Chapter 26.1: Let me kiss you again

It was the middle of the night when it all was quiet.

The water rippled outside of Dan Xin Monastery, like a mirror reflecting wave after wave.

Yu Jinnian was sitting on top of the seat cushion. The medicine stove beside him was giving off an intense odour. He was holding his horsetail whisk in his other hand, half-hanging over the medicine stove.

The fragrance of medicine was overwhelming. The little daoist boy was half-running, whilst holding the medicine mortar and medicinal herbs for grinding. The pestle and mortar made a crisp clashing sound as he walked.

The bright moon entered through the window.

This pot of medicine needed to collect moonlight before it could come out of the medicine stove. Therefore, at this moment it was being refined. Yu Jinnian swept a glance at the frosty moon before him, fingertips just covering the lid of the stove, he suddenly paused.

He heard the subtle sound of footsteps.

Yu Jinnian listened for a moment, withdrew his hand and raised his eyes to look at his late night visitor.

The other’s footsteps were very slow, it took a moment before the person actually moved into Yu Jinnian’s line of sight. The person who had come was a young man, wearing Tianji Pavilion’s signature robes, which were covered in crests and diagrams of the constellations, he had long black hair and a handsome and distinct appearance.

“……It’s you.”

Yu Jinnian swept a glance over him, his mouth twitched：“Wang Wenyuan doesn’t dare to come himself?”

“Xiong-Zhang succumbed to the Cylindrical Heart Powder, he has understood the Divine Sage of Medicine’s thoughts and intentions, so naturally he doesn’t not dare to set foot here again.”

Wang Moxuan sat opposite him, his manner was unhurried as he sat on the floor, he used one hand to prop up his chin, and looked over at him.

This Wang Moxuan was although known as the Guardian of the Tianji Pavilion sect, but he was actually Wang Wenyuan’s half-brother1….. but he indeed couldn’t refer to Wang Wenyuan as Xiong-Zhang so lightly.

Yu Jinnian stared at him for a while, then suddenly said：“Are you able to make the decisions now?”

“It’s temporary, I’m here to negotiate for Xiong-Zhang. He pointed at his own chest, “There’s a Splitting Core Cicada here, anything that you and I discuss, Xiong-Zhang can also hear.”

Yu Jinnian sneered before saying: “You and I were fellow students in our youth. I am a negligible person that is affiliated neither sect nor faction. You’re the second young master of the Tianji Sect, but why have you become like this? Your body is full of gu insects2 and curses. You can’t even speak on your own, you’re more like a puppet than a man….. you both are indeed worthy of being brothers in a righteous sect.”

What he said was in fact to taunt Wang Wenyuan and he did not hold back one bit.

“What is there to talk about? The Cylindrical Heart Powder and the Five Power Passion Pill are both slow-acting poisons, you should let your gege just wait for death. As for you, you can hold on for another half a year, long enough to help prepare his burial arrangements.”

Wang Moxuan watched as he shook his head，he looked down at his own chest, then signed silently with his hands at Yu Jinnian to say: Our life forces have been linked by the Fate Seal.

He will die with Wang Wenyuan.

Yu Jinnian was startled, the hand holding the horsetail whisk tightened its grip, it only loosened after a long while, he breathed out and said: “Why, aren’t you willing to perform the burial arrangements for him?”
 

He could not show his worry. That would be showing his weakness to Wang Wenyuan. When the time comes he needed to take initiative and the other would no longer be in his hands.

Wang Moxuan said: “I only have one close relative left, even though he has treated me a little harshly, I cannot lose him.”

Although this sounded fake, it made Yu Jinnian’s teeth itch3. He looked at Wang Moxuan’s meek face with that I’ll just grin and bear the humiliation attitude and his head began to buzz.

Wang Moxuan was the second young master of Tianji Pavilion but because of in-fighting within the Sect, he had been poisoned when he was still in the womb. He was born unable to speak. He was once at school with Yu Jinnian. When the previous Pavilion Lord was still alive, Wang Moxuan was taken back to the sect and enjoyed an elder brother-younger brother relationship with Wang Wenyuan. He lived a carefree life, and was also cured of his speech impediment, but since the former Pavilion Lord died, and his elder brother succeeded the former as the Pavilion Lord, Wang Moxuan was suddenly mute again.

Tianji Pavilion said to the public that Wang Moxuan’s old disease had recurred, and later Yu Jinnian had also sent him a letter asking if he needed medical treatment. Except that since his elder brother became the Pavilion Lord, this was the first time the two of them had the opportunity to meet …… Yu Jinnian thought he was unwilling to communicate with him, until a few days ago, after seeing with his own eyes, the type of person Wang Wenyuan was. He only just discovered that things were not as simple as they seemed.

After that day, Yu Jinnian began to collect more news and information about the Tianji Pavilion. By carefully collecting and listening out for information, he had found out quite a lot….. There was no secret that could be left buried, it was just that it was hard for a normal person to accept the truth.

Seeing him tonight, hearing that he had the Splitting Core Cicada placed in his chest, Yu Jinnian finally accepted the truth.

And all those taunts and ridicule was to test out and intimidate Wang Wenyuan.

“Brother? Has that disgraceful person ever considered you as his brother? You are only his plaything, an object that is completely in his control, you can’t be considered his brother. ”

Yu Jinnian was unrelenting of their previous relationship, every word was stabbing the other in the heart: “He wants to see the war between Dragons and Tigers4, whilst he benefits from the other’s disputes. Good, since he is begging me, I’ll give him a chance.”

He looked up at the person before him and grabbed the other’s collar which had the Tianji Pavilion star atlas pattern upon it, half his face had been illuminated by the dim light of the moon, with a dubious tone he said：“As long as he leaves you, his didi to spend the night with me. I’ll give him another opportunity.”

Wang Moxuan never thought that he’d say something like this. The two of them stared at each other for a short while, in a flash, the two of them understood their respective intentions, Wang Moxuan inhaled softly and after a while finally said: “…… Just that?”

Yu Jinnian looked down and opened up the other’s robes, he looked down towards the knife wound on the other’s chest, he reached out with his hand to touch the other’s fair white chest, he could feel the vibrations of the Splitting Core Cicada. He moved his face even closer, making out like he was trying to listen closely to the noise it was making, then he reached out once more with his hand to grope around again, until he found the Fate Seal below the other’s waist.

……So cruel.

“What is it?” Yu Jinnian was pressed against the other’s ear, his voice flowing in coquettishly, “Do you think Wang Wenyuan would be unwilling to part with you?”

When Yu Jinnian said this, his tone was extremely loose and romantic but his facial expression and his gaze were as pure as water.

He wanted to memorise all of the curses, seals, as well as the gu insects on the other’s body and the other traces of poisons, this seemed to be almost — his only opportunity.

Aside from that, there would be no other who could help him.

And…… it had been so long that he hadn’t heard the other’s voice.

Both of their acting skills were not bad, their exchanges and the mood between the two of them had been controlled sufficiently to deceive Wang Wenyuan. Although they only needed to use sound to build the facade, without the need to exchange actual blows, in the end they were still inexperienced.

Yu Jinnian had his erotic books for guidance, but Wang Moxuan could only use intuition and conjecture, but it still turned out to be just right.

When the “deed” was done, Yu Jinnian had memorised in his head and created a mental map of the curses and other things on the other’s body. He turned his head to look at the dumbfounded ginseng child, and frowned, pursing his lips, to make sure the child did not make a sound.

After so many years of not being able to see him, their first time meeting again and it turned out to be such an awkward situation. It really was awkward, but the opportunity was hard to come by.

Wang Moxuan lowered his head and re-dressed, still unable to speak. At this moment the moonlight shifted, the sky had a hint of daybreak.

“Now can I……”

“No you can’t.” Yu Jinnian cut him off, “I can give him a temporary pain relief potion to suppress it. If he wants to live two more years, he must find a way to kill Zhu Wuxin. I want Zhu Wuxin to repent before he dies and kowtow in front of Jiang Xianzun to make amends.”

“As for you——”

He leaned over closer, reached out and rubbed the other side’s lips with his fingers, he didn’t know what came over him but he suddenly leaned in closer and took a bite.

The bite pierced the skin, a few drops of blood flooded out, and the other’s lips swelled up.

The other did not move, but only very lightly frowned, it was almost unnoticeable, he had an unusual trust in Yu Jinnian.

Yu Jinnian sniffed and tasted the blood on his lips and raised his eyes to look at him.

…… Even his blood was mixed with the taste of various poisons, how could it be that he had endured all that.

He sullenly suppressed the fire in his heart, and said: “You, can still be considered tasty.”

The moonlight shone down with these words, falling on the other’s slightly trembling eyelashes.

Yu Jinnian paused for a moment, then asked curiously: “…… come again next time?”

“If the Divine Sage of Medicine would give me the elixir to relieve the pain of the Cylindrical Heart Powder …… there will be a next time.”

Yu Jinnian swept a glance at the other’s chest, then casually hooked the other’s light blue belt around his waist and sat back down. He looked down at the medicine stove: “Okay, take the medicine and leave. You can tell Wang Wenyuan, that I don’t have any lingering feelings for you, so it’s a wasted effort on him to come up with some ploy. With your skills, you’re not even good enough to be a cultivation furnace.”

The more harshly he spoke, the more Wang Moxuan wanted to laugh. The latter smiled silently, took the medicine bottle, bowed towards Yu Jinnian, and then quietly left Dan Xin Monastery.

The bright moon was clear.

Yu Jinnian sat there, closed his eyes and didn’t move for a long time nor did he speak.

The ginseng child came over and asked timidly, “Monastery Master, why did you say all that about him? The way you spoke about him… but he could still laugh……”

“……I don’t know either.” Yu Jinnian murmured, “If it was before, he would have already been crying long ago.”