My Darling Sick Beauty

Applying honey to the knife

The Netherworld.

The River of the Dead shook and evil spirits dispersed. The entire place was murky, without even a ray of light.

A blood-coloured stream spread across the river, dispersing in all directions before vanishing completely.

He Sorshi retracted his hand, and the bloody ghostly energy that he had released re-entered back through his fingertips. He was not using Zhu Wuxin’s body but his own.

His slightly wavy hair moved around like the waves of the river water, even the giant netherworld chains that bound his hands and feet also shook slightly. 

 

“That Buddhist cultivator wished for the position of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, but because of his ambition to become an eternal Buddha, he was just as stupid as the path he chose.” The ghostly energy lingered around He Sorshi’s fingertips, wiping off the dried blood off the other’s shoulder, staring at the wound on his body, “Unfortunately—— he died too early. After spending thousands of years with me in the Netherworld, he still fell into the Kappangi1.”

In some respects, He Sorshi really was a survivor and worthy of the name “Old and Undying”, but because of his status, calling him “Dead Ghost” shouldn’t be a problem either, but it just sounded a little inappropriate.

“To purify all the evil spirits in this world, this ambition is truly naive.” He Sorshi said, “You’re not cultivating this path right?”

Ming Jing had his head down and didn’t reply for a long time until He Sorshi calmed down, he finally slowly spoke: “Ghost Leader He.”

“Huh?”

“…… How is Jiang Qianbei?” 

 

He Sorshi frowned, he couldn’t believe that this buddhist cultivator was in the jaws of death but was still worrying over Jiang Zheliu. The corners of his mouth twitched and said: “You’re on the brink of death yourself, do you want to see him off?

He spoke as he raised his hand to pull up the Zenmaster’s fair chin, he leaned in closely and stared for a while and said: “Why don’t you worry about yourself first?”

Ming Jing looked back at him calmly, the dark red Bodhi mark between his eyebrows was as bright as blood, but his eyes were eternally as light as mist, as if facing He Sorshi, Wang Wenyuan, or facing anyone was absolutely no different to him.

He Sorshi moved ever so slightly, the emotion in his eyes gradually changed. He lowered his head and said: “I’ll ask you again, are you his reincarnation?”

All those that had reincarnated and re-cultivated in their next lives had to meet someone that they knew in their past life and be reminded of their identity in order to retrieve the memories of their past lives. If Ming Jing was that person’s reincarnation then when He Sorshi mentioned him previously, Ming Jing should already have been reminded of his previous life.

But he was not. His eyes didn’t not flicker at all, there was not even a wisp of acknowledgement in his eyes. It was absolutely calm like the surface of a lake.

He Sorshi was a little annoyed.

After a while, he slowly let go.

The man who insisted on transforming him died long ago.

He Sorshi let out a deep breath and said: “That person was my friend. If you return to Lan Re Temple and ask around you should still be able to find out his name…… Nevermind, you can just stay here to keep me company, wait until I get rid of these chains, I’ll take you back personally.”

Ming Jing still looked back at him without saying a word like usual, he did not reveal any emotion whatsoever, only a tiny wisp of worry.

“If I can’t leave here.” He Sorshi looked up towards the direction of the river, he closed his eyes and smiled, “Then you will also stay in the Netherworld.”

The river water flowed slowly, countless evil spirits lived in seclusion at the bottom of the river, using their dark green eyes to stare at the beautiful new fresh blood next to their Ghost Leader. But the fresh meat that they were staring at simply stood in the same spot, and only glanced over towards the limit of the river.

The river of the dead was vast, it was hard to find its limit, as if there was no end.

————

The Devil Realm and the Demon Realm had been going against each other for a long time with unending disharmony, becoming a deadlock. After that, it really did actually attract some stealth attacks. The sneak attackers were lured into the trap outside Shiwan Dashan2, their Daoist body was killed, their primordial spirit was crushed. After getting rid of the first batch of stupid greedy people, the Cultivation world and the two realms were able to negotiate peace, whilst the devils attacked the land, almost heading into the Mountain Protection Formation of the four immortal sects.

But because of the Mountain Protection Formation, the Immortal Sects still had the ability to make demands. A great deal of the elders of the Ling Xiao Sect were temporarily acting as Head of the sect. Using the empty title of the Head of the Immortal Sects, Ling Xiao Sect took charge of the other sects. Both the Wushuang Jian Pavilion and the Tianji Pavilion complied and had no objection.

Only the Ling Xiao sect’s current influential discourse was nothing more than the discourse of the people driving a duck onto a perch3, which is very different from the time when Jiang Zheliu was in power. They needed a nominal leader, a person who could carry the greatest responsibility.

But no one expected that Wenren Ye’s ink knife had actually been fortified with the Destruction Pearl and could cut straight through the Mountain Protection Formation and break the impregnable barrier that had been maintained for a thousand years. The moment the boundary was broken, the news of the death of the old Pavilion Lord Jin of Wushuang Jian Pavilion came to light after he encountered his Heavenly Tribulation. People used this as an opportunity to discuss a ceasefire with the Devil Realm once more in the name of wanting to offer their condolences and pay their respects by temporarily ceasing the war.

In fact, the devil Generals amidst all the fighting were already exhausted to the extreme and their casualties were also not light. Plus, news had also come to light from the depths of Devil Realm that made Wenren Ye have to return there.

Wenren Jian had also been trapped in his Heavenly Tribulation for a long time, just two days ago, the fires from the fusion with the Dao had destroyed his primordial spirit, leaving his Killing dao seed unfettered, destroying the environment for thousands of miles, and almost tearing people to pieces with his killing energy.

Only Wenren Ye could handle this matter.

The world had obtained a hard to come by respite.

The war was ruthless, even Qing Lin, who had reached a brief agreement with Wenren Ye, was afraid of the power of the Devil Lord and the ink knife in Wenren Ye’s hand.

At this time, there were many righteous cultivators who missed Jiang Xianzun, missed that Ling Xiao Sword that had made people retreat back three steps, that sword that had suppressed the entire world.

But now, the owner of the Ling Xiao Sword was planning his own funeral in an eternally snow-capped mountain.

…… It could not be regarded as planning for the future.

Jiang Zheliu wrote down everything that he had found out about the Heavenly Tribulation when it came to Fusion with the Dao on paper and enclosed it in a letter. He took many more doses of the medicine than before, so that the body didn’t show any weaknesses on the surface.

But still, it could not be hidden from the eyes of a physician.

Yu Jinnian sat next to him, watching the terminally ill patient in front of him who calmly put down the letter and brush and then hid it on an inconspicuous corner of the table. The doctor said bitterly: “How am I going to explain to Wenren Ye? You……”

“Xiao Yu,” Jiang Zheliu said calmly, “I didn’t hold you accountable for helping the little devil conceal things from me.”

Yu Jinnian choked up all of a sudden, and couldn’t think of a response for a long time and then he said quietly: “Wasn’t it for the sake of Qianbei…”

“Then I am also doing it for his sake.”

Although Yu Jinnian could tell from checking his pulse that his condition was not right. However, because of the additional medicine, he didn’t know the full extent of the other’s condition, he was without a clue. “The more you are like this, the more I think that you’ve gone mad…….”

“Whether I get a bit better or a bit worse, I’m still someone you cannot cure.”

Although this was true, Yu Jinnian’s self-confidence and self-recognition for his medical skills had been hit hard.

He sighed and scanned the other person up and down, confirming that from the outside, he couldn’t see what condition this person was in.

He thought for a moment, and then reminded him of an old matter: “That time you mentioned holding the sword again, I thought about it, and the only way is really… to wait for after you die and make you a puppet.”

Jiang Zheliu paused, and looked up: “Do you know what I need to do?”

Yu Jinnian said helplessly: “The art of puppetry uses the corpse and because the corpse’s life force has already been severed, it allows for the corpse to regain power again which is naturally the only way for you to hold the sword again. Maybe after the puppet master’s repairs, your meridians may even flow even more smoothly than before.”

Before he could finish his words, he suddenly heard the sound of a medicine bowl falling beyond the screen. He turned his head and saw only a pair of fluffy antlers running away.

“Ah-Chu overheard, is that alright?” Yu Jinnian asked.

Jiang Zheliu glanced over, “It’s okay. When he comes back, I will talk to him.”

Yu Jinnian nodded, ignoring the little interruption, and continued: “It’s just that you want to use this method to preserve your power but what is it for?”

Jiang Zheliu slowly held up a cup of tea, to moisten his lips, and slowly said, “Just giving Ling Xiao Sword a home.”

Yu Jinnian was suddenly awakened to this sentence.

When Jiang Zheliu’s cultivation base was still in place and his Dao body was intact, the Ling Xiao Sword could be stored in his Dao body, which also represented a high degree of recognition by both the user and the sword. But now, this treasured sword could only guard Jiang Zheliu by his side, and could not be sealed within his body.

“The other thing is, I want to cut off the hopes of the younger generations of the Ling Xiao Sect.” This sentence was extremely ruthless, “Even if someone wants to make a comeback, it won’t be with this sword in their greedy hands.”

This was like an indescribable obsession. It started when Jiang Zheliu said, “This is my sword.” He would no longer let anyone take it again.

Doing the wrong thing once was enough.

Yu Jinnian had trouble understanding the mentality of a sword cultivator, he couldn’t say anything to persuade him. He just sighed and said, “I don’t know how much time you have left, but you still have the resurrection stone so don’t overthink things. Although it is said that for a cultivator, a hundred years can fly by in a blink of an eye, but there is still time for you and Wenren Ye, maybe there is another solution……”

He didn’t know that the resurrection stone had already cracked.

“Jiang Xianzun’s guidance to others has always been used as a reference. You have always made your own decisions.” Yu Jinnian stood up, “Perhaps you should still think about how to comfort Wenren Ye.”

Jiang Zheliu silently pondered for a moment, and said, “…I’m sorry to trouble you, thank you for everything.”

Yu Jinnian waved his hand, turned and left.

He didn’t expect that this was the last time the two of them would speak.

Jiang Zheliu was a person who could accept reality very quickly. He had even found many spots in Zhongnan Mountain. He felt that being buried under the ice and snow of Zhongnan Mountain was indeed a good place to rest, but he was afraid that the little devil would dig him out, so he gave up on this idea.

Few people who knew that their end was near would be as calm as him.

Ah-Chu came back in the evening. He looked sad and his eyes were red, as if he had learned a great secret, but he didn’t say anything. He handed Jiang Zheliu a cloak without saying a word, but he didn’t let go, but instead leaned in and hugged him.

“Gege…” His voice was still whimpering in an indiscernible tone.

Jiang Zheliu reached out and touched the horns of his head, rubbing the fluffy antlers for a moment, he whispered, “Why are you crying?”

“The book says that you will be fine!” Ah-Chu gritted his teeth and whispered, “I’ve never seen a protagonist die in the middle of their love story. How can you do this!”

Jiang Zheliu was silent for a moment, pondering whilst asking, “Which book?”

Ah-Chu choked all of a sudden, wiped his tears, lowered his head and said, “It’s a book…a book I’ve read.”

He paused, and continued: “Besides, it’s impossible for Chinese medicine to replace Western medicine! Why are you talking about anatomy and repair? It sounds very scientific!”

Jiang Zheliu didn’t understand the meaning of science, but he could understand that Ah-Chu was reluctant for him to die. He reached out his hand and wiped away his tears, and said softly, “Don’t tell Wenren gege about this matter, okay?”

Ah-Chu stared at him in a daze, but didn’t notice that he had actually agreed to it.

The Heavenly Spirit Body was still very fragrant, exuding a fragrance that made others draw closer. Ah-Chu would have agreed to anything he said at this moment.

But Ah-Chu was still very sad. He leaned against the screen and continued to cry. After dark, he was tired from crying and accidentally fell asleep.

He slept much deeper than Jiang Zheliu.

Jiang Zheliu was also sleepy, but he was more energetic than usual due to the effects of the extra medicine. He just coughed occasionally. When his hand fell on the resurrection stone, he could clearly feel the crack, and the crack was getting larger at a quickened pace, so the vitality that maintained his body gradually became weaker.

He thought of a lot of things, and was a little distracted.

The night wind blew a white plum blossom in through the window.

The loose petals were blown into his hair by the wind, and fell on his long snow-white hair. When Jiang Zheliu noticed this plum blossom, he wanted to reach out and fiddle with it, but his hand was suddenly held.

The palms were warm, so warm it was actually a little bit hot, and the heat was continuously being transferred to him.

There was a dense, bloody smell of pine and cypress surrounding him.

He squeezed Jiang Zheliu’s hand and pressed his hand against his knees. Not allowing him to speak, a pair of warm and dry lips pressed against his lips and then prying open his white teeth.

Wenren Ye’s mood was not particularly proper.

The tip of his tongue was very aggressive, crushing the other’s tongue like a steam roller, tangling Jiang Zheliu’s weak tongue, melting his breath little by little, and pressing into his mouth. He sucked on the other’s slightly swollen lips, he left a tooth mark on his thin and easily injured lips, bringing with it a feeling of unending easiness.

Jiang Zheliu felt a bit of pain being bitten by him, and he raised his hand to comfort him along his back, rubbing the other’s devil horns, and then he noticed the stench of blood lingering around them.

It was a very familiar bloody atmosphere, especially amongst the devils, but there were only so few devils that Jiang Zheliu was familiar with…

His throat tightened, and he subconsciously thought it was a civil turmoil in the Devil Realm, and the older devils had taken advantage to seize Wenren Ye’s position.

But the reality was worse than this. When Wenren Ye was young and he received those two knives, he never thought that one day, the blades would penetrate his father’s body and take out the indiscriminately raging and insatiable killing Dao seed.

For a half-step golden immortal to fuse with the Dao, he must first fuse with the Dao seed, after fusing with the Dao seed, then there will be tribulations before being able to fuse with the Dao.

Wenren Ye was the only one in the Devil Realm that was capable of killing the Dao seed. This pair of knives was a Daoist treasure sealed in his body, stained with the blood of his father.

The atmosphere was a bit depressing, and neither of them spoke.

The little devil hugged him tightly and put his head around his shoulders, there was a strong sense of depression coming from him. The edges of his lips were so dry that they were about to crack and bleed, and Jiang Zheliu almost fainted from the taste of the blood between his lips during the kiss just now.

He slowly raised his hand and followed along the length of his spine as if stroking a large fluffy cat. He whispered and asked in a gentle tone: “Do you feel a bit better?”

Wenren Ye didn’t speak, but chased his breath, leaning closer into his arms, feeling appeased by the cold ice and snow energy on his sweetheart and then he muttered: “En.”

Jiang Zheliu did not ask about the smell of fresh blood, but slowly rubbed the other’s horns, his fingers slid down along the devilish horns, he wrapped his arms around his shoulders and moved away from the topic.

“Why did you come back suddenly?”

Although he asked this, he was actually very happy that he came back. Jiang Zheliu also really wanted to see him, he actually missed him very much.

Wenren Ye wanted to use an excuse, but thought that the old Pavilion Lord of Wushuang Jian Pavilion had a good relationship with Jiang Zheliu, so he didn’t speak for a while. His voice was hoarse: “Taking a break.”

He didn’t want to make Jiang Zheliu sad.

Instead of making him sad, Wenren Ye’s first reaction was still to hide it for the time being. This is exactly the same reaction on both sides.

He was unwilling to let go. Even if Jiang Zheliu stayed here the whole time waiting for him, he still had that kind of feeling that the other could efferverse into nothing in an instant. He tightly surrounded Jiang Zheliu’s waist and whispered: “…It’s my fault for not telling you about the war. Don’t be sad…. I’m afraid…”

“Are you afraid that they will come up the mountain to find me?” Jiang Zheliu said.

Wenren Ye stared at him blankly and nodded.

This devil didn’t come through the door or the window when he came back. He used the technique of teleportation between the two realms, and he came so accurately and silently that even the little deer outside the door was not alarmed.

“I know.” Jiang Zheliu didn’t pursue it. “It’s okay.”

The little devil held his hand, and he held it very tightly and with a lot of force, but everytime he reached the point of dangerously losing control, he managed to pull back using what was left of his rationality.

He only had his little willow tree left now, and he didn’t dare to make a single leaf fall off.

But he didn’t know, the little willow tree that he had been looking after had only a few luxuriant branches and leaves left on the surface. This willow tree had already been withered from the beginning. Every night and day that he was able to remain in the world, was like stars before they burnt out, a split-second of lingering light.

Jiang Zheliu circled his arms around Wenren Ye’s neck, pressed against his forehead, closed his eyes and said: “It’s okay, I won’t get angry, and I don’t blame you….. but I really missed you.”

Wenren Ye’s breath that was falling on his neck was hot and impatient, but after Jiang Zheliu said this, it suddenly calmed down but still with a hint of anxiety.

“I… I missed you too.” He whispered, “I…”

He only said one word, and the tip of his lips was pressed tightly against by a soft, cool touch.

Jiang Zheliu raised his head and kissed him.

“Sleep with me.” He said, “Little Devil, I’m sleepy.”

Wenren Ye was stunned by his kiss and it took a long time to react. He lightly embraced Jiang Zheliu and placed him gently on the bed.

He pulled the bed curtain down over the bed.

They did not discuss any further, Jiang Zheliu whispered a few words to him about certain details of the battle that needed attention, and then stopped talking, and leaned quietly in his arms, as if he was truly tired and sleepy.

In fact, every night, there was a risk he might not wake up.

Wenren Ye held him, just like when they had just met. He was uneasy and his heart was pounding, but he was really too sensitive right now that he was unable to sleep peacefully.

He got closer, right up next to the other person’s ear, and confirmed hopefully: “You are not angry with me, right?”

But Jiang Zheliu’s left ear couldn’t hear.

He could only feel the slight breeze when Wenren Ye was talking into his ear, very carefully flowing into his ear.

Jiang Zheliu raised his eyes and met those gleaming purple eyes. He didn’t reveal the fact that he couldn’t hear, but just nodded slightly.

Wenren Ye calmed down a lot, and kissed the tip of his ear lightly, with a low voice: “You also won’t leave me, you won’t leave me.”

Jiang Zheliu didn’t know what he was talking about. He even read the other’s lips, but he could see those beautiful and magnificent purple eyes full of expectation.

These were the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen in his life.

He didn’t have the strength to speak, nor did he have the courage to tell Wenren Ye——Jiang Zheliu had lived for more than a thousand years, and since the day he began cultivating, he didn’t know what fear was. But on this cold night, he was very afraid that Wenren Ye was asking him very complicated questions.

He had no choice but to nod his head.

Wenren Ye got his promise, and the blood and vital energy in his body seemed to calm down a lot, holding Jiang Zheliu, he closed his eyes.

But this promise would have to be broken.

Author Note:

Jiang Zheliu has only broken his promise to two people, one is the master who accompanied him on his journey, and the other is the love he met at the end.

From beginning to end, he had nothing.

Don’t rush me! It will make me not want to update. (Crying whilst smearing honey on the knife to tempt readers) Come and lick it! ! !