Yan Jianlan kept sneezing.
The enormous bed was covered with fox fur, floating everywhere like dandelions. His nine fluffy tails were nearly standing on end, their tips trembling slightly.
“Achoo!”
Yan Jianlan clung to Sheng Jiao’s neck, tears and snot streaming down his face. Just as he wanted to curse, he uncontrollably sneezed heavily again, stimulated by the wildly flying fox fur, nearly rattling his brain.
He struggled to cover his mouth and nose, whimpering: “…Change, I want to change back.”
Sheng Jiao remained silent.
Yan Jianlan had to deal with Sheng Jiao while also guarding against fox fur floating into his mouth and nose. It was so difficult he wished he could just die. Using all his strength, he pounded Sheng Jiao’s back once, cursing through tears: “Just kill me! Do it now!”
Seeing him trembling all over, truly unable to hold on, Sheng Jiao expressionlessly removed the illusion. The beast ears atop Yan Jianlan’s head and the fox tail finally dispersed. The oversized robe hung loosely on Yan Jianlan’s body, slipping but not quite falling, half-inviting and half-refusing.
Clusters of snow-white fox fur lay scattered on the bed. Yan Jianlan’s face was streaked with tears from sneezing.
Sheng Jiao simply lifted him away from the bed, gripping his slender waist and pressing him hard against the wall.
The fox fur was gone, but other things made Yan Jianlan utterly miserable.
***
Deep in the night, Yu Tuishan, well-fed and satisfied, wandered aimlessly along the deserted main street.
He had nowhere to go and no place to return to. His slender figure was stretched long and slanted by the candlelight on the desolate street. As night deepened, the body formed from his soul manifestation faintly emitted a golden glow, attracting countless moths to flutter toward him.
Yu Tuishan didn’t stop them. Finding it amusing, he spread his palm and let moths crash into it one after another. As if discovering something fun, he laughed quietly to himself.
As he walked and played with the moths, he suddenly saw a small boy looking up under a candlelit lamp on the empty street.
Yu Tuishan no longer wore his mask. His face was handsome yet tinged with wisps of evil energy—in the night, he looked like a ghost that would lure and devour children.
He “drifted” over, crouching beside the child with a grin, narrowing his eyes: “What are you doing here?”
The boy hadn’t expected anyone at this late hour. Startled, he froze before slowly mumbling: “Wait… waiting for my mother.”
Yu Tuishan tilted his head. Somehow his malicious streak suddenly flared up. He said viciously: “Too bad—your mother won’t come back for you. It’s useless to wait!”
The child immediately froze, his eyes flooding with terror.
He stumbled back several steps, desperately shaking his head: “My mother wouldn’t abandon me!”
Yu Tuishan laughed uproariously. The achievement of deceiving a child brought him inexplicable satisfaction. He laughed until his robes were disheveled, sitting directly on the ground, his face covered in tears.
“Hahaha, your mother really abandoned you. She didn’t even look at you once.”
The child was frightened and ran toward the alley entrance, crying heart-wrenchingly: “Mother! Mother, there’s a madman!”
Yu Tuishan’s gaze followed, and his smile froze.
A white-clothed woman ran out from the house, pulling the small boy and lightly swatting his head: “I told you not to run out this late! Get home and sleep!”
The boy was hauled back home by his mother, sobbing, glancing back fearfully at Yu Tuishan once more.
The roadside lamp suddenly extinguished.
Yu Tuishan sat hugging his knees, staring blankly at the family’s now-darkened lantern. After a while, he “pffft” laughed again.
He laughed with eyes full of tears, murmuring to no one in particular:
“Your mother really abandoned you. She didn’t even…”
Xi Jue laughed until his whole body trembled, yet tears streamed down his face.
“…She didn’t even look at you once.”
In the dead of night, Yu Tuishan seemed deranged, crying and laughing. After a long while, he finally pushed himself up with his hands.
He raised his sleeve and roughly wiped away the tear tracks on his face. When his face appeared again, it wore the same carefree expression as before.
Yu Tuishan wandered unsteadily until nearly dawn before finally returning to Evil Qi Road. But before entering the estate gates, he saw a figure standing under the bodhi tree at the entrance, seemingly having waited for quite some time.
Yu Tuishan became interested, strolling over with a grin: “Oh, isn’t this… what’s-his-name? Who are you?”
Rang Chen: “…”
Rang Chen didn’t quarrel with him, saying flatly: “Rang Wuxia.”
“Oh oh oh.” Yu Tuishan nodded. “So you’re that great master Ling’er always mentions—the one who needs three sticks to beat out a fart, always beating around the bush and never speaking human words? I’ve long admired you, Amitabha, blessings blessings.”
Rang Chen: “…”
Though Yu Tuishan’s face closely resembled Yan Jianlan’s face from his Tianyan Academy days, those who knew Yan Jianlan well would never mistake Yu Tuishan for their old classmate.
For no other reason—Yu Tuishan’s aura was too unique, both evil and innocent.
Evil referred to his entire being—his bearing, expression, movements, even the aura emanating from his whole body made one’s hair stand on end at first glance.
Innocent…
Referred to Yu Tuishan’s eyes.
Clearly, Rang Chen was the same age as him—twenty-six this year—but Yu Tuishan’s eyes seemed forever frozen at age twelve, innocent and naive, as if ignorant of worldly affairs. No matter how cruel his actions, they stemmed from extreme purity.
Right and wrong, black and white held no meaning for him whatsoever. He recognized no boundaries in his heart.
The entire Thirteen States could probably be divided into two types of people: one was “Yan Jianlan,” the other was “everyone else.” Even Yan Yuhu, with whom he’d spent six years, couldn’t stir a ripple in his heart.
Rang Chen gazed at Yu Tuishan’s eyes, not wanting to exchange excessive pleasantries. He said directly: “You want to destroy Tianyan?”
Yu Tuishan didn’t hide it at all, saying casually: “Yeah, so what?”
Even if Sheng Jiao asked him personally, this would probably be his answer.
Rang Chen opened his mouth: “You…”
“Stop.” Yu Tuishan raised his hand toward him, cutting off Rang Chen’s words, saying unhappily: “Don’t tell me the future from ‘Glimpsing Heaven’s Secretss.’ That ruins all the fun.”
Rang Chen said coldly: “You’d rather die than destroy Tianyan?”
Yu Tuishan yawned lazily: “I want to come out from Tianyan.”
Rang Chen frowned.
Come out from Tianyan?
“After I left the Xi family earth veins, I’ve always wanted to destroy ‘Kan Tianyan,'” Yu Tuishan said. He was a chatterbox—even with a stranger he’d just met, he could talk freely, grinning. “The Tianyan earth veins fear I’ll self-harm, so they bound my body in the earth vein spiritual river, using spiritual power to nourish it. Though my divine soul can come and go freely and I can control all Tianyan in the world, this isn’t what I want at all.”
Rang Chen froze.
Yu Tuishan walked forward several steps until his nose almost touched Rang Chen’s face. His expression was extremely evil, yet his eyes were innocently naive.
“What I want is to destroy Tianyan, destroy that body, erase the existence of the person called ‘Xi Jue.'”
Rang Chen took half a step back: “You…”
Yu Tuishan said with a smile: “So, Great Master Rang, do you think I fear death?”
He pursued death as excitedly as if playing a game—how could he possibly fear it?
Rang Chen’s eyes were dark and indifferent. After a long while, he suddenly said: “I can help you.”
Yu Tuishan tilted his head, blinking in surprise.
“‘Glimpsing Heaven’s Secrets’ will help me?”
Rang Chen nodded: “Yes.”
Yu Tuishan looked at him for a long time, then suddenly clapped his hands and laughed loudly: “You really are…”
Rang Chen thought Yu Tuishan was about to say “you really do have ill intentions toward Tianyan,” when this evil person unexpectedly grinned foolishly: “You really are just like Ling’er said—beating around the bush. You rambled on for so long just to say you’d help me. You could’ve just said it directly.”
Rang Chen: “………..”
Over the years, Rang Chen had cultivated his mind to be as still as water, having seen through the world’s vanities. But at this moment, he inexplicably had the urge to tie up both him and Yan Jianlan for a beating.
Just then, all of Wuyin City suddenly trembled with shocking thunder, striking down without warning.
Both Yu Tuishan and Rang Chen looked up in surprise.
A Void Return tribulation?
Whose?
The tribulation had no buildup—it was directly summoned, and should have fallen straight upon the cultivator advancing to Void Return. But when everyone looked, they saw the tribulation had only struck a rooftop before being blocked by a lightning pattern barrier.
Rang Chen glanced over, his brow furrowing slightly.
Sheng Jiao’s Tianyan Pearl… was blocking the tribulation?
Then the one undergoing tribulation must be Yan Jianlan.
Yan Jianlan had worked so painstakingly that in just a few days, he’d absorbed spiritual power and leaped from Spirit Transformation to Void Return realm.
Rang Chen felt an inexplicable fatherly pride.
It seemed that after avenging his great grievance, Yan Jianlan’s state of mind had opened considerably.
The open-minded Yan Jianlan was currently frowning and curled up in the disheveled soft bedding. The earring on his ear had long been removed before dual cultivation. A thick barrier had been set up within the small bed curtains—no matter how thunder rolled outside, he couldn’t hear it at all, sleeping soundly.
Sheng Jiao sat cross-legged beside him as a guardian, and whenever he sensed Yan Jianlan sleeping restlessly, he would gently infuse spiritual power into his brow to help him sleep more deeply.
The tribulation continued for two full hours. Yan Jianlan remained unmoved.
Until the final tribulation finally dissipated. Having successfully advanced to Void Return, Yan Jianlan suddenly groaned indistinctly, feeling his inner mansion burning. He reflexively covered his lower abdomen, kicking his feet randomly, his voice trembling: “No, no more, I’m full.”
Void Return spiritual power overflowed through Yan Jianlan’s meridians. His inner mansion couldn’t adapt to the massive spiritual power, burning him until he kept thinking Sheng Jiao was still “transferring” spiritual power to him, crying and kicking while covered in sweat.
Sheng Jiao channeled spiritual power into Yan Jianlan’s body, guiding him clumsily to gradually smooth out the Void Return spiritual power bit by bit.
After an unknown amount of time, Yan Jianlan finally organized his spiritual power. Whimpering softly, he nuzzled against Sheng Jiao’s palm, muttering something incomprehensible before finally settling down and falling into deep sleep.
He slept straight through until nearly noon. When Yan Jianlan woke feeling completely refreshed, he thought he was dreaming.
After dual cultivating so many times last night, he could actually climb out of bed smoothly?
Too unbelievable—was this another form of “adapting to circumstances”?
Only after getting dressed did he belatedly realize his spiritual power seemed off.
Why…
Did it suddenly feel different from yesterday?
Early in the morning, Sheng Jiao had already gone to Punitive Court to request a private flying vessel back to Xiezhi Sect. After handling affairs and returning to Shi’er Ju, he found Yan Jianlan sitting dazedly in a chair, his eyes unmoving, like a beautiful, exquisite puppet.
Sheng Jiao frowned: “What’s wrong?”
Yan Jianlan turned his gaze toward him expressionlessly, saying in a dry, emotionless tone: “First of all, I’m not a seductive ghost—I don’t need to absorb others’ essence to cultivate. I can break through quickly with proper cultivation too. So why did I suddenly reach Void Return after dual cultivating with the Heavenly Dao lord just twice? After all, I’m not a seductive ghost.”
Sheng Jiao: “………..”
***
**
(advanced chapters available on kofi)
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152