AVL Chapter 53

A gentleman wouldn’t have entangled with him before coming of age.

 

Xi Jianlan should have understood this long ago.

 

Sheng Jiao had always been noble and upright. Now wearing that emotionless, desireless face while playing rogue, Xi Jianlan felt both furious and inexplicably guilty for having corrupted Sect Master Sheng.

 

“I… I won’t run.” Xi Jianlan was flexible, forcing out a man-eating smile as he extended his hand, pitifully reverting to old habits and begging Sect Master Sheng: “Please untie it for me, please, Sheng Wuzhuo.”

 

Sheng Jiao looked down at him coldly.

 

Xi Jianlan was so angry at his all-seeing gaze that his head was spinning. Unable to maintain his obedient act, he suddenly grabbed Sheng Jiao’s collar and pressed his lips up, fiercely giving him a kiss.

 

Since their reunion, every one of Xi Jianlan’s kisses had ulterior motives—either trying to poison him or seduce him.

 

This one had no malicious intent, just desperately biting Sheng Jiao’s lip like he wanted to devour him whole.

 

Previously, Sheng Jiao would either dodge or let Xi Jianlan do as he pleased. This time, probably knowing Xi Jianlan was just venting his anger, his pupils contracted slightly. He suddenly reached out with his large palm to cover Xi Jianlan’s eyes, forcefully pressing him hard against the carved wooden door.

 

“Bang”—a muffled sound.

 

Xi Jianlan made a “mmph” sound, the back of his head aching from the impact.

 

Sheng Jiao expressionlessly leaned down to capture Xi Jianlan’s lips, his frosty breath making Xi Jianlan shiver.

 

Though Xi Jianlan had initiated the kiss, being forcibly restrained and kissed made him angrily grit his teeth and try to turn his head away, desperately struggling to push against Sheng Jiao’s chest.

 

Sheng Jiao’s frame was much larger than his. Despite Xi Jianlan’s powerless, slender form pushing against him, he remained unmoved like an immovable mountain.

 

Xi Jianlan kicked at Sheng Jiao’s knee, barely managing to make muffled sounds through his blocked lips and teeth.

 

“Get… mmph, get away! Sheng…”

 

The narrow private room seemed to grow gradually hot from the lingering intimacy. Xi Jianlan couldn’t see, and the Tianyan pearl on his earring stopped working. In the dark silence, only touch was most apparent.

 

Sheng Jiao always carried the crisp scent of frost and osmanthus. Even while kissing his beloved so dominantly, his face remained cold as frost and snow.

 

Xi Jianlan’s waist went weak in waves. If not for being forcibly pressed against the door, he would have slid down. His cheeks flushed as his throat filled with unbearable whimpers.

 

In the deathly dark silence, he was forced to tilt his head back and accept the storm-like kiss, his slender neck’s Adam’s apple moving with difficulty.

 

Suddenly, his lip corner seemed to be bitten, slowly trickling a bright red bloodstain.

 

Sheng Jiao’s pupils contracted as he finally released him, his spiritual power flashing.

 

In such a lingering, intimate kiss, Xi Jianlan had actually forcibly bitten his tongue tip, nearly injecting poisonous blood into Sheng Jiao’s vital point. Fortunately, Sheng Jiao forced it out at the critical moment.

 

Even so, Sheng Jiao’s internal spiritual power stagnated for an instant.

 

Blood seeped from Xi Jianlan’s lip corner, dripping down his chin onto the peony-clustered collar like blooming flowers.

 

“Sheng…”

 

He seemed to want to speak, but having been oxygen-deprived too long, after regaining sight and hearing he felt waves of dizziness and ringing. He could only futilely grip Sheng Jiao’s collar to steady his sliding form, gasping repeatedly.

 

Sheng Jiao coldly supported his chin, his thumb gently wiping away the poisonous blood from Xi Jianlan’s lip corner.

 

Xi Jianlan had indeed tried to kill him just now, without a trace of mercy or hesitation.

 

Beautiful appearance, ruthless heart.

 

“Get… get away.” Xi Jianlan gasped rapidly, pushing away his hand. Slightly tilting his head back against the door to steady his weak form, he placed his hand over his eyes. After a long while, he could finally speak: “If Lord Heaven’s Way wants another spring night with me…”

 

His eyes were slightly red, the mole at his eye corner spreading like rouge, and after a gasp he said coldly: “…then go light cloud lanterns. Light fifty thousand, and I’ll let you enjoy me as you please.”

 

Sheng Jiao: “……”

 

Xi Jianlan struggled to stand steady, cursing Sheng Jiao countless times in his heart while also feeling secretly apprehensive.

 

When Sheng Jiao hadn’t yet come of age, he could already pin him to the bed and make him faint three times in one night. Now six years later, Sect Master Sheng was even taller and more imposing, his cultivation at Great Ascension stage—just one kiss nearly made him pass out.

 

If they had another spring night…

 

Xi Jianlan, who had barely grown in six years, felt he probably couldn’t survive it.

 

Enveloped by Sheng Jiao’s dominating, imposing frame and unable to regain face for the moment, Xi Jianlan could only forcefully push him away and run outside.

 

Sheng Jiao watched him flee in panic.

 

After running two steps, Xi Jianlan probably felt it was too undignified. He turned around and coldly delivered a threat.

 

“If you dare treat me like this again, I’ll really kill you.” Xi Jianlan pointed his five fingers at Sheng Jiao’s heart, threatening: “Bang… just, just bang, and you’ll be dead.”

 

 

Under normal circumstances, this gesture would be morbid and bizarre, enough to make one’s hair stand on end.

 

But at this moment, Xi Jianlan’s eyes were full of mist, his lashes damp, the red mole almost hidden in the blush at the corner of his eyes.

 

—No intimidation whatsoever, only vivid allure.

 

Sheng Jiao’s face was ice-cold, unclear whether he believed his bluffing threats.

 

After speaking, Xi Jianlan felt even more embarrassed. With a dark face, he went to see the Immortal Lord Yu who had lit fifty thousand cloud lanterns for him.

 

Sheng Jiao watched Xi Jianlan leave expressionlessly, reaching up to touch his bitten lip. After a while, he came to his senses and took out the glass orb.

 

The memory from “Bone-Gazing Mirror” was like flying peach petals, swirling gently within the translucent orb.

 

Sheng Jiao’s fingers lightly caressed the orb, slowly channeling Tianyan spiritual power into it.

 

This orb had come too easily—aside from the crisis of three people not being able to gather two drops of virgin fingertip blood—it gave Sheng Jiao an inexplicably ominous feeling.

 

It seemed that since selling Xi Qingfeng’s xiangwen at Guchangsi Temple, the Xi family massacre had proceeded almost unbelievably smoothly, yet in six years of using all of Xiezhi Sect’s intelligence networks to search the thirteen provinces, he hadn’t found half a clue.

 

Xi Qingfeng’s xiangwen at Guchangsi Temple, to Ying Qiao’er at Evil Qi Road, then to the mad Xi Minghuai…

 

Finally arriving at Hongchen Shijun Tower in Nine Heavens City to find Xi Minghuai’s memory.

 

It was as if someone had been guiding and pushing him forward to seek this so-called truth.

 

Sheng Jiao even instinctively didn’t believe the “memory” in this orb was real.

 

Tianyan spiritual power instantly filled the “Bone-Gazing Mirror” glass orb. With a muffled “hiss,” the large glass sphere burst like a water balloon at Sheng Jiao’s fingertips.

 

Peach blossoms and flying catkins instantly swirled throughout the narrow private room.

 

In the dim chamber, a series of memories slowly emerged from the mist.

 

Violent storm.

 

Qixi Festival paper lanterns soaked in bloody water. As far as the eye could see, Xi Minghuai seemed to be carrying a lantern, walking forward in confusion. Almost every step in the vast Xi estate revealed a mangled corpse.

 

Xi Minghuai seemed scared senseless, stumbling and falling to his knees in the torrential rain.

 

Rumble—!

 

Thunder and lightning, everything blindingly white, illuminating two dark figures fighting in the distance.

 

Xi Minghuai knelt under an osmanthus tree, staring in shock.

 

The Xi family head was fighting someone in black clothes, spiritual power clashing brilliantly in the heavy rain with loud bangs.

 

But strangely, though the Xi family head was clearly Void Return realm, he was at a disadvantage against the black-clothed person, as if suppressed by some invisible force, able to use only three-tenths of his spiritual power.

 

Rumble.

 

Another earth-shaking crash as the black-clothed person’s sword silently pierced through the Xi family head’s chest.

 

Xi Minghuai watched in horror, his entire vision shaking wildly.

 

Suddenly, the black-clothed person methodically wiping his sword seemed to hear something. He turned slightly, his cold, malevolent gaze silently looking over from under his wide hood.

 

Xi Minghuai was startled, stumbling and falling to the ground, supporting himself with his hands as he desperately retreated.

 

The black-clothed person laughed softly, lowering his sword. The blade scraped across the accumulated water on the ground, splashing white droplets as he methodically approached Xi Minghuai.

 

Xi Minghuai instinctively wanted to flee, but his whole body seemed suppressed. Though his legs kicked hard against the ground, he couldn’t stand up.

 

He could only watch helplessly as the killing god approached with a smile.

 

Though only a few steps away, Xi Minghuai felt as if hundreds of years had passed. With nowhere to escape, he could only stare in terror at the person before him.

 

The black-clothed person looked down at him, saying with a smile: “You saw?”

 

Boom.

 

Lightning and thunder, brilliant white light suddenly illuminating the face before him.

 

Black and white alternated several times before the lightning finally stopped and completely dimmed.

 

Xi Minghuai’s eyes widened in shock.

 

That face…

 

Sheng Jiao suddenly struck out with spiritual power, his face extremely dark as he froze the memory at that blindingly white lightning moment, pupils contracting as he stared at that face.

 

The person had slightly drooping black hair and a gentle, warm countenance.

 

—It was actually Tianyan Academy’s headmaster, Wen Gubai?!

 

Ying Zhuo had waited so long mushrooms could have grown on his head. The commotion outside had nothing to do with him—he just obediently sat there waiting as his shixiong had instructed.

 

But after a long time, Xi Jianlan still hadn’t returned.

 

Xun Niang was hard to see—his shixiong wouldn’t be in trouble, would he?

 

Ying Zhuo frowned slightly, his fingers unconsciously moving as spider silk wound around his wrist.

 

Since being killed last time at Evil Qi Road for trying to turn Xi Jianlan into a puppet, Ying Zhuo didn’t dare be too forceful and domineering toward Xi Jianlan.

 

Lixiang Studio was full of demons and evil spirits. Ying Zhuo had always been perverse and fearless, but around Xi Jianlan he was inexplicably suppressed. Sometimes he even felt Xi Jianlan was more like someone from Lixiang Studio than himself.

 

Looking harmless and carefree on the surface, but actually eccentric and evil.

 

Ying Zhuo took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself as he silently spread “Weaving Under Eaves” throughout Hongchen Shijun Tower, slowly searching for Xi Jianlan’s location.

 

But just as the white spider silk extended out, it suddenly seemed to be grasped by someone and gently tugged.

 

Ying Zhuo suddenly opened his eyes, looking coldly toward the door.

 

Yu Tuishan, in black clothes with white hair, held the invisible spider silk between his nearly translucent fingers, saying with a smile: “Oh, little spider, what a coincidence.”

 

Ying Zhuo’s face changed as he suddenly stood up.

 

Yu Tuishan held a horseshoe cake and took a bite, his gaze behind the mask looking Ying Zhuo up and down meaningfully: “This body of yours is nice. I want to take it apart and see if I can make a new body too.”

 

These words were so matter-of-fact, as if Ying Zhuo’s body was already in his possession.

 

Ying Zhuo keenly sensed this person’s ill intent, spiritual power suddenly flipping out from his palm.

 

The next instant, Yu Tuishan reached out and touched his forehead.

 

Ying Zhuo’s whole body stiffened, as if forcibly suppressed by some power. The puppet’s lifelike pupils suddenly became vacant, silently turning jade-like.

 

In just a moment, the divided spirit that Ying Zhuo had placed in this body had already dissipated.

 

Only an empty wooden shell remained.

 

Yu Tuishan smiled as he transformed this wooden puppet into a small spider, letting it crawl on the back of his hand. He played with it while returning to the private room Hongchen had prepared for him.

 

This was Hongchen Shijun Tower’s most luxurious private room, usually reserved for distinguished immortal lord guests.

 

The Immortal Lord Yu who had spent lavishly on fifty thousand cloud lanterns sat in a casual, unrestrained posture. The table was filled with a dazzling array of food, and the private room that should have been full of aphrodisiac incense and rouge scents was instead filled with the aroma of dishes.

 

Yu Tuishan leisurely sat cross-legged, and a swallow silently flew over, transforming into a translucent figure on the spot.

 

That person said lightly: “How did it go?”

 

Yu Tuishan didn’t look up, letting the small spider crawl around on his hand with interest, saying absentmindedly: “Why is Master Wen so anxious? Even if he gets Xi Minghuai’s memory, the Tianyan pearls won’t judge you guilty.”

 

The candlelight suddenly flickered.

 

Like a flash of lightning, illuminating that divided spirit’s face.

 

Wen Gubai stood calmly by the window, saying with a half-smile: “Even if the truth comes out later, you won’t suffer Tianyan thunder punishment. Naturally you’re not in a hurry.”

 

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 (advanced chapters available on kofi)