Former Sweetheart

Chapter 11: “Stop fighting!”

You Jiang was the cultivator who understood heart demons the most in this world. After Fu Hongye qi deviated, he still acted like a normal person. The youth was even capable of trying to find someone in a methodical manner.

The only difference was that Fu Hongye no longer mentioned the two words “You Jiang”. Thus, the crux of the matter actually lies in him.

You Jiang didn’t know what evil spell the rotten brat Fu Hongye had been hit with for the youth to actually have desire for him, but he understood thoroughly that heart demons were unavoidable. The more afraid one was to confront something, the more they had to courageously face it. Only this way, could they break through the demon of temptation and achieve the great Dao.

It was impossible for Fu Hongye to not understand this principle, but he just wouldn’t wake up. Since this was the case, You Jiang would give him a hand and let the youth remember reality——of how Fengzhi no longer existed.

“You Jiang……demon……”

Sure enough, “You Jiang” was Fu Hongye’s demon of temptation. Following the demonic cultivator’s step by step goading, the youth’s gentle eyes gradually became covered with a bloody red. 

Fu Hongye’s appearance once again became frantic like it had been last night. Grabbing the demonic leader’s wrist, he muttered, “I……ought to eliminate demons……”

The power of a Dispersed Immortal during a qi deviation was bound to be extremely mighty. The originally tranquil water surface of the pool beside them suddenly surged violently, and even the ground began trembling slightly.

Upon seeing this, Du Huo immediately knew that the situation had become very bad. He immediately shouted at You Jiang, “Leader, you drew out his heart demon. Let’s quickly run ah.”

“What do you mean by run? Demonic cultivators can only die in battle, for we never retreat. Quickly scram, this lord will fight him!”

With great difficulty, You Jiang finally drew out Fu Hongye’s heart demon. If he left now, everything he had done so far would have been wasted, so how could he leave?

With a single palm, he used wind to send the right Protector out of the Rain Monarch Cave. Grasping his fan, You Jiang himself rushed up, directly targeting Fu Hongye’s face.

At this moment, black clouds began covering the moon as thousands of ghosts cried in unison. Arriving with a thunderous roar, a large group of heart demons turned into human skeletons. The moment these heart demons wrapped around someone, that person’s only ending would be to fall into hell forever.

When the demonic way’s leader used his full strength in battle, even a Dispersed Immortal like Fu Hongye wouldn’t be able to counter him easily. The white-robed cultivator gathered concentrated spiritual energy until it began taking form, before the twelve thin blades—shaped as maple leaves and coiled around his wrist—were finally used.

Frosty red sword aura began spiraling over like falling maple leaves. Brimming with overwhelming righteous energy, the sword intent smashed all the assaulting heart demons into pieces one by one. 

However, Fu Hongye’s real body had already turned into clouds that were accompanied by the mist of night, before appearing behind You Jiang. The sword aura at his fingertips instantly broke through the demonic cultivator’s protective barrier.

Red leaves fell as the sword attack began. Twelve thin blades brimming with a frosty red sword aura began majestically attacking from all directions. 

Even though You Jiang possessed the strongest martial art skills in the entire demonic way, he was still incapable of dodging this blow. He could only use demonic energy to protect his body as he received the attack of the strongest cultivator in the world head-on.

Called “A Startling Red Leaf”, the twelve thin blades—shaped as maple leaves and tied around Fu Hongye’s wrist with a silver chain—were precisely his first weapon when the youth made his debut into the jianghu. In the past, Fu Hongye had always used his Fengzhi sword to execute his sword intent. Thus, You Jiang had never seen the youth use this attack before.

Suddenly confronting it right now, You Jiang subconsciously recalled that a certain teenager from his past had also plucked leaves and made them fly, using this move as their weapon. With a single flick of their fingertips, apricot flowers would fall across the entire city like rain. Passers-by would be shocked into stopping one by one, but that person would only lean down to You Jiang’s ears and softly say, “Fengzhi, look. It’s raining.”

You Jiang naturally knew that this was just his own illusion. Fu Hongye’s intention to eliminate demons was incomparably resolute, so the sword aura he used was entirely different compared to that teenager’s little joke. The way You Jiang’s spiritual energy and blood boiled and surged was the ironclad proof of this.

His old friend had died a long time ago, and nothing could return to what it had been in the past. You Jiang was now a demon. Other than fighting with the righteous way, he didn’t need to think about anything else.

So what if Fu Hongye was similar to that person? To the Sect Leader of the Profound Sect, You Jiang definitely wouldn’t show any mercy.

With how his protective barrier had already been broken, the demonic cultivator’s complexion had turned pale. You Jiang casually spat out some coagulated blood before once again sealing off his old memories. 

Brimming with fighting spirit, You Jiang sneered at the youth, “Rotten brat has enough strength ah. Come again!”

You Jiang was the cultivator who had fought the most against Fu Hongye. The moment the two of them made a move, Fu Hongye would become incapable of regarding this person as the former Jiang Fengzhi.

The youth didn’t want to hurt Fengzhi, and he really wanted to get along with him. But this demonic cultivator never gave him a chance. Again and again, he would force Fu Hongye to choose between the righteous way and his feelings from the past. It was truly extremely hateful.

Luckily, Fu Hongye knew how he should handle the demonic way’s leader now. 

When he saw You Jiang ignore his wounds, ready to make another move, the silver chain around his left wrist immediately wound around You Jiang’s Naihe fan. Hooking his wrist, Fu Hongye brought the demonic cultivator who was bad with physical attacks right into his arms. Although the following demonic energy made his chest feel smothered, Fu Hongye still forced You Jiang’s chin up before the youth kissed him. 　　

Fu Hongye, who had cultivated purely, didn’t have any techniques. However, relying on instinct, he suppressed the struggle among the gap between You Jiang’s lips and teeth with brute force. It was precisely this kind of overbearing, complete suppression that made one suffocate.

You Jiang slapped the youth’s back three times, but it still didn’t make Fu Hongye release him. Since he was unable to breath, his hand also began to lose strength. Unable to struggle free, You Jiang could only let the other man continue until Fu Hongye finally relinquished his hold.

Raising his head while gasping for breath, You Jiang was really no longer interested in fighting anymore. He only said furiously, “Rotten brat, take a good look at who you’re kissing. Even if you go into heat, you have to find the right person!”

You Jiang really didn’t understand why this had happened. He was certain that Fu Hongye had already recognized him as You Jiang when he made a move. With such a ruthless sword attack, the youth definitely recovered his intention of eliminating demons to defend the righteous values.

However, after fighting for a while, why did things end up like this again? 

Could it be that this rotten brat had done it on purpose? Had Fu Hongye become addicted after eating meat for the first time, so he simply feigned madness in order to sleep with him a couple times more?

With those terrible bed skills, this rotten brat actually dared to try again. Who exactly gave him the courage?

With no trace of politeness at all, You Jiang used his darkest thoughts to try and deduce the youth’s purpose. However, Fu Hongye appeared as if he didn’t care about his hostile gaze at all. After all, as long as this person calmed down, everything was good.

Fu Hongye knew his current mental state was problematic, but he didn’t want to wake up. At the very least, qi deviating meant he no longer needed to care about any rules or restrictions. Thus, the youth could do all the things he wanted to do.

Just like now. He could forcibly hug You Jiang, as if the two of them had returned to the past. 

Without the opposition between the righteous and the evil and without their battles to death. Instead, with only their ears rubbing against each other intimately as they walked about in the jianghu, hand in hand.

Like this, Fu Hongye was finally able to slowly say the words that had been buried deep in his heart for a hundred years. “Fengzhi, I planted your favourite maple trees in the Fallen Immortal Late. Can you return with me?”

Before this, You Jiang still had some doubts about the “Fengzhi” Fu Hongye kept calling. Now, he finally confirmed that the youth was definitely calling Jiang Fengzhi.

However, You Jiang only silently lowered his gaze. When he raised his head again, he was once again sporting a demonic cultivator’s obstinate sneer. “How ridiculous. In this world, other than the demonic way, this lord long has nowhere else to go.”

The two people locked gazes and neither of them was willing to take a step back. Fu Hongye didn’t release his hold, so You Jiang was also unable to break away. 

Right in the middle of their deadlock, a savior finally arrived. Rushing in with disciples summoned from the demonic way, Du Huo yelled, “Leader, I’m here to save you!”

Du Huo was a medical cultivator who was only at the Nascent Soul cultivation realm. He understood that if the two of them fought, he wouldn’t be able to get involved at all. Thus, after being sent out by You Jiang, he quickly went to find some helpers.

However, when he rushed over with a few hundred brothers, what appeared in front of their eyes was their leader and the righteous leader hugging. This immediately made the young Protector feel completely at a loss and a bit embarrassed.

Du Huo silently set down the jasper gourd he was going to smash at Fu Hongye before asking, “Should I go out and keep watch?”

Sure enough, other than making trouble for him, this adopted son of his was completely useless. Even if they disregard how Du Huo couldn’t help, the kid even brought a few hundred of their disciples to watch their leader get forcibly kissed by the righteous leader. It was truly making You Jiang suspect Du Huo was actually Fu Hongye’s kid instead.

A battle between the righteous and evil became like this, so everyone all felt very awkward. Fortunately, You Jiang had seen the strong winds and gales and was someone well-acquainted with the ways of the world. After stabilizing his face, he angrily said, “Can’t you see this lord is at a disadvantage? Scram over here and poison this rotten brat to death!”

Hearing this, Du Huo immediately knew that their leader was alright. After all, if they were really fighting, how could You Jiang curse him out so lively? 

Du Huo immediately waved his hand to let the demonic disciples who were at a loss go back to their own jobs. He grumbled in complaint, “You guys always face each other with such profound feelings. How am I supposed to know if you’re flirting or really fighting……”

When he heard this, You Jiang wanted to pick up his fan and let his son experience his foster father’s beating. Fu Hongye didn’t know why this person was suddenly so angry angry. He could only soothe him helplessly, “Don’t be angry, heal your wound.”

But it would have been better if Fu Hongye hadn’t said anything. The moment the youth spoke, You Jiang became even angrier.

He thought, this rotten brat was really just sticking to him. Uncaring of how his wounds weren’t healed and the way he was still coughing blood, You Jiang sneered, “Stop being hypocritical. Don’t you like going crazy? If you have what it takes, just sleep with this lord right here.”

This proposal truly caused one’s heart to move. However, after thinking over the consequences of really doing this, Fu Hongye—who had already recovered some of his reason—could only shake his head helplessly. 

Taking off from the tip of his feet, the youth flew onto the cave’s rock wall to meditate and regulate his aura. He no longer continued his dispute with You Jiang.

The two of them had really fought. The sword aura You Jiang had been subjected to had injured the bottom of his heart, while the three slaps Fu Hongye had endured weren’t light blows. 

During this armistice, You Jiang truly didn’t have the strength to provoke the youth again. Seeing how the other had stopped talking, he also sat down to regulate his True Energy.

Du Huo still couldn’t understand the relationship between these two people. Rubbing his head in confusion, he did his job as a medical cultivator and began taking You Jiang’s pulse. After fishing out some medicine, he said, “Leader, you’re not lightly injured. Why provoke him for no reason ah?”

“You don’t understand. This lord wanted to be injured by him. Pain will keep one sober.”

“Since ancient times, the righteous and evil cannot coexist. He must remember this, but this lord must also remember this. If even this gets forgotten, that will be the most frightening conclusion.”

Of course You Jiang knew the consequences of fighting with Fu Hongye. However, he couldn’t get used to living in harmony with the youth. For people destined to face each other with their swords drawn, they shouldn’t have any favourable impressions for each other from the very start. Even if there’s only the very beginning of good will, it must be strangled to death immediately.

Only like this, could they live to the very end on the battlefield.

The eighteen-year old Du Huo still didn’t understand these rules of survival for the jianghu. While using spiritual energy to help his foster father heal his wound, he asked in doubt: 

“But the God of Happiness and Misfortune said that being righteous or evil didn’t matter. If you like someone, you must take them home to marry. When you’re tired of fighting, you will always end up going home to live in seclusion. If you don’t have a wife, how can you live then?”

This God of Happiness and Misfortune was precisely the Daoist companion of the former major Protector. You Jiang didn’t have a good impression of this ghost saint who had swindled away the core strength of their demonic way.

He immediately rebuked, “Don’t keep mingling with those old ghost saints from the ghost realm. Be careful of being schemed against by the living like they were, until they can’t even be reincarnated.” 

Everyone knew that the heavens were unable to tolerate ghost saints, so it wasn’t possible for them to enter the cycle of reincarnation. You Jiang was originally casually taunting him, but he suddenly paused when he mentioned reincarnation. He subconsciously looked toward the distant Fu Hongye.

That’s right ah, he forgot reincarnation exists in this world. Could it be that……

You Jiang suddenly fell silent, but Du Huo didn’t perceive it at all. He still continued curiously, “So Leader, do you like Fu Hongye or not? I remember, the last time you lost to Fu Hongye, you even chopped down the only maple tree in our Mobei.”

These words revealed that this brat had been eavesdropping just now. It was obvious Du Huo had deliberately brought everyone in to break their deadlock, but he actually had the nerve to feign stupid. Sure enough, Du Huo deserved to be the child the demonic way’s leader had raised.

You Jiang glanced at him with irritation but didn’t expose him. He only said, “That tree had been planted by this lord. Are you complaining?”

It wasn’t easy to raise a maple tree in the desert. You Jiang must have used meticulous care to plant that tree, but he chopped it later just to vent the anger caused by Fu Hongye. For an obsession like this, Du Huo could only sigh deeply, “You truly have profound love for Fu Hongye.”

Of course You Jiang only wanted to chop Fu Hongye. However, the painting saint Jiang Fengzhi loved the frosty red of autumn the most. 

When he was sixteen years-old, Jiang Fengzhi became famous for his twelve “Frosty Sky” paintings. Because the lord of the Heavenly Book Pavilion praised him, saying “the red leaves were created by a saint, while the youth himself encompasses the spirit of autumn”, he received the title of the painting saint.

Later, Jiang Fengzhi’s hands became tainted by the blood of disciples from every sect. Because of this, he had been expelled from the Heavenly Book Pavilion while his family  disowned him, ordering him to never use the surname Jiang for the rest of his life. In the current Chang’an City, no child of the Jiang family still knew of his existence. 

While the past Jiang Fengzhi may appear gentle on the surface, he actually had a stubborn personality. If the righteous way no longer recognized him, he’ll just change his name and enter the demonic way. From henceforth, he made a clean break with his past.

You Jiang stopped touching the four arts he had loved when he was young. He would rather draw out a whole room’s worth of erotic books for He Huan, instead of depicting the mountains and rivers again. Jiang Fengzhi’s thirteenth, incomplete painting, “The Autumn Leaves of the Frosty Sky” became the painting saint’s final work and was later lost while he had been escaping. Nobody ever saw it again.

You Jiang had nearly forgotten his past himself. He had never expected that one Fu Hongye, who still remembered Jiang Fengzhi, would pop out now. 

That guy He Huan never did anything simple. When he let his Daoist companion, the Sword Lord He Ku, accept Fu Hongye as a disciple, could there have been deep intentions behind that move?

What exactly were Fu Hongye’s origins?