Unconventional [Rebirth] - Chapter 101

Jiang Xi’s cheeks were rosy, and she bore no signs of injury. Combined with the private ward and professional caregivers arranged by Zhou Yongping, she was being pampered like a prize pig; Zhou was terrified she might suffer even the slightest grievance while under his watch.

When Jiang Rui entered the room, he saw Jiang Xi sitting on the hospital bed playing with a tablet, though it was unclear what she was working on. As soon as the twins entered, they scrambled toward the bed with boisterous energy, showing no trace of shyness.

Jiang Rui chuckled at the sight. “Xi-xi, play with your younger sisters for a while,” he said to the group. “I’m going to check on your Brother Xiao Wu and Uncle Lunan.”

Jiang Xi nodded obediently. She hopped off the bed and, along with her two sisters, followed Zhou Yongping to the nearby children’s play area. Watching them walk away, Jiang Rui’s expression grew somber. He straightened his clothes and stepped into the next ward.

Xiao Wu was still unconscious. After all, his three souls and seven po (mortal spirits) had been brushed by a Soul Reaper. They couldn’t return to his body immediately. To emerge from this vegetative state, it would take at least three days. Jiang Rui recalled a rural folk remedy: if a person who wasn’t meant to die lost their soul, their kin could wail to call it back. It was a form of “Soul Induction,” though it was mostly hearsay without a solid foundation.

Xiao Lunan was currently asleep on the adjacent bed. After watching them for a moment, Jiang Rui stood up and tore through the void, heading toward another military hospital.

The facilities in the capital were specialized. Those accused of crimes were treated in specific hospitals under police guard. Given that Wang Chenghui was involved in a homicide—on top of his prior criminal record—he had naturally been sent there.

Jiang Rui entered the ward under a concealment spell. Wang Chenghui’s injuries were severe; he was wrapped in bandages like a mummy and remained in a deep stupor. Jiang Rui stood by his side, looking at the man’s pathetic state. Honestly, he found it somewhat laughable.

A mocking smile played on his lips. As he watched Wang Chenghui’s sudden, restless movements, the man’s eyes snapped open. Initially, he stared blankly at Jiang Rui, failing to register his presence. Then, his eyes bulged. His body began to shake uncontrollably, as if seized by a fit of epilepsy.

“Mr. Wang,” Jiang Rui said with a faint smile. He stood straight, one hand behind his back. “Don’t lose your temper.”

Jiang Rui stepped closer to the bed and lightly tapped a point near Wang’s neck. Wang Chenghui’s dazed expression sharpened into a state of hyper-arousal; the look he directed at Jiang Rui was one of pure, murderous hatred, as if he wanted to swallow him alive.

“A little over a month ago, you were so formidable,” Jiang Rui laughed. He was referring to the time Wang Chenghui had “invited” Rong Jingtang to dinner. Wang had believed he held Rong’s weakness in his hands, unaware that Rong Jingtang himself had viewed that encounter as nothing more than a bizarre “meeting of the parents.”

Jiang Rui ignored the man’s fury. “Now, the meridians in your four limbs are completely ruined,” he said, pouting slightly. “Though, it seems you’ve lost all sense of pain. Originally, I wanted you to taste what it felt like to have your hands and feet crushed by a hammer, bit by bit.”

Jiang Rui shrugged, his face maintaining that harmless, gentle smile he showed the world. “But the current you is simply too boring.”

Without another word, he deactivated the barrier and vanished from the room. Simultaneously, Wang Chenghui’s medical monitors began to emit a piercing alarm. Doctors rushed in to find the patient’s eyes bulging hideously, his meridians and muscles already showing signs of rapid atrophy and necrosis.

Instead of returning to the Rong estate, Jiang Rui went to Rong Anchen’s nearby home. When he arrived, Rong Anchen and Jia Shi were in the backyard… playing Go.

Having been raised in a Buddhist temple, Jia Shi was naturally an expert at the game. Rong Anchen, on the other hand, had taken it up to cultivate his temperament and had eventually developed a genuine passion for it.

Jia Shi remained calm at Jiang Rui’s sudden appearance, but Rong Anchen rolled his eyes and clutched his chest before irritably pouring Jiang Rui a cup of tea. Jiang Rui didn’t stand on ceremony; he sat down and gulped the fine tea like a commoner.

Jia Shi set down a game piece, pressed his palms together, and offered a greeting. After returning the gesture, Jiang Rui looked at the monk’s serene face. Before he could speak, Jia Shi said, “Benefactor, the aura of blood around you is heavy, yet a great fortune lies hidden within it. Please, take care.”

Even though he had returned to secular life, the Buddhist vernacular Jia Shi had used for decades was not easily changed.

Jiang Rui rubbed his nose, not bothering to argue. “Do you have anything here that can stabilize a soul?”

Jia Shi hesitated. “The Gama Shuttle is the most powerful soul-stabilizing treasure I possess.”

“The Gama Shuttle…” Jiang Rui pondered. “But you sent it back to Putuo Temple to protect the Buddhist aura there. That won’t do.”

Jia Shi smiled. “If a person is not destined to die, they will survive no matter what you do. If they are destined…”

In that case, one would either have to go all the way and send the person to a place beyond the Three Realms and the Cycle of Reincarnation, or spend an entire lifetime protecting them until the end. Jiang Rui had already decided on the former path, so he said no more.

After bidding farewell to Jia Shi, Jiang Rui returned to the hospital. The repeated “Void Tearing” had left him exhausted, though he hid the fatigue well.

He had seen a soul-stabilizing treasure within his Secret Realm, but using it required the recipient to be a cultivator. Jiang Rui planned to transfer a portion of his own cultivation to Xiao Wu, though he didn’t intend to truly set him on the path of immortality. The cultivation level of a Qi Refining stage would simply allow Xiao Wu to live a longer, healthier life.

Here, Jiang Rui was being a bit selfish. He couldn’t bear the thought of Jiang Xi being left alone in her old age if Xiao Wu passed away before her. To save his sister from that loneliness, he made this decision.

Transferring cultivation usually cost the donor double or more of what the recipient gained. Fortunately, Jiang Rui had already reached the Yuan Ying (Nascent Soul) stage; opening the “Spirit Root” for a mortal wouldn’t drain him too much. However, looking at Xiao Wu’s fair, tender skin after the cleansing, Jiang Rui silently fed Jiang Xi a Beauty Pill as well. His sister was beautiful, but she couldn’t naturally compete with the ethereal glow of a cultivator.

Back at the Rong estate, Rong Jingtang was absent, and Butler Cheng was resting. Jiang Rui decided to enter the Secret Realm. Within the realm, everything was shared between him and Rong Jingtang; he could sense exactly where the other was.

He found Rong Jingtang watering a “Little Peach Blossom” tree. The tree looked immensely comfortable, and the Spirit Essence beside it seemed to be dozing, radiating a crystal-clear aura.

“Where did this water come from?” Jiang Rui asked. Rong Jingtang led him to a place he had never seen before.

It was a vast hot spring. As the master of the Secret Realm, Jiang Rui should have known it existed, yet it appeared to have been newly discovered. He looked at Rong Jingtang in his comfortable lounge robe and then at the clear pool, raising an eyebrow.

Rong Jingtang sat on a protruding rock. “This spring water is a treasure for natural spirit beings. We can soak in it occasionally, but we mustn’t stay too long.”

Jiang Rui tested the water and realized Rong Jingtang was right. For spirit beings like the peach tree, this was the ultimate nourishment. But for humans, overexposure would lead to an “over-tonification” that could cause more harm than good. “Soaking two or three times a week should be enough,” Jiang Rui noted.

“A-Jing,” Jiang Rui said, hugging his knees and feeling the storage bag tucked inside his clothes. “Let’s perform Dual Cultivation.”

These words were effectively the cultivation world’s equivalent of “Let’s make love.”

Jiang Rui remained relatively composed, but Rong Jingtang’s feet stopped splashing in the water. He stared at the ripples in a daze. A white-furred tiger cub nearby, who had been mid-yawn, was so startled that its tongue hung out of its mouth, looking utterly ridiculous. The cub eventually slunk away, tail between its legs. Hmph, I’ll find a tigress and have a whole litter of cubs. Then we’ll see who’s showing off!

Rong Jingtang turned to look at Jiang Rui and the precious manual in his hand. After a long silence, he finally uttered a single word: “Okay.”

Jiang Rui’s face turned as red as a monkey’s bottom. He let out a slow breath, smiled, and handed the book to Rong Jingtang. “See for yourself…”

Rong Jingtang took it casually, then frowned. “Go wash up first. You reek of blood. Where have you been?”

Jiang Rui explained the day’s events. Rong Jingtang gave him a look that made Jiang Rui bristle. “Wang Chenghui had ambition but lacked the finesse and patience,” Rong Jingtang remarked. “His subordinates weren’t loyal. Even if you ignored him, he would have ended miserably. Why trouble yourself?”

Jiang Rui just smiled. He and Rong Jingtang were different in their approaches, and he didn’t feel the need to argue. He dove into the water.

Meanwhile, Rong Jingtang flipped to a specific page. His eyes narrowed. It said: “Shared Memories.”

“Rui-rui,” Rong Jingtang tapped the rock. A gentle ripple touched Jiang Rui. When Jiang Rui surfaced, he saw a look on Rong’s face that gave him a very bad feeling. “Come up.”

“Today,” Rong Jingtang pointed to the page, “we are practicing this.”

Jiang Rui’s expression became complicated. He had seen this chapter. It was the most profound, the simplest, and yet the most difficult part of the book.

Spiritual Dual Cultivation.

In the cultivation world, this was rare. Most chose physical cultivation—to satisfy desire or to harvest Yin and Yang energies. Some even used others as “vessels,” a cruel and wicked method. But Spiritual Dual Cultivation was different. One’s spiritual consciousness is the core of their being. To practice this meant laying one’s entire self bare—no secrets could be kept.

Jiang Rui felt that Rong Jingtang had a great many secrets. But he himself… he had his rebirth and his history with Ye Wenbin. Jiang Rui’s face turned green. If Rong Jingtang found out…

Before he could speak, Rong Jingtang narrowed his eyes and smiled. “Close your eyes.”

Spiritual cultivation was, in practice, very simple. Rong Jingtang stripped off his outer robe, revealing a streamlined physique that Jiang Rui admired through a tiny squint before finally closing his eyes.

They sat cross-legged above the water. Between them, the Nascent Soul in Jiang Rui’s body and the Golden Core in Rong Jingtang’s body began to stir. Their foreheads touched, emitting a tri-colored light. The Nascent Soul—looking like a chubby, adorable toddler—emerged and began to play with the spinning Golden Core. The toddler hugged the Core, rubbing its face against it affectionately.

At that moment, images flooded their minds.

Jiang Rui saw everything Rong Jingtang had experienced since birth—his first breath, the banquets of his infancy… it played like an old movie. He saw when Rong Jingtang was thirteen, after a house fire, and was sent to… Qing City?!

Jiang Rui frowned inwardly. He watched as Rong Jingtang moved in right across from his own childhood home. He watched their ten years as neighbors—from being innocent eight-year-old playmates to Rong Jingtang leaving for the capital at eighteen.

These were things he never knew. He saw that even after moving back to the capital and fighting to stabilize the chaotic Rong family, Rong Jingtang had always sent people to Qing City to watch over him.

When Jiang Rui finally emerged from the meditation, he touched his heated abdomen and stared blankly at the rocks. Rong Jingtang’s expression had also changed.

“So, that’s what Rui-rui looked like in your past life,” Rong Jingtang mused, tracing the air with his finger to outline a face. In his previous life, Jiang Rui had been a man of hardened muscle and rough skin, a “tough guy” who even grew a beard to offset his handsome features.

Jiang Rui blushed. “So what if I looked like that? I was a man.”

The sentimental mood was broken by Rong Jingtang’s teasing. Jiang Rui rolled his eyes, threw on his clothes, and retreated to the small cabin.

He didn’t see the rock under Rong Jingtang’s hand crumble into dust.

In the memories of the previous life, Jiang Rui’s path had been tragic. He had been disowned after coming out to his family, and then there was that man, Ye Wenbin… and Wang Chenghui.

In the previous life, Jiang Rui had considered Wang Chenghui a brother, only to be betrayed because of Ye Wenbin’s manipulations. Even when his bones were being broken, Jiang Rui had never begged for mercy. He had kept his dignity to the very end.

Rong Jingtang looked toward the cabin. In that past life, he hadn’t existed in Jiang Rui’s world. But in this life, fate had brought them together.

If I still managed to lose him this time… Rong Jingtang thought with a self-mocking smile, I might as well just end it myself.