Elio’s Notes: Tan (贪, greed/craving) and chen (嗔, anger/hatred) are two of Buddhism’s “Three Poisons,” traditionally paired with chi (痴, delusion/ignorance).
Xiao Chunhe pinched the Clear Breeze Sword between two fingers and grinned. “Don’t make a fuss, good wife. I know you’re angry with me. How could you possibly be Yue Jingming?”
Yue Jingming could not describe what he felt. If not for everything that had happened before, the Clear Breeze Sword should already have killed this impostor in a single stroke. Yet he could not help remembering the fox corpse beneath the cliff, its heart pierced through by a sword, and somehow the sword in his hand truly was caught lightly between two fingers.
He took out his Zushan token. “Yue Jingming of the Zushan Sect. Courtesy name Rongxi. My master is Su Ji.”
A gust of wind passed. Xiao Chunhe’s sluggish gaze fell on the token in his hand. His drunken brain finally cleared by three parts, only to be followed by a chill that ran through his entire body. He moved his lips and asked softly, “Aren’t you called Su Zheng? How could you be Yue Jingming?”
“Su is my master’s surname. When I was young, Master once used this name for me.” Yue Jingming’s voice turned cold. “You call yourself Yue Jingming. Were all those evil deeds in the rumors your doing?”
Xiao Chunhe froze. Whether from drunkenness or fear, his eyes were completely red as he stared at the man before him in disbelief. “How could you… be Yue Jingming?”
Yue Jingming demanded, “Why did you impersonate me?”
Xiao Chunhe murmured, “Su Zheng, don’t be like this.”
“You—” Yue Jingming gritted his teeth. “If you didn’t know who I really was, then why did you fake your death and escape back then? I have never wronged you. Why go to such lengths to toy with me?”
The fox corpse that kept intruding into his No-Thought One-Mind Art, and the sword that had pierced its heart, had always made him blame himself for lacking skill. Even among demons, even among fox demons, there were good and evil alike. He should have saved the other man.
But when all those thoughts were set against the sight of him reappearing completely drunk and perfectly carefree, they became a joke. The anger it brought Yue Jingming far surpassed even the fury of catching the impostor.
“I…” Xiao Chunhe felt the wine surge upward. The world spun, and his muddled mind could not face any of this. He staggered one step back.
Then turned and ran.
“Stop!” Yue Jingming shouted sharply and chased after him with sword in hand.
Though drunk, Xiao Chunhe had never run for his life with such determination. He no longer cared that they were in the middle of a busy street. He leapt onto a rooftop, the veiled hat worn purely to match his outfit flying off as tiles cracked beneath his feet. Only one thought remained in his mind: he absolutely could not be caught!
Driven by true qi, the Clear Breeze Sword suddenly swept ahead and blocked his path.
Xiao Chunhe sucked in a breath, stopped short, spun, and jumped from the roof, using a basket beside the wall as a foothold to leap onto another eave.
A horsetail whisk slammed into his back. Xiao Chunhe nearly went sprawling from the pain. He turned to glare furiously at Yue Jingming, only to find the other man already closing in.
He swept out his fan, and overwhelming clouds of charm incense billowed up. Out of habit, he reached for the mechanism concealing the poisoned needles, but hesitated at the last instant, released it, and tried to jump down from the wall instead.
In that single instant, Yue Jingming had already passed through the red mist. The long sword grazed Xiao Chunhe’s throat. He jerked his head back, and the blade cut his arm instead. Xiao Chunhe flew into a rage and struck Yue Jingming with a palm.
Yue Jingming neither dodged nor retreated. He took the blow head-on, stepped in, and clamped down hard around Xiao Chunhe’s wrist. Xiao Chunhe felt as though his bones were about to be crushed. He cried out in pain and hit Yue Jingming with another palm.
They exchanged dozens of moves without either gaining the upper hand, and Yue Jingming refused to let go. Maddened with anger, Xiao Chunhe resorted to every dirty trick he knew. In the middle of their struggle, both men toppled from the wall and crashed heavily onto a stack of bamboo piled below.
“Let go of me!” Xiao Chunhe bared his teeth at him.
“Impossible.” Yue Jingming’s voice was cold, and the grip of his hand only tightened. “Come with me.”
Startled and furious, with that damned wine turning his brain to mush, Xiao Chunhe struggled with all his strength but could not break free. He seized Yue Jingming’s arm and bit down.
A fox’s teeth were both sharp and hard, and Xiao Chunhe was desperate to escape. Blood immediately welled from Yue Jingming’s forearm. A cultivator’s blood also carried a sweet fragrance, nearly drawing out Xiao Chunhe’s true form. He wrinkled his nose and stared fixedly at the man before him, but Yue Jingming did not even furrow his brow.
His face was simply cold as frost, as though he wanted to crush Xiao Chunhe’s wrist.
The two silently wrestled for leverage, neither willing to ease up. In the end, Xiao Chunhe felt the top of his head start to itch. Alarmed that his true form might emerge, he finally released his bite.
Yue Jingming hauled him upright. “Come back with me first.”
“In your dreams!” Xiao Chunhe threw his hands and feet into resisting, leaning his entire body backward until he was almost stretched into a straight line as he desperately tried to wrench free of that damned hand.
True qi surged around Yue Jingming. With sword and horsetail whisk in one hand and Xiao Chunhe in the other, he continued walking steadily no matter how much strength the fox demon used.
Dragged forward stumbling, Xiao Chunhe cursed, “Stinking Daoist! You’re only taking advantage because I’m drunk and can’t beat you. If you have any skill, wait until I sober up and we’ll fight fair and square!”
Yue Jingming turned and gave him a cold stare.
“You think I’m afraid just because you look at me like that?” Xiao Chunhe blustered despite his fear. “Kill me or carve me up, do whatever you like. If I make even one sound, I lose!”
Before he had finished, the hand around him suddenly tightened. Xiao Chunhe immediately screamed, “Aah! You’re killing me! It hurts!”
Yue Jingming seized the front of his clothes and slammed him against the wall. “You fox demon, every word from your mouth is a lie, and every other sentence is about dying. Perhaps I should grant your wish today and spare anyone else from being fooled by you again!”
“‘You fox demon’?!” Xiao Chunhe stared at him, shocked and hurt. “Now you won’t even call me by my name?”
“How am I supposed to know what your name is?!” Yue Jingming snapped.
Xiao Chunhe went still. At a loss, he looked at Yue Jingming’s slightly reddened eyes, gathered his sleeve, and tried to wipe them. “It was my fault. I wronged you. Don’t cry.”
Yue Jingming turned his head away from the hand, jaw clenched. “Someone like you is not worth my tears.”
Yet tears began spilling from Xiao Chunhe’s own eyes beyond his control. Angry and frantic, he said, “How am I not worth your tears? You think I wanted to fake my death and escape? Heaven knows how badly I wanted to stay by your side. I have reasons I cannot speak of too.”
“If you had reasons, why not tell me? I would have helped you think of a way.” Yue Jingming stared at him coldly. “But this is only another lie meant to fool me.”
Xiao Chunhe trembled with rage. “Fine! Whatever I say now, you won’t believe me. I’m wicked beyond redemption, I deserve ten thousand deaths. Kill me right now!”
“You think I don’t dare?” Yue Jingming clenched the front of his clothes, veins standing out on the back of his hand.
Xiao Chunhe raised his neck. “If you have the nerve, draw your Clear Breeze Sword right now!”
Yue Jingming’s chest rose and fell sharply twice. Forcing himself to calm down, he said, “You’re drunk. This is far from the only debt I have to settle with you. We’ll speak again once you’re sober.”
“If you’re afraid, just say so.” Xiao Chunhe sneered. “Yue Jingming. What a fine Yue Jingming. So you really are Yue Jingming. I should have realized it long ago. You’ve acted so sanctimoniously all this way. Of course you’re that hypocrite Yue Jingming!”
“We did not know one another before this, yet you have gone out of your way to ruin my reputation. Why do you bear such a grudge against me?” Yue Jingming frowned.
“Heh.” Xiao Chunhe leaned lazily against the wall and mocked him. “The name Yue Jingming makes me sick just hearing it. Is that reason enough?”
“You!” Anger flared in Yue Jingming’s eyes.
In all his twenty-five years, Yue Jingming had never once been this angry. If some ordinary impostor had said such things, he would not even have lifted an eyelid. But of all people, it had to be this bastard!
The expected fury and fists never came. The person before him only stood there in silence. The strained curve of Xiao Chunhe’s lips slowly fell. “Why pretend? You must be dying to kill me right now. You’d better do it, because otherwise one day I’ll kill you.”
After all that turmoil, most of the effects of Immortal’s Intoxication had worn off. The man who had haunted his thoughts was standing right in front of him, yet Xiao Chunhe could only feel that fate had played a cruel joke.
“Brother Su! Brother Su!” Liang Yun finally caught up, panting heavily. Seeing the two men glaring at each other like fire and water, both battered and disheveled, he could not make sense of the situation. “What happened? Is this… really Daoist Master Yue Jingming?”
“He isn’t.” Yue Jingming looked coldly at Xiao Chunhe. “Just an impostor.”
Xiao Chunhe looked at Liang Yun with a teasing smile. “Well, I’ve only been ‘dead’ for how long, and Daoist Master Yue has already found himself a new lover?”
“Huh?” Liang Yun pointed at himself in shock.
“Ignore him.” Yue Jingming took out the demon-binding rope and tied Xiao Chunhe’s arms tightly behind his back.
Xiao Chunhe struggled as he was bound securely, the wound on his arm hurting terribly. But there was one piece of good news: the instant he learned that Su Zheng was Yue Jingming, the gu demon that had been gearing up for a rampage immediately went quiet.
Even Xiao Chunhe was not so heartless as to fall in love with Yue Jingming.
“Brother Su, why is he calling you Daoist Master Yue?” Liang Yun finally recovered and stared at Yue Jingming in shock. “I was too far away on the street just now and only vaguely heard something about Zushan. Could it be…”
Yue Jingming cupped his hands. “I am indeed Yue Jingming of Zushan. I concealed my name before because circumstances made it necessary. My purpose was to catch the false Daoist impersonating me. I hope Young Master Liang will forgive me.”
Liang Yun brightened. “No wonder those absurd stories made you so angry! Before, I thought the Number One Daoist Under Heaven truly was some uninhibited libertine. Only today do I realize how outrageous those rumors are. Daoist Master Yue really ought to be someone as upright and clear-minded as you!”
Yue Jingming said, “Now that the man has been caught, Young Master Liang is still hungry. You should hurry back to the restaurant and eat.”
“Haha, you left in such a rush that I was worried. How could I not come see what happened?” Liang Yun relaxed. “You’re hungry too. Come eat with me.”
Yue Jingming replied politely, “I—”
“Well, you’re already eating together?” Xiao Chunhe cut him off in a sour tone. “Every other word is ‘Young Master Liang.’ How affectionate. Young Master Liang, do you even know what kind of person he is before getting close to him? Be careful he doesn’t latch onto you and refuse to let go.”
Liang Yun said displeasedly, “Daoist Master Yue is upright and honorable. Of course I know what kind of person he is. You, on the other hand, have been spreading rumors everywhere to smear him. What exactly are you plotting?”
“He abandons husbands and children, chases one lover after another, puts on a righteous face while being hypocritical and hateful. Which part did I get wrong?” Xiao Chunhe curled his lips. “He’s a fox demon in disguise, made specifically to bewitch ignorant young masters like you. Be careful he doesn’t dig out your heart in the middle of the night and eat it with his wine.”
“Impossible!” Liang Yun said angrily. “How can you slander the Daoist Master like this?”
“Hmm?” Light rippled through Xiao Chunhe’s fox eyes. His tongue brushed the corner of his mouth, and charm incense was just about to spill from between his lips when a warm, slender hand suddenly covered his mouth and forcibly turned his face aside.
“Mm? Mmm!” Xiao Chunhe angrily tried to turn back, but Yue Jingming pressed harder, his broad sleeve completely covering Xiao Chunhe’s face.
“Young Master Liang, there is no need to listen to his nonsense.” Yue Jingming said, “I’ll stay at the inn to the southeast. Come find me after you finish eating.”
After that chase, Liang Yun truly was starving. He immediately agreed. “All right. Brother Yue, wait for me.”
Yue Jingming nodded and dragged Xiao Chunhe away.
Dizzy with hunger, Liang Yun finally abandoned all decorum and leaned against the wall, panting. Then he saw the man Yue Jingming was holding suddenly turn back and bare his teeth at him with a vicious expression.
Liang Yun shuddered, but in the next moment Yue Jingming reached out, caught the man by the nape, and twisted his head back around.
Liang Yun: “…”
There was something seriously uncanny about this man.