After Sheng Jun Chapter 54 (Part 2)
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 54 Bright Future (part 2)
Hearing this, Zhu Yan asked no more, only smiling, "Today the Sect Master and Protector Bai seem to be taking turns. Only the Protector came this morning, and he said..." His words abruptly stopped as if he'd misspoken.
Jiang Xingzhi narrowed his eyes, "What did he say?"
Zhu Yan coughed lightly, "Nothing, it's just that when I didn't see the Sect Master, I asked. Protector Bai said 'The Sect Master hasn't gotten up yet, let him sleep more' or something like that."
Jiang Xingzhi: "..."
Damn! That shameless Xu Jian!
He finally understood why Zhu Yan was hesitant. The words weren't wrong, but they sounded far too suggestive. What "he hasn't gotten up" and "let him sleep more"...
Jiang Xingzhi couldn't help but mutter internally: Last night Xu Jian wouldn't even let him touch his abs, yet he spoke to others as if he were very capable.
Seeing the ears behind the mask slowly reddening, Zhu Yan understood, "It's fine, Sect Master, we all understand."
...You understand nothing.
Jiang Xingzhi glanced at him, unwilling to say more. He redirected his gaze to the assessment area, maintaining dignity, "Focus on monitoring the assessment."
Zhu Yan immediately composed himself, "Yes, Sect Master!"
The final assessment concluded near evening.
Though Jiang Xingzhi watched attentively throughout, his heart remained with Zhong Ming. Every so often he'd glance toward the horizon, but the latter never returned even after the assessment ended.
The assessment results were out. Those who failed quickly left Kunlun, while the successful candidates were taken to quarters. Zhu Xu informed them of sect rules and gave them a tour of areas accessible within the sect.
Around this time, Wu Jie, who'd been working elsewhere all day, also returned.
Jiang Xingzhi had been waiting early outside Wu Jie's small courtyard.
Now that Kunlun had new members, Wu Jie's courtyard also had barriers. Outside the barrier, a new wishing pool had been excavated where fortune-seekers could drop two spirit stones for divination and wishes.
The divination time was specifically set after sunset at the hour of Xu, externally explained as "divine oracles descending with nightfall," but actually Wu Jie's return time from outside work.
Seeing Jiang Xingzhi, Wu Jie seemed unsurprised. He waved open the barrier to invite him in, "Sect Master, please sit inside."
They crossed the courtyard and sat in the room.
After sitting, Jiang Xingzhi went straight to the point, describing last night's and this morning's situations, then voicing his confusion, "Master, is being a salted fish very heaven-defying?"
Wu Jie said leisurely, "Being a salted fish isn't heaven-defying, but being a heaven-defying salted fish is different."
Jiang Xingzhi: "..."
He seemed to understand yet not understand, "If not a salted fish, what should I be?"
"How would this poor taoist know?" Wu Jie tucked his sleeves, watertight, "What the Sect Master should do, only you know best."
"I don't know."
The room fell quiet. Then a finger pointed toward the ceiling, and Wu Jie's countenance seemed to become distant again before Jiang Xingzhi's eyes, "This poor taoist only interprets according to the Sect Master's words."
"When Heaven is about to confer a great mission on someone, it must first make their will suffer, their bones and sinews toil. What the Sect Master now sees as 'punishment' might be the darkness before dawn, a harbinger of approaching light."
These words sounded hauntingly familiar.
Jiang Xingzhi frowned: Not hauntingly—it was from yesterday. That kid Zhu Xu had said the same when painting rosy pictures for people.
He looked at Wu Jie meaningfully, "I'll trust Master once more. But I've done everything I can—what other great mission must I undertake?"
Wu Jie smiled, "Isn't there great turmoil in the Three Realms?"
Great turmoil? As Jiang Xingzhi pondered, he understood: the conflict between realms. He waved his hand, "I promised the Demon Lord I wouldn't interfere. Besides, if I truly intervened, which side should I help?"
Wu Jie's thumb and forefinger came together, then slowly opened.
Jiang Xingzhi guessed, "Play both sides?"
"..." Wu Jie: "This poor taoist is telling you to broaden your perspective."
"Warfare isn't necessarily resolved through warfare."
His heart skipped a beat, and Jiang Xingzhi inexplicably held his breath. He looked at Wu Jie within arm's reach—serene and inscrutable, this practical businessman now resembled a transcendent sage.
In the quiet atmosphere, Jiang Xingzhi sat contemplating. Just as he recovered and was about to take his leave, a tremendous "BOOM!" suddenly thundered from outside!
CRACK—like lightning splitting the heavens above, birds and beasts scattered in alarm from forests hundreds of li around! Even Kunlun's peak seemed to shake.
The energy was so great it almost reminded Jiang Xingzhi of his own tribulation day.
Heart pounding, he looked at Wu Jie, "Master, did you paint false pictures for me and Heaven is punishing you?"
Wu Jie: "..."
His tightly closed eyelids rarely opened to glance outside, then quickly shut again, "Rather than forcibly blaming this poor taoist, the Sect Master might as well go see what happened."
Meaning it wasn't his fault.
Jiang Xingzhi embarrassedly ducked his head, "Seems I misunderstood Master."
Wu Jie magnanimously waved his sleeve. Jiang Xingzhi rose to bid farewell and pushed open the door.
Outside, the thunder had already quieted, leaving only the deep blue sky faintly showing purple qi from undissipated lightning.
Jiang Xingzhi looked up for a while, then suddenly sensed fluctuations in Kunlun's peak restrictions. His heart stirred, and he flashed back to the peak.
—Xu Jian had returned.
****
When Jiang Xingzhi landed on the peak, he saw the man standing with his back to him before the door, as if about to enter.
The morning's "couple outfit" was gone, replaced by practical fitted clothing. The black garments clung to his body, showing off Zhong Ming's excellent physique.
Probably not expecting his quick return, the latter's form stiffened, then he naturally turned around, "Deng Deng."
Jiang Xingzhi reached him in a few steps. Before he could ask why the change of clothes, he saw a cut on Zhong Ming's handsome face. His eyes widened, "You're injured!"
"Minor wound." Zhong Ming lowered his gaze to grasp Jiang Xingzhi's reaching hand, enclosing it in his palm for a kiss, "Let me go change clothes first."
"Wait." Jiang Xingzhi wouldn't give him a chance to destroy evidence, grabbing his lapels and leaning in to sniff around his neck and chest.
Zhong Ming laughed at his antics, catching him up, "You're not a puppy."
Jiang Xingzhi found no clues, but intuited that Zhong Ming's experience wasn't as relaxed as he appeared.
After all, his face was cut—who knew what other injuries there might be?
He hugged Zhong Ming's waist tightly to prevent his leaving, "How did you get hurt? Any other injuries? Let me check."
"Really no other injuries." Zhong Ming avoided the first question, either unable or unwilling to say.
With his waist firmly embraced by Jiang Xingzhi, Zhong Ming paused, then simply didn't return to the room. Maintaining this position, he lifted Jiang Xingzhi in return and walked to the courtyard's reclining chair.
The chair was angled back. Zhong Ming reclined against it, one large palm nearly able to cage Jiang Xingzhi's waist.
"Is the assessment over? Did you find Wu Jie?"
"Over, and found him." Jiang Xingzhi lay against Zhong Ming's chest, hearing his deliberate topic change. Seeing him injured made his heart ache with anxiety, but with Zhong Ming silent, he couldn't get answers.
If he wouldn't tell, it definitely involved himself.
The hand on his lower back soothingly rubbed his waist, Zhong Ming's voice sounding somewhat weary but still patiently gentle, "What did Wu Jie say?"
Jiang Xingzhi answered absent-mindedly while carefully reviewing the morning's events.
Xu Jian's sudden departure and injured return clearly meant he'd gone somewhere to find someone. The only anomaly before leaving was learning about his heart pain, then getting angry.
Angry at whom? Surely he didn't go to...
THUD! Jiang Xingzhi's heart skipped a beat. An incredible hypothesis flashed through his mind.
No no no, that was too exaggerated.
But the heaven-shaking thunder before Xu Jian's return seemed to confirm his guess. Jiang Xingzhi gulped and looked at Zhong Ming's face again.
Was his Xu Jian really this heaven-defying?
While staring, his waist was lifted higher, bringing Jiang Xingzhi closer to Zhong Ming. He could kiss him with just a bow of his head, and Zhong Ming's eyes seemed to hold that expectation too.
Jiang Xingzhi watched him briefly, then suddenly lowered his head to kiss that small wound on his face.
Hah...
Warm lips touched the broken skin—half stinging, half tingling, more heart-stirring than a kiss. His breathing quickened, and the careful kiss on his wound felt like a kitten's gentle licks. Zhong Ming gradually tightened his embrace, instinctively turning his head to meet those lips.
The tender, lingering kiss seemed to carry more indescribable flavors than before.
Passion, cherishing, compromise, tenderness... threads of emotion spread from tongue to heart. Jiang Xingzhi knew Xu Jian had definitely done something, but he wouldn't ask anymore.
Just as he didn't intend to let Xu Jian know why he'd seized that opportunity, Xu Jian likely felt the same.
What they'd done for each other might be far more than either of them knew.
...
This kiss lasted who knows how long.
Jiang Xingzhi was lost in it, completely unaware of time's passage. But when he lifted from Zhong Ming's chest, he found the surroundings completely dark.
Looking at the man before him, those well-defined thin lips were kissed to bright red by himself, complementing that already stunning face and making his heart race more.
A strong impulse surged through him at this moment.
Jiang Xingzhi spoke almost without thinking, "I want to become dao companions with you, Ah Zuo."
The tall body shook violently. Overwhelming joy crashed through Zhong Ming's mind as he almost blurted, "Yes!"
Jiang Xingzhi buried himself in his embrace, happily envisioning the future, "Mm, once we form the contract, our divine consciousness can merge and we can be completely honest with each other~"
The tide of joy suddenly stopped.
Wait. Contract, divine consciousness fusion, complete honesty... Zhong Ming's pupils quaked: Could he still maintain his little disguise then?
If at the moment of contracting, Jiang Xingzhi discovered he'd been wearing a disguise while courting him all this time... Zhong Ming shivered. He shouldn't have developed the "Bai Mu" storyline from the start! The "Bai Mu" storyline led to a dead end!
The arms holding him trembled slightly.
Zhong Ming opened his mouth, about to lower his head and say something, when the person buried in his chest suddenly raised his head—
They maintained the distance from their earlier kiss, one looking up, one down, lips nearly brushing lips.
In the gray evening, their gazes met. Jiang Xingzhi felt Zhong Ming's heartbeat quickening beneath his palm, and he blinked.
Was Xu Jian lowering his head for something? Don't speak, kiss him?
Tsk, what could he do with him! Jiang Xingzhi indulgently and helplessly pecked his mouth. After pecking, he drew back, his hands "clapping" to cup Zhong Ming's handsome face, "Look how eager you are~"
Zhong Ming's face was squeezed, "..."
Jiang Xingzhi was happy, "So impatient?"
Zhong Ming swallowed his prepared words, "Mm." After pausing, he pressed Jiang Xingzhi's face back to his heart, his large palm gently patting the back of his head as if trying to pat out some memories, "Super excited."
What to do? This time both his "Bai Mu" and "Xu Jian" identities would be finished together.