Chapter Fourteen: An Immortal Touches My Head, Granting Me Immortality
The boy with delicate ears turned to look at him. He was handsome, and looked to be no more than seventeen or eighteen years old. Beneath his slender eyebrows were a pair of amorous peach blossom eyes, with long eyelashes highlighting his light-colored eyes. His pink lips parted, and his voice remained soft, without any hint of aggression, "Um... I think I haven't seen you before..."
Ye Chi waved his hand and laughed nonchalantly, "Hey, it's nothing serious. I just can't stand that person's attitude, so I wanted to help you."
The boy then realized what he had done, and his face immediately turned red with embarrassment: "I was even about to argue with you just now... Thank you, you're a good person."
Having been inexplicably given the "friend zone" card, Ye Chi choked for a moment, "Uh, it's nothing."
The boy sighed, lifting his eyelids, which glistened with tiny tears. His red lips were slightly pursed, displaying a resolute expression that refused to give up despite all the hardships he had endured. "Alas... are demons truly born evil?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Chi couldn't help but look over. The boy's appearance might be related to the subsequent plot, but he didn't dare to draw any conclusions himself, so he followed up with the boy's question:
"Are you really a member of the demon race?"
The boy with feathered ears nodded in agreement: "Yes, I come from the demon race. If you may, I hope you will call me Shi Bai."
"Okay, Shi Bai."
Shi Bai raised his hand and fiddled with his ear feathers. The soft feathers were blown by the breeze and looked particularly fragile.
"I come from an ancient demon race called the Heavenly Feather Clan." He lowered his head and said, "We are probably among the earliest demon races. Our ancestors were a hybrid of a phoenix and a deity. It is said that each generation has the ability to understand the past and present and can foresee the future..."
"Of course, I'm not that powerful. I'm just from the very, very, very distant branch. My father has a very weak Tianyu clan bloodline, and he looks almost no different from a human. My mother is an ordinary human, and her traditional Tianyu clan bloodline has faded to the point that it's practically nonexistent." He said with a self-deprecating smile.
"If that's the case, why do they still say you're a demon?"
With such diluted bloodline, Shi Bai shouldn't be considered a demon anymore. He has more human blood flowing through his veins.
“Because I have a primal tendency, I have these ear feathers.” As he spoke, the pair of small wing-like ear feathers fluttered a few times, and his eyes dimmed. “They don’t care how much demon and human blood I have; they only judge my character based on my appearance.”
Shi Bai looked at Ye Chi with a hint of envy in his eyes. "Ah, how wonderful. I also want to live a carefree life as a true human."
Ye Chi was naturally not good at comforting anyone, especially someone who looked so sentimental. He was organizing his thoughts when Ya Feiyu's voice suddenly came from behind him: "You're here."
It was neither hot nor cold, but for some reason, it sounded somewhat annoyed.
...It must be an illusion. How could someone as emotionally detached as Ya Feiyu possibly be angry?
And even if he was really angry, he didn't have a proper reason. It couldn't possibly be because he saw his apprentice talking to someone else, could it?
Ye Chiguang got goosebumps just thinking about it. Even if he occasionally came across some fan fiction, it shouldn't be so out of character.
He looked at Ya Feiyu. Sure enough, there was no emotion in his silvery eyes. Even though it was the midday sun shining brightly, Ya Feiyu's mere presence seemed to exude a chill. Ye Chi subconsciously put on a smile that could only be described as ingratiating: "Master, you're back."
Ya Feiyu nodded: "Yes, we've found a place to stay."
After speaking, he shifted his gaze to Shi Bai: "Who is this?"
Shi Bai seemed startled by this unprecedented sense of oppression. She cautiously shrank her already petite body and stammered, "Greetings, Immortal Master, I...I am Shi Bai..."
Ya Feiyu stared at him for a moment, then suddenly spoke: "Human?"
Shi Bai was stunned for a moment, his eyes instantly filling with an indescribable joy, sparkling brightly. This was the first time he had ever been mistaken for a human rather than a demon during a first meeting, and the other person was most likely a cultivator…
The hatred that cultivators have for demons is no less than that of mortals. A cultivator who doesn't raise his sword to attack them on their first meeting is considered to be quite rational.
Shi Bai's emotions visibly surged, her light-colored eyes shone brightly, and her eyes even reddened. A single, glistening tear slid down her cheek. What a beautiful woman shedding tears; she was a sight to behold and evoked pity.
Ya Feiyu froze, wondering if she had accidentally said something wrong. Just then, Shi Bai rushed forward, grabbed Ya Feiyu's hands, and choked out, "Immortal Master is the first person who didn't mistake me for a demon..."
Ye Chi hadn't expected things to develop this way. Seeing the two almost touching, his first thought wasn't to stop Shi Bai's offensive behavior, but rather to wait and see his master's performance. Ya Feiyu, who was already somewhat at a loss, froze completely, like a pillar standing tall, afraid that Shi Bai might make another move in the next second.
Wow, that's really something.
Ye Chi glanced at Ya Feiyu with a mischievous look, only to meet the latter's pleading gaze. He shrugged, indicating that he couldn't help her.
As a result, the language of the crow became even more rigid.
Shi Bai cried for a while, then belatedly noticed Ya Feiyu's stiff expression. Realizing that his actions might have been somewhat inappropriate, he immediately stepped back. Seeing that Ya Feiyu had regained some composure, he lowered his head apologetically and muttered, "Immortal Master, I'm sorry, I was too excited, that's why..."
Ya Feiyu shook his head, sighed, and rubbed his forehead: "It's nothing. But you, your golden core is depleted, your spiritual veins are weak... what happened?"
Shi Bai was stunned for a moment, his eyes widening in shock. "You can even see these things, Immortal Master...?"
Ya Feiyu cleared his throat, signaling Shi Bai to answer. The latter understood his implication and hurriedly said, "Ah, it's like this, I want to join a cultivation sect, but most sects are unwilling to accept me because of my demon bloodline. So I secretly sneaked into nearby cultivation families and stole some scriptures… But I promise I'm really not a bad person! I copied those scriptures once and then put them back! The ones I stole were all very common scriptures, not some evil secret techniques!"
Such a strong will to survive is rare even in modern times. Ye Chi thought to himself, but on the surface he asked with concern, "We believe you're not a bad person, you don't need to make so many excuses for yourself. So what exactly is this Golden Core of yours?"
Having received affirmation from the two immortals, Shi Bai's tense heart finally relaxed slightly, and he continued speaking:
"I... I think my aptitude isn't very good. Although I want to cultivate immortality, I know nothing about those ancient texts. So I went to the cave in the back mountain to meditate and cultivate, but it seems I haven't made much progress..."
"I cultivated like this for about ten years until I felt that I had formed my core. At first, I didn't notice anything wrong, but as time went on, I found that my spiritual power not only did not become stronger with my cultivation, but it was as if it was being eaten by something, becoming more and more difficult to control. Later on, my dantian would ache faintly whenever I used immortal techniques."
"I secretly went to a medical practitioner and found out that my symptoms were due to the depletion of my golden core, but they couldn't find the cause, so I tried to avoid using these techniques as much as possible afterward..."
"But recently! It has worsened! Even without using magic, I feel excruciating pain in my dantian, so I chose to go down the mountain to find a cure. On the way, I met a little girl who had been separated from her parents, so I came here."
He grew more and more dejected as he spoke, his earlobes drooping listlessly. "Even the immortal can see my illness at a glance. Am I beyond saving? Waaah..."
Ye Chi couldn't help but speak up: "That's not true! My master can see your problem because my master's magic power is high and all-powerful, it has nothing to do with whether you can be saved!"
Upon hearing this, Shi Bai raised his head, looking at Ya Feiyu cautiously yet expectantly.
"Immortal Master..." he stammered, "Can you save my life? I've heard that when one's golden core is depleted, one dies a terrible death, and I don't want to die in such agony..."
"Whatever you want, I will do everything in my power to satisfy you! Whether you want me to be your slave or a doormat, I'll do it all! As long as you can heal me, I will follow you to the death!"
"No need."
Ya Feiyu's voice remained as cold and indifferent as the bright moon in the sky, untouched by any dust.
Thinking that he was refusing to help her, Shi Bai's eyes instantly turned red, and she couldn't help but shed tears.
His life was full of hardships. He originally chose to cultivate immortality only to have the ability to protect himself, but he couldn't even enter the gate of the immortals. He studied the classics on his own, but ended up with a stubborn illness that he couldn't get rid of.
But he clearly just wanted to become stronger, is that wrong?
Does God hate him so much that He wants to drive him to the brink of despair?
Just then, Ya Feiyu's hand touched his face, her thumb gently wiping away the tears from the corners of his eyes. Shi Bai looked up and met only a pair of ruthless yet tender eyes.
These were the most beautiful colors he had ever seen.
Ya Feiyu said slowly, "Why are you crying? I will help you. I don't need you to be my slave or put up with my temper."
"If you wish, I can take you as my disciple and guide you onto the path of immortality."
"As long as you promise me that you will never commit crimes or harm the people in your life."
"Will you keep this vow?"
Shi Bai stared at him in a daze, tears blurring his vision. He wasn't even sure if he was dreaming.
So he almost greedily grasped Ya Feiyu's slender wrist, feeling the cool touch from beneath his palm. He couldn't help but grip it tighter, wishing he could tear the bright moon down with his bare hands.
"……good."
As if afraid that Ya Feiyu wouldn't hear him, he nodded vigorously, repeating over and over again, "Okay, I agree."
Ya Feiyu withdrew her hand and gently stroked the top of his head instead.
An immortal touched my head, and I was granted eternal life.
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