Chapter 42: A Fool's Worry, A Genuine Daoist Companion.
Hua Deng believed her movements were extremely discreet. She concentrated intently, remaining silent, about to unveil the question that had long puzzled her. But—
"What are you doing?"
Her fingers were gripped by a hand, which also squeezed her palm, not too hard, not too softly.
Hua Deng: "..."
Hua Deng: "I'm curious."
Shen Zhou didn't comment, but instead pulled her hand and bit it, as if as punishment.
With one hand busy, Hua Deng said, "Let me touch it."
Shen Zhou grabbed the hand as well and said, "No."
Hua Deng, in a fit of rage, struggled to pull her wrist away: "You touched me, why can't I touch you back?"
Shen Zhou pressed both of her hands above her head and said, "Didn't you touch it once?"
That time doesn't count!
Unable to reach the lantern, she stretched out her leg to kick it. Shen Zhou clicked his tongue and pressed down on her leg as well.
“If you have that need, you should write it in the contract,” he said casually. “That’s a separate price.”
Hua Deng then readily agreed: "Then I'll give you money, and you can let me touch you!"
Shen Zhou paused for a moment: "Why are you curious about this?"
I wouldn't care if he chopped this off, yet some people are so obsessed with it.
"Can't I even be a little concerned about your health?" Hua Deng said matter-of-factly. "Besides, I just don't believe you've never had..."
etc.
If the conjecture that she was reincarnated is true, then she knows nothing about Shen Zhou's past experiences. Perhaps his claim of not knowing is just an act, or even worse, he may have actually been married and had children!
Hua Deng felt inexplicably choked up and complained, "Let go of me, you're hurting me."
Even though he knew that the force wouldn't hurt her, Shen Zhou still reflexively let go of her hand.
Hua Deng, now free, stared at him for a while, then suddenly flipped over and sat directly on his lap, placing her hands on his chest and bowing her head.
He opened his mouth and took the protrusion at the throat into his mouth. After a few seconds, he awkwardly licked it with a trick he had learned from who-knows-where.
The muscles beneath his palms were taut, and he had his hands on her shoulders, but as if he had lost his strength, he did not push her away immediately.
Hua Deng looked up on her own, trying hard to appear calm, but her voice still trembled with shyness: "You really don't feel anything?"
Shen Zhou didn't speak. She could hear that the breathing above her head had become much heavier, and even the skin in her palms seemed to have become burning hot.
After a brief standoff, he spoke: "...No."
His tone was calm as usual, but under the bright streetlights, one could clearly see that his Adam's apple was bobbing violently.
She tentatively lowered her head and licked it again.
The hand that had been pressing on her shoulder finally exerted force, suddenly pushing her down. In a dizzying moment, she was pinned down on her undone robe.
The man's words were inexplicably cold: "I gave you a chance."
Hua Deng gasped in surprise, a shiver running through the spot where his finger bone had been pressed. She noticed he was wearing a thumb ring on his hand, the cool jade causing tears to well up instantly.
He was unrestrained and uninhibited, and since the streetlights had bitten him, he had to bite back, biting in the exact same spot as last time.
He did exactly what the lanterns had done, returning the favor exactly as it was done.
The streetlights pushed his head, which trembled as he said, "How could you—"
He gritted his teeth, his voice low and hoarse: "If you can do it, why can't I?"
As if to verify his words, she poked her favorite spot with her fingertip. He listened to her broken moans, then moved his teeth away from that spot and took a bite next to it.
He still couldn't bring himself to use force.
Therefore, when I smelled that fragrance again, my already pent-up frustration became even stronger.
What the hell is this awful smell?
besides.
What are the symptoms of an irregular heartbeat?
Just as he was pondering whether to find the source of the fragrance from the lantern, he suddenly realized that her hand had reached out again.
He sneered and grabbed it.
"Lights." He pressed down, his knee grinding against that delicate area. "You don't want to sleep tonight, do you?"
The streetlights swayed to avoid him, asking resentfully, "Can't you see?"
Of course he can't see it.
But whenever he wanted, he could hear all sounds and perceive everything around him. He could even clearly hear how many birds were flying outside the window and how many insects were crawling.
But if I were to say it out loud, Hua Deng would cry again.
But she's crying now too.
Shen Zhou's legs followed her movements; as she took a step back, he took a step forward, until he forced her into the foot of the bed, leaving her nowhere to retreat.
Hua Deng closed her legs and gently rubbed against his thigh.
This is too uncomfortable; she would rather he use his hands.
She heard Shen Zhou seem to sigh, then wipe away her tears: "Are you made of water?"
Hua Deng sobbed as she said, "I didn't want to either..."
It's too embarrassing to cry, she will definitely hold it in if she can.
She accused him, feeling wronged: "It's all your fault!"
Shen Zhou raised an eyebrow, not denying it, but finally stopped deliberately teasing her and picked her up.
After a while, Hua Deng couldn't help but plead, "Hurry, hurry up..."
Shen Zhou said, "You just told me to slow down."
Hua Deng pressed her face against the blanket and hummed softly.
Shen Zhou chuckled lightly, "I did everything you said, so why are you still crying?"
Hua Deng said blankly, "I didn't cry."
A hand was brought close to her face, water droplets running down her fingertips.
"Want to taste your 'tears'?" He touched her lips with his fingertip.
After a moment of stunned silence, Hua Deng suddenly understood, her face burning with embarrassment.
"Shen Zhou," she gritted her teeth, "I'll kill you sooner or later...!"
“I am,” Shen Zhou whispered in her ear.
"—I'll kill you."
...
Hua Deng can no longer remember how she fell asleep.
She was probably still angry with Shen Zhou when she went to sleep, so she rolled up all the blankets and curled up on the inside of the bed. But when she groggily opened her eyes in the early morning, she was already being held in Shen Zhou's arms, unable to move at all.
She was half asleep, completely forgetting what happened last night. She only felt that Shen Zhou's arm was tightly around her, and his brows were furrowed, making it seem like he was sleeping restlessly.
But she was so tired that she patted his back, snuggled against him a couple of times for comfort, and then fell asleep again.
When Shen Zhou woke up, this was the scene he saw.
The girl's face was buried in his chest, her hair was disheveled, her hands were on his waist, her clothes were in disarray, and her neck was dazzlingly white.
He remained motionless, averting his eyes as he recalled his dream from the previous night.
He hates sleeping, and that's probably part of the reason. The moment he closes his eyes, he can't avoid seeing things from the past.
But he didn't dislike last night's dream.
He saw what happened after Yin Zejing and Chen Xi became Daoist partners.
At the time, he didn't understand the two people's choices. To him, love was a pointless and self-inflicted torment.
She wouldn't be in so much pain if her mother didn't love her father.
He went to find Chen Xi and asked her why she wanted to marry Yin Zejing. Chen Xi looked at him with unwavering eyes and said, "Because I like him, and he likes me too, that's all."
He went to see Yin Zejing again. Yin Zejing was beaming with joy and put his arm around his shoulder, saying with a smile, "A-Zhou, it's really great to have a Daoist partner. You should find one too!"
"You're sick." He impatiently shook off Yin Zejing's hand. "What can a Daoist partner do? It's fine if you and Chen Xi are just friends, why do you have to be my brother-in-law?"
“Hold on, I have no intention of calling you brother.” Yin Zejing spoke eloquently, “A Daoist partner is certainly wonderful, someone to share your joys, someone to comfort you when you’re sad, and also…”
He interrupted dismissively: "Then I should become Daoist companions with the sword in my hand."
Yin Zejing: "That's different! A Daoist partner is someone you see every day when you open your eyes, someone you feel happy holding. No matter how powerful your sword is, can it do that?"
He replied coldly, "Neither the sword nor a person can do it. I don't need a Daoist partner at all."
...
Chen Zhou's thoughts drifted from the past and landed on the bright lights.
If being able to see someone simply by opening one's eyes qualifies them as Daoist partners, then they are indeed genuine Daoist partners.
Yin Zejing is right; some people can find peace simply by observing.
Perhaps he should have offered more blessings to Yin Zejing and Chen Xi back then.
As dawn broke and it was nearly noon, he patted the girl on the shoulder: "The streetlights are on."
Hua Deng snuggled into his arms and whined, "No, I'm sleepy."
After a moment of silence, Shen Zhou closed her eyes with her.
Never mind, I'll sleep a little longer.
*
The first thing Hua Deng does after waking up is to admire Chen Zhou's sleeping face, and the second thing is to get dressed and escape the room.
She didn't want to see Shen Zhou's face again all day.
She even missed the days when she would open her eyes and Chen Zhou would be gone. These past two days, for some reason, he had become obsessed with sleeping in bed.
Hua Deng turned on the communicator, contacted Su Yiqing, and went to find her to have a cup of tea together.
Unexpectedly, Su Yiqing was with Pei Jianming. According to her, she had to seek refuge in Pei Jianming's courtyard to escape her boyfriend.
When she arrived, the two were talking about the history of Kyushu.
Hua Deng asked in surprise, "Why are you all interested in this?"
Pei Jianming raised his chin: "Of course it's because I want to become an immortal. I'm the protagonist of this world!"
Hua Deng: "..."
The content of their conversation was something she had learned in class; it was nothing more than those old stories.
More than 10,000 years ago, the Dharma-ending Age arrived, the ladder to immortality was broken, and from then on, no one in the Nine Provinces became an immortal.
But that's not the most terrifying thing. The most terrifying thing is that the laws of nature become abnormal. Anyone who breaks through to a higher realm will inevitably be tempered by heavenly tribulations, and as many as one or two out of ten will die under heavenly lightning.
Before the end of the Dharma era, there were tens of millions of cultivators in the Nine Provinces. Only three thousand years after the end of the Dharma era, due to the sharp decline in spiritual energy and the competition for resources, nearly half of the cultivators were sacrificed; and nearly 20% of them died from heavenly lightning.
Those nightmarish times in the Nine Provinces were not only vaguely described in historical records, but most of the immortal scriptures and magical artifacts were also lost during this period.
Three thousand years later, a sword immortal appeared out of nowhere and destroyed the lightning tribulation with his half-immortal body. From then on, except for the tribulation-crossing period, no more heavenly tribulations descended upon the world.
Legend has it that after the sword immortal overcame the tribulation of lightning, he ascended the ladder to immortality due to his extraordinary merits.
However, many people have doubts about this claim, because all those who become immortals in the Nine Provinces have their names inscribed on the pillars of heaven and earth, but their names and life stories are not recorded at all.
Moreover, the Ascension Ladder never appeared again in the thousands of years that followed—it is a well-known fact that the Nine Provinces had been abandoned by the Upper Realm.
Therefore, the most common speculation is that this sword immortal perished under heavenly lightning, proving his Dao with his own body, and his soul vanished with his death.
“But recently we discovered a cemetery!” Pei Jianming said excitedly. “Do you know who the deceased is?”
Hua Deng and Su Yi shook their heads.
Pei Jianming said, "It's Yin Zejing! That renowned Yuanhe Sword Master, the author of the 'Yuanhe Sword Manual,' a half-immortal who once reached the Tribulation Transcending stage—"
Hua Deng interrupted him: "And then what? Are you going to dig up someone's grave? That's not a good idea."
“How can this be called grave robbing?” Pei Jianming touched his nose guiltily. “The key is that there was the aura of heavenly lightning in his grave, and the time of his death almost coincided with the time when the heavenly lightning disappeared.”
"If we can break through the restrictions and enter the tomb, we can find evidence that he destroyed the lightning tribulation. In that case, the problem that has plagued the Nine Provinces for thousands of years will be solved! Perhaps, we can even find a way to restart the Ascension Ladder!"
Hua Deng remained unmoved by Pei Jianming's impassioned speech; she was more concerned about the task she had suddenly received.
Mission: [Participate in the expedition to find the Sword Immortal's Tomb with fellow disciples of the Medicine Purification Sect.]
Time limit: three months
There are still three months left, so there's no rush. We can deal with Qiu Ce first, and then take a trip to the Sword Immortal's Tomb.
According to the plot of the book, they fell into a trap as soon as they arrived at the entrance of the Sword Immortal's Tomb, and were then trapped in a secret room for seven days. She did not want to recall what happened after that.
When Hua Deng returned to her room in the evening, she had almost forgotten her vow that morning to "never speak to Shen Zhou." She told him about the Sword Immortal's Tomb and said, "After leaving Qingyang Sect, I also want to go to the Sword Immortal's Tomb."
"Zejing?" Shen Zhou nodded without much reaction. "Okay, let's go take a look."
Hua Deng first breathed a sigh of relief, then paused slightly in surprise.
Was he referring to Zejing?
You must have misheard.
Just then, Shen Zhou, who was drinking tea, suddenly stopped drinking his teacup and gave a strange laugh.
Hua Deng: "? What are you laughing at?"
Shen Zhou's expression remained unchanged: "It's nothing."
The thought of Yin Zejing's grave being desecrated is enough to make me laugh. If he were alive, he'd probably be so angry he'd crawl out of his grave.
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