How To Die As Heavy As Mount Tai-Chapter 30
Chapter 30.1
The peerlessly talented demon ba snake (13.1)
Translated by: Niladri
This chapter is sponsored by Mangarosario
A baby’s cry resounded in the courtyard, but it was very weak. The baby was cleaned by Bai’s technique and was wrapped in brocade. He observed it carefully. As a father for the first time, Bai’s face was mournful because he knew that the child’s vitality had been cut short, and feared that it would not live long.
“It’s a daughter.” Bai whispered to Yun Niang.
“Let me see, bring closer.” Yun Niang said weakly.
Bai hesitated for a moment. He didn’t want to show the child to Yun Niang so as not to increase her sorrow. But when he saw Yun Niang’s expectant look, he couldn’t bear to refuse her.
Yun Niang embraced her child, and her face displayed the joy and affection of a new mother: “I met your father in the season when pear blossoms were in full bloom, you will be called Bai Li, Ok?”
She lowered her head and kissed the baby gently on the cheek: “I hope your life will be full of happiness and peace.” [T/N Nope, she will just be a backstabbing, white lotus b….]
Immediately, they saw Yun Niang spit something out of her lips and fed it to the baby’s mouth. She had not swallowed the Qianye lotus essense, but secretly hid it under her tongue.
It happened so quickly that no one could stop her. The baby instinctively swallowed the liquid in her mouth, and at a pace discernible by even a naked eye, her pale face got rosier and her crying became louder and louder.
Yun Niang, on the other hand, seemed to have had her wish fulfilled, and her face ashened immediately. It seemed that it was just the moment of clarity before one’s death.
“Yun Niang, why are you so stupid!” Yun Niang’s death was a foregone conclusion. Bai was completely distraught; he knelt down beside her and began to weep.
Yun Niang smiled gently. She raised her hand and touched her husband’s face. “No mother would ever let go of her children.” Knowing you was the best thing in my life, but I have to take the leave first.
Bai refusing to accept it and grabbed Yun Niang’s hand and shook his head powerlessly.
Yun Niang kissed the baby in her bosom again and showed her reluctance to part with her: “Bai, if you take care of Bai Li, I will have no regrets in my life. Don’t be too regretful. For what my family did… You don’t need to deviate from your (virtuous) path for them… Also, take good care of little Bai Li.
In the end, Yun Niang exhausted the last of her strength and closed her beautiful and gentle eyes, while her mouth was still smiling.
A few days later.
Bai finally recovered slightly from the grief of losing his wife. Only then did Lu Heng learn what had transpired that day.
‘The precious stone lands its innocent possessor in jail.’
Some time ago, Bai went out to find the auxiliary elixir needed for refining the Qianye Lotus. Yun Niang’s parents and brother suddenly knocked on their gates, claiming that since the matter of Yun Niang and Bai was settled, they were willing to accept Yun Niang and Bai’s marriage for the sake of their children.
When she left her family and eloped, Yun Niang never regretted it. But when she woke up from her dreams in the middle of the night, she still missed her family.
Yun Niang was a sheltered young girl. She was overjoyed at her close relatives taking the initiative. She didn’t suspect them much, and let them stay in the courtyard. But who could have thought that they were up to no good?
Yun Niang’s elder brother, while frolicking around with a disciple accidentally learnt that a demon race member had acquired the heavenly treasure, and saw the appearance of the demon in the photo beads. He was surprised to find that the demon was the poor boy that had abducted his sister and eloped.
Over the years, Yun Niang had longed for her family, hoping to return to her maternal home and ease the relationship with her family. However, Yun Niang’s parents lost face in front of the prefecture magistrate because of her elopement. They always regarded her as a stain in their family’s honour.
They still knew where Yun Niang lived now. Her brother had always wanted to enter the path of immortal cultivation, but because of his qualifications, he could not enter any sect. The moment he heard about it, he knew his chance had arrived. He plotted with the disciple, who promised Yun Niang’s elder brother that as long as he could cooperate and obtain the treasure, he would help him take the first step (towards cultivation).
That was the night of their eternal parting.
On that day, Bai returned to the courtyard after foraging medicine and saw his happy wife. Bai was also glad to learn that his wife was reconciled with her family, because he also knew that this had always been a cause of heartache for Yun Niang. That night, Bai entertained Yun Niang’s family with a banquet, but when they let their guard down, Bai was attacked by Yun Niang’s elder brother with a powerful artifact.
At the critical moment, it was Yun Niang who blocked the attack with her body. The seriously injured Yun Niang’s pregnancy was affected and the fetus in her abdomen could not wait to be born.
The courtyard outside was also surrounded by cultivators who from who knows where, and then was what Lu Heng saw that day.
“I’m going to take Yun Niang’s bones back to the native land of our race for burial. Let’s go to the demon race’s land on a day of our choosing.” Bai held a small rabbit in his arms. When he saw Lu Heng looking at the snow rabbit in his arms, he explained: “The children of the demon race will transform into their original shape one day after they are born.”
After that, Bai bid them farewell and went back to the courtyard to deal with the aftermath.
Looking Bai, who was emaciated like the shadow of a wandering soul, and thinking about Min’s bones in the storage bag, Lu Heng couldn’t help sighing: “Is it impossible for humans and demons to stay in love with one another?”
“It has nothing to do with humans or demons. Greed, wrath and envy, are like three bad roots, each producing bitter fruits.” Shi Kong was still calm and relaxed, and the ordeal with Bai hadn’t been able to create even a wave in his eyes.
Lu Heng observed Shi Kong and could not help thinking that what would need to happen to make his frozen face change color.
“Don’t cloud your mind with these things, it’s not good for your cultivation.”
“Cultivation and Cultivation! Ah, let go, are you raising me as your son? I’m a few hundred years older than you, oh, you can’t mess up seniority.” Lu Heng blinked his eyes and made a joke to sweep away the heavy atmosphere that pervaded the air.
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
Lu Heng felt a sting in his forehead. Only then did he realize that Shi Kong had flicked his forehead. This monk, even when he flicked his forehead, had such a serious expression on his face. Lu Heng secretly spit in his heart, but his face only dared to make a ‘begging for mercy’ expression, and obediently resumed his cultivation.
The method to enter the demon race’s territory was unexpectedly simple.
Bai gave Lu Heng two dried fruits: “This is the fruit of the Migu tree. You can eat it and then enter the formation without being stuck.”
“Isn’t it then anyone can enter the land of the demon race as long as they have the fruit?” Lu Heng asked.
“The fruit of this Migu tree needs to be supplemented by demonic energy. If the people do not have demonic energy accompanying them, they will not be able to use it.” Bai added, “And it must be demonic energy of cultivating in the righteous path, those evil demons will not be able to do the same.”
Lu Heng nodded and tried to put demonic energy into a fruit. Then he saw that the dry coating of the fruit immediately became succulent and lush green, appearing very appetizing. Lu Heng handed over the fruit in his hand to Shi Kong, and processed the other fruit in a similar manner.
Lu Heng felt that his eyes and ears were quite clear when he swallowed the fruit of this Migu tree, which turned into a clear and sweet liquid in their mouths.
After the three demons had eaten all the fruit, they crossed the monolith and went to the territory of the demon race.
After traversing a lush forest, their vision abruptly cleared. Unlike the humans who preferred to build cities with stones, the towns of the demons were built directly between trees. There were houses built on the ground and wooden tree-houses hanging on branches. Lu Heng even saw a door suddenly open from the ground, and then a slender demon jumped out.
When Bai saw Lu Heng’s startled face, he finally showed his first smile in a while: “That’s the Golden Mouse clan. They like to live underground.”
After that, Bai suddenly paused again and said, “When I spoke about the customs of these demons with Yun Niang, she was also wanted to…”
Lu Heng patted Bai’s shoulder; the pain of losing his wife could only be slowly overcome by him. Lu Heng looked at the plump Bai Li in his arms and thought that with the company of such a lovely child, Bai should be able to recover quickly.
“We’re going to be staying here for the time being. The fox clan’s territory is in Qingqiu. I’ll find a friend in the fox clan to guide you.” Bai tried to cheer himself up and said.
The trio stayed in an inn owned by the feathered bird demons [yu Qinlei]. Feathered bird demons liked to live on trees. This inn was situated amidst ancient, tall trees. Rooms were supported by sturdy branches like birds’ nests. This unique building was an eye-opener for Lu Heng from the modern society.
Lu Heng and Shi Kong shared a room as before. Last time, Lu Heng was very young, but now they were used to this way of getting along. Anyway, they sat meditating in the evening, and didn’t have to worry about falling short of beds.
Night fell, that night the moonlight was particularly bright.
Lu Heng leaned against the window and looked at the novel scenery that was quite different from that of his hometown. Peering below he saw demons appearing to be rushing in one direction, and in that direction a multitude of dazzling lights shone, just like the neon lights of the modern world.
“Huh? It looks like something big is happening. Lu Heng was curious and peered over by leaning his upper body forward.
“Tonight is the moon festival of the demon race.” Shi Kong grabbed Lu Heng’s collar dragged him back into the room, which was quite high from the ground. Lu Heng realized that if someone like him fell down, he would be covered in injuries.
“The Moon Festival? Good, I would like to take a look, let’s suspend our cultivation today.”
Looking at Lu Heng’s starry eyes, Shi Kong nodded: “This poor monk will accompany you.”
The Moon Festival was an important annual festival of the demons. All the residents of feathered bird race’s territory gathered on a huge clearing by the lake. The bright water of the lake reflected the bright moon, the size of the sieve plate. The pure essence of the moon even made many demons subconsciously revert to their original form.
In the middle of the open space, a high platform was erected. The beautiful ladies on the stage dragged along their trailing feathers and danced with fluttering steps. The dancing gestures were gentle and yet energetic. Lu Heng, who had never seen such a dance before, was somewhat dazed, but the dancer’s expression was somewhat peculiar, and its eyebrows were full of affection towards others. The whole person was exuding a sensation of eternal spring, and the people who were watching the dance were also moved, and stood up.
“This is a male demon.” Shi Kong clarified.
What? It’s a male demon! Lu Heng was thunderstruck, but he calmed down and thought it was normal that in the mating dance of birds , the males showed off their dance moves to impress the females.
Lu Heng quickly accepted the fact and began watching the dance with pure appreciation.
As the dance went on, the atmosphere gradually started to heat up.
Chapter 30.2
The peerlessly talented demon ba snake (13.2)
Translated by: Niladri
This chapter is sponsored by Shari
Lu Heng saw a male demon as tall as an iron tower beside him, holding a fiery red flower, and wearing a very embarrassed expression on his ferocious face. He walked towards a girl whose height was only about enough to reach his chest.
The girl was born slender and beautiful, and they stood side by side like the beauty and beast. Lu Heng also thought that the girl would be frightened, because the demeanor of the tall male demon while sending flowers gave off an atmosphere as if going for a kill. Who could have thought, the girl gracefully accepted the flowers and said, “You fool, finally enlightened!”
Then the girl grabbed the tall demon by the collar, forced him to bend down and kissed him on the lips. The demons around them cheered for the couple, and some of the meddlesome demons took out flower petals and sprinkled it on their heads.
Such situations were happening all around them. This was probably a part of the festival celebrations where lovers confess to each other, Lu Heng mused.
A pink flower appeared under Lu Heng’s nose, holding the flower’s hand was ten delicate fingers. At first sight, it was a beauty. Lu Heng looked up and saw a beautiful face.
When she saw Lu Heng looking at him, she did not get embarrassed and threw a coquettish glance. “This young man, does this servant suit your heart’s desires?”
“This girl, we don’t know each other, how can we exchange such an important token at will…” Lu Heng, embarrassed, took a step backwards. He guessed that these similar flowers should be the tokens expressed by sweethearts on this festival.
The woman was stunned, then laughed extremely boldly and unrestrainedly, and jeered at the blushing Lu Heng: “Which race’s baby are you, looks like you sneaked out without studying up first. Elder sister will teach you that this pink evening primrose has a different meaning from the red one. The red is everlasting, and the pink is transient.”
Then the woman blinked again: “My little sweetheart cares a lot about my feelings. How about letting elder sister turn you into an adult?”
Lu Heng was going to refuse, but he felt that his back neck was gently pinched, and a gentle and firm force pulled him back. Lu Heng could not help stepping back and bumping into that familiar chest.
“He’s young.” Shi Kong gave the woman a salute and took Lu Heng away from the troublesome place.
The atmosphere grew awkward, and Lu Heng had a strange sense of guilt. Shi Kong led Lu Heng to the vicinity of the raised platform: “I heard that the last segment of the moon festival is of great benefit to the demon race’s cultivation. We’ll wait here.”
With the deepening of the night, the bright moon had risen to the top of everyone’s head. The interaction between those lovers seemed to be over. The noisy atmosphere gradually quietened down. Everyone looked at the direction of the raised platform fanatically, as if they were waiting for an important ceremony.
The man who had just danced on the stage came up again, holding a bud-shaped demonic artifact in his hand. After reading a mysterious incantation, the male demon raised his demonic artifact towards the bright moon: “Please Luna give us your blessings.”
Then the flower bud artifact blossomed one layer after another, and a small crescent moon rose from it, rising higher and higher until it reached the top of everyone’s head. The crescent moon could be seen to be hovering around in the air several times, until it suddenly flew towards the directions of Lu Heng and Shi Kong.
Before Lu Heng could respond, the curved crescent moon split into two parts, one sinking into his body and the other into Shi Kong’s body. Weirdly, Lu Heng did not feel any unusual sensation after the crescent moon entered. Two people were chosen by crescent moon, and the surrounding demons burst into cheers and moved enthusiastically towards them.
From the high platform, the male demon voice excitedly echoed: “Bless this pair of affectionate lovers, may Luna always protect you!”
Affectionate lovers? What is this situation? Lu Heng was befuddled. Seeing that the surrounding demons seemed to want to welcome him and Shi Kong into the stage, he had no time to think more. Lu Heng grabbed Shi Kong and rushed out of the crowd.
After turning corners seven or eight times in order to get rid of those over-enthusiastic demons, Lu Heng finally returned to the inn with great difficulty, and found himself still firmly holding Shi Kong’s hand.
“You go back first, I have something to find out.” Lu Heng shook off Shi Kong’s hands and rushed into the Bai’s room without looking back.
Bai was guiding Bai Li to absorb the moonlight essence by the window. He was shocked by Lu Heng’s intrusion. “What’s wrong? So alarmed?”
Lu Heng sat down at the table and poured down a glass of water, but he still felt parched. After three drinks, he felt that the’ red-eared embarrassment fever’ was a bit better, and gave Bai a detailed account of what had just transpired.
“That crescent moon was a strange thing. At first, I didn’t feel anything. After some time, I felt that my whole person was going to burn up. That would not be a malicious evil technique, would it? Lu Heng still had some lingering palpitations.
Bai instantly understood everything, but he did not know where to start. Master Shi Kong looked as if he had no worldly desire and was a monk through and through. Comprehending the bitter end of his own love, he did not want Lu Heng to follow in his footsteps.
Bai thought about it and said, “That’s the blessing of Luna, not any evil technique. Every year, on the moon festival, a pair of… two people who are close to each other are blessed by the moon goddess. In the future, when you cultivate together, you will get twice the result with half the effort.”
After getting Bai’s answer, Lu Heng finally settled down and went back to his room. Shi Kong has already been meditating and cultivating, and Lu Heng straight away changed back to his original form and lodged himself on the shoulder of Shi Kong.
But Lu Heng wasn’t stupid. The more he thought about what happened just now, the more off he felt. The male demon said that they were lovers with deep affection. Considering Bai’s somewhat weird look and his ambiguity, Lu Heng figured out some key points. He was eighty percent sure that the blessing of the Moon Goddess was for those who loved each other.
Love? Lu Heng couldn’t help but recall the scenes where he was living with Shi Kong. He found that he did feel something different about Shi Kong.
The inadvertent proximity of Shi Kong always made him nervous. Throughout the month when he left, no matter what he did, he always thought about how it would be when Shi Kong returned. He even remembered the uncomfortable feeling of being neglected when he saw the scene of Linyang County Lord seducing Shi Kong at Prince Gong’s Palace.
Lu Heng couldn’t help laughing out despite trying not to. He was really foolish. He had been fond of Shi Kong for a long time and had not even noticed it. He still thought that his dependence on him was just like imprinting of ducklings.
Lu Heng was depressed at these involuntary thoughts regarding Shi Kong. For the first time, he liked a person, but this affection was doomed to fail. Shi Kong was a person who practiced Buddhism. How could he break the other person’s vows for his own selfish desires?
“Your thoughts are quite scattered and numerous, what worries you?” Shi Kong suddenly opened his mouth.
Lu Heng, immersed in his own thoughts, was startled. Then he crawled down from Shi Kong’s shoulder and transformed into his human form: “I think I can cultivate alone now. When you went back to the sect, there were no accidents with me.”
Shi Kong silently gazed at Lu Heng for a moment, and saw that his heart was a little panicky. Then he opened his mouth: “Well, the path of cultivation is such that ultimately, one must depend on oneself.”
Lu Heng felt even more depressed when he heard Shi Kong’s words. For the first time, he felt cultivation to be tasteless and dull.
“Your heart is not steady. It’s better to rest tonight.” Shi Kong said.
Lu Heng nodded and dragged himself to bed at a sluggish pace. That night, he was doomed to sleep restlessly, Lu Heng only felt that he had been dreaming all night, it was bizarre, a lot of information seemed to explosively cramp his brain.
After struggling to break free from the quagmire, Lu Heng found it was already noon. This was the first time that he had been so slack since he embarked on the path of cultivation. Strangely enough, he was not urged to get up by the strict Shi Kong.
The room was empty. Lu Heng sniffed and smelled residual Sanskrit sandalwood in the room. Sanskrit sandalwood was not a common thing, only the monks of Fanyin temple could make it, and the output was very small. When sandalwood is used in cultivation, it can increase the chances of entering insight.
Was Sanskrit sandalwood used for the cultivation last night? No, Shi Kong said that he never resorted to external things in his cultivation. Considering another function of Sanskrit sandalwood, Lu Heng thought again. It shouldn’t have been to chase away dreams and let me sleep peacefully? The Sanskrit sandalwood, which was hard to get for even thousands of dollars, was used to help me sleep. If the news were to spread, one would definitely be hunted down by those cultivators.
Unable to connect the dots, Lu Heng was too lazy to think much about them. He looked in the mirror and saw that his long hair, which had been tossed up and down last night, was in a dismal state.
Bai’s appearance saved Lu Heng.
Seeing Lu Heng’s appearance of meeting his lifesaver, Bai had to take a cushion and put Bai Li in his arms on the square table. Then he picked up Lu Heng’s comb and prepared to comb his bun.
Before it started, Shi Kong pushed in, and his eyes fell on Bai’s hand holding the comb stopping for a few seconds.
“Today, I didn’t trouble you.” Lu Heng stared at the mirror, not daring to look at Shi Kong, afraid that the latter would perceive his guilt.
Shi Kong said nothing more, he just went to the table, sat down and poured himself a cup of tea. Lu Heng felt a little depressed when he saw Shi kong. He was really fed up with his own gains and losses, and now with his emotions stirring up trouble, his mood was completely chaotic.
The comb landed gently on Lu Heng’s hair, and Bai was about to begin. Instantly he heard the little Snow Rabbit squealing on the square table. Looking back, Bai Li, who was asleep, suddenly woke up somehow. She was arching her body back and forth to find the familiar atmosphere.
It was strange because his daughter usually slept deeply. She had once slept for two hours, and it was difficult to wake her up even with noises. Today, she was merely asleep for a short time. Why did she wake up? But Bai didn’t think too much about it. He apologized to Lu Heng and put down his comb and went to coax his child.
Lu Heng looked at the still messy hair in the mirror and could only resort to Shi Kong: “Shi Kong, I must trouble you.”
Shi Kong put down his teacup and picked up his comb as he did every morning. But Lu Heng felt that his caresses not only fell on his hair, but also seemed to fall into his heart.
When Lu Heng had his hair combed, Bai also coaxed his baby. That’s why there was nothing to talk about.
Bai spoke, “My fox friend sent me a message saying that today he is going back to his native place.”
“And you?” Lu Heng seemed to detect a hint of farewell from Bai.
“I want to take Yun Niang back to the Rabbit clam, and then stay in the clan’s territory and concentrate on raising Little Li single-mindedly. You can come and look for me when other things have been settled.”
No banquet lasts forever.
After introducing his fox friend to Lu Heng and Shi Kong, Bai embarked on the journey to his native land alone. Rushing against the wind, Bai’s clothes fluttered. Only then did Lu Heng suddenly realize that Bai’s clothes, which used to perfectly fit on his body, were now hanging on him seeming extremely loose.
Remembering the youthful and energetic appearance when he first saw Bai, Lu Heng could not help but feel frustrated and disappointed. Experiences and emotions shape a person’s character, after all, the characters for fortune and disaster only differ in one letter.[ 福 vs 祸]
“It’s time for us to depart as well.”
Lu Heng heard Shi Kong speak, and then felt his hand fall into the latter’s warm palm.
“I’m no longer a child. No, don’t hold me.” Lu Heng pulled out his hand and felt his face getting a little hot and dry.
Mount Qingqiu. Headed by the Nine-Tailed Fox king, it was the habitat of all fox clans. Bai’s fox friend introduced them to the fox elders.
After hearing Lu Heng’s story, the elders frowned and looked very dignified: “This Man was a great demon in the clan; we are unable to take responsibility regarding his affairs. You have to wait for the Fox King to leave his seclusion.”
“When will Fox King leave seclusion?” Lu Heng enquired.
“It should be sometime in these days, until then, you two will stay with my family. When the fox King leaves the seclusion, the old man will report the matter immediately.” The fox elder said.
Lu Heng and his companion had to stay on mount Qingqiu for a while. Qingqiu folk’s customs had always been enthusiastic and unbridled, and the fox girls who passed by wore pretty cool clothes. Although Lu Heng came from modern society, he was almost accustomed to the world’s multilayered and tightly wrapped clothes. Suddenly, he saw the same dress as worn during the midsummer of modern society, which made him dare not look straight.
Chapter 30.3
The peerlessly talented demon ba snake (13.3)
Translated by: Niladri
This Chapter is sponsored by Shari.
Lu Heng couldn’t help but gaze at the eyes of Shi Kong beside him; they were looking straight ahead and remained unmoved.
“Aren’t monks concerned about being rude and discourteous?” Lu Heng pulled Shi Kong’s robe with some annoyance.
Shi Kong looked over, his gaze demonstrated slight confusion. Lu Heng signaled with his hands and pointed to those beautiful and unrestrained fox girls.
“Youthful appearance and withered bones, just skin-deep appearance.” Shi Kong scolded, “Your heart is not steady, still need to intensify the tempering.”
Lu Heng choked half to death hearing Shi Kong, so he tried to emulate Shi Kong’s appearance of being unaffected by winds and tried to regard the fox girls as the roadside grass and clouds on the sky. A moment later, he found that it had some effect. The heart is steady and would not be affected by any foreign things.
Two people devoted themselves to cultivating, and the days were fleeting.
The Fox King came out of seclusion.
The elderly demon took Lu Heng and his companion to the Nine-Tailed Fox king. The Fox King’s place of cultivation was at the source of Yingshui. The Valley was lush with vein-like streams. Under the sunshine, the aquatic mist rose into the air. It looked like a fairyland.
Like a dash of ink smudging the picturesque misty valley, a woman adorned in crimson attire came out of a cave. The fox king’s eyebrows were stronger than those of ordinary women. She had red phoenix eyes. They looked like belonging to a painting, but instead of radiating charm, they displayed a graceful valiance.
The elderly demon finished the introduction of Lu Heng and his companion to the fox king. The fox king listened and waved her hand to make the clan elder leave.
When the clan elder had left the valley, the proud fox king bowed in front of him paid a respectful salute to Lu Heng: “The king has come to Qingqiu this time, has something important happened?”
It’s no wonder that the King of the Fox asked this. The current King of the demon race was an eccentric cultivator and it was impossible to catch a glimpse of him ordinarily. Without any major event happening, his appearance was unlikely, which also led to the demon race have separate Kings of all individual clans, and almost no demon had seen the face of the demon king.
Lu Heng was almost startled by the fox king’s salutation. King? She’s calling me (King) What’s this situation? Lu Heng could not help but grasp the Shi Kong’s arm somewhat panicked.
“Let us listen to what she has to say.” Shi Kong suggested.
Seeing Lu Heng silent for a while, Fox King raised her head, only to find that there seemed to be something off about the demon king in front of her.
“King, what happened to your cultivation? How can you have a teenager’s figure like this?” The fox king looked doubtful.
Recalling the usual habit of the demons who conversed with him until now, as well as some of the things mentioned in the inheritance, he realized that the demons have always been frank and forthright, and there was not much intrigue with them. The kings of all clans also did their best in managing the affairs of the clan, so Lu Heng’s guard against the fox king was not too serious. Besides, there was also Shi Kong in the worst case. He must cultivate himself to a higher level, so that he could effortlessly protect himself.
With this in mind, Lu Heng no longer concealed his current situation and divulged everything to the Fox King.
After listening to Lu Heng’s words, the fox king, after obtaining his permission, probed into Lu Heng’s body and examined his situation in detail.
“This demon core has suffered a lot of damage, which may be related to your amnesia.” Fox King was also unable to figure out any clues, “I am not an expert at such matters and you need to figure out the rest, Xi Xi can only diagnose this much.”
Recalling that Lu Heng had lost his memory, the Fox King reintroduced herself. Her name was Xi Xi, a 5,000-year-old Nine-Tailed Fox demon.
Subsequently, Lu Heng revealed his intentions to her.
“Is there a Bizong fox named Min among the fox clans?”
“Min, I haven’t seen that child for a long time, and I don’t know on which city on the secular world he is hiding now.” Speaking of Min, Xixi felt a little headache. His talent was outstanding, hundreds of years of cultivation turned a demon into a great demon, but he did not focus much on cultivation.
“Min, has already passed away.” Lu Heng eventually spat some cruel words. In the demon clans, there had always been deep feelings (of camaraderie) among peers.
“What!” Xi’s cup fell from her hand.
“How can it be! Was he the killed by a cultivator? I’m going to make sure that man doesn’t end up well! Even their sect has to pay the price!” In her anger, Xi Xi lost the fox king’s bearing and began shouting angry abuses.
Waiting for Xi Xi’s mood to calm down slightly, Lu Heng awaited the opportunity to recount everything.
She listened. Xi Xi was silent for a long time, and finally sighed, “I also know about the matter of Min and that girl. When he almost went berserk, I went to take him back to his native land.”
“After all these years, I thought he had put the matter down. Unexpectedly, he still did not give up looking for the girl’s reincarnation. Too much persistence is not a good thing. “Xi Xi muttered again, “His affection towards…”
Apparently, Xi Xi was reminiscing on some of her memories. A moment later, after chuckling in self-ridicule, she regained her composure, “You have Min’s body?”
Lu Heng said, “At that time, he said that his vitality had been cut short, and he bequeathed me his demon core, only asked me to bring his bones back to the native land.”
“Vitality was cut short?” Xi Xi’s brow was raised. “I’m afraid that he had lost his will to survive. This disappointing fellow, he could have easily started again from scratch!”
Seeing the fuming fox king, who seemed to be growing angry again, Lu Heng quickly asked, “Where would you bury the corpse of Min?”
“The bones of dead demons must be buried in a forbidden place. The forbidden land can only be entered by the demon king. Since king (Zheng) is here, let’s leave for the forbidden land tomorrow. Xi Xi added, “The forbidden land has been passed down for thousands of years. I don’t know it’s secret, but there may be an opportunity to solve your current predicament.”
Having decided to go to the forbidden place of the demon clan the next day, Lu Heng decided to take a good look at Qingqiu before leaving.
“It’s quite interesting. I’ll go out and have a look.” Lu Heng said in response to Shi Kong’s preparations for cultivation.
“This poor monk will go with you.”
“No need, I’ll just take a look at it.” Then, without waiting for Shi Kong to answer, Lu Heng rushed out of the room.
At sunset, the golden glow on the Qingqiu City created a breathtaking, picturesque scene. Lu Heng breathed a long sigh. He admitted that he had been somewhat evasive towards Shi Kong in the past few days. After understanding his own mind, he felt tangled and listless.
Lu Heng could see that he was treated differently from others by Shi Kong. This difference made Lu Heng sometimes have some delusions. He wondered if Shi Kong was also interested in himself. But imagining such emotions in Shi Kong’s heart made Lu Heng feel that it blasphemous.
While he was troubled, a banner with the word “wine” broke into Lu Heng’s line of sight.
Why worry when there is Du Kang [T/N: inventor of wine]. Lu Heng decided to go in for a drink.
Perhaps because it was merely evening, the pub looked desolate. Lu Heng picked up a table and sat down at will.
The owner of the pub was a female demon, curvaceous and graceful. It’s just that her face looked familiar.
“This little young master, we’ve met again.” The owner first recognized Lu Heng.
“You are?” Lu Heng still couldn’t recognize her.
“Ah, little young master is such a distinguished person that he has forgotten me. This servant is very sad.” The owner blinked her eyes and said, “The moon festival.”
It turned out to be the female demon who sent him flowers that night. Lu Heng was embarrassed. “I’m sorry, there are so many things happening these days that I can’t remember them all.”
The female demon smiled with indifference: “Meetings are fated, not to mention that you and I have met twice by chance. This servant is named Hong Mei.
Although Hong Mei seemed frivolous, her eyes were clear and she had a bright temperament. Lu Heng also informed her of his name. The convention of the demon race was that after exchanging names, friendship was born.
Hong Mei also changed her saccharine way of speaking and began to speak naturally. She took two jars of wine from the rear kitchen and said, “Today you have good luck. Just now the cellar was stocked with ‘intoxicated immortal fox’. Elder sister will join you for a drink.”
They were relatively silent and drank in silence. Hong Wei was quite considerate, because of sensing Lu Heng’s heavy heart. If Lu Heng did not open his mouth, she would not disturb him. She just accompanied Lu Heng to drink cups after cups.
When he became slightly tipsy, Lu Heng couldn’t hold back any more. “Will you listen, as I share my troubles with you?”
Hong Mei raised her glass signaling Lu Heng to continue.
Lu Heng mentioned his acquaintance with Shi Kong a bit, but concealed the identity of Shi Kong as a monk. He emphasized his dilemma during this period after realizing his feelings.
“Listening to your description, the other side is not totally uninterested in you, and your minds are in sync. Just tell the other person, what is there to worry about?.” To Hong Wei, who has always been straightforward, this was somewhat incomprehensible. In her opinion, it’s just a simple matter of mutual interest between them.”
“I’m afraid I’ll deviate him from his path of cultivation.”
Realization dawned upon Hong Wei, “Your sweetheart is the master who took you away that day, right?”
Lu Heng flushed instantly, his face burning with intoxication: “Yes, yes.”
Hong Wei clapped her hands and laughed loudly: “Not bad. Elder sister admires you very much. Truly courageous!” ”
Speaking with enthusiasm, Hong Wei also patted Lu Heng on the shoulder with great force, and her face had an elated appearance. Looking at her as if she had fallen into some unknown mood, Lu Heng had to wait quietly for her to calm down.
“Have you asked him what he thinks?” Hong Wei poured herself another glass of wine, and finally calmed down a little.
Lu Heng smiled bitterly: “How can I dare to ask? ”
“Then why are you deciding in his stead?” Hong Wei said frankly, “If the master is not interested in you, there will not be any deviation from his cultivation. If he is also interested in you, whether he will deviate from the way of cultivation for you, only he can make his own choice.”
‘A single word awakens the dreamer’, and the words of the Hong Wei pulled Lu Heng out of the quagmire from the past few days.
After three rounds of drinking, Lu Heng felt slightly drunk. As the night deepened, Lu Heng became aware, bid farewell to Hong Wei and returned to the inn.
At the entrance, Lu Heng used a cleansing technique to remove the whiff of alcohol from him.
After pushing the door open, Lu Heng saw that Shi Kong was still cultivating cross-legged, as when he had left.
Lu Heng lightened his footsteps for fear of disturbing Shi Kong. He had just sat cross-legged by the window and was about to start cultivating, when he heard Shi Kong ask.
“Have you ever bathed?”
“Ah?” Lu Heng was stunned for a moment and did not understand what he meant.
“It’s hard for you to be steady, and your mood is easily affected by your erratic breaths.” Shi Kong explained.
Lu Heng felt perplexed. Although he was not good at his own skills, he still had confidence in such simple techniques as cleansing. But hearing Shi Kong, Lu Heng lowered his head and carefully smelled his shirt’s cuffs. There was no trace of alcohol in them. What he was implying seemed to be a trace of the fumigating incense left by Hong Wei.
Lu Heng applied the cleansing technique again and found it was the same. He wondered what that incense was, even cleansing technique couldn’t remove it.
“The fragrance doesn’t seem to go away.” Lu Heng said bitterly, “If we leave it alone, maybe tomorrow it will be gone.”
“Come with me.” Shi Kong rose up and went out.
Lu Heng followed him to a valley outside the city, where pool of hot springs was unexpectedly concealed.
“The power of this spiritual spring should be able to wash away those smells from you.”
Lu Heng reached out to test the spring water and found that the temperature was pleasant. It was really an excellent natural hot spring. He gleefully took off his hairpin and spread out his hair: “You have been with me these two days, how can you find such a good place, did you come out and secretly explore here?”
“Divine knowledge.”
Shi Kong’s crisp answer made Lu Heng feel a little foolish as if he was trying to fathom the world of immortals with the eyes of a mortal person.
After making such a stupid mistake, Lu Heng bowed his head and began to untie his belt. He comforted himself that this was because he drank alcohol. After taking off his robe, Lu Heng thought of something and paused.
Lu Heng wanted to ask Shi Kong for privacy, but when he saw his calm look, he thought that he was not a woman, and instead of asking him to leave, he continued. He took off his underwear generously and walked into the spiritual spring with only a pair of short trousers on his body.
As soon as he entered the spring, Lu Heng felt that spiritual energy was drilling into every pore of his body, which made him moan softly. Then he said excitedly, “Shi Kong, this spiritual spring seems to have a beneficial effect on cultivation. Come down and try it.”
Shi Kong started at Lu Heng for a moment, as if deciding, until Lu Heng moved a little uncomfortably, when he said: “No need, this poor monk does not like to use external things when cultivating.”
Later, he turned to leave, leaving only one sentence: “After bathing, don’t dawdle, come back quickly to complete today’s cultivation.”
Disclaimer: Excess alcohol consumption is injurious to health.
