He and It Chapter 216: Inquire Here (44)

Chapter 216: Inquire Here (44)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: GaeaTiamat

 

“True Immortal,” Liu Fuguang greeted in return, while Yan Huan remained motionless. “A millennium-long wish has finally been fulfilled. Congratulations.”

Jin Cuixu straightened her back, her smile turned sorrowful. She gazed distantly at the vast land of the Nine Provinces, and a look of guilt appeared on her face. “I was trapped by my internal demons, unable to free myself. The demonic energy and evil karma circulating through the cycles of heaven and earth were all drawn here, pushing me to fall from the immortal path. This small world has been turned into a chaotic mess…”

“So the ‘Jin Cuixu’ we saw were all just your…”

Jin Cuixu admitted it, “Yes, they were all my external incarnations. I kept repeating the memories from the Luo Xian Temple, so those external incarnations were born again and again within the realm of my internal demons, retracing the cultivation path I once followed as a Foundation Establishment cultivator. However, the path, once suited for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, is now filled with demons that even immortals find challenging.”

Liu Fuguang took out the divine plaque of the Nine Sons’ Mother Goddess from his sleeve and handed it to Jin Cuixu. “This was your arrangement.”

Jin Cuixu looked at it and smiled. “Even if they were just Foundation Establishment-level incarnations, dying too many times still isn’t acceptable. I know what I was like at the Foundation Establishment stage. If she found out about the origins of the Nine Sons’ Mother Goddess, she wouldn’t pursue them any further, and they wouldn’t hold a grudge against a little girl…How could she not prepare for that?”

She put away the divine plaque and looked at Liu Fuguang and Yan Huan. “Naturally, I must thank both of you as well. You followed the Foundation Establishment version of me, protected her, and took care of her. Without you, who knows how much more suffering she would have endured.”

Liu Fuguang said, “Actually, we weren’t just doing it for her…”

“Judge actions, not intentions; no one is perfect in heart,” Jin Cuixu interrupted with a smile. “How could this Lord not understand?”

Liu Fuguang was stunned, and remembered how Yan Huan had once told Jin Cuixu twice in the internal demons illusion, “How do you not understand?” Now, she had caught the opportunity to return the favor. He immediately burst out laughing, and found it more and more amusing until the two of them were laughing uncontrollably.

Yan Huan raised his eyebrows, his expression strange. However, Liu Fuguang hadn’t laughed so heartily in a long time. He greedily watched his lover’s smile, and felt the bright, dazzling radiance spill from his curved eyes; so breathtakingly beautiful.

Every second of his laughter felt like a new gift. Yan Huan’s heart had long emptied, but his chest still felt overwhelmingly full, as if shimmering petals, rainbows, and starlight – or any random, chaotic things – were about to explode like cannonballs in his heart.

He stared blankly at Liu Fuguang, his gaze so intense it seemed to heat the air. Jin Cuixu gradually stopped laughing and coughed twice. She felt too embarrassed to continue.

At her rank and status, there were few secrets in the world that could be hidden from her. Jin Cuixu had seen the black sun in the sky and the Ghost Dragon devouring the sun. She’d heard of the entanglements between the Supreme Goodness and the Supreme Evil. She could only sigh that the matter, which had gathered such favorable circumstances, had ended so disastrously. It was a clear case of fate playing tricks beyond anyone’s control.

Thus, she never expected that those who would help her out of her predicament would be none other than the Supreme Goodness and the Supreme Evil themselves.

With nothing to repay them with, Jin Cuixu invited them to rest in that world for a few days. Before they left, she asked Liu Fuguang to speak with her privately.

“What’s the matter, Cuixu?” Liu Fuguang asked.

Jin Cuixu hesitated for a moment. If the past True Immortals left any lessons for their successors, it was that Immortals must keep their distance from the Supreme Evil.

However, he had helped her…So, she still had to say what needed to be said.

“Fuguang,” She no longer addressed him as Lord, choosing instead to call him by his peer’s name. “I know you failed to recognize my external incarnations because of your incomplete cultivation base. But how did even Supreme Evil escape your notice?”

Liu Fuguang wanted to respond vaguely, “It doesn’t matter, because his body also has some issues.” Still, Jin Cuixu continued, “In the end, the anchor point where good and evil intertwine is also a projection of a part of you. Removing evil is equivalent to removing a part of him. Although I know the Supreme Evil is not so fragile that missing a few fragments would cause him significant harm, still…”

She left the rest unsaid.

Liu Fuguang suddenly froze.

During that time, he was focused on resolving Yan Huan’s Internal Demon so that the plan to reverse time wouldn’t succeed. However, he’d forgotten that Yan Huan’s condition had long deteriorated to the extreme. He’d lost his divinity, abandoned his divine body, and now existed purely as energy as he accompanied him.

Yes, losing a few fragments wouldn’t affect the complete Yan Huan, but what if he was already weakened?

“I…” For some reason, Liu Fuguang felt a bit panicked. “I understand. Thank you for the reminder.”

Jin Cuixu nodded and said seriously, “Fuguang, I know you hate him. I have no right to interfere in your affairs, but good and evil are two sides of the same coin. If he withdraws, you won’t feel any better either. The cycle of heaven’s principles ultimately depends on balance.”

Liu Fuguang nodded. After their conversation, he walked toward Yan Huan.

At that moment, his heart was in turmoil. Yan Huan, having been instructed not to listen to their conversation, tried his best to hide his curiosity, but wanted to subtly find out what had been said. Liu Fuguang pretended not to notice, and only responded perfunctorily.

Jin Cuixu’s words had touched on the question he had long avoided—what exactly was his relationship with Yan Huan now? How did he truly feel about him?

Maybe they were companions, maybe collaborators, maybe a pair of enemies maintaining a tenuous peace, or perhaps a pair of estranged former lovers with a grudge to settle…Still, no matter what, it was a dangerous illusion as fragile as thin ice. As Yan Huan drew closer, he retreated step by step. Many times, testing and retreating, they moved simultaneously.

Could he forgive Yan Huan? He didn’t know.

What would happen between them once this matter was resolved? He still didn’t know.

Would they continue to be entangled like this forever? He found it even harder to imagine such a future.

Maybe his pain and resentment would fade with time, or maybe the sight of Yan Huan would continue to torment him, reminding him of past betrayals…but why did he feel so panicked at the thought of Yan Huan’s weakness?

Liu Fuguang scowled. Yan Huan, beside him, paced anxiously, his tail lashed about wildly, but he still couldn’t pry a single word out of Liu Fuguang.

“…Let’s go.” In the end, Liu Fuguang decided not to think about it. Avoidance wasn’t a good habit, but he chose to avoid it once more. “It’s time to head to the next destination.”

Helpless, Yan Huan could only transform back into his dragon form, according to his lover’s command, and flew toward the next anchor point.

“I don’t know how much longer my Dao-heart can suppress my internal demons,” Liu Fuguang suddenly said on the way. “But it never hurts to be cautious on the road.”

The dragon god grinned, and responded with a tender and lingering dragon’s cry.

·

On a distant heavenly road, like an umbilical cord that connected the Mortal Realm with the Divine Kingdom, devout followers held incense balls, and bowed their heads in prayer as they walked on the pilgrimage path. The air was filled with fragrant mist and murmured chants. From afar, those worshippers, bowing with each step, resembled tiny rippling waves in a vast ocean of humanity.

“Believers.”

“Yes, believers.”

Two figures, one black and one white, stood out sharply against that brilliant yet hazy background.

During his cultivation journey in the Eastern Swamp, Liu Fuguang had stayed reclusive and hadn’t experienced such intense worship. Meanwhile, Yan Huan, as the Sun Devouring Dragon, had been worshipped by demonic cultivators and evil sects for thousands of years, so this scene was all too familiar to him.

“So, this is a world ruled by divine beings,” Yan Huan said. “When I was patrolling the heavens, I saw several worlds dominated by divine beings. They sought to prove their divinity through faith, hoping to ascend to godhood. Yet they didn’t know that after the ancient gods perished in the wilderness, ascending to godhood as a human became an impossible joke. Foolishly, they would try anything to become gods, only to invariably fall into madness and become demons.”

Liu Fuguang nodded, still with a brief response, “Yes.”

Yan Huan’s dragon tail suddenly stiffened, then trembled a few times before it slowly relaxed and languidly swirled in the air.

He didn’t know what was wrong with Liu Fuguang.

In recent days, his lover was distracted, always preoccupied with serious matters that seemed endless. Liu Fuguang was in a bad mood, and his words came out slowly, one by one. Most of the time, he would gaze at Yan Huan with a complex expression. When Yan Huan looked back at him, he would hastily avert his gaze, visibly agitated. To prevent Yan Huan from probing too deeply, he would often accompany his averted gaze with a frustrated frown, his lips tightly pressed together as if unwilling to speak.

It was as if the beautiful smile Yan Huan had seen that day had only been a figment of his imagination!

Yan Huan couldn’t describe the feelings of helplessness he had, at seeing Liu Fuguang so downcast. His heart twisted painfully – although, by now there was nothing left to twist.

“I’m fed up,” Liu Fuguang said suddenly.

In an instant, Yan Huan’s heart shook violently, and he was filled with fear.

These days, he was worried about only one thing: Had Liu Fuguang grown tired of his company? Was he about to drive him away? After all, the greed of a dragon was boundless. Before, he had waited so desperately, that his agony drove him mad. His only desire was for Liu Fuguang to look at him again. When Liu Fuguang finally returned to his side, he longed for his lover’s gaze and voice. He could hate, he could be angry, he could torment, but he couldn’t bear being ignored or tortured by indifference. When Internal Demon rebelled, he finally got a precious opportunity to talk to Liu Fuguang and work alongside him. He even got to serve him and fed him with his own hands! That sweet time had completely captivated him, and he didn’t want to wake up.

If Liu Fuguang told him now, “I don’t want to see you anymore, please leave my sight immediately. Farewell forever.” Then Yan Huan would certainly cause himself to die instantly in the most tragic and cruel way possible! At least that way, he might stir up some final pity in Liu Fuguang, so he wouldn’t be left utterly destitute.

Yan Huan’s lips trembled, and he lost the ability to speak. Before he could rack his brains, and desperately try to come up with something sweet and soothing to make Liu Fuguang smile even a little, Liu Fuguang said, “The last two times, we went to find them. This time, I want them to come to us.”

Yan Huan responded with, “…”

Then, “Ah…wh-what?”

 

Liu Fuguang looked at him strangely. “Why are you shaking? Are you cold?”