fooling around.”
Yan Jianlan became even more curious, shamelessly unwilling to give it back. After making a fuss with Sheng Jiao for a while, he simply ran off in a flash, so fast Sheng Jiao couldn’t catch him.
Sheng Jiao watched the little swindler run away and, after thinking, decided not to chase.
Never mind.
Having won against Sheng Jiao once, Yan Jianlan happily hugged the box and ran to a secluded, uninhabited mountain, humming as he opened it, planning to see what exactly Sheng Jiao was hiding that even he couldn’t see.
But when his gaze fell on the contents of the box, the smile on Yan Jianlan’s face froze, then slowly disappeared inch by inch.
Sheng Jiao had no mood to fish either. He redrew the spirit-gathering array around the osmanthus tree planted just a few months ago. Watching the sapling grow taller and taller—by next year, with spiritual power support, it should grow into a towering tree with osmanthus flowers covering its branches.
As the sun set in the west, Sheng Jiao was already meditating on a cushion in the inner room when Yan Jianlan finally cautiously poked his head in, looking guilty like a thief.
Sheng Jiao didn’t even lift an eyelid, continuing his meditation.
Usually, Yan Jianlan most enjoyed teasing Sheng Jiao during meditation. Seeing immovable-as-a-mountain Sect Master Sheng create ripples in a still pool because of him gave him an inexplicable sense of achievement and satisfaction.
But today he seemed very guilty, not approaching at all. He washed up quietly by himself and obediently climbed into bed, not daring to disturb Sheng Jiao.
Sheng Jiao rarely completed a full meditation session. By the time he circulated spiritual power through his meridians for one full cycle and returned it to his inner palace, Yan Jianlan was already curled up on the bed, fast asleep.
Sheng Jiao got up and walked over. Just as he sat on the edge of the bed, Yan Jianlan jolted awake, mumbling: “I won’t dare anymore! I’ll never look again!”
Sheng Jiao: “What?”
Yan Jianlan was dazed for a while before becoming lucid. He’d slept so soundly his bones felt soft. His voice, slightly hoarse and tired from just waking, mumbled drowsily: “Finished cultivating?”
“Mm.” Sheng Jiao asked: “Had a nightmare?”
Yan Jianlan carefully recalled, then guiltily rolled his eyes around. After a while, he reached out to grip two of Sheng Jiao’s fingers, as if complaining in a small voice: “Why do you still keep that thing…”
Sheng Jiao said indifferently: “Wasn’t it you who snatched it over to look at yourself?”
Yan Jianlan had unspeakable grievances and could only say dryly: “I—I’m sorry. I was wrong.”
The treasure in Sheng Jiao’s storage ring box wasn’t actually any treasure—it was a puppet.
—The very puppet Yan Jianlan had placed a split consciousness in at Tianyan Academy to avoid Sheng Jiao, while his main body cheerfully ran off to ‘Dream Yellow Millet’ secret realm with Ying Zhuo.
Because of the heavenly punishment Yu Tuishan brought upon Yan Jianlan, his soul nearly scattered. The strand of consciousness left in the puppet also exploded instantly—the force should have shattered that wooden puppet.
But in Sheng Jiao’s box, that puppet had been pieced together fragment by fragment, barely assembled into a neither-human-nor-ghost appearance.
Originally this matter was already past, but Yan Jianlan had to make trouble for himself by snatching Sheng Jiao’s box, giving Sheng Jiao a reason to bring up old grievances.
Feeling guilty and weak, Yan Jianlan stammered for a long while before saying in a tiny voice: “Why did you piece it together? Didn’t you already learn about my situation from Madam Wan?”
Sheng Jiao looked at him coldly and indifferently.
“Alright, alright, I was wrong.” Yan Jianlan immediately surrendered. “This young master has too much charisma, causing Sect Master Sheng to go mad with longing after not seeing me for three months. I’m guilty—I’ll punish myself with three cups.”
Sheng Jiao: “…”
Never seen anyone admit fault like this.
“Where’s the puppet?” Sheng Jiao asked.
Yan Jianlan coughed dryly, saying with misplaced righteousness: “Why were you keeping that thing? It’s creepy. I helped you deal with it. No need to thank me.”
Sheng Jiao glanced at him.
“Besides.” Yan Jianlan skillfully smoothed things over, grinning as he sat up halfway to grab Sheng Jiao’s collar, leaning forward to kiss him once, then saying mischievously: “The real me is right here. Why would you need that fake?”
Sheng Jiao remained motionless, letting him kiss, completely unmoved.
Yan Jianlan pecked at him like a chicken for a while. Seeing Sheng Jiao had no reaction, his face fell. He sat up and grasped Sheng Jiao’s hand to check his pulse.
Sheng Jiao didn’t ask much.
During this period, Yan Jianlan was obsessed with medical arts, often using Wujinqi for acupuncture practice. The black cat was jabbed until it meowed pitifully all day. When Yan Yuhu came to deliver things, it tearfully clung to Yan Yuhu’s leg and returned to Wuyin City.
After Wujinqi left, Sheng Jiao became Yan Jianlan’s tool for acupuncture and pulse-checking. He was already used to it.
Yan Jianlan pretended to check for a while. Seeing Sheng Jiao wouldn’t speak, he smiled and pinched his tiger’s mouth, a sentence drifting from between his teeth: “Ask. Ask me.”
Sheng Jiao obligingly asked: “What are you checking?”
“Checking if you have a problem.” Yan Jianlan said coldly. “Kissing you doesn’t move you at all. Is Sect Master Sheng frozen from being too active a few days ago? Why don’t I prescribe you some medicine to ensure your vigor remains.”
Sheng Jiao: “…”
Could this mouth say anything human?
Unable to bear it anymore, Sheng Jiao covered his mouth and forcibly pressed him onto the pillow.
To see whether he was frozen or not.
**
(advanced chapters available on kofi)
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152