After Sheng Jun Chapter 39 (Part 2)
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 39 Testing Step by Step (part 2)
The person saying this didn't seem to think making an entire mountain feel like spring year-round would be particularly troublesome. Jiang Xingzhi turned his head, about to tell Zhong Ming "it's not necessary," when he heard Ying Liuxian say, "Please take your seats."
The voice transmission was abruptly interrupted.
After everyone was seated, they didn't exchange much small talk and went straight to the main topic.
"After all, it's just a wisp of remnant soul that has been wandering for thousands of years—there's bound to be some deterioration." Jiang Xingzhi said. "I heard that red spider lilies can complete souls. Can Lord Minshuang refine it?"
"Red spider lily!?" Lord Minshuang's indifferent face finally showed a trace of change. "I've never actually seen this flower before. I need to take a look first."
Jiang Xingzhi: "No problem."
A gorgeous red spider lily was pulled from the storage pouch. Just holding this single flower seemed to have a captivating allure.
Ying Liuxian and Lord Minshuang across from them both froze simultaneously, unable to look away.
Dong—the sound of fingertips lightly tapping on the table seemed to break the spell, bringing the two back to their senses. Ying Liuxian felt ashamed and thanked Zhong Ming, who had tapped the table. "Thank you, Lamp Holder Daren."
Zhong Ming only cared about the result. "How is it? Can you refine it?"
He sat up straight, and when asking this question, his knuckles curled inward—he looked even more nervous than Jiang Xingzhi, who was sitting casually beside him.
Lord Minshuang raised his hand and held it virtually over the red spider lily, drawing out a stream of spiritual power to circle around it, seemingly investigating.
Jiang Xingzhi let him explore for a while.
In just a moment, the person across lowered his hand and shook his head. "Red spider lilies grow in the yin realm and carry too much demonic obstruction. I could force myself to refine it, but the effect wouldn't be good—it would waste this rare red spider lily."
Jiang Xingzhi felt somewhat disappointed but hadn't held much hope anyway. "It's fine."
Just as he was putting the flower back in his pouch, he heard Zhong Ming's deep voice beside him. "Then who could refine it?"
Jiang Xingzhi turned to look and saw the latter's face was cold and condensed, with deep furrows gathered between his brows. Lord Minshuang said to Zhong Ming, "You could try asking at Wanyao Valley. If that doesn't work... you don't need to be limited to the righteous path."
Zhong Ming's brow relaxed slightly. "Good."
After speaking, he noticed Jiang Xingzhi's gaze and turned to comfort him, "No rush, Deng Deng."
"......I'm not in a rush." Jiang Xingzhi actually felt that he was the more anxious one.
****
Having failed to achieve their goal on this trip, Ying Liuxian apologized, "We still couldn't help Divine Lamp Daren."
Jiang Xingzhi said, "Thank you for your efforts, Palace Master and Lord Minshuang."
He and Zhong Ming stood up together, preparing to take their leave, when Lord Minshuang across from them suddenly called out to him, "Daren's complexion looks somewhat weak."
Jiang Xingzhi paused. No, he should have lowered his transparency. He adjusted his transparency back up, and his whole person stood solidly before Lord Minshuang again, "How about now?"
But Lord Minshuang still said, "It's not that problem. I happen to know some medical arts. Looking at daren's tired expression, you should be having many dreams when sleeping and not resting well."
Many dreams when sleeping, not resting well.
These few words, when applied to the cultivation world where people commonly don't rest for three months at a time, sounded utterly absurd no matter which word you focused on.
Not to mention that the target was the unfathomably powerful Jiang Xingzhi.
But after these words fell, Jiang Xingzhi's eyes lit up. "Right, right! How did you know?"
He had been pulled back and forth between the figures in his dreams and reality until he was nearly split apart!
Lord Minshuang pulled out a disk-shaped calming incense from his sleeve and handed it over. "This incense can focus the mind and aid sleep, ensuring a dreamless night. I specially present it to daren."
"So good? Thank you." Jiang Xingzhi gladly accepted it.
At the same time, he felt a gaze fall on the incense, following his hand as it withdrew into his storage pouch.
He turned to meet Zhong Ming's eager gaze. "Do you want some too?"
Zhong Ming: "......"
He said, "I don't need it."
Jiang Xingzhi stared at him strangely again. However, since they were in front of outsiders, it wasn't convenient to say more. He just bid farewell to Ying Liuxian and the other, "Until next time."
The two took their leave and departed from Piaomiao Palace.
On the way back to Kunlun, Jiang Xingzhi faced the wind and looked ahead. He didn't know if it was his imagination, but he always felt that hesitant, wanting-to-speak gazes frequently came from beside him.
When he turned to look, Zhong Ming would appear completely composed again.
Soon, they returned to Kunlun.
After landing on the mountaintop, Jiang Xingzhi greeted Zhong Ming and walked back to his room. The door slammed shut with a "bang," cutting off the gaze that had followed him.
The calming incense that Lord Minshuang had given was about the size of a palm.
According to what the former had said, each time one only needed to take a small pinch and place it on an incense burner’s "indirect heat"—this one disk could probably be used dozens of times.
Jiang Xingzhi remembered he had an incense burner, but after searching through his entire storage pouch without finding it, he got up and went out, planning to buy one.
Pushing open the door, he looked up to see Zhong Ming still standing in front of his courtyard, not having moved a single step.
"Bai Mu, do you have something to say to me?" Jiang Xingzhi walked over.
Those well-defined thin lips moved, "Nothing much." After Zhong Ming finished speaking, he asked again. "Where are you planning to go?"
"There's no incense burner in the room. I'm going out to buy one."
"You want to light that incense?"
"I..." Jiang Xingzhi originally hadn't planned to light it immediately—he was just thinking that if he ever wanted to sleep a pure and peaceful sleep someday, he could try lighting it then. But now, looking at Zhong Ming's slightly tense eyes, his words suddenly changed direction. "Of course."
"Why?"
Jiang Xingzhi looked worried. "I keep dreaming of him lately."
Zhong Ming's breathing became slightly irregular for a few beats. "You don't want to dream of him anymore?"
His tone revealed several notes of barely concealed urgency. If you wanted to understand it as "hoping Jiang Xingzhi would quickly move on to someone else," you could, but there didn't seem to be much joy in it.
Jiang Xingzhi fell silent for a moment, then lowered his eyelashes and made his tone light and slow. "If I can't complete my soul and can't return to the place I want to return to... I can't keep being trapped in this relationship forever."
The person in front of him seemed to hold his breath.
Jiang Xingzhi looked up as he spoke. "Ah Zuo, what do you think?"