Enemies Chapter 52: Owner (Part 4)

Translated by Ceti of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: KarateChopMonkey

 

The blood and Qi in Chu YunShu’s eyes increased, but his face was cold and numb.

However, the spiritual energy around his whole body was diminishing and the Demonic Qi was so dense that it nearly dispersed the spiritual energy on the mountain top.

A qin string shot out from Chu YunShu’s hand, carrying the power of destruction with it. When it brushed past, the Demonic Qi instantly parted and thrust into his heart.

Chu YunShu’s indifferent eyes opened. There was neither sadness or happiness in his eyes. The Demonic Qi around him had finally recovered. Chu YunShu wiped the drop of blood that had leaked out of the corner of his mouth and flew back to his abode.

This cave was a natural spiritual spring Dao lake. With the guidance of the music of a Greater Path, the layers of surging spiritual energy was becoming more and more dense, and had even condensed into fog. It was as if it was an Immortal Realm.

Such a place was the most suitable to stabilize the mind. Even if Internal Demons were surging forth, Chu YunShu could maintain the clearness and brightness of his Spiritual Foundation when he returned to the abode.

But this time, the scenes he saw in Chu WuQing’s abode was impossible to get rid of and even spawned endless illusions.

A snow white robe with wide sleeves touching the ground. The youngster’s long silver was blown by the wind. When he walked out from the fog, he almost looked like he was going to become an immortal.

But his bare feet were stepping on the ground.

His exposed instep was whiter than snow, so white that it was transparent. It seemed that resplendent traces could be left on it with a little effort.

The sole of the foot was tender and a faint pink, which set off the petal-like nails on it.

Chu WuQing approached step by step. He raised his long eyebrows contemptuously, and a pair of phoenix’s eyes flashed, “Chu YunShu, you are just an abandoned son, an abandoned child that everyone can trample on.”

That aloofness and loftiness as he said the most vicious words… But it did not give him the slightest feeling of hate and he could not arouse any anger.

It only made one feel the impulse to make him cry. He wondered if he could keep his lofty arrogance when he was crying.

He wanted to kill all the people around him and completely imprison him… so that he only belonged to him.

A mouthful of blood sprayed from Chu YunShu’s mouth. All the Path spells abruptly stopped, and he could not even maintain the most basic meditation posture. His face was pale and it was as white as a ghost coming from hell.

But his lips were stained a flaming red with blood and he clenched his teeth as he frantically murmured, “No, I don’t like him. How can I like him? I’m just jealous.”

“I’m just jealous that Chu WuQing is protected by others. He was clearly a member of the Chu Clan. He was also born within the Chu Clan’s rules that were akin to raising Gu. This fratricidal war was just to raise a Candidate Successor, but Chu WuQing was outside these ‘Gu raising’ rules.” ^{1 2}

“This is hatred, its jealousy, it’s absolutely not love,” Chu YunShu’s words became more and more slow and firm, as if he had also deceived himself, “It’s just that this feeling is too complicated that it gave me the illusion of a possessive love. I want to possess him just for the sake of… Letting the son of the Clan Head realize all the pain I’ve experienced.”

“Yes, that’s it.” Chu YunShu closed his eyes slightly, his unstable and chaotic aura gradually smoothened out. His expression was ice-cold, but fine beads of sweat could be seen on his temples.

With a flourish of his sleeves that perfectly flawless hand stretched out and with a wave, the long qin suddenly appeared.

Chu YunShu played the qin with both hands, and wonderful music flowed from his fingers.

More and more spiritual beasts ran towards the Dao lake. Even the birds who pursued freedom stopped on the lake. It’s long and slender beak opened, and the small spirit snake it had just caught fell from its beak.

After it had been freed from its fatal crisis, the spirit snake did not escape. Instead it coiled itself up to strums of the music and immersed itself in the notes by the bird’s side.

Chu YunShu’s fingers were playing more and more slowly, but the music was becoming even more wonderful. Every note that drifted out could bring the ultimate enjoyment to all living things in the world.

His eyes closed slowly along with the music.

Hypnotizing himself with the music of the Greater Path until he woke up three years later… In this way, Chu WuQing, I can stop seeing you again.

Those who were hypnotized by the Path music would cut off all worldly distractions and thoughts, leaving only their true heart and fall into a deep sleep.

In the primordial world, layers of clouds and mists lingered, like an enormous curtain that blocked everything in the world.

Waves of extremely mysterious Path music could be heard.

Chu YunShu opened his eyes, and a trace of confusion appeared in his eyes.

Who am I? Where am I?

Mysteriously and inexorably, there seemed to be a voice telling himself that he should meditate and cultivate, and that he should circulate the spiritual energy in his body, so that his cultivation could ascend to a higher level, and that his Spiritual Path could be developed a step further.

But just when he began to circulate the spiritual energy in his body, he felt a sense of desolateness rising from his heart, as if his most important thing had been lost.

He did not have the mood to meditate at all.

Chu YunShu looked around at the vast expanse of white and his divine senses swept out in all directions, but he could not penetrate through the layers of clouds and mists.

What he saw, in addition to whiteness, was still whiteness.

Chu YunShu stood up, but just as he took a step, the fog that even his divine senses could not penetrate suddenly split into two in front of him, revealing a path.

It was truly weird.

The winding path was made of pebbles soaked with the smoke of fire of the secular world.

“Don’t go, you can’t go.” Mysteriously and inexorably, there seemed to be a voice speaking by his ear.

He was an immortal cultivator, and at the end of the path was the hell that led the immortals to degenerate into a demon.

But another voice soon sounded in his ear, “You are a demon, what are you afraid of? Only those mediocre cowards would always remain in place, not daring to challenge anything. Immortal and demonic cultivators are fearless. Cultivation is defying the natural order, it is to question the supreme Greater Path. You don’t even dare to face your true self, how can you question the Greater Path?”

“So, are you deserving to be called a genius?” The voice was extremely bewitching.

The first voice became anxious, “A cultivator trains his mind, what he cultivates is the staunchness of his Spiritual Resolve and he is not disturbed by external matters. Knowing that it is hell, yet still entering is truly damaging one’s Path foundation. It is courting one’s own ruin, the height of foolishness!”

“Quickly stop, sit and meditate!”

“Oh, do you dare or not?”

Chu YunShu’s eyes flashed. His eyes showed a trace of hidden depths as he took another step again. With a gentle wave of his hand, the two noisy voices in his ears suddenly disappeared.

With each step, the fog split open minutely. After an unknown period of time, he finally came to the end of the path.

Everything in this world was immensely clear, and he was in the nugatory world of mortals.

It was now March, the time where the wind caressing one’s face with willows chilled one not.

He stood on the high bridge of the moat, and the bustling sounds drifted into the ears of Chu YunShu.

There were many young nobles dressed in fine clothes and riding on well-groomed horses. Row upon row of shops lined the river bank, small buildings with green tiles and white walls hid famous courtesans, the large palanquin carried by several people, the fine and elaborate railings, and peddlers who hawked their wares on streets… All rushed into his divine senses.

It was all the colors of the human world that he had never experienced.

It was entirely different from the cultivator clan atmosphere of ChuTian City where he lived since childhood.

“Is this also regarded as an Internal Demon?” Chu YunShu turned to leave. At this moment, a decorated pleasure-boat slowly sailed nearer from afar.

The corners of eaves curved upwards, and even the window lattices were carefully carved with layers of eclipse flowers. On the deck, were the sounds of zithers and flutes and the female dancers were dancing lightly and gracefully.

A middle-aged man with the appearance of a housekeeper walked out of the ship’s main cabin and waved, “Everyone can stop now. The Young Master is asleep.”

All the music and dance stopped with this call.

Chu YunShu’s pupil contracted minutely and his heart suddenly started throbbing intensely. There was a strange magic in the hold of the ship that attracted his soul and his mind.

When the decorated pleasure boat passed under the bridge, Chu YunShu jumped and landed in the boat as light as a feather.

Step by step, he walked toward the source of the attraction, only to feel that something was scurrying in his chest and it was about to gush out, giving rise to a strange tension.

So much so that it carried a trace of empty and impracticable fear.

This was a side room that could nearly be said to be extravagantly decorated, and every decoration inside had some kind of distinguished past. 

But Chu YunShu turned a blind eye to these items. He could only see the youngster sleeping soundly on the chaise lounge.

The robe was casually draped over his body, and his long hair pooled like water.

Even though he was asleep, a wine cup was still held in the youngster’s drooping hands.

There was a faint flush of red from intoxication on his face, just like the beauty of white snow dyed by the colour of blooming peach blossoms in spring.

There was a roar in Chu YunShu’s brain, and his rapidly beating heart suddenly stopped. After a while, everything suddenly exploded, as if heaven and earth were torn apart…

“Chu WuQing.”

After saying this, Chu YunShu then stood still. The confusion in his eyes also gradually disappeared and regained a trace of clarity.

The youngster seemed to be startled by this call as he muttered, “Who is calling me?” He wanted to sit up, but his hangover made him unable to lift his eyelids. His fingers trembled and the wine pot was about to fall out of his hand as his whole body tilted towards the ground.

Chu YunShu had yet to recover his senses, but his body had come forward to catch the youngster. When he returned to his senses, he found that his embrace was filled with warm jade and a soft fragrance.

Even when he was falling to the ground, the youngster still did not wake. He just weakly opened his eyes as his eyelashes trembled slightly, then he took a hazy glance around before he soon fell asleep again.

In order to be comfortable, he turned his body, opened his mouth slightly, stuck out the tip of his tongue, and licked his lower lip that had been thoroughly moistened by the wine. He seemed to have stolen a taste of the fragrance of the wine as the corners of his lips curled up contentedly.

Chu YunShu’s breathing suddenly became hurried. He wanted to get rid of this evil spirit that threw his mind into disarray and return to the white and mist-covered land.

But that bewitching voice rang out again.

“Are you afraid? What are you afraid of? It’s just a dream where you can do whatever you want.”

“There is no Path you are pursuing here, and you are not a member of the Chu Clan. This is just a city from the secular world, and you are just the teacher of this young master from a noble family. He is naughty and impertinent, fond of pleasure, and indulges in singing and dancing. You are a great and accomplished scholar, but to repay the Marquis for saving your life, you had no choice but to be his teacher.”

As these words were spoken, Chu YunShu’s clothes suddenly changed into a black robe with a headdress worn by scholars.

“He deceived you with a poor excuse. He said that he was going to the temple to offer incense to his grandmother to pray for peace, but he booked a decorated pleasure boat outside the city, and drank till he was plastered. As his teacher, shouldn’t you punish him now?”

 

The youngster’s long eyebrows wrinkled slightly. It was not known what he dreamed of as his soft body suddenly shook, and even his voice was trembling. Accompanied by drunken gasps of air, “Teacher… En, no, wu wu, don’t, Disciple, knows he was wrong.”