After Sheng Jun Chapter 44 (Part 1)
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 44 Crisis Signal (part 1)
Violent tremors arose in Jiang Xingzhi's eyes: these two options were both fatal temptations for him!
He probed tentatively, "Adults don't make multiple choice questions."
Su You snorted with laughter, "That adult logic doesn't work on us adult demons."
Jiang Xingzhi, "......"
He made a shameless sound, "Didn't you say beautiful people have privileges?"
"Choosing one of two IS your privilege." Su You raised his chin, "Come on, choose quickly."
Jiang Xingzhi took a deep breath.
A chance to obtain the Thousand Goblet Bell, or a glimpse of Bai Mu's divine soul. Choose one of the two, like a gamble—and Su You only said "chance," not a guarantee; but once he saw the divine soul, he would have seen it.
But what if Bai Mu was just Bai Mu? Wouldn't he be at a complete loss?
Jiang Xingzhi hesitated, "Otherwise, still the Thousand Goblet..."
"What? Don't want to see Bai Mu's divine soul?" Su You said as he pulled out that divine consciousness imprint from his waist.
He gripped the divine consciousness imprint tightly in his palm, blocking it completely, then extended his hand to wave it left~ and right~ in front of Jiang Xingzhi's eyes.
"......!" Jiang Xingzhi's gaze was immediately drawn over, his head swaying left and right following his hand.
Su You suddenly developed the pleasure of teasing a cat. He gripped Zhong Ming's divine consciousness and raised it high, then "whoosh!" hid it behind his back—
Jiang Xingzhi unconsciously stepped forward and bumped into the table leg with a thud.
The light sound brought him back to his senses! He stared at Su You's amused face and narrowed his eyes, suddenly feeling an itch in his palms... Bai Mu was right, he also wanted to chop something.
Their gazes met, and Jiang Xingzhi's look could be called deadly.
For a moment, neither moved. Moonlight from the table spilled into the room, outlining a circle of shimmering pale red on Jiang Xingzhi's blue robes, complementing that face tinged with annoyance, so vivid it was stunning.
Truly a beauty.
Su You was lowering his eyes to admire when suddenly a tremendous "BOOM!" came from the doorway.
The door was blasted open by a great force, even shaking dust from the door frame. Zhong Ming stood in the doorway, his gaze cold as he looked into the room—under the moonlight by the window, the two were very close. Jiang Xingzhi had one hand propped on the table, leaning forward slightly, while Su You looked at him with a smile at the corner of his mouth.
Blood rushed backwards, surging into his brain: middle of the night! This man who was "showing excessive courtesy for no reason" had actually come to his Deng Deng's room!
Zhong Ming appeared instantly at Jiang Xingzhi's side, reaching out to pull him in front of himself, so angry his brain ached, "How did you let him into the room?"
He spoke while glancing toward the bathtub behind the screen, trying to judge how long the water had been cooling, "When did you let him in?"
It better not have been while he was still in the tub—he had clearly said only "future dao companions" could enter the room!
Zhong Ming's back molars ground together with creaks, like he had chugged a mouthful of aged vinegar.
Jiang Xingzhi could tell what this person was thinking at a glance. He clarified, "When I was reading storybooks at the table."
He had finished bathing long ago, okay? He was very principled!
The force on his arm finally loosened slightly, but that palm still gripped him.
"I say~" A leisurely voice came from beside them. Su You looked at Zhong Ming, "You two aren't dao companions, so why do you manage Xingzhi so much?"
Zhong Ming's form suddenly stiffened.
He opened his mouth, then forcibly closed it, swallowing back his words. Zhong Ming was anxious, but couldn't openly refute: he as "Bai Mu" had no right, but he as "Xu Jian" certainly might!
"As a protector, I have the responsibility to protect Xingzhi's safety." Zhong Ming stared at Su You, "But what about you, barging in in the middle of the night?"
Su You brought the hand that had been behind his back to the front, "I saw Xingzhi was very interested in the divine soul imprint you left behind..."
Before he finished speaking, a sheet of snow-bright light suddenly flashed through the room!
Looking down again, the unsheathed long sword was already horizontal before them. Zhong Ming's eyes were even more dangerous than before, his whole body tense like a crouching fierce beast.
—It seemed that as long as he wasn't facing Jiang Xingzhi, he completely became another person.
The sharp sword edge gleamed before his eyes. Su You clicked his tongue inwardly but didn't show it on his face. He raised his eyes to look at Jiang Xingzhi, "How about it, have you decided? Which one will you choose?"
Jiang Xingzhi quickly said, "I'll still choose the Thousand Goblet Bell."
Never mind that choosing "divine soul" in this situation would be adding fuel to fire—after weighing his options, he still felt the "Thousand Goblet Bell" was safer.
No matter what, he had to complete his divine soul and meet Xu Jian.
"Mm, alright then." Su You tucked Zhong Ming's divine consciousness imprint back to his waist.
The precarious disguise was put back on. Zhong Ming lowered the long sword in his hand but didn't completely relax.
He sheathed his sword and turned to Jiang Xingzhi, blocking the space where the two behind and in front could meet gazes, lowering his head to speak softly, "Don't believe those messy conditions of his, they're all to bewitch you."
Zhong Ming raised his hand to hook onto Jiang Xingzhi's sleeve, "Whatever you want, you can tell me directly."
Jiang Xingzhi was straightforward, "I want to see your divine soul."
"......"
Zhong Ming, "Then become my dao companion."
He said this quite smoothly. From the initial "guilty coping" to the current "skilled application," it was clearly once unfamiliar, twice familiar.
"Hehe." Jiang Xingzhi reached out to push him away from in front of him and continued negotiating conditions with Su You, "What do you mean by 'a chance to obtain the Thousand Goblet Bell'?"
Getting back to business, Zhong Ming didn't interrupt again, turning around with him to look at Su You.
Su You crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows, "Didn't you say you don't care about positions—"
"Then help this lord catch that thief, and I'll give you the Thousand Goblet Bell directly. How about it?"
Jiang Xingzhi looked at him for a moment, "That's possible, but I need to understand the whole sequence of events first."
Although he had no prejudice against demonic cultivators, he wouldn't unconditionally support their position either.
Su You curved his lips, "Fine. But it's a long story—do you want to discuss it in detail tomorrow, or talk it through tonight?"
Zhong Ming looked at the sky outside the window and estimated the time, "Let's talk tomorrow. Xingzhi needs to sleep for four full hours at night."
Su You: ???
This was the first time he'd heard that cultivators above Split Soul stage needed to sleep for four full hours. Su You's expression was subtle, "Is this a side effect of treating terminal illness?"
Jiang Xingzhi was too embarrassed to say it was his natural habit, so he could only lower his head and speak softly, "Mm."
Su You, "......It seems you're indeed quite seriously ill. Alright, then you should rest early."
After speaking, he didn't linger, arranging to discuss details tomorrow morning, then turned and left the room in a flutter of blood-red robes.
Su You left, but Zhong Ming remained in the room. Zhong Ming turned to give Jiang Xingzhi detailed instructions, "Don't let dangerous people into your room in the future, especially in the middle of the night."
Jiang Xingzhi looked at him silently.
Zhong Ming, "I'm not dangerous. I'm responsible for protecting your safety."
A hand pushed against his chest, pushing him all the way out the door. Jiang Xingzhi held the door frame and issued his eviction order, "Ha, nothing but lies."
Bang! The door closed, the wind it stirred lifted Zhong Ming's forehead hair.
"......"
****
The next day, Jiang Xingzhi and Zhong Ming arrived at the council hall at the appointed time.
Su You sat in the main seat wearing blood-red robes like fire, with several Demon Realm commanders waiting at his side. Seeing this serious and formal atmosphere, Jiang Xingzhi felt drowsy and unconsciously yawned.
The dark opening of his throat swayed into the hall under Su You's gaze, and all the surrounding commanders fell silent for a moment.
Su You's mouth twitched, "Side effect?"
Jiang Xingzhi closed his mouth sheepishly, "Mm, it acts up from time to time."
Zhong Ming glanced at him, "......"
The two took their seats, and Su You also put away his casual chatting demeanor. In front of a crowd of subordinates, the flamboyant blood-red robes actually revealed several degrees of a superior's dignity.
"These two have come to understand the matter of the Thousand Goblet Bell theft." Su You pointed at Jiang Xingzhi to his subordinates, "This lord's friend." His fingertip turned to point at Zhong Ming, pausing for several breaths as if thinking about the positioning.
He said coldly, "Friend's friend."
The subordinates, "......" What a reluctant friend.
After the opening remarks, Su You got to the point.
The ins and outs of the Thousand Goblet Bell theft weren't complex, just involving how the other party infiltrated the Demon Realm and how they coordinated from inside and outside... The whole process was quite convoluted, and when finished, more than half an hour had passed.
Jiang Xingzhi asked, "So what's his purpose?"
Su You tapped the table, "Do you know what the Thousand Goblet Bell is used for?"
"Cleansing demonic qi." Jiang Xingzhi stopped after saying this.
Wait, wouldn't the Thousand Goblet Bell be the demon race's nemesis? From this point alone, the Demon Realm was indeed in a passive defensive position regarding "the Thousand Goblet Bell being stolen."
He cleared his throat and suggested, "Why don't you just give it to me to refine directly, and you can also eliminate future troubles."
This was the first time Su You had seen someone package "getting something for nothing" like a brilliant strategy. He said half-jokingly, "For the sake of Xingzhi being good-looking and pleasing to this lord's eyes, this lord won't hold your nonsense against you."
Jiang Xingzhi regretfully gave up: it seemed the Demon Lord wasn't so easy to fool.
Su You asked, "How about it? After hearing everything, have you decided to accept this proposal?"
Jiang Xingzhi's thoughts turned slightly, "Alright."
He then asked, "To catch the person, do you have any plans?"
Su You said leisurely, "This lord has entrusted everything to you two, do I still need to think of plans myself?"
......That made sense.
This attitude of being determined to squeeze every bit of value from hired workers wasn't unfamiliar. Jiang Xingzhi seemed to see himself in a mirror and chose tolerance and understanding out of empathy.
Seeing his expression, Su You smiled and reminded, "However, that thief didn't get the Thousand Goblet Bell, so he definitely won't leave the Demon Realm easily. With Split Soul cultivation, he should be unable to hide from you two. Search more and you'll eventually find him."
Squeak—the chair was pushed back. Zhong Ming stood up, "Let's go."
Jiang Xingzhi also didn't delay any longer, standing up with him, "Then we'll go first."
Su You looked at the two of them, "Thought of a plan?"
Jiang Xingzhi smiled, "Not a plan exactly, but at least we know where to go."