WBICDPH Chapter 115

Chapter 115: A Heart Tangled in Knots

“…”

Lin Jin looked up at Xiao Lancheng, who was chained to the mountainside. He watched him fend off the vicious ghosts trying to tear into him, watched him stay on constant guard against the enemies surrounding him from every direction, not daring to relax for even a moment.

For a brief instant, Lin Jin suddenly remembered that night when Xiao Lancheng had fallen asleep sitting in a chair and been startled awake by him, instinctive hostility and ferocity flashing through his eyes.

Back then, he had said he’d experienced terrible things in the past and been left with trauma, which was why he couldn’t sleep sitting upright like that.

Was this the reason?

Lin Jin had no idea how long Xiao Lancheng had been chained here and tortured like an animal.

The bottom of Ghostcry Cliff was dark and endless. The wailing all around them was sharp and piercing. Xiao Lancheng was locked there day after day, facing demonic souls and vicious ghosts coveting his flesh and blood. The torment repeated endlessly, with no end in sight.

Inside the memory, Lin Jin couldn’t sense the passage of time, but he could tell this must have lasted an unbearably long, hopeless stretch of years.

What made it even more hopeless was that Lin Jin already knew how this story was supposed to end.

He had vaguely guessed Xiao Lancheng’s identity.

In the story written in the book, the male protagonist was framed midway through the plot and accidentally fell into Ghostcry Cliff.

He had been gravely injured. After waking up, he searched the bottom of the cliff for a way out and, by chance, discovered a demon chained there.

The book barely described the demon. It focused only on the protagonist slaying it, obtaining the ferocious beast Taowu’s power, and acquiring the Cloudbreaker Jade Flame capable of burning everything in the world.

Xiao Lancheng.

A-Qi.

A celestial demon born from love and expectation, a creator burdened with immense hopes. Yet in the book, he was merely a nameless monster.

His gifted bloodline became someone else’s stepping stone. He existed only to be crushed beneath the protagonist’s feet.

No one knew his past, his struggles, or the expectations forced onto him.

The whole thing felt like a cruel joke.

“Oh dear, what a conflicted little celestial demon.”

The Penglai Ancestor stood beside Lin Jin with his arms crossed, sighing as he shook his head.

“Tell me, why couldn’t someone have taught him properly? If he’d been a pure celestial demon or a pure human, he never would’ve ended up like this.”

Lin Jin didn’t answer.

His emotions were far too complicated.

Xiao Lancheng had grown up under his mother’s protection. Just as Xiao Lancheng had once said, in a way, he had been a flower raised in a greenhouse.

Xiao Lanyue feared he would learn from his own kind and become a so-called “true celestial demon,” so she deliberately kept him from having much contact with other demons. Everything he knew came through the words of outsiders, but people’s descriptions were always subjective. Everyone taught him something different, and he could never tell what was right and what was wrong.

The little flower struggled to grow under pressures from every side, until eventually he twisted into the tangled, crooked shape he was now.

Suddenly, Lin Jin understood Xiao Lancheng’s awkward, abrasive attitude toward others.

Wanting to care for people and treat them kindly was the human tenderness inside him at work, but he couldn’t openly show those feelings. So he hid them behind fierce expressions and cold words, pretending he was still an indifferent celestial demon.

It was the way he’d learned to survive while growing up. After so many years, it had become second nature.

So twisted. Like a braided knot.

Lin Jin sighed inwardly. Looking at Xiao Lancheng like this made him feel both sad and sympathetic.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of Ghostcry Cliff, Xiao Lancheng was still pulling against the chains while resisting the ghosts and demon spirits. But later, for some unknown reason, he suddenly coughed up blood.

After that, he stopped resisting altogether, letting the ghosts tear into his body while he frantically yanked at the chains like a madman.

“Oh no! The little celestial demon’s mind isn’t stable enough—his spirit’s collapsing!”

“…Huh?”

Lin Jin froze. It took him a long moment to process what the Ancestor meant.

“What do you mean his spirit’s collapsing? Are you saying the one down there isn’t just a shadow from the story, but actually him reliving his own past?”

“Exactly! Viewing one’s past means we’re sitting beneath the stage watching the play, but for him, it’s like having his memories stripped away and being forced to relive all his obsessions and suffering. But this memory’s too cruel for him. He can’t endure it!”

The Penglai Ancestor paced anxiously in circles. Seeing him panic made Lin Jin panic too.

“Then save him! This is your trial ground. You should be able to interfere, right?”

“I can interfere with human consciousness, sure. But celestial demons don’t have human spiritual consciousness! Even the position of their hearts is different from humans! How am I supposed to interfere with that?!”

“What?! You didn’t leave yourself a backup plan before dragging him into this trial?!”

“Of course not! How was I supposed to know this would happen?!”

If spiritual projections could sweat, the Penglai Ancestor would’ve been drenched by now.

This senior really was incredibly unreliable.

Lin Jin almost couldn’t bear to look at him.

“Then… what happens if he completely breaks down?”

“I don’t know. I’ll say it again—I don’t understand celestial demon physiology, so I have no idea what the outcome will be.”

The Penglai Ancestor pressed at his temples, looking like he was about to cry.

“If it were a human, the lighter consequence would be mental collapse and lifelong insanity. The worst case? Their cultivation shatters and their body explodes. Tsk, that won’t do. This little celestial demon’s bloodline inheritance is too powerful. If he goes mad here, my Dengwen Sword Pavilion won’t survive it!”

“?!”

That was really serious!!!

The guy’s entire demonic body was practically under a red alert, and you were still worrying about your sword pavilion?!

“How about this!”

Just as Lin Jin stood there helplessly, the Penglai Ancestor suddenly slapped his hands together, as though he’d found a solution.

But Lin Jin should’ve known better than to expect anything reasonable from him.

“How about I send you in there, and you try calming him down!”

“?”

Are you serious?

What exactly did you think I could do?

But before Lin Jin could protest, the Ancestor shoved him forward.

The force was perfectly controlled, just enough to send Lin Jin directly in front of Xiao Lancheng.

Lin Jin didn’t even get a clear look at Xiao Lancheng’s face before the world spun around him and he was slammed against the cliff wall. Xiao Lancheng’s hand clamped tightly around his throat.

At this point, even Lin Jin himself could no longer tell whether this was an illusion or reality.

Xiao Lancheng’s body temperature was scorching hot, his palm burning against his skin. The rock wall behind him was damp and icy cold. The chill mixed with the surrounding ghostly aura seeped straight into his bones.

Lin Jin couldn’t breathe. He grabbed Xiao Lancheng’s wrist with both hands, trying to pry him loose and give himself some chance of survival.

“…”

For some reason, once he grabbed Xiao Lancheng’s wrist, the pressure around his throat actually loosened.

Though Xiao Lancheng’s hand still gripped his neck, at least he could breathe now.

Lin Jin gasped desperately for air, but he didn’t dare relax.

He gently held Xiao Lancheng’s wrist, unconsciously rubbing the inside of it with his thumb in the same soothing motion one might use on a child.

Then he looked up and stared directly into Xiao Lancheng’s eyes.

Xiao Lancheng was truly handsome. His features were sharply defined, especially his eyes—so exquisite they seemed flawless. His lashes were thick and long, casting faint shadows beneath them.

Even the color of his eyes was beautiful, like two precious gems.

But right now, his gaze resembled that of a cornered beast, bloodshot and desperate.

After loosening his grip slightly, Xiao Lancheng frowned and suddenly leaned closer, sniffing softly around Lin Jin like an animal trying to confirm a scent.

“Don’t be afraid. Do you remember me? I’m Lin Jin.”

Lin Jin thought the introduction sounded ridiculous, but he couldn’t think of anything better to say.

He pressed his lips together. Then an idea suddenly struck him.

Looking into Xiao Lancheng’s eyes, he recalled the demonic lullaby he had heard in his memories and tried his best to reproduce the melody and notes.

The ancient demonic language spread gently through the perilous depths of Ghostcry Cliff alongside the soft tune.

Lin Jin noticed Xiao Lancheng’s ears twitch slightly, his eyes widening a little.

This was the lullaby Xiao Lanyue used to sing to him when he was little. Xiao Lancheng treasured those memories deeply, and those warm moments had appeared countless times in his recollections.

Lin Jin had thought the song sounded beautiful back then, so he’d deliberately memorized part of it. He never expected it would come in handy now.

And he saw it—Xiao Lancheng’s expression gradually clearing.

Lin Jin let out a breath of relief.

But before he could fully relax, he was suddenly pulled hard into an embrace.

Big Brother Hei’s body temperature was unbelievably high, like a walking furnace. Lin Jin could practically feel heat radiating off him.

And pressed together like this, he could hear the heartbeat coming from Xiao Lancheng’s right ribs.

Thump. Thump.

Strong. Heavy. Distinct. Like pounding war drums.

Lin Jin didn’t know what this hug meant.

He only knew Xiao Lancheng was holding him with desperate force, like someone clutching onto the last lifeline in an abyss, so tightly Lin Jin could barely breathe.

Since he had just sung the lullaby that belonged solely to Xiao Lanyue in Xiao Lancheng’s memories, he had probably mistaken him for her.

The little celestial demon missed his mother.

“Why are you here? I don’t want to see you. I hate you.”

Xiao Lancheng’s voice was hoarse, carrying a wounded grievance that made him sound pitiful.

Lin Jin felt scorching droplets soak through his shoulder before gradually cooling against the fabric.

“I don’t need you here. What are you to me? You’re not important at all.”

After saying that, Xiao Lancheng fell silent for a long while. When he spoke again, his voice dropped to a murmur.

“…Everyone I ever thought was important left.”

“…”

Hearing that, Lin Jin suddenly felt miserable too.

“It was my fault. I wasn’t good enough. I couldn’t learn anything properly. All I ever learned was how to lose my temper. I’m a really hateful celestial demon, aren’t I?”

Tears streamed down Xiao Lancheng’s face in heavy drops.

But ever since he was three years old, he had despised crying.

He knew tears were useless. Only the weak cried to vent their emotions.

But… but he really hurt.

Living through something like that once was already enough to drive someone into despair. Why did he have to face it a second time?

He had worked so hard to forget. He had worked so hard to bury those memories beneath excuses.

So why force him to realize that everything terrible that happened to him was because he himself wasn’t good enough?

Why let him lose everything, only to show him what he had now?

Was it a reminder?

A reminder that this person would leave him too, just like everyone else?

But he wasn’t important. He was nothing.

Xiao Lancheng hated him—hated his face, hated his strange principles, hated his gentleness, hated his scent, hated everything about him.

See? He wasn’t important at all.

So there was no need for him to leave, right?

Being a celestial demon was hard.

Learning human emotions was even harder.

If he had the choice, Xiao Lancheng would rather truly have been nothing more than a blue-eyed hound, spending every day offering his paw and eating fried meatballs.

“I hate you…”

Xiao Lancheng clenched the fabric of Lin Jin’s clothes tightly.

“I hate you so much.”

“Don’t hate. Hate’s the bad thing.”

Lin Jin patted Xiao Lancheng’s back gently, like comforting a child, and spoke softly:

“It’s not your fault. You’ve already done really well.”

Xiao Lancheng didn’t respond, but his grip around Lin Jin tightened further.

Lin Jin lowered his eyes slightly, his hand sliding up through Xiao Lancheng’s hair to gently stroke the back of his head.

“A-Qi.

“Facing all of that alone must have been exhausting and painful, right?

“Being abandoned and betrayed wasn’t your fault. You’re not a hateful celestial demon.

“Qi means ‘to create anew.’ You were a child born from love. You were their hope—the future of the celestial demons.”

After speaking, Lin Jin paused.

After a moment of silence, he let out a faint sigh.

“Xiao Lancheng.

“If you’re willing…

“Then let me teach you the things they never did.”