Chapter 106 - Though Born a Thousand Li Apart, Souls WhiChapter Are One Shall Meet
Translated by Eve
Edited by Kitty, Serefina
7. Though Born a Thousand Li Apart, Souls Which Are One Shall Meet
A bone-chilling cold spread through his body. It froze his veins… his whole body was ice-cold. However, the pain in his body could not compare to the shock in his heart. Xie He’s body trembled slightly. For a moment, he even forgot to struggle.
Mo Cang held Xie He and kissed him. He let out a mocking laugh. “What’s wrong, Shifu? Did I make you feel too good? You cried out so loudly….”
As he said this, he undid the ribbon around Xie He’s eyes.
The red ribbon fell to the ground, and light appeared before Xie He’s eyes again. His eyelashes quivered. He turned around to gaze fixedly at the man behind him without a hint of red in his lips. “It’s you… this is impossible….”
Mo Cang chuckled in a low voice. He pulled Xie He’s hands forward, binding them. He then tied Xie He up. Xie He discovered that the shackles on his wrists and ankles were no longer the same black ones he had crafted for himself. Instead, they were now a beautiful silver. There were complicated, precise formations carved into them. The thin silver chain wrapped around his ankles and wrists. It looked rather extravagant and not at all sturdy but Xie He’s expression changed….
“Shifu, do you like the present that I personally prepared for you?” Mo Cang smiled as he spoke, “This is made of precious Yan silver. It can completely restrict a cultivator’s spiritual force. Right now, you can’t use even a bit of spiritual force, can you?”
He looked at Xie He, pleased…. The man before him was covered in Mo Cang’s marks. He was powerless, like an offering hung before him. Blood trailed down his thighs….
Pitiful and beautiful. It appeased his sadistic side for the time being.
He would make the other gradually taste despair.
Xie He looked at Mo Cang absentmindedly, as if he had yet to process things. A long time later, pain emerged in his black eyes. “Why…?”
The man who had inflicted this nightmare upon him countless times was actually Mo Cang.
Why is it you…?
I trusted you.
Mo Cang’s lips quirked up. There was no longer any respect or deference on his face. There was only icy-cold cruelty and ruthlessness. He smiled. “Why did you take me in back then?”
Xie He’s expression finally changed.
In the beginning, he had yet to react because he had been too shocked and disappointed. Now that he heard this question and recalled Mo Cang’s actions in the previous period of time, how could he not realize that Mo Cang had been hiding his cultivation? Perhaps he had surpassed him a long time ago! Since it was like this, that meant that the seal he had placed on Mo Cang’s memories had been dissolved.
Xie He’s lips moved, expression complicated. He said, “You remembered.”
Mo Cang smiled. “Yes.”
He walked over and grabbed hold of Xie He’s hair, forcing him to look up. He lowered his head and spoke into his ear, “Are you surprised? You didn’t think that I’d remember so soon.”
Pain appeared on Xie He’s face. Yes, even though he knew that Mo Cang had the Heavenly Spiritual Vein, he didn’t think he would surpass him so quickly. Pain, anger, shame, surprise, shock, sadness—all sorts of emotions mixed together. Xie He shut his eyes, voice hoarse. “You’ve known for a long time, right?”
So, this meant that he had been planning this for a long time. He must have concocted this idea the first time he disgraced him. This was the only explanation for why he would torment and humiliate him like this.
While he was stupid enough to see him as his disciple, worry about him, and protect him… was Mo Cang inwardly ridiculing him?
Xie He felt his heart turn cold.
At this moment, sadness and despair overcame his hatred and anger. This was his disciple, ah….
Mo Cang’s expression changed. He knew that Xie He was misunderstanding him, but he didn’t plan on explaining himself. He only wanted to make the other suffer. He sneered, “Yes, ah. Shifu, did it feel good being f*cked by me? I think that you quite like being treated like this. You felt so good that you even held onto me, not willing to let go. Do you know how desperate you look?”
Xie He’s gaze was fixed on Mo Cang. He was so angry that his lips shook, “Evil creature!”
Mo Cang raised his hand and slapped Xie He. With a cold voice, he said, “When you sealed my memory and brought me back, you should have expected there to be a day like this… Shifu.”
Xie He’s head turned to the side from the impact. Blood dribbled down from the corner of his mouth. A long time later, he slowly turned his head back. With a cold expression, he said, “Don’t call me Shifu.”
These words made Mo Cang focus on him. He looked into Xie He’s merciless, frigid eyes, and the flames of fury roared in his chest! Why wasn’t he afraid? Why did he still seem confident and righteous, as if Mo Cang was the one who was wrong? Really… made him unhappy, ah….
He wanted to see more pained expressions on Xie He’s face. It was only in this way that his emotions could be settled.
Mo Cang sized up Xie He. Suddenly, an idea arose in his mind.
He pinched Xie He’s chin, not allowing him to dodge. He forcefully kissed those rosy lips, eyes dark. He chuckled in a low voice. “Since you don’t want to be my master, you can be my cultivation furnace…. Such a high quality cultivation furnace. Relax, I will certainly use you well….”
When Xie He heard this, indignation and shame immediately appeared in his eyes. “You dare!”
“Why would I not?” Mo Cang’s gaze was frivolous. He planted a scorching kiss on the side of Xie He’s neck.
This kind of dallying behavior made Xie He’s eyes go red. He gritted his teeth and let out a bone-chilling voice. “Evil creature, I ought to kill you….”
Mo Cang kissed him while chuckling. “You’re angry? You didn’t expect to fall to such a place, did you?”
Like how you had raised me for the sake of taking my bloodline, now that you’ve lost, you’re to be my cultivation furnace. Isn’t this fair?
It was you who wanted to kill me first… so this is your retribution.
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Mo Cang placed the unconscious Xie He down. The expression in his eyes was happy and extremely tranquil. He had taken revenge on this person. Mo Cang held Xie He in his arms and looked at the man’s tightly shut eyes, as well as the eyebrows that seem to be scrunched up in pain. After being tormented for so long, the originally pale man was so feeble that he looked like he would break from a single touch. Mo Cang hesitated for a moment before carrying him over to the pool.
In his arms, he held the man who was constantly on his mind. He no longer had to hide.
Now, he could finally openly have this person. But it wasn’t because he loved him, but because he hated him. How laughable and ironic, ah.
Why do you have to be my enemy?
If you weren’t, how good would that be?
【Ding, the target Mo Cang’s Blackening Value -10. The current Favourability Value is 70. The current Blackening Value is 90.】
When Xie He woke up, Mo Cang had already left. His ankles and wrists were still bound, though. Without a key or spiritual force, he could not break free. Mo Cang did not even dress him. Xie He stood up. The chain was only several meters long. It was just enough for him to move around the stone room.
This was originally a lair he had built for himself. Now, it completely imprisoned him. Inside the stone room, one could not tell whether it was day or night. There was only the night pearl near the ceiling casting a faint light. He could not perceive the passage of time.
Only after several shichen, or so Xie He thought, did Mo Cang come back.
Xie He turned his head to look at Mo Cang. It was like there was a layer of frost over his face. Only, nothing could cover up the fact that his aloof appearance was not imposing in the least. Instead, it made people want to ruin him.
Mo Cang snorted. He grabbed the chain and pulled Xie He over. Without any tenderness, he imprisoned the other in his arms. He mocked him, “Shifu, this appearance won’t do…. Why don’t you learn how to curry favour with me? If I’m in a good mood, I might treat you a bit better.”
This action made shame appear in Xie He’s eyes. He turned his head, no longer looking at Mo Cang. He grit his teeth and did not utter a sound.
However, this pained and ashamed expression obviously pleased Mo Cang. As long as he could see this person suffer, the sorrow and pain in his heart that previously could not be vented could pour out of him in torrents.
Mo Cang mercilessly did Xie He again.
Like this, the days passed by with no end in sight. In this room where one could not tell night from day, he had no dignity or liberty…. There was only endless darkness and despair here.
Xie He finally knew just how much Mo Cang had held back before. Right now, Mo Cang was simply a fiend. He used countless cruel methods on him. Even if Xie He was determined by nature, he would always be toyed with until he lost his rationality and ended up begging for mercy….
Moreover, because he was being used as a furnace and had his power sucked out of him, Xie He’s body weakened by the day. However, in return… the poisonous flames erupted less often.
When Xie He had fallen down into the abyss that year, he had suffered a severe injury and his meridians were all destroyed. He forcefully took in spiritual energy from outside his body to cultivate. Only like this was he able to reach late stage Divine Connection. However, the side effects were that the poisonous flames could not be expelled, because the poisonous flames were intrinsically linked to his cultivation. It was a poison that he could not expel after obtaining the power of the underground flame spirits. It was the price he paid to stand back up again.
However, as the spiritual force was slowly sucked out of him, the poisonous flames began to grow weak.
Meanwhile, Mo Cang, who was sucking out the spiritual force from Xie He, saw his cultivation quickly increase non-stop.
By himself, he had already broken through into the Spiritual Fusion stage. He also had the Heavenly Spiritual Vein. After sucking the spiritual force from Xie He, he discarded the poison within it and turned it into pure spiritual energy. This way, it was very easy to make quick progress.
Compared to the suffering Xie He felt, Mo Cang became more and more addicted to possessing this person.
Although he had had him so many times and knew every inch of this person’s body, he did not get sick of him at all. Instead, he was even less willing to let go.
Today, they had started not long ago, but Xie He had already fainted. Mo Cang gazed at the man in his arms… as Xie He’s cultivation was gradually stolen from him, his body became increasingly weak. Before Mo Cang was satisfied, Xie He would already lose consciousness from being toyed with by him. If they continued like this… this person would die, ba….
When he thought of this, Mo Cang felt his heart squeeze.
Clearly, they were just getting started. Mo Cang wanted to torment him and kill him, but why was it that when the time came, he would hesitate and feel reluctant?
【Ding, the target Mo Cang’s Favourability Value +10, Blackening Value -10. The current Favourability Value is 80. The current Blackening Value is 80.】
Xie He could feel something warm envelop his body. His eyelashes fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes. He discovered that he was submerged in hot water. Behind him was a scalding, scorching chest.
He lowered his gaze, expression indifferent. He suddenly said, “I really regret it.”
Mo Cang’s actions paused. He was startled. Aside from the day he exposed himself… Xie He had never spoken to him even while facing all the torment he dealt. Even if he was occasionally extremely pained and angry, he would only curse him, calling him an ‘evil creature’…. This was the first time Xie He had said anything calmly in a long time.
“What do you regret?” Mo Cang didn’t know why, but he was actually a little nervous.
What do you regret? Do you regret treating me like that, not caring about me, or wanting to kill me?
He could not hold back the anticipation in his heart. If Xie He was willing to admit his wrongs and apologize… perhaps he could treat the other well. Although he could not let go, he would definitely try to be more gentle. Mo Cang’s arm around Xie He tightened…. He actually wanted to find a reason to forgive Xie He.
He didn’t want to lose this person.
Xie He’s thin lips parted, and a bone-chilling cold emitted from his hoarse voice, “I regret not killing you at the start.”
Mo Cang’s eyes froze over. The softness that had just flashed through his heart was enveloped in cold. His eyes were dark like a vortex and his voice, frigid. “It’s too late even if you regret.”
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When Xie He woke up again, his whole body ached. He couldn’t even move a finger. He lied there for a long time before slowing his breath and gradually crawling to the corner of the stone room.
The chain was embedded in the slab of stone in the corner of the room. Although the Yan silver could restrict a cultivator’s spiritual force and was definitely good material, there was a downside to it: it was not durable. Xie He had spent some time every day to slowly grind it down. Finally, he was able to break it. When Mo Cang came, he pretended to be fastened still, but he was actually free.
It was just that although the chain was broken, the cuffs on his wrists and ankles were still there. He did not dare to leave any marks on them as he was afraid of arousing Mo Cang’s suspicion. At this moment, he could only take the broken chain and walk over to the pond.
This was the lair he had prepared for himself. Just in case, he had prepared a separate exit. It was situated at the bottom of the pool.
Xie He held his breath and sank to the bottom of the pond. He manipulated several mechanisms. A clack sounded and a passageway opened. He was swept away by the current.
The current was a bit fast. After a while, Xie He was spit out and fell in a little, shallow river.
Xie He struggled to climb back up. As soon as he turned, he saw a dumbfounded young lady staring at him from the riverside. Ah Xiu was only washing clothes at the river. Why was a man suddenly washed up? She gazed at the man’s naked body. This was a perfect-looking man. It was just that his body was covered in marks that were evidence of having been disgraced. There were also silver shackles on his wrists and ankles….
A killing intent appeared in Xie He’s eyes. He had actually been seen like this by a mortal. He stood up and walked over. He wanted to kill her….
However, before he could get close, he fell head-first into the water. Just now, he had expended the last of his energy.
Ah Xiu was splashed. She was so startled that she nearly ran away. However, she turned back to glance at Xie He and suddenly could not avert her gaze. This… was such a good-looking man. He looked like a suffering god…. The prettiest and most popular boy in her small town was like dust in comparison.
She hesitated for a long time before doing the most courageous thing in her life. She pulled out some clothes and dressed Xie He before taking him home.
When Xie He woke up, he found himself in a simple wooden room. He was clothed in crude clothes and beneath him was a hard wooden bed. Even though the bedding was very coarse, it was many times better compared to the icy ground of the stone room.
【Xie He：Baby, vacation time is over. Come back. Smile.JPG】
【444：Host dada, I’m back, la~ \(≧▽≦)/】
【444：Wah, Host dada, you’ve escaped, la~! You’re not going to keep staying by Mo Cang and increasing his Favourability Value? (⊙v⊙)】
【Xie He：It’s time to give him the cold shoulder for a while. Occasionally having some distance between us is good, ah. 🙂 】
【444：(⊙o⊙) Oh. 】
【Xie He：Help me exchange for something. A high level orienting technique. Orient Yun Huaiyu.】
【444：OK! The high level orient technique costs 1,000 experience points. Exchange complete. The product description: Though Born a Thousand Li Apart, Souls Which Are One Shall Meet! Do you want a beautiful chance encounter? With the high level orient technique, this will never be an issue. The world is so big! And yet he meets you! The high level orient technique will help you capture your ideal husband. Being brought together by fate will catch him off guard. O(∩_∩)O~】
【Xie He：Very good. 🙂 】
When Ah Xiu came back and saw that Xie He had woken up, she was very pleasantly surprised. However, she was still a bit afraid of him, so she timidly stood to the side and said, “Y-you woke up….”
Xie He gave her a cold look. He should kill her but she had saved him. He was silent for a while and did not speak.
Ah Xiu didn’t mind Xie He’s indifference. She asked, “Y-you’re hurt… oh, right. Are you hungry? I’ll go make you something to eat. You can recover here with ease.”
Xie He had originally wanted to leave. But seeing Ah Xiu’s careful demeanour, his heart was suddenly moved. Right now, all the spiritual force in his body was sealed. He was also injured. It was not safe to head out. He might as well hide here temporarily. When he recovered, he would leave. When he thought of this, he slowly nodded.
Ah Xiu saw Xie He nod and was extremely happy. She left to boil some congee for Xie He.
Although it was a simple congee made of brown rice, she had cooked it until it was really soft and added some wild herbs she had just picked. The aroma was thick. Xie He ate a bit and the taste actually wasn’t bad. He regained a bit of strength and his complexion was no longer so ugly. It was just that he still had no interest interacting with a mortal. He shut his eyes and began to rest.
Ah Xiu saw Xie He eat and then sleep. From beginning to end, he did not utter a sound. She thought, it couldn’t be that such a beautiful man was actually mute? What a pity…. However, even if it was so, just looking at him would make her face flush and her heart race.
Xie He recuperated for a few days. He regained a bit of strength. He found a firewood axe in Ah Xiu’s home and slowly worked at the shackles on his wrist and ankles. The chains were easier to handle. After a few hacks, they broke. The cuffs required a bit more grinding, though. His ankles and wrists were bloody from being scraped. But after that, he was able to take them off.
After shedding the cuffs, the spiritual force in his body finally readjusted itself. However, he had been used as a cultivation furnace by Mo Cang for a while. Right now, his cultivation had dropped drastically. He was only a late stage Soul Condensation cultivator now. With this level of cultivation… forget taking revenge on Mo Cang and Yun Huaiyu, even protecting himself would be difficult.
He would not be able to take revenge in this life.
In the end, he had fallen to a desolate ending.
Today, when Ah Xiu came back, she saw Xie He sitting peacefully at the entrance as usual. However, there was extreme pain and sorrow suppressed in his pitch-black eyes. It made her feel unwell.
She gently walked over and asked, “Are you unhappy?”
Xie He didn’t even look at her.
Ah Xiu had long since gotten used to Xie He’s silence. She continued talking on her own, “You don’t have to feel sad, ah. When you’re unhappy, think of something happy. There must be something happy, right?
“How about I sing for you? Although I don’t sing well, don’t laugh at me, ah….”
Ah Xiu hugged her knees and sat next to Xie He. She began to sing in a mellow voice. It was a very ordinary folk song. There was no special melody, but it sounded bright and happy. It made one feel less depressed….
Xie He finally turned to glance at her. He gazed into the girl’s amber eyes which seemed to see through him.
Ah Xiu gave him a wide smile. “Do you feel a bit better now? Actually, I also have things I’m unhappy about. My father is addicted to gambling. Because of his gambling, he caused my mother to commit suicide. He even wants to marry me off to the town’s richest, most shameless, and heartless landowner as his concubine. Only, I won’t be sold by him! I took advantage of when he was out to run away. I hid in the mountains by myself. After he received money and didn’t hand me over, he must have been beaten half to death….”
Ah Xiu giggled and stuck out her tongue. “Do you think that I’m worse off? Are you comforted?”
Xie He didn’t think that one day, he would be comforted by a mortal who he could pinch to death with one hand. Moreover, he had really been comforted. It wasn’t because she was really miserable, but because her heart was really warm.
He looked at her, gaze unwavering, and slowly nodded.
Ah Xiu instantly became super happy. She pulled at Xie He and chirped on for half a day. She said that today, she had secretly snuck into town and sold medicinal ingredients to buy meat. After salting them, they could eat it in the winter time…. Afterwards, she busied herself and made Xie He a meal. Only then did she go rest.
……………………………………………………………………
Before dawn had come the next day, Xie He suddenly woke up.
He was a cultivator. Even if he was only at late stage Soul Condensation, he was already strong enough compared to mortals. He was very sensitive to the arrival of other people.
In the beginning, he wasn’t going to meddle. Until the people began to break and enter.
Several fierce looking men wearing the uniform of a hired servant. They saw Xie He, who was lying on the bed, and Ah Xiu, who was lying on the floor all bundled up, sleeping.
One of them shouted, “Good, ah. You little whore, no wonder you dare sneak around. You have been hiding a feral man outside!”
Ah Xiu was instantly startled awake. When she saw them, she couldn’t help but tremble. “You… how did you find me?”
The man sneered, “You dared to escape and didn’t think that you’d be found? Hurry and go back with me. Your father has already sold you to our lord.” He then gave Xie He another look and said in a fierce voice, “Where’d this feral man come from? Kill him!”
Ah Xiu was so frightened she turned a deathly white. However, she suddenly jumped up. She pushed Xie He and said, “Quickly escape!”
She would use herself to stop those people and give Xie He a chance to escape!
Xie He did not run, though. Instead, he fixed his gaze on her, expression complicated. Suddenly… he sighed softly.
He pulled Ah Xiu’s hand off him and slowly stood up. He walked over to those men.
Those people watched as Xie He actually dared to come over recklessly. One raised his sword and was about to hack at him! Xie He raised a finger and pinched the blade. He pushed gently and flicked the man several tens of meters away!
He then waved his right hand and a flame appeared out of nowhere!
Those people were originally about to pounce over. The moment they saw the flame, they were so frightened that both legs began to shake. They suddenly fell to the floor. “Immortal Master, ah! Immortal Master, please spare us!”
However, Xie He was neither compassionate nor lenient. He directly hooked his finger and burnt those people to ashes with the flame.
Xie He threw the swords to the ground and turned around. He found that Ah Xiu was standing there, stupefied. Her expression was blank. When she saw Xie He come over, she was so frightened that she backed up.
Xie He saw the fear in Ah Xiu’s face. He suddenly stopped. He was quiet for a while before turning around and heading in another direction. Even so, he didn’t get too far before he heard a series of rushed steps. Following that, two hands wrapped around his arm.
Ah Xiu looked up and said, “I’m sorry. I was frightened just now. You killed the bad people. I’m not afraid of you.”
Xie He looked at her and suddenly smiled. He pulled her hands off. “Escape, ba.”
After saying this, he didn’t pay any more attention to how stunned and sad the girl he had thrown away was and ruthlessly left. After all, he could not stay for long. There was no reason to waste his emotions and feel sorrow. He went straight to the small town at the base of the mountain, found the heartless and rich landlord, and sliced his head off. He then stole a bag full of gold and silver, threw it in front of the little wooden house and then left.
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【Xie He：Baby, where’s Yun Huaiyu?】
【444：He’s come. He’s already entered the area!】
【Xie He：Good.】
Xie He had paid attention to Yun Huaiyu’s movements over the last few days. This cultivating continent was too vast, and the Immortal Sect was too far from here. Encountering him would be very difficult. However, he wasn’t really worried because Yun Huaiyu would definitely come looking for him. He could not let him go.
Moreover, with the orienting technique, it was about time for him to stage the encounter.
Xie He left that mountain and headed in the direction of Yun Huaiyu. A few days later, he was surrounded by righteous cultivators.
The cultivator at the front was clad in a purple qipao. He had a horsetail whip and dressed as a Daoist priest. He said, “You are the demonic cultivator that has done evil at Zhang Mountain town! You actually dare to slaughter the innocent! I will execute Heaven’s will today!”
Xie He wasn’t surprised at all. The Zhang Mountain town was in the jurisdiction of the Qinghe Sect. He also didn’t hide his tracks. Someone would definitely investigate once something like this happened. They were just a bit slow. They had only caught up now.
Xie He stared at them coldly, “With only the few of you?”
Those cultivators fumed. Each of them took out their weapons and began to attack Xie He! Xie He’s cultivation was higher than theirs, but he had nothing on him. His storage ring was in Mo Cang’s hands. He could only fight barehanded and use magic to attack!
Although his cultivation had declined, he was still able to get rid of those few cultivators.
Just as he was going to escape, another wave of pursuers came after him! Turns out, there were more than just those few people from the Qinghe sect. Some of them arrived later because of other matters. When they saw their fellow members get killed, their eyes turned red and they wanted to kill Xie He!
Xie He had been injured. How could he be a match for them? He was beaten until he fell to the ground, vomiting blood. He watched as the cultivator in front of him sent his sword flying towards him. Just as this sword was about to pierce him, he shut his eyes. However, he suddenly heard the clear, melodious, resonant cry of a crane. Soon after, a flash of white light met that flying sword!
Xie He opened his eyes and saw Yun Huaiyu, clad in white, standing on a red-crowned crane, fluttering about like an immortal. Yun Huaiyu looked at him with a clear and pure gaze.
The author has something to say:
This author counted with her fingers. The next chapter is a scene of bloody slaughter. Heiheihei. (*/ω╲*)
sere: aahhh poor Ah Xiu im getting flashbacks to Joanna :’(
kitty: petition to have someone write a fanfic where Ah Xiu and Xie He actually manage to escape and they live happily together as platonic life partners as Ah Xiu teaches Xie He how to be happy again