After the Stand-in Hugged the White Moonlight's Thigh Tightly - Chapter 34

 Chapter 34: “Vengeance for You”

The way Song Chenxi spoke made it sound as if he and Qiu Shi had some past relationship.

Ruan Mingyu deliberated for a moment, then finally uncovered that long-sealed memory and told Song Chenxi everything that had happened before.

“Do you remember when we came out of the bottomless pit and got lost in the Mist Forest? I split up with you that time. As I was walking, I ran into an injured demon. That creature wanted to suck my blood to restore his cultivation. Luckily, you had taught me a sword move, so I fought with him and took the chance to escape.” Ruan Mingyu pointed to his back. “I was even hit by an arrow while escaping. I still have the scar on my shoulder. I realize now, that arrow was probably fired by him.”

Song Chenxi’s expression was unchanged, only the hilt of the sword in his hand was almost deformed from his grip. In his heart, he was already planning to tear that person into a thousand pieces.

He softly said to Ruan Mingyu: “You don’t need to be afraid. Leave it to me to deal with him.”

Ruan Mingyu did not tell Song Chenxi about Qiu Shi forcing him to swallow poison. On the one hand, he was afraid Song Chenxi would rashly confront him, leading to both sides being severely injured. On the other hand, he was afraid that if he told him, Qiu Shi would refuse to give him the antidote, and he truly couldn’t endure that pain.

Song Chenxi felt Ruan Mingyu was definitely hiding something from him. He didn’t press him but silently followed him when Ruan Mingyu went down the mountain alone at the end of the month.

They were supposed to meet two days earlier, but Qiu Shi, for some unknown reason, chose the day when Ruan Mingyu was due to be poisoned.

Ruan Mingyu could only endure the pain in his exploding head and rush down the mountain to the agreed location.

As soon as he saw Qiu Shi, Ruan Mingyu demanded: “Give me the medicine!”

“Is that the attitude of someone begging?” Qiu Shi said coldly. “I asked you to monitor Song Chenxi for me, yet you got involved with him. You’re quite something.”

Ruan Mingyu only felt a swarm of buzzing mosquitos in his ear, which was maddeningly annoying. He started to become agitated, repeatedly shouting: “Medicine!”

Qiu Shi: “A beggar should have a beggar’s attitude.”

Ruan Mingyu was already driven mad by the poison. He could no longer care about anything. Losing all reason, he drew the sword Song Chenxi had given him and prepared for a final fight.

Under the torture of the poison, his swordsmanship unexpectedly elevated to a new level. The only complete set he knew, the Star Moon Kill, was wielded with its full power. The sword moves were as swift as lightning, each one aimed at the enemy’s vital points.

A look of disbelief flashed in Qiu Shi’s eyes. He twisted Ruan Mingyu’s arm and pinned him to the ground.

Ruan Mingyu still gripped his sword, trying to turn and stab him, but against the enormous disparity in power, it was ultimately futile.

Qiu Shi held him down tightly on the ground.

Ruan Mingyu’s earlier resistance was like a brief flare of light before death. The moment his head hit the ground, his vision blurred, and he could no longer see clearly.

“You know this move too,” Qiu Shi murmured. His memory seemed to cross the gulf of time, returning to the Mist Forest and meeting that unyielding youth again.

Qiu Shi dragged him up: “Don’t pretend to be dead.”

Ruan Mingyu slowly succumbed to the poison. He clutched Qiu Shi’s robe, losing all his earlier arrogance, and pleaded: “Antidote…”

Qiu Shi did not give him the antidote. He lifted Ruan Mingyu’s chin and carefully examined him. In the demon world, the only visible color was grey; everything was a hazy shade of grey. Therefore, he couldn’t easily distinguish people’s appearances.

He touched Ruan Mingyu’s face with his hand, carefully feeling his features. His nose was slightly more upturned than Song Chenxi’s, and his eyes were larger. He slowly moved his hand back, touching the black hair on his head. The soft strands wrapped around his hand, much more obedient than their owner.

Was it Ruan Mingyu or Song Chenxi back then? Qiu Shi found it increasingly hard to distinguish.

He had drunk his blood back then. If he just took one more sip, he would definitely be able to tell.

He revealed his sharp fangs, moved the hair near Ruan Mingyu’s neck aside, opened his mouth, and was about to bite down.

Just then, Song Chenxi arrived, rushing out and snatching Ruan Mingyu from his hands.

Song Chenxi’s face was filled with gloom.

“What did you do to him?”

Qiu Shi looked up and smiled sinisterly at Song Chenxi.

“We meet again.” Qiu Shi still hadn’t confirmed his guess. He said to Song Chenxi: “If you want him to live, bring him to the Mist Forest to find me.”

“Oh, I forgot to mention, he shouldn’t be feeling too well right now.” With that, he turned into a wisp of smoke and left.

Song Chenxi looked down to check Ruan Mingyu’s condition. Ruan Mingyu was scowling, seemingly in immense pain.

Soon, he began to wail. Ruan Mingyu felt as if a million ants were gnawing at his brain, making him wish for death. He repeatedly slammed his head against the ground, trying to alleviate the pain.

Just hold on a little longer, he told himself with self-deception, I’ll get the antidote soon.

But the pain was unbearable. Ruan Mingyu crawled forward, unable to distinguish whether the person in front of him was Qiu Shi or Song Chenxi. He grabbed his clothes and pleaded: “Medicine, give me the medicine! I’ll do anything you want, I won’t contradict you again, please!”

He looked up, eyes filled with tears, staring at Song Chenxi.

Song Chenxi remained silent, suppressing the urge to turn back and cut off the demon’s head. Instead, he pulled out a small knife, slit his wrist, and let the blood drip into Ruan Mingyu’s mouth.

He had already smelled a faint demonic aura on Ruan Mingyu. The demon must have refined the aura into the pill, which caused people to lose their minds and for their demonic nature to erupt.

The clash of the two demonic auras should be able to suppress the poison in Ruan Mingyu’s body.

The pain subsided. Ruan Mingyu tasted the sweetness and greedily opened his mouth, like someone who had been thirsty for days encountering sweet dew. He grabbed Song Chenxi’s hand and licked the blood from the wound. The bright red blood dripped onto his pale face, making his appearance look ghostly.

Song Chenxi said nothing. He held Ruan Mingyu in his arms, allowing him to drink his blood. He kissed his forehead and softly said: “Mingyu, you’ll be alright soon. Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

After drinking an unknown amount of blood, Ruan Mingyu finally regained his clarity. The blurry world suddenly became clear, as if he had been reborn.

That bastard Qiu Shi. He deserves to taste this feeling too.

He was weak all over, leaning feebly in Song Chenxi’s arms. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to see Song Chenxi.

Song Chenxi was watching over him. Seeing him wake up, he wiped the blood from his face, staining the white handkerchief red.

Ruan Mingyu recalled what had just happened. Song Chenxi had actually fed him blood…

He got up and bandaged the wound on Song Chenxi’s hand, asking him: “Does it hurt?”

This was the second time he had asked him if it hurt. Song Chenxi looked at Ruan Mingyu, seeing his anxious look, and smiled: “No, it doesn’t.”

“Wait for me here. I’ll be right back.” Song Chenxi picked him up and placed him in a safe spot.

“Where are you going?” Ruan Mingyu’s voice was hoarse. He tugged at Song Chenxi’s sleeve, not letting him leave.

“I’m going to get vengeance for you.”

…

Stepping back into this forest, Song Chenxi’s state of mind was vastly different from before. Originally, it was the joy of a new life; now, it was filled with hatred.

Qiu Shi was sitting on a dead tree, his feet dangling in the air. Seeing Song Chenxi, he pointed to the ground beneath his feet.

“Do you remember? This is where we first met. You were carrying a sword. I thought, What stray fat lamb has come to me? You were so weak, yet you still managed to stab me, almost killing me. But I still sucked your blood. It was so sweet and delicious.”

Song Chenxi had figured out the general sequence of events. He and Ruan Mingyu had been separated, and within those few hours, Ruan Mingyu had caused so much trouble.

He summoned his long sword, not giving Qiu Shi a moment to breathe. He conjured a spell, and the sword immediately multiplied into tens of thousands of sharp needles. Song Chenxi still felt it wasn’t enough. He bit his finger until it bled, then smeared the blood onto his long sword.

Qiu Shi felt a pressure coming from a fellow demon.

“No,” he said in disbelief, eyes wide. “How are you a demonic cultivator?”

He realized something, and his face turned extremely ugly.

“The person back then wasn’t you!”

Song Chenxi’s smile grew brighter: “Idiot. Can’t even tell people apart. Living is a waste. Today, I’ll send you to die.”

“Impossible!” Qiu Shi roared like an enraged beast. He had done so many bad things to Ruan Mingyu, and now he was being told that the White Moonlight he had been thinking about all this time was Ruan Mingyu? How could he accept this! This was a hundred times more painful than killing him!

“You’re lying to me, you’re definitely lying to me!” Qiu Shi was hysterical. Although he verbally refused to believe it, his heart was already wavering. Every moment he had spent with Ruan Mingyu was being repeatedly replayed in his mind.

Song Chenxi shouted coldly: “Go!”

The materialized long swords swiftly stabbed toward Qiu Shi. Where the sword light passed, not a blade of grass survived.

Qiu Shi gritted his teeth and resisted. The swords were incredibly hard, piercing through the barrier he erected.

He didn’t want to fight. He just wanted to go back immediately to Ruan Mingyu and seek his forgiveness.

Song Chenxi released the demonic aura around him and said: “Where do you think you’re going? Today, you’ll die by my sword. I will never let you see him again.”

Qiu Shi had no intention of entanglement with Song Chenxi; his sole thought was to return to Ruan Mingyu. He reverted to his original form, a massive, several-meter-long King Cobra. With a flick of his body, he swept away the incoming swords, then flew towards the sky.

Song Chenxi quickly followed. He condensed the remaining sword intent, transforming it into a colossal flying sword, aimed directly at the serpent!

With a mighty crash, one sword strike sliced off a section of the serpent’s tail.

However, when Song Chenxi looked at the spot where the snake had been, Qiu Shi was gone!

Qiu Shi endured the pain, heading relentlessly back towards his original direction.

He must see Ruan Mingyu. No matter the cost, he had to obtain his forgiveness.

If Ruan Mingyu could forgive him, he would pay any price. Qiu Shi slapped himself. The person I longed for was right in front of me, yet I failed to recognize him. Why did I make such a mistake?

He followed his sensitive sense of smell and tracked down Ruan Mingyu.

Ruan Mingyu had just succumbed to the poison. Although drinking Song Chenxi’s blood had helped, a new problem arose: a sudden, inexplicable irritation flared up within him. He drew the sword from his waist; since Song Chenxi had given it to him, he often wore it.

Ruan Mingyu vented his frustration by wildly hacking, leaving the surrounding forest in tatters. Not a single tree remained standing in his line of sight.

Ruan Mingyu knelt on the ground, unable to understand why he had done that or why he had such intense aggression!

Before his anger could subside, someone chose to anger him further by showing up.

Qiu Shi, that beast, appeared before him again.

Seeing Qiu Shi, Ruan Mingyu immediately tightened his grip on his sword. Nothing good ever happened when he appeared.

Qiu Shi’s eyes were bloodshot. He knelt on the ground, pulled the antidote from the bottle, and tried to feed it to him.

“Get lost!” Ruan Mingyu turned his head, thinking he was trying to poison him again.

Qiu Shi said with a trembling voice: “Do you still remember, in the Mist Forest, you defeated me with a sword move. I remembered you for so, so many years…”

Ruan Mingyu looked at him coldly: “I don’t remember any of those unpleasant memories. Who you are, I have no desire to recall at all.”

Qiu Shi’s face instantly turned ashen. He stretched out his hand tremblingly, wanting to touch Ruan Mingyu’s face. Ruan Mingyu showed an expression of disgust. Qiu Shi’s hand froze in mid-air, appearing somewhat helpless.

Why? Why did I mistake him for someone else?

He pleaded: “Can you forgive me? Everything I did to you, you can repay me ten-fold, a hundred-fold. Please, don’t hold a grudge against me.”

Ruan Mingyu had no emotional attachment to him; he couldn’t even muster much hatred. In this dog-eat-dog world, he wanted to uphold his principles and not harm anyone. Yet, while he didn’t harm others, others would harm him.

This was the attitude Ruan Mingyu should have had under normal circumstances.

But in the next moment, Ruan Mingyu’s pupils turned blood red.

He looked up at Qiu Shi and smiled, waving him closer: “Come here.”

Qiu Shi obeyed, walking over like a devout believer, willing to sacrifice himself.

Ruan Mingyu stepped on his chest with his foot and sneered: “You reduce yourself to this for a vague shadow in your heart? Qiu Shi, you truly are a waste.”

Qiu Shi’s face was drained of color. He couldn’t accept Ruan Mingyu’s attitude towards him. He lunged forward, trying to pin Ruan Mingyu down. The feigned gentleness was gone, leaving only deep obsession in his eyes:

“Come with me! I can give you anything you want! I can compensate you with everything I have!”

Ruan Mingyu scoffed, as if he had heard the biggest joke: “What are you? I don’t care for it.”

Saying this, he suddenly plunged his sword into the other man’s heart. Qiu Shi was filled with disbelief, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He stared straight at Ruan Mingyu, wobbling, and finally collapsing onto the ground.

Ruan Mingyu’s mind was filled with countless wild thoughts. Seeing the blood, he became increasingly excited. This feeling made his soul boil.

Ruan Mingyu’s vision was blood-red; the entire world had become a crimson landscape. He felt as if he had transformed into a sharp sword, desperately craving blood and slaughter.

Blood continually gushed from Qiu Shi’s chest.

Ruan Mingyu started to laugh loudly. He had never been so happy. He was superior, controlling everything, dominating everything. If he wished it, anything could turn to dust.

As he laughed, he suddenly began to cry, collapsing onto his knees.

Ruan Mingyu looked down at his blood-soaked hands.

What… what did I do?

Ruan Mingyu looked at Qiu Shi. He was lying on the ground, staring at him in pain, yet making no struggle.

How could this be something I did?

He clearly wanted to be a healer, saving lives. How could he… kill… someone…

Ruan Mingyu clutched his head. He felt like he was going insane. He finally understood why Song Chenxi was so abnormal. This world was too manic, too terrifying!

Blood started flowing from his eyes. The red vision was returning. Ruan Mingyu felt deep despair. He couldn’t control himself.

Without thinking further, he tremblingly picked up the sword again.

Qiu Shi, lying on the ground, resignedly closed his eyes.

Ruan Mingyu didn’t want to point the sword at Qiu Shi’s chest. He gripped the hilt tightly, gritting his teeth, and turned the sword around, aiming the sharpest edge at himself.

Then, he plunged it downwards.

As the blade drew closer and closer to his heart, a sound of rushing air suddenly came. The sword in Ruan Mingyu’s hand was struck down remotely, falling to the ground with a clang.

Song Chenxi rushed forward and embraced him.

Ruan Mingyu tumbled into a warm embrace. He lifted his eyelids to look at the newcomer. After confirming it was Song Chenxi, he wrapped his arms around his neck and buried his head in his chest.

Ruan Mingyu’s face showed a childlike bewilderment and desperate helplessness.

“I killed someone…” He looked up, his face full of tears, his lips trembling, struggling to speak the words.

“He’s not dead yet,” Song Chenxi held him tightly. “You didn’t kill anyone.”

Ruan Mingyu opened his eyes wide, crying blankly.

He made no sound, like a weeping puppet whose soul had been drawn out.

Song Chenxi lovingly kissed Ruan Mingyu’s hair. His palm stroked his trembling back, gently patting and comforting him.

From now on, all the filth, bloodshed, and ugliness, let me bear them alone. I don’t want to see Ruan Mingyu like this.

He wanted Ruan Mingyu to always be clean, beautiful, and his little sparrow.

Based on Ruan Mingyu’s symptoms, he was likely in a similar condition to himself. The only explanation for Ruan Mingyu turning out this way was that he had drunk his blood before.

Regret was useless now. Song Chenxi fed the pill Ruan Mingyu had refined to control “delusions” into his mouth.

Ruan Mingyu wasn’t swallowing, so Song Chenxi kissed him, sending the medicine down his throat.

“Feeling better now?” he asked.

Ruan Mingyu remained silent.

As the medicine slowly took effect, Ruan Mingyu finally blinked. He seemed to have regained his clarity. When he saw his hands covered in shocking blood, he trembled in Song Chenxi’s arms.

Ruan Mingyu felt he must look very disheveled now. His white clothes were soaked with blood—some his own, and some from Qiu Shi kneeling on the ground. The blood had even stained Song Chenxi.

He murmured: “What did I do?”

Song Chenxi covered his eyes, preventing him from seeing the bloody scene before him.

“Nothing. You just did what you wanted to do. It’s perfectly normal.”