After Sheng Jun Chapter 13 (Part 2)
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 13 Too Close (part 2)
Jiang Xingzhi turned to look at the calm lake surface: whether it was true or false, a quick exploration would reveal.
After contemplating in his heart, he turned back, only to see eldest senior brother Ping Lan and junior sister Pei Yin whispering and chatting opposite him, apparently having already emerged from their earlier depression.
Ping Lan said a few reassuring words, and Pei Yin huffed in a tsundere manner, lightly bumping his arm with her own.
The two locked gazes and giggled.
Sitting opposite them, Jiang Xingzhi thought: ...Oh-ho, these small playful acts between lovers.
He looked at Lin Kuo sitting nearby and beckoned him, "Come sit over here." It was too bright squeezed over there.
Lin Kuo hadn't expected to be suddenly called over. "Ah?"
The extended hand was slender and pale, easily giving an impression of fragility. But anyone who had seen him in action knew how decisive his movements were.
Just like by the lake earlier, grabbing one in each hand.
Seeing he was still sitting stupidly, Jiang Xingzhi patted the space beside him, "There's still room here."
Lin Kuo's face heated up, and he shyly agreed and moved over.
Zhong Ming looked sideways with cold eyes, then stood up and pulled Jiang Xingzhi's arm to switch positions with him. "You sit over there."
Jiang Xingzhi was pulled up. "Why?"
"The view is better here. Look at the lake."
Opposite them, Pei Yin's gaze moved back and forth between the two: ...Oh-ho, these small playful acts between lovers.
After chatting a bit more and asking most of what they wanted to know, Jiang Xingzhi stood up, stretched lazily, and prepared to get down to business.
The stretching posture pulled his clothes taut, revealing his smooth, slender form beneath. His high-bound long hair swayed behind him, the tips brushing against the hollow of his lower back.
Lin Kuo watched entranced. In his line of sight, a figure flashed, and he saw the man in black standing behind Jiang Xingzhi, his broad back completely shielding the other.
Zhong Ming lowered his head slightly. "Ready?"
Jiang Xingzhi lowered his arms and looked towards the seemingly quiet and beautiful lake ahead. "Mm, let's go to the center of the lake."
After saying this, he poked his head out from in front of Zhong Ming to admonish the three from Yuhua Sect, "Don't wander around casually."
Ping Lan nodded, "We know now. The outermost ring of Youpo Lake is weak water, and there's no return."
Jiang Xingzhi was gratified. "Correct."
Having said that, he called Zhong Ming and walked towards the lake.
The three behind them: ???
Pei Yin stood up abruptly, "Hey! Are you crazy? Don't tell me you're committing suicide together—"
Before her words finished, they saw two figures leap out together, like light swallows or phantom shadows swiftly passing over the lake surface, crossing over the legendary weak water where even a feather wouldn't float in an instant.
"......"
For a long time, no one on the shore made a sound.
What happened to "no return"?
On the surface of Youpo Lake, Jiang Xingzhi stabilized his Soul Split form and exhaled, "This little girl really is..." startling, blurting things out.
Saying "suicide together," she almost startled him into falling into the weak water.
Zhong Ming's expression was bland, "Children speak without restraint." Not a good omen.
Jiang Xingzhi nodded repeatedly: Exactly, why is this child randomly pairing us up?
The two quickly reached the center of the lake. The water at the center was normal lake water. They landed on the surface, creating ripples that spread outward from where their feet touched.
Jiang Xingzhi looked around. He remembered there was a dragon vein in the valley. With the eight directions still and the four seasons converging, plus the evolution of the stars, the time when the secret realm would open could be calculated.
However, the person who originally did the calculation was Huan Ji Jun, the best calculator in the Three Realms. He only knew the result; he hadn't calculated it himself.
Jiang Xingzhi looked at Youpo Lake beneath his feet. The surface layer was clear and transparent, but the deeper it got, the more profound it became, like a huge abyss opening its mouth wide, waiting for those who came to explore to willingly enter its stomach.
"I'll go down first. You wait here and see if there's anything unusual on the surface," he said to Zhong Ming. After speaking, he dipped down and plunged into the lake.
"Hey, Jiang Xingzhi!"
The lake water was piercingly cold, enveloping him from all sides. This wasn't just a coldness on the skin's surface, but a glacial chill that penetrated to the bone marrow.
—The bottom of the lake was the resting place for deceased souls.
Jiang Xingzhi followed the undercurrent all the way down. The depths far from the surface were dark. Just as he approached the lake bottom, his ankle was wrapped by some kind of aquatic plant-like creature.
He vaguely remembered Huan Ji Jun mentioning it: this thing was called "Si Zao." It normally slept at the bottom of the lake but would awaken when people came, and it reproduced extremely quickly.
His clothes spread out in the water like lotus petals, revealing a dazzlingly white calf. The ankle wrapped by Si Zao was marked with a faint red ring, showing the great force.
After tightening, the Si Zao suddenly contracted, violently pulling him toward the lake bottom! At the deep center of the lake, countless lush Si Zao clusters were coiled. Sensing someone approaching from above, they all shook their tops and "whoosh" reached up.
The entire quiet lake bottom seemed to suddenly come alive, even causing ripples on the water's surface above.
Branches and tendrils of Si Zao surged from all directions. Several broke through his hem and sleeves, only to be cleanly cut off at the touching ends by Jiang Xingzhi's spiritual power. Those severed Si Zao twitched and indeed quickly grew back from the broken ends.
Jiang Xingzhi both slashed away the Si Zao reaching for him and searched the lake bottom with his divine consciousness.
Soon, he suddenly found a bud-like plant within a nest-like package of Si Zao.
His heartbeat suddenly quickened—there really was one?
The flower seemed to still be sleeping, nestled in a bed woven by Si Zao, its petals closing and opening as if breathing. Jiang Xingzhi slowly sank down, with hundreds of Si Zao gathered around him, and the temperature near the lake bottom became even colder.
As he was approaching the center, a disturbance suddenly came from above his head.
The nearest clusters of Si Zao at his side were neatly cut off by spiritual power that wasn't his own. His vision suddenly became clear. Jiang Xingzhi looked back to see Zhong Ming breaking through the water.
"Bai Mu? Didn't I tell you to wait for me above?"
Zhong Ming's brow was deeply furrowed, his gaze sweeping over Jiang Xingzhi's torn sleeves and exposed ankle. The striking red marks stimulated his eyes, and his spiritual power suddenly surged—those Si Zao trying to surround the latter again instantly turned to dust.
He grabbed and pulled him close, his palm touching the other's too-low body temperature. "It's time to go back; the lake bottom is too cold."
Jiang Xingzhi looked back at the center of the lake. "No hurry, I'll go see that flower."
As he spoke, he broke free from Zhong Ming's hand and continued to dive.
"Jiang Xingzhi!" Zhong Ming was infuriated by this person.
The person in front had his back to him, completely unguarded. He reached out with his long arm and hooked the other's waist, bringing him into his embrace—thud, the back pressed against his chest, Jiang Xingzhi's entire body was embraced by Zhong Ming from behind.
"Bai Mu!"
The arm around his waist was firm and powerful, the chest as hard as an immovable wall, holding him with irresistible force and turning to float toward the lake surface.
He widened his eyes and turned to look at the person behind him.
In the cold lake water, the two were pressed close together. When he turned his head, he almost brushed against the other's cheek. Zhong Ming's handsome face, so close, faced the light from above. As they gradually approached the lake surface, delicate water patterns rippled in his dark eyes, gradually generating radiance.
This distance was too close, far exceeding their current relationship.
Not companions, and certainly not a protector to a sect master. What kind of protector was so forceful? It was simply insubordination.
Jiang Xingzhi tried to pry his arm away. "I won't go to the center of the lake. You you let go now."
He was so flustered that he rather inelegantly said "you" twice.
Black and indigo robes intertwined in the water, and even their hair strands were tangled together. Impossible to tell whose they were, following the water waves into Jiang Xingzhi's shoulder hollow, tickling him with a numb sensation.
Hearing him, Zhong Ming turned to look at him. That sculpture-like face, soaked in water, had a kind of ink-wash painting's stunning beauty.
His thin lips parted lightly, "Heh, I don't believe your ghost words."
"......"
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TN:
>Weak Water
Mythological & Literary Meaning:
弱水 (Ruòshuǐ) refers to a legendary river from Chinese mythology. It was said to be so weak that even a feather could not float on it.
Often used metaphorically to represent something insubstantial, untouchable, or unattainable.
Famous in poetry, such as the line "弱水三千, 只取一瓢饮" ("Among the three thousand rivers of Weak Water, I only take one ladle to drink"), meaning choosing one true love among many.
Cultivation (Xianxia) Context:
In xianxia novels, "Weak Water" can refer to a mystical or dangerous type of water, often possessing special properties like dissolving anything except certain magical items.
It might be part of a special trial, technique, or treasure related to water-based cultivation.
>Ghost words/talk=nonsense