Reborn As The Short-Lived White Moonlight of the Tragic, Powerful Male Lead - Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Fluffy, Looks Like It Feels Great to the Touch

“He? How—”

“In short, as long as you stay by his side, you will find the clues to returning home.”

Xiao Qingfeng retracted his folding fan into his palm and tapped it rhythmically. “Your destiny is extremely complex; even I can only calculate this much. I dare say that even Lord Xuangui of the Demon Realm could not give you more information than I have.”

Gu Yunqi did not know the backstory. With an outsider present, he did not speak immediately, but he watched as Xie Lanting’s shoulders slowly slumped—not in relaxation, but in helplessness.

Xie Lanting knew Gu Yunqi’s gaze was fixed on him, so he did not turn around. After all, his current expression was not suitable for a face-to-face look with Gu Yunqi.

Back then, he had thought he needed to stay far away from the protagonist to survive. Who could have known that even if he set a one-year deadline for their divorce, unless he found a way back within that year, he couldn’t actually stray too far from Gu Yunqi after the split?

But in the original book, the original Xie Lanting died right beside the protagonist. He had to stay in the most dangerous place, avoiding his death flag while searching for a way home.

What kind of hell-mode difficulty quest was this?

Xiao Qingfeng, responsible for digging the hole but not for filling it back in, stretched lazily. “Sigh—chasing after you guys has worn me out. Can I have a room to rest my feet?”

“Of course.” Gu Yunqi’s hospitality was impeccable. “But wait, Immortal Lord Qingfeng. Since my blood is effective, how should it be used?”

He spoke as if he wasn’t discussing his own blood, but rather a pot of tea on the table.

“Oh right, I was so busy I almost forgot,” Xiao Qingfeng said. “Though your blood can treat his injury, the effect doesn’t get better if he chugs it. Just feed him a little when his old injury flares up or when he can’t hold on anymore.”

Gu Yunqi nodded and noted it down. “Many thanks. Someone, lead Immortal Lord Qingfeng to his rest.”

Xiao Qingfeng accepted it naturally and walked out, waving his fan.

It was the middle of the night, usually the time Xie Lanting would be sleeping. Gu Yunqi was in no hurry to ask what “returning home” meant. “There is still time before dawn. You were likely startled awake as well, Immortal Lord. Why not go back and rest a bit more?”

Xie Lanting looked at him with a complex expression. “I need your blood, and my path home lies with you. No matter how you look at it, you’ve become the ‘sucker’ while I’m the one with ulterior motives. Aren’t you going to ask anything?”

Gu Yunqi’s answer was unexpected. “To be honest, knowing I can help the Immortal Lord actually makes me very happy.”

“I know my own character—suspicious and gloomy—but my judgment of people is accurate. I can tell who treats me with sincerity.”

He drew clear lines between gratitude and grudges. A grudge must be repaid a hundredfold; as for a kindness, as long as it was sincere, he would return ten points for every one given.

Xie Lanting sighed softly in his heart. This is why I liked the protagonist when I read the original book.

He raised his hand to pour tea for Gu Yunqi and himself. Amidst the curling tea fragrance, he said, “The matter of ‘returning home’ is a bit complicated to explain. If I can find the path in the future, I will definitely be the first to tell you, and I will say a proper goodbye before I leave.”

Gu Yunqi’s fingers tightened along with his chest. He forced a smile. “Good. I wish the Immortal Lord achieves his heart’s desire. Just… if the Immortal Lord is free after returning home, remember to invite me for a gathering. If I’m lucky enough to see the Immortal Lord’s hometown, that would be even better.”

Xie Lanting’s hand paused while pouring. He pulled back just before the tea overflowed the cup, but he didn’t say whether he would or wouldn’t. He handed the tea to Gu Yunqi and moved past the topic.

“I won’t sleep tonight. Let’s talk about the specific arrangements for the Sword Discussion Assembly. That way, I can plan how to provide cover.”

Gu Yunqi took the tea and followed his lead into official business.

Xie Lanting took a sip of his tea. He didn’t dare answer Gu Yunqi’s request, because if he could return to the modern world, the two of them would likely be separated forever.

He couldn’t make a promise he couldn’t keep.

Gu Yunqi didn’t press him. He moistened his throat and began to lay out the plan.

After receiving news that Cangxing Mountain might be raising Vicious Beasts, the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets had sent several waves of people to investigate. Gu Yunqi had obtained high-level disciple waist tags from the first disciple of the Venerable of Cangxing, allowing them to infiltrate almost everywhere—yet they had found nothing.

The only place they had not set foot in was the Trial Grounds of Cangxing Mountain.

The ancestor of Cangxing Mountain had left behind a treasure that used the mountain’s abundant spiritual energy to construct a Trial Ground. Entering it allowed one to train both body and mind, but it required the simultaneous use of the Elder’s Seal and the Mountain Lord’s Seal to open.

The Pavilion members originally wanted to mix in with the disciples when it opened, but after waiting many days, the Trial Ground hadn’t opened once.

However, in this Sword Discussion Assembly, one of the rewards offered by Cangxing Mountain was: the top ten performers in each rank’s competition would gain the opportunity to train in the Trial Ground for one day.

This was why Gu Yunqi was participating.

Logically, Gu Yunqi could suppress his aura and join the Golden Core or Foundation Building stages, which would be an easy win. But Gu Yunqi wanted to choose the Nascent Soul rank.

Xie Lanting expressed understanding. “One’s cultivation may rise, but if one doesn’t fight against strong opponents for a long time, their skills might regress.”

Gu Yunqi agreed. “That’s exactly what I was thinking. But Immortal Lord, you support me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll lose?”

How could the protagonist lose? He was a master of “fighting up” several levels! For an early-stage Nascent Soul to fight in a Nascent Soul tournament was practically a walk in the park!

But aloud, Xie Lanting said: “Don’t feel pressured, just go for it. I have faith in you. If you really lose, we’ll find another way.”

The two of them refined the plan carefully.

In the period since leaving the Mermaid Secret Realm, Gu Yunqi had reached the second stage of the Water Manipulation Technique. Xie Lanting, however, was quite ridiculous—he had reached the fifth stage of Illusion Arts directly.

Setting aside his cultivation talent, the Illusion Arts likely shared a high compatibility with him; he understood them effortlessly. One must know that deceiving the eyes is only the beginning. True illusion arts involve a blend of the virtual and the real—making the false seem true and the true seem false. Sometimes, one even has to deceive oneself.

The most typical example of self-deceiving illusion is shapeshifting and disguise.

When Xie Lanting used illusion to turn his own legs into a fish tail in front of Gu Yunqi and the attendant, the boy cried out in awe: “That’s amazing!”

He looked at Xie Lanting’s shimmering silver tail, his heart itching. “Can I touch it?”

Xie Lanting gave a mischievous smile. “You can touch your own.”

He snapped his fingers, and amidst the boy’s cheers, he turned the attendant’s legs into a tail as well. The boy reached down to touch his own tail. “It’s so realistic! I can’t feel my legs anymore. It’s like I really have a tail!”

“Immortal Lord.”

Gu Yunqi’s helpless voice rang out. It turned out Xie Lanting had given him a fish tail as well. The attendant was sitting, but Gu Yunqi was standing; caught off guard, he stumbled and grabbed the table to steady himself.

Xie Lanting was delighted. “Beautiful.”

He gave Gu Yunqi a deep blue tail with scales that shimmered like the stars in the night sky, brilliant and magnificent.

Xie Lanting’s illusion was indeed powerful. Even Gu Yunqi had to sink his divine sense deep into his body to distinguish where his legs actually were.

Furthermore, with Immortal Lord Lanyue’s illusion, one would still have their pants on when changing back to legs. It was perfectly safe.

With Xie Lanting’s illusions, the Water Spirit could finally come out for some air, as Xie Lanting could help him change his shape.

After the Water Spirit had stayed in Gu Yunqi’s sea of consciousness for so long, Gu Yunqi could actually understand what it was saying. In the future, it might be sent out for reconnaissance with unexpected effects.

When the flying vessel of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets was close to Cangxing Mountain, Xie Lanting, Gu Yunqi, and the attendant disembarked early and headed toward the mountain on foot. Xiao Qingfeng, on the other hand, continued to hitch a ride, as no one recognized him anyway.

When Gu Yunqi left the vessel, he took all the snacks with him. The people on the vessel who practiced inedia had grown used to having snacks every day. Suddenly losing them made them realize: all the gourmet snacks had been bought by Gu Yunqi for Xie Lanting. They were just lucky enough to share.

Habit is a terrifying thing. Everyone lamented. Why do ordinary people make food taste so good? Next time I go out, I’m buying snacks too!

Regarding the attendant’s incense, Xie Lanting patted his head kindly. “You did well. Don’t try to ‘improve’ it next time.”

The improvement failed? It didn’t matter. The boy wasn’t discouraged at all. On the contrary, he grew braver with every failure. Next time he adjusted the dosage, he would definitely make something good!

Speaking of which, the attendant had one confusion. “Immortal Lord, you aren’t planning to enter the competition. When Young Master Gu goes to the Trial Ground, how will you follow him?”

Xie Lanting gave a mysterious smile. “The method has long been prepared.”

…

Cangxing Mountain had seven great peaks. Because of the Sword Discussion Assembly, every peak was teeming with people and noise. Although the matches were held on the Main Peak, the guest quarters were scattered everywhere. Some arrived early and had already settled in.

Xie Lanting and Gu Yunqi arrived just in time. Because they held invitations from the Demon Realm, the disciples arranged their quarters near the demon guests. Since the assembly was about to begin, they only had time to identify their room before following the crowds to the Main Peak.

Tens of thousands participated in this assembly, making it an unprecedented spectacle. The Venerable of Cangxing stood at a high point. Even though his face was as stern and rigid as if someone owed him eight million, anyone could see the pride in his eyes.

Xie Lanting, who had been a hot topic among cultivators recently, didn’t attract much extra attention this time, aside from people occasionally admiring his and Gu Yunqi’s looks.

This was because everyone had already bought the news from the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets—the rumors were debunked; he had not found a way to recover his cultivation in one go.

Think about it: Immortal Lord Lanyue was once at the Spirit Severing stage. After being injured for so many years, he must have consumed countless heavenly treasures. It wasn’t strange that he could recover a little. Even so, he only gained a tiny bit, crawling up to the Late Golden Core stage.

Alas, how tragic.

Xiao Qingfeng was nothing to worry about; he had vanished to who-knows-where. He always had that ability—rarely seen in person, but appearing at the critical moment.

Shudao had seen Xie Lanting long ago. After confirming he was at the Late Golden Core stage, he felt relieved. He originally wanted to say hello and ask how he had been lately—ideally, not well.

Unfortunately, Xie Lanting ignored him. After entering the venue, he headed straight for the demonic cultivators.

“Immortal Lord, Fellow Daoist Gu, over here, over here!”

Chen Zhushu had already contacted them via communication jade. He pulled Xie Lanting and Gu Yunqi to sit in the demon seats. Their position was one of the guest-of-honor spots. Several great demonic elders had come, though the Demon King was absent.

“My dad said there’s no rush. He might not come unless there are many registrants for the Spirit Severing stage this year. Then he might consider coming for a ‘warm-up’.”

The Demon King, the Vermillion Bird, was also one of the few Spirit Severing experts.

According to the assembly schedule, the Spirit Severing bracket was different from the others. After all other brackets had determined their rankings and visited the Trial Grounds, the Spirit Severing registration would open, specifically clearing space for them to fight.

A Spirit Severing fight was the grand finale of the assembly. But there were only a handful of such experts in the world, and they didn’t always gather. Bai Qianye had registered every time since reaching that stage, but without an opponent, it was useless.

“Senior Brother and I are both going to try the Golden Core bracket. I want to go to the Trial Ground to play,” Chen Zhushu said. “Are the Immortal Lord and Fellow Daoist Gu going?”

Xie Lanting held a cup of hot tea, looking like a picture of peaceful days. “I won’t be joining the tournament. Bullying juniors is not good, not good at all.”

Gu Yunqi: “There are too many people in the Foundation Building rank. I won’t go either, lest I embarrass the Gu family.”

Actually, if one looked closely, they were both telling the truth. Xie Lanting said he wouldn’t join the tournament, but he didn’t say he wouldn’t go to the Trial Ground. Gu Yunqi wasn’t going to fight in Foundation Building, because he was going for the Nascent Soul rank.

But since they only told half-truths, Chen Zhushu and Ge Wen naturally assumed they weren’t participating in anything. Chen Zhushu said, “That’s fine. When I come out of the Trial Ground, I’ll tell the Immortal Lord all about the fun things!”

He was only in the Early Golden Core stage, yet he seemed certain he would make it into the top ten. Xie Lanting admired that confidence. “Good luck.”

The assembly opened with the host—the representatives of Cangxing Mountain—speaking. The Venerable of Cangxing spoke very slowly. Gu Yunqi laid out fruits and honeyed snacks on the table for Xie Lanting to prevent the Immortal Lord from falling asleep out of boredom.

If it were a banquet, there would be food on the table. But at these assemblies, according to the habit of immortal sects, there was only spiritual tea.

Chen Zhushu sat nearby. Initially, he didn’t plan to snack, but before he knew it, a pile of melon seed shells had accumulated in front of him. His hands and mouth seemed to operate independently of his will—one after another, he couldn’t stop.

In an environment where no one else was making a sound, the sound of cracking melon seeds drew frequent side-glances. Many of the demonic cultivators were birds in their original form; hearing the sound, their mouths began to twitch reflexively. They couldn’t help but lean in, asking the Little Highness for seeds and nuts.

Chen Zhushu looked at Gu Yunqi.

Gu Yunqi wasn’t stingy. He pulled out bags of dried fruit. It seemed his decision to buy out several snack shops before leaving was the right one.

The Venerable of Cangxing’s voice boomed across the field: “Taking this opportunity, I wish to demonstrate to everyone the style of my Cangxing—”

Crack, crack…

A sound reached the Venerable’s ears.

Because cultivators have sharp hearing and sight, and given the atmosphere of the assembly, the audience usually stayed as quiet as possible during the opening speech. Even if the VIP guests spoke, they mostly used secret transmissions to avoid being intrusive.

This sound was very strange.

The Venerable’s brow twitched as he continued: “—Since its founding, our sect has—”

Crack, crack!

He wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but he felt the noise was getting louder.

Veins began to throb on the Venerable’s forehead. “Cangxing Mountain strictly follows the ancestral teachings, standing between heaven and earth for the Dao and for humanity, upholding justice—”

Crack, crack, crack!

Not just the Venerable, but many cultivators heard it. Some were already looking at the VIP seats in disbelief. The Venerable lost his patience and turned around indignantly, only to see the demonic contingent almost entirely equipped with handfuls of dried fruit, snacking away with great joy.

The cracking sounds were coming from them.

The Venerable: “…”

A great demonic elder waved a hand at him while chewing. “Carry on. Why are you looking at us?”

“Hey, bring some more spiritual tea. These are good, but my mouth gets dry after eating too many.”

It wasn’t that the Venerable had never been to a teahouse. In a teahouse, the storyteller spoke on the stage while the audience did exactly this.

He suddenly felt that the position he was standing in wasn’t so noble after all.

The Venerable of Cangxing took a deep breath and turned back. Out of sight, out of mind.

In public, he couldn’t possibly offend the entire Demon Realm just because they were eating melon seeds, could he? If a feud started over this, wouldn’t everyone laugh their heads off?

Amidst the non-stop cracking of shells from the demon seats, the Venerable finished his speech.

Normally, for a tournament with real weapons, the end of the speech should make everyone’s blood boil, making them itch for a fight. But perhaps because the background noise was too blatant, in the end, not only did the audience fail to cheer in unison, but even the applause was sparse. The “hype” effect was the lowest in history.

Who would have thought the culprit behind this scene was dried fruit?

At any rate, it certainly had nothing to do with Gu Yunqi or Xie Lanting.

Even without the adrenaline rush, the fights had to go on.

Stages from Qi Refining to Great Ascension were set up. One could watch wherever they liked. Gu Yunqi sat with Xie Lanting for a while before getting up to leave. Since no one was paying attention to him, he found a place to change his clothes and headed for the Nascent Soul stage.

Xie Lanting pretended to wander around as if he were just there for a casual stroll. He walked all the way from the Qi Refining stages and stopped by the Nascent Soul stage.

Some members of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets had already gone to investigate quietly. They only sent twenty people to participate, all in identical clothes and masks. But Xie Lanting could tell which one was Gu Yunqi at a single glance.

The reason for his recognition was a bit embarrassing—it was because he felt nothing for the others, but even if Gu Yunqi was wrapped up tight, he could feel the attraction of his blood.

Simply put, he looked delicious.

Sigh, what a sin. Xie Lanting popped another peanut into his mouth.

The tournament lasted five days. The top ten for each stage were decided. Gu Yunqi successfully took first place in the Nascent Soul rank, which didn’t surprise Xie Lanting at all.

During these days, Xie Lanting gave Gu Yunqi private pointers, analyzing his opponents with him. In the final battle, Gu Yunqi defeated an opponent at the peak of Nascent Soul. Across his mask, he smiled at Xie Lanting from a distance.

Xie Lanting sensed it and curled his eyes in return.

The Pavilion members sent out for investigation still hadn’t obtained any news. They could only see if there was something suspicious about the Trial Ground.

The Elders of Cangxing Mountain gathered the top ten of each stage and led them toward the Trial Ground.

The Trial Ground was usually only open to Cangxing disciples, so the disciples of other sects were very excited about this rare opportunity.

Among the winners, Chu Er and Shi Wu also made the Nascent Soul top ten. The Pavilion successfully placed two more in the Golden Core top ten and one in Great Ascension.

Chen Zhushu and Ge Wen also made the Golden Core top ten. Chen Zhushu even took first place. Although his cultivation was only Early Golden Core, the Vermillion Bird bloodline was the real deal. At the same level of cultivation, few could withstand his flames.

The crowd stood outside the Trial Ground, waiting for the Cangxing party to open it.

The Pavilion members naturally stood together. Their masks and outfits were perfectly uniform. Some people nearby wanted to get closer to them; after all, as intelligence brokers, they were popular.

But perhaps because of the effect of the masks, the Pavilion members seemed cold. After several people failed to get a response, the crowd stopped bothering them and gave them some space.

Probably only the person at the front of the Pavilion group had a gentler aura. This was mainly because a silver fox was draped over his shoulder. The little fox was curled around his neck like a scarf, fluffy, with its tail-tip twitching on his chest—it looked incredibly cute.

With the little fox there, even the red lotus mask didn’t seem so cold.

the Elders and the Mountain Lord of Cangxing brought out their respective seals. Their expressions were solemn, making the opening of the Trial Ground seem very ritualistic.

The little fox was bored. Its ears flickered, and it opened its round eyes. Its vertical pupils were a mix of cute and beautiful as it blinked at the people of Cangxing.

It seemed to be saying: Is it ready yet?

A female disciple clutched her heart. “That fox is so cute! I suddenly want to raise a spirit pet too!”

As if hearing her, the little fox actually glanced at her. But it only poked its head out before its head was gently rubbed by the Pavilion member. The little fox then stopped paying her any attention.

Ah! The female disciple was envious. That soft fur looked like it felt great to the touch. It must be so nice to pet!

Yes, Gu Yunqi thought so too. The little silver fox was truly comfortable to stroke.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t just pet it whenever he wanted.

Because the little fox wasn’t a real fox—it was an unparalleled Immortal Lord.