“The wound is too deep… any deeper and it would have injured the internal organs…”
“The poison is extremely potent. It might have rotted all the way into the bone… He was lucky… much better than yesterday… we had to cut away the necrotic flesh with a knife…”
Half-conscious, Xiao Chunhe heard strangers speaking. He wanted to open his eyes, but he was wrapped in something warm and soft, surrounded by the faint pine fragrance that belonged to Yue Jingming. His eyelids felt impossibly heavy. A warm hand covered his ears, and he nuzzled comfortably against the person before drifting back to sleep.
The noisy voices receded into the distance. A faint smell of blood and medicinal herbs hung in the air. A door opened, then closed, and the warmth that had been surrounding him suddenly disappeared.
Xiao Chunhe’s eyes snapped open. He sprang to his feet. “Yue Jingming!”
The man standing beside the table pouring water looked at him in mild surprise. “What is it?”
Embarrassed, Xiao Chunhe shook the blanket off himself. “Ah, nothing.”
“Did you have a nightmare?” Yue Jingming drank a cup of water, then poured another.
Only then did Xiao Chunhe notice that Yue Jingming was actually bare-chested. This handsome Daoist had lived deep in the mountains and spent years in seclusion, and it really had given him an almost immortal-like appearance. Calling his skin fair and smooth as cream would hardly be an exaggeration, yet he had also practiced martial arts and cultivated qi for years. The lines of his neck, shoulders, and back were graceful, his muscles lean and firm, his waist narrow enough that Xiao Chunhe could coil a tail around it. His long legs were hidden beneath his trousers, but even so, their long, strong lines were faintly visible. Wrapped around Xiao Chunhe’s waist, they would surely look beautiful…
Xiao Chunhe swallowed. This man usually wrapped himself up from head to toe without even loosening his collar. The several times they had shared a bed, Yue Jingming had been dressed with perfect propriety, so Xiao Chunhe had never gotten a proper look. Truly tragic. Truly infuriating!
Luckily, Yue Jingming currently thought he was only a fox doll, so there was no need for so much propriety. Xiao Chunhe could not resist stamping hard on the thick bedding beneath his paws before asking with a perfectly serious expression, “Are your injuries any better?”
“The doctor Brother Liang found just finished changing my dressings and left.” Yue Jingming carried his cup over to the bed.
“What?!” Xiao Chunhe was horrified. “The doctor changed your dressings? Then didn’t he see everything?!”
Yue Jingming looked puzzled. “See what?”
“See—” Xiao Chunhe choked. Planting both front paws on Yue Jingming’s thigh, he leaned in to sniff the bandages wrapped around him. Sure enough, they carried the scent of a stranger. Angry and indignant, he said, “You agreed I was the one taking care of you. I should have been the one to change your dressings.”
Yue Jingming laughed. “You were sleeping so soundly that I didn’t wake you.”
Xiao Chunhe was annoyed, yet could not stop himself from feeling sorry for him. He noticed the healed scar at Yue Jingming’s waist, leaned over, and gave it a vigorous lick.
The unfamiliar warm, damp sensation made Yue Jingming’s hand jerk around his cup, nearly spilling the water inside. “You…”
“That’s where Cen Shuang controlled Zheng Han and had him stab you back in Dengling, right?” Xiao Chunhe asked.
“It’s already healed.” Yue Jingming lowered his eyes and took an uncomfortable sip of water.
Xiao Chunhe stepped onto his legs, turned around, and rubbed hard against Yue Jingming’s waist and abdomen. Then he circled against him until the unfamiliar scent on the bandages had been covered and every bit of them smelled like Xiao Chunhe instead.
Yue Jingming froze with the cup in his hand. “What are you doing?”
“Giving you some of my charm incense. It can ease the pain.” The little fox sat upright on his lap, utterly solemn.
“Thank you.” Yue Jingming held the cup to the fox’s mouth. “Have some water.”
He had poured this cup specifically for the little fox.
Xiao Chunhe lowered his head and lapped up a few mouthfuls. His eyes darted slyly. Then he lifted his head, pressed his wet mouth against Yue Jingming’s waist, and rubbed it hard. Yue Jingming instinctively tensed, so Xiao Chunhe took the opportunity to stick out his tongue and lick those beautiful abdominal muscles.
Nice texture. The fox narrowed his eyes in satisfaction.
Yue Jingming caught his muzzle in one hand. “Stop licking things.”
The little fox pulled back hard and rescued his mouth, then jumped onto the bedding and shook out his fur. “We foxes always wipe our mouths after drinking water. Force of habit. Sorry about that.”
Yue Jingming: “…”
He got up, set down the cup, and took the half-dry inner robe hanging on the rack to put it on.
He had not brought many clothes. Two sets had been ruined in fights, and after he was injured, blood had ruined another two while he was bedridden. Only one spare set remained. He was accustomed to washing clothes that had sat unworn for too long before putting them on, and he had washed this one that morning, so it was still damp and he had no choice but to wait.
In any case, Xiao Chunhe was only a little fox right now. Yue Jingming thought there was nothing improper about it.
Who could have guessed this fellow would remain incorrigible even as a fox?
“This is still so damp. How can you wear it?” The little fox nimbly jumped onto the clothes rack and pulled a clean silk inner robe from his kerchief with his teeth. “Wear my… master’s. This is his favorite one.”
Yue Jingming caught the robe, then reached out and tugged at the pale-yellow kerchief tied around the fox’s chest. “Is this your storage pouch?”
The little fox puffed out his chest proudly. “Ordinary foxes aren’t as clever as I am.”
“Mm.” Yue Jingming straightened the crooked kerchief, then turned his back to the fox and changed into the inner robe.
Xiao Chunhe was nearly clawing at his own heart from impatience. If only he could turn back into human form right now. Forget sleeping together, even getting a few hugs and kisses would be wonderful. With the lingering obsession from their past lives not yet fully dissipated, Yue Jingming might even give in to him!
The demon-gu struck with pain so suddenly that one of Xiao Chunhe’s front paws gave way and he tumbled headfirst off the rack.
Yue Jingming reacted instantly, scooping him up and holding him in his arms. “What happened?”
Pressed against Yue Jingming’s chest through the thin inner robe, Xiao Chunhe buried his head there in utter despair. Gritting his teeth through the pain, the fox said, “If I’d known it would come to this, I should have gone off and become a monk.”
Yue Jingming took hold of one of his hind legs, which was icy to the bone, and used true qi to help suppress the affliction. He could not help frowning. “Is the demon-gu hurting again?”
Xiao Chunhe stiffened and stubbornly replied, “I’m a fox doll. What demon-gu?”
Yue Jingming placed him on the bed and said seriously, “I’ll go to the room next door.”
“You’re not allowed!” Xiao Chunhe bit his sleeve and tugged him back. “Wouldn’t I be even more pitiful left here all alone?”
“…” Yue Jingming sighed, gathered him back into his arms, and quietly began reciting the Heart-Clearing Spell.
The spell left Xiao Chunhe so free of desire that he grew drowsy. The demon-gu stopped hurting, but the fox himself also became strangely detached, as though there were no particular point to being alive anymore and a holy halo might start shining over his head at any moment.
Yue Jingming lifted the little fox so they were face-to-face. “Better? If this still isn’t enough to suppress it, I can also recite the Desire-Quelling and Passion-Erasing Spell.”
The fox’s face went pale with horror. “Your Zushan actually has a spell this inhumane?!”
Yue Jingming gave the fox a small shake while maintaining a perfectly serious expression. “Mm. It’s extremely powerful.”
“No, no! I’m already free of every desire and ready to ascend on the spot!” Xiao Chunhe slapped a paw over his mouth. “Good Daoist, please spare me.”
Yue Jingming’s eyes brimmed with teasing amusement.
The sight of his smile instantly left Xiao Chunhe dazzled. Just as the demon-gu seemed ready to flare again, realization struck him. “Why have I never heard of this spell? You aren’t tricking me, are you?”
Yue Jingming’s smile deepened.
Xiao Chunhe flew into a rage and opened his mouth to bite him. Yue Jingming did not dodge. The fox pounced and knocked him back against the headboard, but Yue Jingming had forgotten the wound on his back and immediately sucked in a sharp breath from the pain.
Xiao Chunhe jumped in alarm and stood anxiously on his chest. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Yue Jingming’s face had gone faintly pale.
Only then did Xiao Chunhe remember what he had heard while half asleep. He hurried around behind him. “That several-hundred-year-old charm demon has practically cultivated into a monster. Charm poison can rot flesh and eat into bone. Cutting away all that corrupted flesh must have hurt like hell, and you still have the leisure to fool around with me? Lie down.”
Who would have thought someone usually so steady could be this unreliable?
Yue Jingming obediently lay down on his side and reassured him. “It’s fine. I should move around a little anyway to keep my qi and blood flowing.”
But Xiao Chunhe’s heart ached terribly for him. Such a fine, almost immortal-looking man had probably suffered few injuries in all his years, yet because of Xiao Chunhe he had been hurt again and again. Xiao Chunhe flicked his tail irritably. “I’ll go… I’ll have my master gather more Ice Crystal Grass.”
“No need.” Yue Jingming scooped the fox back up. “The medicine has already taken effect. This poison can’t be cleared in a short time. Meditation will be enough. Your master is badly injured too, so don’t make him exhaust himself further. You… can just stand guard for me.”
Xiao Chunhe stared at him for a long while before slowly leaning closer and licking his lips once.
Yue Jingming fell silent for a moment before saying softly, “No fooling around.”
Xiao Chunhe narrowed his eyes and curled himself into a ball on the pillow. His fluffy tail curved over Yue Jingming’s head, and its little white tip happened to cover the Daoist’s slightly reddened ear.
“Mm-hm.”
* * *
“Brother Yue, you’re looking much better,” Liang Yun said as soon as he entered. “Looks like that famous physician really is skilled.”
“Thank you for going to the trouble, Brother Liang,” Yue Jingming said.
“Hey, no need to be polite. We’re brothers who’ve risked our lives together.” Liang Yun motioned for the attendants behind him to bring in the food. “You and Shijiu are both injured, so I specifically had the cook make everything lighter. Shijiu?”
Ye Shijiu hesitantly walked in. The moment he saw Yue Jingming, his eyes reddened. He went over, pointed at his own mouth and ears, and tears immediately began to fall.
“What happened?” Liang Yun asked in alarm.
“It’s all right.” Yue Jingming gestured for him not to worry, then traced a Heart-Clearing Spell over Ye Shijiu’s forehead. “There is no need to keep dwelling on what happened in the past. Your ears and voice have already recovered. If you still can’t walk out of those memories, you’ll remain deaf and mute like this.”
Ye Shijiu shook his head and sat down at the table dejectedly.
“Anyone fated to meet in this life can trace back several lifetimes and find obsessions and old grievances. If you cling too tightly to them, all that remains is resentment and unwillingness, and you waste the life you have now.” Yue Jingming’s expression was solemn. “Shijiu, the past is an old dream, and the next life is unknowable. Living this life well is the proper Way.”
Ye Shijiu stared at him. It was as though a bell had sounded in his mind and sudden clarity broke through. His whole expression opened. He rose and saluted Yue Jingming with clasped hands, then turned his head around looking for Xiao Chunhe. His sharp eyes caught a bit of fox tail sticking out from under the blanket, and he went over and pulled the blanket back.
Xiao Chunhe opened his eyes sleepily and glared at him. “How rude.”
Ye Shijiu smiled and opened his arms to hug him. Xiao Chunhe jolted upright, sprang onto Ye Shijiu’s shoulder, and from there leaped neatly onto Yue Jingming’s.
“It’s that little fox!” Liang Yun exclaimed in surprise.
“Little fox, my ass.” Xiao Chunhe looked down at him with icy hauteur.
“It’s a fox demon that can talk!” Liang Yun nearly fell off his stool in fright.
“Don’t be afraid, Brother Liang. It’s Xiao Chunhe’s fox doll,” Yue Jingming explained for him. “Chunhe is in seclusion and entrusted it with passing messages.”
Liang Yun was still shaken. “Really?”
“Why are you scared of me? There were so many demons at the demons’ lantern festival and you weren’t afraid then.” Xiao Chunhe was baffled.
“Eh? That’s right! We even defeated demons that powerful!” Liang Yun suddenly realized, then could not help sighing. “It’s just that I’m still not used to demons actually existing in this world. It all feels like a dream.”
Ye Shijiu nodded in agreement. “R-right.”
“You can talk again?” Liang Yun was badly startled by the sudden sound of his voice.
“I-I figured a little of it out.” Ye Shijiu silently put a large meatball into his bowl.
“Then why are you still stuttering?” Liang Yun asked.
“Because I-I haven’t f-fully, fully figured it out yet.” Ye Shijiu bit into the meatball and picked up a large piece of fish.
Liang Yun: “…Kid, don’t talk like that when you’re outside. You sound extremely punchable, you know?”
Ye Shijiu flashed him a toothy grin and bent over his food.
Xiao Chunhe sat upright on a stool and looked at Yue Jingming. Yue Jingming understood immediately. He set a small plate in front of him, selected the chicken Xiao Chunhe liked best, and ladled out a bowl of pigeon soup. In a low voice he asked, “What else do you want? I’ll get it for you.”
The little fox nodded in satisfaction and lay primly on the table, nibbling at the chicken.
“Brother Yue, why is it so obedient with you? You should’ve seen it the day before yesterday. It nearly swallowed that poor doctor alive.” Liang Yun found the sight deeply curious.
Xiao Chunhe’s ears twitched. He was too busy eating meat to bother opening his mouth to defend himself.
“That day was extremely dangerous. Perhaps it was frightened,” Yue Jingming said.
Liang Yun happily accepted this explanation and even put a large chicken leg in front of the fox as a gesture of friendship.
The little fox pushed the chicken leg over to Yue Jingming. Yue Jingming obligingly stripped the meat from the bone, and the fox immediately wore an expression that said he was finally learning.
“Speaking of which, why did that charm demon Feng Qingying suddenly attack us?” Liang Yun asked, puzzled. “If she wanted the Myriad Demons Scroll, she could’ve simply stolen it. Why go to such lengths to kill us?”
“Humans know to wipe out an enemy root and branch. Naturally demons do too,” Xiao Chunhe said. “Besides, Little Ye was already—”
He paused and did not continue.
“I have imm-immortal bones,” Ye Shijiu supplied. “Eating me can h-help them ascend.”
Liang Yun popped a pea cake into his mouth. “What’s the point of ascending?”
Ye Shijiu was stumped. “B-become an immortal, I guess. Live forever.”
“Immortals might not even be happy. They have so many rules, can’t marry or have children, and still have to save all living beings.” Liang Yun understood even less. “Living forever sounds worse. You’d have to watch your family and friends, even your own children and descendants, die one after another. How miserable would that be?”
Xiao Chunhe laughed. “Naturally, there are other benefits.”
“Those who pursue the Great Dao should not be bound by worldly concerns, but that does not mean they have no other troubles,” Yue Jingming said. “Brother Liang lives in the mortal world, so naturally none of that matters to you.”
Liang Yun nodded. “Exactly. I just want to roam the jianghu freely, repay grudges and kindness as I please, and if I’m lucky enough to win a beauty’s heart, spend my whole life with that one person. That sounds far happier than being an immortal.”
“Feng Qingying is still alive, so word that we possess the Myriad Demons Scroll is bound to spread,” Xiao Chunhe warned them. “And it isn’t only us. The imperial family behind Cen Shuang and the demons behind Feng Qingying are all searching for this so-called moyao. We’re only going to have more trouble from here.”
“That’s strange. We’re looking for the moyao to eliminate demons and uphold the Way, but what do they want it for?” Liang Yun rubbed his chin. “Could there be some other secret hidden in this moyao?”
Xiao Chunhe lowered his head and gnawed on chicken while Yue Jingming fell into thought. Ye Shijiu said, “Maybe it’s like my imm-immortal bones. It can give them even b-bigger benefits.”
After they finished eating, the group returned together to the ruined remains of the demons’ lantern festival to look for clues.
The demons inside the cave had long since scattered, leaving only a chaotic mess behind.
Xiao Chunhe carried the phantom stone around, sweeping up the lingering charm incense. The originally red stone had already turned dark and was showing faint signs of advancing. Xiao Chunhe was overjoyed. If he spent a little more effort pouring charm incense into it, he could refine it into an exceptional magical artifact. This thing was both easier to use and more powerful than his own charm incense.
Yue Jingming, meanwhile, dismantled the formations he had set up earlier one by one so that none would remain behind and harm innocent people. As the No-Thought One-Mind Art circulated, two hazy clouds of mist suddenly appeared near his dantian.
Cultivators prized a dantian that was clean and pure, so this was not a good sign. He closed his eyes and looked inward. Two shimmering clouds of mist, one white and one green, hovered there. One was anger left behind from Cen Shuang’s circumstances, the other resentment left from experiencing his own past life. Looking still deeper, he found a crimson mist hidden beneath them, rich and vivid, blazing brilliantly. The mere sight of it even brought him joy.
Yue Jingming understood at once. This was his… lust and possessive longing for Xiao Chunhe.
The true qi of the No-Thought One-Mind Art, once clear and unobstructed, was now entangled and hindered to varying degrees by the three clouds of mist, stained here and there with their colors as it cycled endlessly through his meridians. If this continued, a demonic obstruction would eventually form.
Yue Jingming sighed softly. When advising Xiao Chunhe and Ye Shijiu, he had repeatedly insisted that they should let go when it was time to let go and not dwell on things, yet even he could not fully do it himself.
“Jingming, quick, look at this phantom stone for me!” The little red fox jumped down from above with the stone in his mouth.
Yue Jingming instinctively opened his arms and caught him, drawing the fox into his embrace.
Xiao Chunhe spat the stone into his palm. “Is this artifact about to advance?”
“Mm. Charm incense is already your specialty. If you form a contract with it and have it recognize you as its master, you’ll be able to cultivate illusion arts in the future.” Yue Jingming was genuinely happy for him.
Xiao Chunhe flicked his tail. “That’s all thanks to you—are you all right? Is your wound hurting again?”
Only when he looked up did he notice that Yue Jingming’s face had gone frighteningly pale.
“I’m fine,” Yue Jingming said. “When I looked inward just now, I remembered part of the heart method Qiu Rongxi used to suppress the myriad demons in those past events shown by the treasure mirror. It has much in common with Zushan’s present-day Taixu Heart Method. Perhaps this is an opportunity.”
“That’s wonderful. It might even be much stronger than your No-Thought One-Mind Art,” Xiao Chunhe said. “You can try cultivating it.”
Yue Jingming nodded. Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly saw Ye Shijiu pick up two fragments of the Glazed Treasure-Reflecting Mirror and slip them into his sleeve. Liang Yun, meanwhile, came running toward them excitedly with a copper bowl he had found raised overhead. “Look what I found! This copper bowl and my copper spoon are a match made in heaven!”
Xiao Chunhe could not stand it. “Heavens, you’re a wealthy young master. Can’t you pick up something useful?”
Liang Yun hugged the copper bowl like a treasure. “Gold, silver, and jade are nothing but vulgar things. No amount of money can buy something I like!”
“Gold, silver, and jade are not vulgar things! They’re the finest treasures under Heaven!” Xiao Chunhe snapped. “You really have no eye for value!”
Imitating Yue Jingming and Xiao Chunhe, Ye Shijiu placed his little paper figure on his shoulder as well, then happily wandered around picking up treasures the demons had dropped inside the pavilion and feeding every one of them to the paper figure.
The young master blessed with purple qi and the half-demon of mysterious origins chattered and argued beside an owner of immortal bones who appeared to be trying to research evil arts. Yue Jingming calmly shut off his hearing and temporarily sealed the three clouds of mist inside his dantian. The fox in his arms called him and received no response, so it straightened up and licked the little mole beside his cheek. Yue Jingming lowered his eyes and smiled.
When he had first descended the mountain, he had expected countless dangers and tribulations. He had never expected there would also be this much lively happiness.
He could escape ten thousand illusions, but there was no escaping this mortal world of love and desire.