Sheng Jiao collected the scalding-hot Tianyan Pearls into his sleeve with a dark expression, strode to Xi Jianlan’s side, grabbed his wrist, and started walking.
Rang Chen grabbed Xi Jianlan’s other hand, smiling: “The wine isn’t finished yet. Where are you planning to go?”
Sheng Jiao said coldly: “None of your business. Let go.”
Xi Jianlan was already dizzy and confused. Being pulled back and forth like a rope between Rang Chen and Sheng Jiao, he broke free from both in embarrassment, crouched down covering his mouth, and nearly vomited.
Sheng Jiao frowned: “I’m taking him back.”
Rang Chen studied his expression for a while before finally letting go.
Sheng Jiao dragged the stumbling Xi Jianlan toward the dormitory.
The dormitory where the eight Zhuxing Zhai members had lived was still empty. Since it was already late, they might as well stay here rather than have two drunkards return to Xiezhi Sect.
Xi Jianlan stumbled as he was dragged forward, whimpering: “Sheng Jiao, I… I’m going to throw up…”
Ever since the Tianyan Pearls began their judgment, Sheng Jiao’s heart had been pounding like a drum. Now it finally quietly calmed down. He stopped his hurried steps and closed his eyes slightly, letting Xi Jianlan crouch there to recover for a while.
The two had already moved far from Jiusi Courtyard. The night wind was still cold, rustling through the roadside magnolia trees.
Sheng Jiao was probably too impatient to wait. Seeing Xi Jianlan slowly getting up and unable to walk straight, he approached with a dark expression, scooped Xi Jianlan up horizontally in his arms, and headed toward his osmanthus courtyard.
Xi Jianlan was drunk senseless, clutching Sheng Jiao’s clothes and muttering non-stop, though no one could tell what he was saying.
The osmanthus courtyard was neat and tidy as new, just as it had been when they left ten years ago. There was still half a piece of unburnt incense that Xi Jue had found in the incense burner.
Sheng Jiao placed Xi Jianlan on the bed.
Throughout this journey, the Tianyan Pearls kept spinning incessantly. Sheng Jiao threw the pearls out the window with a dark expression and slammed it shut.
Xi Jianlan had already quietly fallen asleep sprawled on the pillow, his features exquisitely beautiful, showing no trace of the crazed appearance from the “Bone-Gazing Mirror.”
Sheng Jiao already had a suspicion in his heart, but dared not believe it.
He reached out to gently stroke Xi Jianlan’s face, his fingertip slowly moving to behind his ear. Just as he was about to press down, Xi Jianlan suddenly opened his eyes, drunkenly pushing down his hand and kissing his palm, mumbling: “Sheng Wuzhuo…”
Sheng Jiao’s fingers trembled.
Xi Jianlan was still humming and muttering.
Sheng Jiao gently closed his eyes, ultimately asking nothing. He pulled the quilt up for Xi Jianlan, turned and went to the outer room to sit cross-legged on the soft couch in meditation.
The bead curtain rustled softly, then quickly quieted.
Xi Jianlan, curled up on the bed, silently opened his eyes. There was no trace of sleepiness in them. He turned over and looked out through the shadowy bead curtain, vaguely seeing Sheng Jiao’s pine-like figure.
Suddenly, golden patterns flashed in his eyes again.
Xi Jianlan impatiently closed his eyes, lowering his voice: “I know. Didn’t that pearl show no guilt?”
He paused for a long while, then rubbed his temples and lay back on the soft pillow: “Wen Gubai is very clever. How would he expose himself for Xi Minghuai to see? The tampered memory—that was your doing?”
“…”
“I’ll remember. When we go to the secret realm, we’ll see which of the three of us gets struck down by Heaven’s punishment.”
The golden patterns moved slightly before finally disappearing.
Though Xi Jianlan wasn’t drunk, he’d still been forced to drink quite a bit. His head was splitting as he covered it, wishing he could knock himself unconscious.
As he tossed and turned on the bed, he inadvertently turned over to find a pillar standing by the bed.
—Sheng Jiao had appeared at some unknown time and was looking down at him from above.
Xi Jianlan stared at him expressionlessly. After a long while, he covered his head in pain: “You already know how to use spiritual power to suppress drunkenness. Can’t you just force the alcohol out? Please stop tormenting me. I want to sleep now.”
Sheng Jiao directly got on the bed, forcibly pulling Xi Jianlan up: “Get up. Talk.”
Xi Jianlan collapsed into his arms playing dead: “Don’t want to talk. Want to sleep.”
When Sheng Jiao got drunk, contrary to his usual taciturn nature, he always pestered Xi Jianlan to talk, and it wasn’t okay not to.
“You talk.” Sheng Jiao grabbed his shoulders, forcibly making his limp body sit straight, saying solemnly: “You like to talk.”
Xi Jianlan: “…”
Xi Jianlan wanted nothing more than to collapse and sleep until dawn. Being shaken back and forth by the shoulders and forced to talk, he got so angry he directly pushed Sheng Jiao onto the bed, saying fiercely: “What’s there to talk about? Let’s dual cultivate.”
But Sheng Jiao pinched his waist to stop him from moving: “No. You like to talk.”
Xi Jue had loved talking since childhood, always clinging to Sheng Jiao to chat. This probably left too deep a psychological scar on young Sheng Jiao, so every time he got drunk he had to find someone to talk to, chattering endlessly from his mouth—quite annoying.
Xi Jianlan’s face was full of pain: “But I don’t love talking all the time either—fine, Sheng Wuzhuo. Now I want to hear you talk. Say a few more things.”
Sheng Jiao nodded, lifting his arms to hold Xi Jianlan, then began demonstrating in his ear that he was really good at “chatting and reminiscing.”
He first recited an entire set of sword techniques, but being drunk and not quite clear-headed, he went in circles repeating himself, barely managing to stumble through the sword techniques.
Xi Jianlan curled up drowsily in his arms, nearly falling asleep from the sword technique recitation.
Sheng Jiao woke him up.
“Good, very good.” Xi Jianlan jerked alert, listlessly humoring him: “Continue. I want to hear ‘Tianyan Chronicles.’ Sect Master Sheng, recite it ten times.”
Tianyan books were always tediously long. If Sheng Jiao recited it ten times, it might take until tomorrow morning.
Sheng Jiao said “oh” and began reciting from memory.
Xi Jianlan finally got a comfortable night’s sleep.
Outside, rain fell in patters. No matter how tightly the windows were shut, the soft sound of wind knocking on the windows came through intermittently. Xi Jianlan lay in Sheng Jiao’s arms, held tightly, rarely sleeping peacefully.
But just as dawn broke, Xi Jianlan was forcibly shaken awake by Sheng Jiao again.
Xi Jianlan slept in a daze, drowsily saying: “Huh? It’s daylight? Did Yudu bring breakfast?”
“No.” Sheng Jiao said. “I finished reciting. What else do you want to hear?”
Xi Jianlan: “…”
In that moment, Xi Jianlan again felt the urge to assassinate Sheng Jiao.
Xi Jianlan was tormented all night without sleeping well. After finally coaxing Sheng Jiao to sleep, it was already broad daylight.
Heng Yudu knocked on the door outside, indeed coming to bring breakfast as in the old days.
Xi Jianlan got up with a dark expression. Even after getting out of bed, he was still angry. He returned furiously to smack Sheng Jiao’s head.
Sleep-disturbing chatterbox!
Morning mist filled the air. Xi Jianlan wrapped himself in Sheng Jiao’s outer robe and walked out of the inner room to see Heng Yudu placing sobering soup and porridge on the small table.
Seeing Xi Jianlan emerge, Heng Yudu blinked in surprise: “Where’s Wuzhuo?”
“Sleeping.” Xi Jianlan casually tied up his long hair and sat across from Heng Yudu, unceremoniously draining Sheng Jiao’s portion of sobering soup in one gulp.
Heng Yudu: “Oh.”
He suspiciously looked Xi Jianlan up and down, probably wondering if these two sharing a room had done something “indecent” beyond Director Heng’s understanding.
After Xi Jianlan recovered a bit, his headache finally improved considerably. Seeing Heng Yudu’s hesitant expression, he raised an eyebrow slightly: “You’re looking for Sheng Jiao about something?”
“Mm.” Heng Yudu nodded.
“Whatever it is, just tell me.” Xi Jianlan crossed his legs lazily. “I can make half the decisions about his affairs.”
Heng Yudu: “…”
Heng Yudu just listened to him boast, but seeing his curiosity, felt it made no difference to tell him: “I’ve already agreed with Director Wen that for this secret realm training, Tianyan Academy’s people are permitted to go, but only students with Heaven-grade xiangwen.”
Counting “Third Watch Snow” Qin Banban, there were only five Heaven-grade children total.
Xi Jianlan was stunned.
“Your cultivation has just recovered. Don’t make this trip for now.” Heng Yudu said gently. “They’ll set out for the secret realm early tomorrow morning. I’ll be responsible for taking you back to Xiezhi Sect.”
Xi Jianlan immediately said: “I’m not going back to Xiezhi Sect!”
“Fine.” Heng Yudu sighed. “Then just stay at Zhuxing Zhai. Neither of us should go drag them down anyway.”
“No, no, no.” Xi Jianlan shook his head like a rattle drum. “I’m planning to follow along to the secret realm for fun.”
Heng Yudu flatly refused, fretting like a mother hen with inexplicably firm attitude as he lectured: “Your xiangwen has just been recovered—this is when you need to nourish your spiritual meridians. Why suffer to join the excitement? What cultivation level are you at now? Do you have Golden Core? No? Without it you still want to go to the secret realm—do you know how dangerous it is?”
Xi Jianlan frowned: “I have the Spring Rain sword. I can protect myself without needing others’ protection.”
Heng Yudu: “Still no.”
“Gege.” Xi Jianlan used his old trick, crouching limply on the ground with his hands on Heng Yudu’s knees, once again calling “gege” when he needed something. “Besides, all six geges are going. If I’m still in danger with that, wouldn’t they be disgracing Zhuxing Zhai?”
Heng Yudu wouldn’t let him go, which meant Sheng Jiao definitely wouldn’t let him either.
Though Heng Yudu seemed gentle, he was quite stubborn.
He grabbed Xi Jianlan’s ear and tugged it gently: “When I say no, it’s no. Say one more word and I’ll break the ‘Exchange for Bright Moon’ you placed on Wuzhuo.”
Xi Jianlan deflated again.
But reminded by Heng Yudu, he remembered that “Exchange for Bright Moon” still had over half a month’s effectiveness—enough for him to control Sheng Jiao and run off alone to play in the secret realm.
Xi Jianlan completely changed his approach and began drinking porridge obediently.
When he went quiet, Heng Yudu felt uncomfortable and said suspiciously: “What bad idea are you plotting now?”
“Hehe.” Xi Jianlan said. “How can gege say that? I’m so pure and good—how could I have any bad ideas?”
Heng Yudu: “…”
Seeing his cunning and lively little appearance, Heng Yudu couldn’t connect the current him with the cold, heartless Xi Jue from his memories.
Recalling last night’s “Bone-Gazing Mirror” memory, Heng Yudu silently sighed and reached out to pat Xi Jianlan’s head.
Xi Jianlan was still there foolishly smiling as he drank porridge.
Heng Yudu left the other bowl of sobering soup, planning to return in the afternoon to discuss serious matters with Sheng Wuzhuo. He wheeled away to deliver sobering soup elsewhere.
Xi Jianlan expressed strong respect and admiration for Old Mother Hen Heng’s selfless brotherly love and endless motherly worries.
After seeing Heng Yudu off, Xi Jianlan excitedly took out Spring Rain: “Sheng Jiao has no spiritual power right now. Tonight when there’s a chance, take me away from Zhuxing Zhai so we can go play in the secret realm.”
Spring Rain: “…”
After discussing with Spring Rain, Xi Jianlan hummed contentedly while drinking porridge, fantasizing about the wonderful life of completely escaping Sheng Jiao.
One wall away.
Sheng Jiao opened his eyes while holding his aching head, looking around before realizing where he was.
He frowned and touched his neck, inexplicably feeling his throat hurt and dry.
Probably from drinking too much.
Sheng Jiao didn’t think much of it, instinctively raising his hand to summon the Tianyan Pearls. Only when his finger moved did he belatedly realize his spiritual power was sealed by “Exchange for Bright Moon.”
When Xi Jianlan used “Exchange for Bright Moon” to trap his spiritual power the second time, the Tianyan Pearls had quietly regained their power not long after and operated normally.
But to actively control the pearl string to fly back still required recovering spiritual power.
Sheng Jiao frowned and was about to lower his hand when he saw spiritual power at his fingertip pulling the Tianyan Pearls that had been drenched outside all night. They whistled in through the window with jingling sounds and wrapped around his wrist.
Sheng Jiao was stunned.
His spiritual power had completely recovered.
“Exchange for Bright Moon’s” effectiveness hadn’t even lasted half a month before completely losing effect.
Sheng Jiao made no announcement, quietly hiding the Tianyan Pearls.
Faint sounds of Xi Jianlan humming tunes came from the outer room, suggesting his mood seemed quite pleasant today.
**
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152