After the Stand-in Hugged the White Moonlight's Thigh Tightly - Chapter 21

Chapter 21: “Missing Him”

True Lord Sanqing often traveled far and wide, leaving Yuantai Peak usually managed by his few disciples. Before leaving, Master didn’t forget to start refining an elixir, which was rumored to take at least several years to finish. Therefore, he specifically assigned Ruan Mingyu to guard the furnace.

Ruan Mingyu nodded in agreement, then immediately haggled with his Master: “If I guard the furnace for Master, can you give me another bottle of the Vitality-Nourishing Elixir?”

Master stroked his beard and threw a few bottles of medicine at him from his sleeve: “Here, all yours, no charge. See how good your Master is to you? Guard the furnace well for me, and pay attention to the heat.”

Ruan Mingyu chuckled and nodded: “Master, take your time. The furnace is in my hands.”

Only after Master had walked far away did Cen Tao say: “You fell for his trap. This batch of medicine won’t be finished for at least ten years. You’ll be guarding that furnace pointlessly!”

“Ah?” Ruan Mingyu was helpless. He had already agreed, and he couldn’t just leave it unattended.

He sat bored in front of the furnace, unable to go anywhere. After guarding it for only a few days, he felt like he was growing moldy and desperately wanted to go out for a stroll. The pill furnace emitted a medicinal fragrance. Ruan Mingyu inhaled deeply, thinking this elixir must be of an unusual grade; even the scent was extraordinary.

But why did he feel a little dizzy?

Ruan Mingyu was about to close the lid of the pill furnace when he suddenly closed his eyes and collapsed.

He had not anticipated that this sleep would last for many years.

The spiritual energy contained in Master’s batch of elixirs was too concentrated for Ruan Mingyu’s body to bear, which caused him to fall into a deep slumber.

Senior Sister and Senior Brother initially thought he was just being lazy and sleeping because he was tired of watching the furnace, but later they realized he wouldn’t wake up no matter what they did.

By the time he woke up, over ten years had passed, and Master had returned from his travels.

“What a disaster! I asked you to guard the furnace, and the medicinal properties all dissipated! All those rare heavenly resources! My heart aches!”

“Master, please don’t fret. Hurry and save Junior Brother! If he sleeps any longer, he won’t wake up.”

Ruan Mingyu felt pain all over. Finally, it felt as if someone was hammering his spiritual core with an awl. The pain was so intense that his soul nearly flew out, and that’s when he opened his eyes and woke up.

Old Man Sanqing sat in front of him, looking grief-stricken: “My medicine! You brat, I asked you to guard the furnace, and you gobbled up all the medicinal energy!”

Hearing this, Ruan Mingyu ignored his discomfort and quickly scrambled up, saying: “Master, please don’t falsely accuse me! I guarded that furnace diligently! Even when the cat jumped onto my lap, I didn’t dare move an inch!”

True Lord Sanqing: “The medicinal properties were all absorbed by you! Look, hasn’t your cultivation increased! It’s only been a few years, and you’ve already reached Foundation Establishment! If you had absorbed any more medicinal energy, you might have formed a Golden Core!”

Cultivation stages are divided into Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, and Ascension. Ruan Mingyu, in his early twenties, instantly reached Foundation Establishment. If he had reached this stage through his own cultivation, he would be considered a genius.

“Really?” he asked.

Sanqing: “Don’t be happy too soon. Your weak body simply cannot withstand that much spiritual energy. If we don’t deal with the spiritual energy soon, your life will be in danger. Although you’ve reached Foundation Establishment, I’m sealing your cultivation at the Qi Condensation stage.”

Ruan Mingyu didn’t have much of a reaction, as he wasn’t interested in cultivation anyway.

“What if you don’t seal it?”

Master: “Your body will explode and you’ll die.”

“!” Isn’t that the ending in the book?

Ruan Mingyu’s heart sank. After all this, even if he didn’t follow the plot, was the final outcome still the same?

He asked Senior Sister: “How long was I asleep?”

“Not long,” Cen Tao counted. “Just sixty or seventy years.”

“…”

In one sleep, he had slept through most of his life. He hadn’t expected time to be so cheap in the cultivation world. He had originally thought that living fifty or sixty years would be a full life, but over a decade had passed as quickly as a few days. Ruan Mingyu hadn’t lived enough; he didn’t want to die like this.

Seeing Ruan Mingyu’s gloomy expression, Master consoled him: “Don’t be disheartened. If you take my medicine, I guarantee you’ll live to be a hundred years old without any problem.”

“What about after a hundred years?”

“Leave it to fate.”

“What if I don’t want to accept my fate?”

“Then diligently refine elixirs. Perhaps with a stroke of luck, you’ll find a cure.”

“…”

…

Meanwhile, far away in the secret realm, Song Chenxi walked with heavy steps through the snow.

He didn’t know how long he had been walking. If this continued, he might die here. He was trapped in an illusionary secret art, finding it difficult to break free.

Finally, when he reached the eight hundred thousandth step, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him. The person had their back to him.

Song Chenxi became vigilant, gripping the sword in his hand as he approached.

After approaching, the person in front turned around.

Song Chenxi saw a familiar face.

“How could you be here?” His voice was filled with disbelief.

Why would Ruan Mingyu appear here?

According to the time outside, he hadn’t seen him for twenty years.

He was still in his original appearance. His tone, and even his subtle movements and expressions, were exactly the same as Ruan Mingyu’s back then, speaking and acting like a young boy.

“Senior Brother, I finally see you,” the person in front of him said joyfully.

Song Chenxi stared at him fixedly, making no further move.

“Ruan Mingyu” stepped forward, grabbed his sleeve, and looked disappointed, with his eyes lowered: “Senior Brother, why are you looking at me with that expression?”

He held Song Chenxi’s hand, placed his face against it, and looked at him affectionately.

“Senior Brother, don’t you like me anymore?”

“Like you, of course I like you.” Song Chenxi touched his face. “It’s been a long time. You’re still the same.” Song Chenxi seemed to be completely enchanted by him. He lowered his head, leaning forward and closing in on him.

“Ruan Mingyu” revealed a confident smile, but the next moment, he could no longer smile.

Song Chenxi plunged his sword into the heart of the person in front of him.

He said without a trace of emotion: “You’re very similar, but you are not him.”

“How am I different?” the demon in the illusion asked, unwilling to give up.

“The feeling.”

When he pulled the sword out, the blade was clean of any blood. The person in front of him instantly dissolved into a phantom and disappeared.

The white surroundings finally began to fall apart.

Song Chenxi sheathed his sword, breathing a deep sigh of relief. That was close; he was almost seduced.

He looked into the distance, wondering if Ruan Mingyu, that heartless thing, would miss him.

Had he read the letter he sent?

Song Chenxi was eager to leave the secret realm.

He wanted to see him.

Far away in the sect, Ruan Mingyu sneezed.

Many years had passed, and Ruan Mingyu’s old clothes were a little small on him, as he had continued to grow during the years he was unconscious. His house was mostly destroyed the last time it exploded, but one or two of Song Chenxi’s clothes, which were made of unknown material, hadn’t been burned. Ruan Mingyu was too lazy to buy new ones, so he simply picked up Song Chenxi’s clothes to wear; they fit him just right.

It had been over twenty years. Why hadn’t Song Chenxi appeared yet? It was time for him to come out.

He happened to run into Senior Sister while going out. Ruan Mingyu expressed his doubts to her.

Cen Tao: “What, do you miss him?”

Ruan Mingyu was choked by her words and immediately coughed.

“I’m just curious…”

“Time passes slowly in the secret realm. It’s a good thing if he can come out at all. Since he hasn’t returned for so long, it means he hasn’t been eliminated yet, which should be a happy event. Oh, right. I heard his Senior Brother is about to come out of seclusion. Their Master is truly blessed; both of his disciples are top-notch geniuses, unlike our Yuantai Peak, where talent is fading.”

“Who said that? Our Senior Sister’s cultivation is also top-notch.” Ruan Mingyu still maintained a cheerful demeanor, but his heart was already anxious.

Was Shen Yanyuan coming out of seclusion? Ruan Mingyu felt a moment of panic. He never wanted to experience the days of being locked up again.

Forget it, what’s coming will come eventually. Worrying won’t help.

Cen Tao noticed something was wrong and asked him: “Are you sick? Why is your face so pale?”

Ruan Mingyu shook his head: “I’m fine. The wind is cold. I’ll be fine once I go back and put on warmer clothes.”

After that, Ruan Mingyu cultivated more diligently. Only by becoming strong could he be free from the control of others. Relying on anyone was not as good as relying on himself. Wait, maybe he could rely on others. Since Song Chenxi was the protagonist of this world, generally speaking, the protagonist is unkillable. In the book, the plot involved attempts to poison him multiple times, and he still didn’t die. So, why not… latch onto Song Chenxi’s thigh and follow him?

Ruan Mingyu was pondering the feasibility of clinging to the protagonist’s thigh when he suddenly heard footsteps at the door. The footsteps were heavy. At first, he thought it was Ji Ying.

Ruan Mingyu didn’t turn around and said: “Senior Brother, are you here to help Senior Sister find her cat again? The cat isn’t with me.”

After a moment, receiving no response, Ruan Mingyu realized something was amiss and quickly turned his head.

And saw that man—

He never expected their reunion to be under these circumstances.

Shen Yanyuan stood at the doorway, still as aloof as ever.

“Ruoyue, why did you leave without saying goodbye?”