Chapter 38 (038) - Two-in-One [VIP]

Now that Yue Ling is awake, they can speed up their journey.

So, after finishing lunch and packing up their other belongings, they decided to continue their journey. The difference this time was that Zizhuo shamelessly climbed into their carriage and traveled with them, ostensibly to discuss their next steps.

“Our next destination is a small town called Luke. We can stay there for two days, firstly to rest, and secondly to gather some information, to see if Yundu City has offered a bounty for us. We can also see if there are any medicinal herbs there that can strengthen our bodies.” Zi Zhuo said, holding a map. “I didn’t have many medicinal herbs on this trip. I’ve given you a lot to eat over the past three days, so I need to replenish them.”

"What do you think?" he asked, putting away the map.

Yin Chu Jiu had no objection, "Okay, either way is fine. Yue Ling, what do you think?"

Yue Ling had no objections either. He lay half-reclined in Yin Chu Jiu's arms, still somewhat weak, breathing slightly, and nodded gently.

Wherever Yin Chu Jiu went, he went too.

“Alright, since you have no objections, I’ll continue.” Zi Zhuo continued, “Our destination this time is a place called Moon Forest. I searched for a long time on the map and finally found it. From Cloud Capital City to Moon Forest, we have to pass through five large forests, seven small forests, three large cities, and countless small cities. Given that we caused trouble in Cloud Capital City, to avoid being found, we will avoid entering the city unless necessary.”

"I've roughly devised a relatively convenient and safe route: Cloud Capital City – Luke Town – Qingyun Town – Changhong Forest – Yunhua Forest – Qingfeng City – Antong Town – Claw Peak Forest – Tongyun City – Moon Town – Moon Forest. We'll stay in each town and city for two days, and then set off again. The journey between each stop will take about half a month. Including any delays we might experience along the way, we should be able to reach Moon Forest and successfully arrive at our destination in about six months."

Zi Zhuo held up a map and drew on it as he spoke, showing the route he had planned to Yin Chu Jiu and Yue Ling.

Yue Ling had no objection to this, or rather, his attention was not on the map at all; it was entirely focused on the boy behind him.

The boy's chest wasn't very muscular, but its slightly thin frame gave him a strong sense of security. His back pressed against the boy's chest, and the boy's warm body heat was transmitted through the two thin layers of fabric, through his back, and all the way to the depths of his heart.

It's warm, soothing, and sweet—addictive and irresistible.

He couldn't help but scoot back a little further, trying his best to curl his not-so-thin body into a ball, attempting to shrink his whole body into the boy's chest.

He wasn't satisfied with just his back touching the boy's skin; he wanted to be completely enveloped by the boy's warmth.

Yin Chu Jiu didn't notice Yue Ling's subtle movements. He just subconsciously hugged him tighter, thinking that his body was in pain again. Then his attention turned to the map. He frowned slightly and asked Zi Zhuo, "How about I change Qingyun Town to Mingyu Forest? After leaving Luke Town, we'll go to Mingyu Forest, and then to Changhong Forest?"

"Mingyu Forest?" Zi Zhuo looked puzzled. He searched on the map for a while before finally finding the small dot marking Mingyu Forest. He frowned and said with some disagreement, "Mingyu Forest is a bit far from the route I designed. If we go through Mingyu Forest, we will have to take many more days of detours, which is equivalent to going around in circles."

The route he designed was a straight line, but Mingyu Forest was just outside the straight line. If they wanted to pass through Mingyu Forest, they would have to go around a huge arc.

This is just the arc on the map; in reality, it would take much longer.

However, Yin Chu Jiu did not compromise after hearing this.

He said earnestly, "I know, but..." He looked down at the boy in his arms. The boy's face was pale, his lips were blue, and his whole face looked sickly. "But in the Bright Jade Forest, there is something that Yue Ling needs. His body is too weak, and he needs a treasure to heal him. It is said that in the Bright Jade Forest, there are the ruins of the half-step saint Hua Busi. I want to go there and see if I can find a sacred object that can heal Yue Ling."

The ruins of Hua Bu Si were foreshadowed in his storyline. These ruins were created as a cheat code for the protagonist's younger brother, Zi Zhuo, and also as a cheat code for the protagonist himself.

To unlock the ruins of the Immortal Flower, a highly talented healer must pass a test and receive its inheritance. Within those ruins lie elixirs capable of tempering the body.

Therefore, he had to go there.

Instead of aimlessly searching for medicinal herbs to strengthen the body in the forest, it would be better to just rob the doctor's backyard.

He hadn't originally planned to do it this way, but who could have predicted that Zizhuo would leave with them, so he changed his mind.

"Hua Busi?" Zi Zhuo exclaimed in surprise. "Are you talking about that peerless divine physician Hua Busi? The one who is said to be able to truly heal the flesh and revive the dead, and even if his inner pearl is shattered, he can reshape it? Although the inner pearl he reshapes requires him to cultivate again, how could he possibly preserve the foundation of the cultivator?"

"Yes." Yin Chu Jiu pursed her lips. "It's him."

Zi Zhuo's eyes widened, and she almost jumped up in excitement. "It really is him? It really is him!"

As someone who also works in the medical field, Hua Busi's reputation is terrifying. He had just repeated it in surprise, but he didn't expect Yin Chu Jiu to actually say it was Hua Busi's remains.

Hua Bu Si is the greatest doctor in the world!

He is the idol and the goal pursued by all doctors. Zi Zhuo also considers himself quite talented, but he also holds a sense of reverence for Hua Bu Si.

Hua Busi passed away five hundred years ago. It is said that before his death, he put all the elixirs and medicines he had learned and refined, as well as all the martial arts techniques he had collected, into one place.

For five hundred years, no one knew about his ruins. Unexpectedly, today he learned about news related to his ruins.

“Alright, if... there really are relics left by him in the Mingyu Forest, then let’s go there.” Zi Zhuo immediately made the decision and began to plan what to bring to the Mingyu Forest. But after a while, he raised his head, narrowed his eyes slightly, and asked Yin Chu Jiu, “How do you know that Hua Busi’s relics are there?”

and.

evening.

group.

right.

For five hundred years, no one has ever discovered the ruins of Hua Busi. Why would Yin Chu Jiu, a young master who has almost never left Yun Du City, know about the ruins of Hua Busi?

And judging from his tone, he seemed quite certain that the ruins of the Undying Flower were in the Bright Jade Forest.

Not only that, he was also curious as to why Yin Chu Jiu knew that there were unique medicinal herbs that could help Yue Ling in a forest far, far away from Yun Du City.

He wasn't uncurious before, but he was in such a hurry that he didn't have time to ask.

But now, things are different.

Once Zizhuo calmed down, she immediately realized that there was a problem.

How did he know where the ruins of the immortal flower were? Because he was the author.

Yin Chu Jiu thought to herself, but remained silent on the surface, as if she were thinking. After a long while, she replied, "Because I have the ability to predict the future, I can always see some important future scenarios."

"I know you will become a peerless physician with superb medical skills. I see that you have inherited the legacy of the divine physician Hua Busi and will become a top doctor in this world, with treatment techniques that no one can surpass."

Zi Zhu blinked in surprise, not even noticing the fan that fell from his hand.

"prophecy?"

"Hmm." The boy in his arms suddenly moved, his body stiffening for a moment. Yin Chu Jiu noticed it, but he still lowered his eyes and continued, "It was a prophecy. Besides you, I saw something else, about Yue Ling."

"I saw Yue Ling undergo a complete transformation after obtaining a herb, becoming a top expert and standing at the pinnacle of the world. And you later became his right-hand man, and together you founded Lingyue Palace, the most powerful sect on this continent."

Zizhuo: Huh?

He will become Yue Ling's right-hand man, meaning he will be his subordinate.

Don't be ridiculous. Yue Ling is indeed a bit strange, but he's not strong enough to make Yue Ling his subordinate. He has never thought of becoming someone else's subordinate.

Zi Zhuo looked at the boy in Yin Chu Jiu's arms. The boy didn't look at him, but only showed him his pointed chin. He raised his head and stared intently at Yin Chu Jiu's face above him, as if he wanted to engrave that face into his heart.

Just now, Yin Chu Jiu said he could see the future, so... does that mean that Yin Chu Jiu has been nice to Yue Ling these past few years because he saw Yue Ling become a strong person and wanted to curry favor with him in advance?

Zi Zhuo thought of the story he had heard about Yin Chu Jiu and Yue Ling. In the story, Yin Chu Jiu and Yue Ling were initially enemies, but after Yue Ling beat Yin Chu Jiu up, Yin Chu Jiu woke up and began to make amends to Yue Ling, and has continued to do so until now.

Yue Ling must have heard Yin Chu Jiu's words, which is why he looked at him like that. But there was no hatred in his eyes; instead, there was a strong possessiveness and a sense of determination, even a hint of sweet satisfaction, as if he couldn't control that person, but that person had willingly offered up shackles for him to hold.

It's somewhat alarming.

Zi Zhuo took a sip of tea as if to cover up his true feelings. If Yue Ling's personality was really like this, then he might actually become Yue Ling's subordinate in the future.

After all, it's not easy to find a powerful and agreeable follower.

“Alright.” Zi Zhuo took another sip of tea. He didn’t care whether Yin Chu Jiu’s prophecy was true or not. Anyway, everything would be resolved once they arrived at Mingyu Forest. “Then it’s settled. After we replenish our supplies in Buick Town, we will head to Mingyu Forest.”

If it's true, then he can obtain the inheritance of the immortal flower. If it's not true, then they've simply taken a detour.

For him, there was no loss.

Having decided on the route, Zi Zhuo left the carriage. He felt that if he didn't leave soon, he would be forcibly driven away.

He had just remembered that Yue Ling liked Yin Chu Jiu. Now that Yin Chu Jiu had given him leverage, that kid would definitely not let this opportunity pass.

And indeed, things turned out exactly as Zizhuo had predicted.

After he left, the air in the carriage immediately became quiet. Yue Ling climbed out of Yin Chu Jiu's arms, put the small table and stools in the carriage, and after the space in the carriage became larger, he pounced on Yin Chu Jiu, pushed him down, and pressed him firmly under his body.

The moment Yue Ling lunged at her, Yin Chu Jiu reached out and grabbed his shoulder, not out of fear of his actions, but out of concern that he might hurt himself.

The worry on Yin Chu Jiu's face was reflected in Yue Ling's eyes as he was pressing down on him. Yue Ling didn't care that Yin Chu Jiu was holding his shoulders, but simply reached out and gently stroked the side of his neck.

"You can predict the future?" he asked.

"Here it comes," Yin Chu Jiu closed her eyes briefly, then opened them and nodded. "Yes, I can make prophecies."

Yue Ling continued, "When did it start?"

Yin Chu Jiu replied, "It was after you hit my head that time that I was able to see those things."

"As expected." Yue Ling sighed. This explained some of his curiosity over the years. "That's why you said you would start making it up to me and apologizing to me."

“…Yes.” That wasn’t the reason, but that was all he could say. Yin Chu Jiu’s hands, which were holding Yue Ling’s shoulders, trembled slightly. He turned his head away, not daring to look into Yue Ling’s eyes. “I’m sorry.”

"Don't apologize to me." Yue Ling grabbed his chin, turned his face, and forced his eyes to look directly at her. "Do you know what the consequences will be for you revealing your ability to make prophecies?"

"Over the years, you've always said you wanted to make it up to me and apologize to me. Have you ever thought about how this will make me think of you?"

Yue Ling spoke softly, his voice weak and strained due to his poor health. His words seemed to float out of his mouth like the wind, yet they struck Yin Chu Jiu's heart like stones.

He pursed his lips, looked into Yue Ling's eyes, and said softly, "I know."

Yin Chu Jiu knew everything. He knew that with the boy's temper, if he knew that his approach was malicious and had ulterior motives, the guard he had worked so hard to lower over the years would be rekindled. He would push him away again, or even prevent him from getting close.

He will hate him, even more than before, and perhaps not just hate, but also despise him.

No one can accept someone deliberately getting close to them.

Yin Chu Jiu dared not look into the boy's eyes, afraid of seeing hatred and disappointment within them. He didn't want the boy, whose life had finally improved a little, to revert to his former self. However, to Yin Chu Jiu's surprise, after a long while, the boy didn't get angry, and his expression didn't even change much. He simply continued to ask, "Since you knew, why did you still say it?"

Her lips trembled, and after thinking for a long time, Yin Chu Jiu finally decided to tell the truth: "Because I don't want you to continue to be weak. I want to heal your body, make you healthy, and in the future, even make you strong."

"I want to take you to the Moon Forest, but I need your permission to go to the Jade Forest. However, to convince you to go to those two places, I need a compelling reason. Perhaps I can deceive you and find some excuse to get you to go, but once we arrive at those two places, I will come up with other excuses to deceive you into searching for ruins and medicinal herbs."

"Deception and distrust are taboo in a team. One lie often requires more lies to cover it up. I don't want the three of us to separate because of this. Even if we have to separate, it will be me who leaves. And before I leave, you will already know that there is a way to heal your wounds, so my departure will be worthwhile."

This is Yin Chu Jiu's most genuine thought.

I have a reason to speak out, even if it means being kicked out.

He didn't want to lie, nor did he want to keep deceiving Yue Ling and Zi Zhuo; they were his friends. More importantly, he had to persuade them to go to those two forests to find the elixir that could completely cure Yue Ling.

From now on, apart from that ruin, he can't miss any of the rare and precious materials in other forests that can temper his body.

Therefore, he had to lie and say that he could make a prediction in order to completely convince them.

He would give anything for this.

"So," Yue Ling pulled Yin Chu Jiu out of his thoughts, leaned closer to him, and said, "So now, do you still have feelings for me that way, wanting to please me in advance because I'll become powerful in the future?"

"No." Without thinking, Yin Chu Jiu replied immediately, then blushed and said with embarrassment, "I didn't think that way."

I never thought that way. From the very beginning, he only wanted to apologize and make amends.

Yin Chu Jiu didn't know why Yue Ling would ask such a question. He thought Yue Ling would be angry and kick him out, but he didn't expect that Yue Ling would ask these questions after learning about the lie he had made up.

He didn't seem to care that he was being 'prophesied' to be near him.

Yin Chu Jiu was inevitably a little nervous, but the next moment, the boy on top of him pressed down on him. Then he hugged him and fell to the side, and the two of them changed from being above and below each other to being side to side.

The boy curled up and nestled openly into Yin Chu Jiu's arms. Although the boy was thinner than him, he was actually a little taller. He just didn't look strong, which made him look small. Therefore, even though the boy was curled up, he couldn't fit his whole body into Yin Chu Jiu's arms.

The boy himself didn't know that he would grow very tall in the future, with a perfect height of 188 cm. Although he hadn't fully developed yet, his figure would definitely be perfect in the future. At that time, he wouldn't think about snuggling into the boy's arms anymore, but would only think about pulling shorter young men into his arms.

Yin Chu Jiu froze. He had never been so close to someone of the same sex before. Even with Yin Chu Shi, they had slept in separate beds after he turned five. Subconsciously, he forgot that he had just wronged Yue Ling and reached out to put his hand on the boy's shoulder, trying to push him away.

But before he could act, the boy's slightly hoarse voice came from his arms, "You've wronged me."

Yin Chu Jiu froze.

"I don't blame you, because you genuinely want to be good to me now. I just want to sleep with you, but you don't even want that? I got hurt because of you, and my chest still hurts. How can you bear to push me away?"

Yin Chu Jiu's movements froze completely.

Yue Ling lifted his head from Yin Chu Jiu's embrace. In this position, he couldn't see Yin Chu Jiu's face clearly, only his chin and a section of his neck that had finally regained its bronze color.

The boy seemed a little nervous, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down incessantly, like a small, brown candy ball. Yue Ling licked his lips, his eyes fixed on the little candy ball, resisting the temptation to lean in and taste it.

"Chu Jiu, are you in the future you see?" The boy no longer resisted, and Yue Ling buried himself contentedly in the boy's chest again. Taking advantage of someone's misfortune was always his forte. He listened to the irregular, fast-beating heart beside his ear and asked, "Will you be by my side in the future? You said Zi Zhuo would become my right-hand man, so what about you?"

Yin Chu Jiu licked her lips, somewhat nervously, "...Yes."

"So, are we on good terms?" He seemed very curious about the future.

"Yes." Yin Chu Jiu continued to lie.

“I also think it will be good, because we are doing very well now, but…”

Yin Chu Jiu's heart leaped into her throat.

"But I don't think you'll be my subordinate."

"Why?"

Yue Ling pursed her lips, closed her eyes, and said, "It's nothing."

Because he wouldn't let him be his subordinate; he wanted him to have a more intimate relationship with him.

Yin Chu Jiu didn't get a reply from Yue Ling. After a long while, she only heard his regular breathing.

In the end, he could only resign himself to his fate, hug the boy, and fall asleep curled up with him.

After Yin Chu Jiu fell asleep, Yue Ling in his arms opened his eyes. He nuzzled against him, loosening the loosely tied white undergarment in front of him, and gave him a satisfied kiss on the chest with its thin muscles, slightly gratifying his desire.

Then, he gently got up, looked at the boy who was still frowning in his sleep, and reached out to smooth the uneasy wrinkles between his brows.

How could he blame him? He was overjoyed.

He couldn't keep the boy by his side forever. Guilt would make the boy compromise and back down, and he would only be grateful for the opportunity that he had given him.

Stay by his side, even if it means feeling guilty.

He will use his apologies and guilt to gradually erode him, bind him tightly, until he can no longer leave, until he accepts him.

Regardless of the reason he came to his side, he only knows that he is by his side now and will always be by his side in the future.

Once it reaches him, it belongs to him.

The next day, Yin Chu Jiu woke up in the boy's tight embrace. When he opened his eyes, he saw the boy give him a sweet smile and say, "Good morning."

"Good morning," he replied curtly.

Then, the boy got up, stretched, changed his clothes, and handed him the clothes next to him in a very natural manner. "Hurry up and change your clothes. We'll be in Buick Town in two hours. We should go in now."

"Huh?" Yin Chu Jiu was stunned for a moment before realizing what was going on and started changing her clothes. "Okay."

After changing his clothes, the boy naturally hugged his waist and leaned against him, their actions incredibly intimate, as if they had been like this for a long time and would continue to be so for a long time to come.

Still reeling from all this, Yin Chu Jiu sat there for a long time before realizing that something seemed amiss.

Not long ago, he had sternly refused the boy's offer to sleep in the same bed with him, but now the boy was able to sleep with him openly.

Moreover, he had no right to refuse.

What is this? Did Yue Ling take advantage of his guilt...? Yin Chu Jiu thought blankly.

Author's Note:

Two chapters combined, another long one~ (*^▽^*)

Happy Qingming Festival to all the little angels!

Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution!

Thank you to the little angel who threw the [landmine]: 1 blue lantern above your head;

Thank you to the little angel who watered the [nutrient solution]:

Buya Sunny Day 2 bottles;

Thank you so much for your support, I will continue to work hard!