SSEWC Chapter 52

As two people started fighting, the onlookers dared not to watch the excitement any longer and immediately scattered.

Adhering to his principle that they were here to catch monsters and should not escalate the situation, He Heng, after delivering a punch to Zhou Yue, set out with his long sword to explain the situation to Yan Qing’an.

However, at the moment of takeoff, he suddenly felt a weight behind him, and a slight pain emanated from the tip of his tail.

He Heng turned around and saw that his tail had once again been grabbed by the monster catcher, who had even pulled out a few tufts of fur. The monster catcher continued to mutter:

“Where is the monster running off to?”

He Heng retorted, “I should be asking you that question.”

The next moment, he emitted waves of chilling black mist, and the mark on his forehead began to glow red. His entire demeanor became so dark that it almost seemed like it could drip water.

Zhou Yue, observing this sudden change, felt that something was amiss.

This was no ordinary monster, but clearly a demonic cultivator.

As he watched the increasingly dense black mist surrounding He Heng, he could feel his head buzzing.

In the fleeting moment when the black mist appeared just now, he sensed a terrifying burst of power, indicating that the person in front of him was unfathomable in both cultivation and Dao arts.

After much consideration, Zhou Yue decided that discretion was the better part of valor, following the principle of “The Thirty-Six Stratagems”. However, as he soared away with his sword, in that fleeting moment, he felt a gust of wind chasing after him.

Looking back, he saw He Heng, also riding a sword, flying at almost twice his speed.

“Did—you—dare—to—touch—my—tail?” He Heng exclaimed between each word.

On the other side, on the rooftop,

Qiao Yanyu, who had been watching He Heng earlier, found his face familiar. However, due to the fact that the other person was wearing a hat, it was hard to see clearly. Just now, when the senior brother acted impulsively and lifted the hat off, Qiao Yanyu remembered. The person in front of him seemed to be his childhood friend and “betrothed”, the one with whom Qiao Yanyu used to play a lot. Back then, Qiao Yanyu and “He Heng” both aspired to enter the renowned Yunjian Academy, considered the top academy in the cultivation world.

Unfortunately, later on, a mishap occurred, and “He Heng’s” spiritual roots suffered a severe blow. It’s worth noting that in the cultivation world, losing one’s spiritual roots is akin to becoming useless.

Although Qiao Yanyu felt a bit regretful, his footsteps never paused for the weak.

Unexpectedly, after a few years had passed, the other party had…

Grown a tail?

Immersed in astonishment, Qiao Yanyu hadn’t fully grasped the situation when he saw his second senior brother also flying down on his sword, declaring with determination:

“Oh no, Senior Brother is in danger; I’ll go help him.”

Finally, when he rushed to the street corner, now a chaotic “crime scene” due to the brawl, he found his two senior brothers already beaten and lying on the ground, while He Heng casually sheathed his sword.

In that moment, the black mist swirling around He Heng, which had appeared menacing to Qiao Yanyu, transformed into dazzling golden light.

With only one thought in his mind, Qiao Yanyu exclaimed,

‘He Heng looks so cool.

How did he become so strong?

How can someone look so cool even in a fight?’

Qiao Yanyu suddenly felt like he had misjudged things before.

Why didn’t he realize earlier that He Heng actually looked quite handsome?

Even with a tail and ears, he still looked so handsome.

On the other side, as He Heng sheathed his sword and prepared to leave, another figure suddenly emerged, blocking his way.

Glancing down, He Heng noticed Qiao Yanyu, dressed similarly to the two people on the ground who were now howling in pain. He immediately sensed something and raised an eyebrow, saying:

“Are you here to fight too?”

“Not really,” Qiao Yanyu stared directly into He Heng’s eyes and flashed a smile.

“Ah Heng, don’t you remember me?”

He Heng: “?”

He quickly communicated with 996 through his consciousness:

‘What’s going on?’

‘Who is this person? Should I know him?’

The next moment, a calm and steady mechanical voice echoed in He Heng’s mind,

[Strictly speaking, he is your former “childhood sweetheart”. Do you remember the script I showed you? The original owner believed it was his master who caused him to lose his spiritual roots, turning him into a complete waste, which led to the separation from his childhood sweetheart who used to be inseparable.]

[Look at you now, from a foolish and dull waste to the unrivaled demonic cultivator. You’ve successfully slapped your once disdainful childhood sweetheart in the face, making him admire you anew. Isn’t this Proud Dragon of Heaven script quite steady?]

After listening to 996’s words, He Heng uttered a graceful Chinese character:

“Fuck.”

However, he said it out loud.

Hearing this, Qiao Yanyu was momentarily stunned. “Huh?”

Was Ah Heng greeting him with a “good morning”¹“草” (cǎo) meaning grass or fuck, “早” (zǎo) meaning morning so he probably misheard.?

After coming back to his senses, He Heng turned to face him and earnestly said:

“Sorry, I’m not cursing at you, but…”

“I have amnesia.”

Having said that, as He Heng was about to leave, he noticed that Qiao Yanyu not only didn’t back down but actually moved closer.

Qiao Yanyu curiously approached He Heng’s fluffy tail, looking completely unfazed.

“No problem, we can get to know each other again. You can call me ‘Ah Yu’.” Qiao Yanyu said.

They say that the first step in capturing the target is to make them distinguish between oneself and others. Thinking about the two senior brothers who got beaten up earlier for touching He Heng’s tail, Qiao Yanyu came up with a plan:

“Ah Heng, how come I didn’t know you had a tail? It looks so big. Can I touch it?”

As long as he asks, it should be fine, right?

Facing Qiao Yanyu’s eagerly reaching claws, He Heng quickly stopped him, and the veins on his forehead began to subtly twitch. He adopted a stern attitude and said,

“You can’t.”

“Huh?” Qiao Yanyu was momentarily confused. “Why not?”

He Heng replied, “Think about it from a different perspective. If a stranger suddenly appears on the road and comes up to you, asking, ‘Can I touch you?'”

“Can I touch you?” He deliberately emphasized the tone of this sentence to make the other person feel it was impolite. Just at that moment, he heard another familiar voice in his ear,

The voice sounded somewhat surprised,

“He Heng?”

Darn it,

Why didn’t Master come earlier or later, but precisely at this moment?

Upon hearing the voice, He Heng instinctively turned his head and made eye contact with Yan Qing’an, who had just arrived with his sword.

I wonder how much of what I said earlier did Master hear?

Of all the things He Heng said just now, when Yan Qing’an arrived, he only caught one sentence.

That one sentence was, “Can I touch you?”

Now, Yan Qing’an felt like his brain was experiencing a bit of a shutdown, with a constant buzzing in his head.

Just a moment ago, he received a message from Nie Zong, stating that the demon slayers from the Southern Mountain Sect’s Yunjian Academy would come together to handle the issues in Red River Village. Almost simultaneously as he received the message, the sensor on his bracelet started vibrating violently.

Yan Qing’an immediately realized that it was due to abnormal fluctuations in He Heng’s spiritual power, indicating that he might have encountered trouble and engaged in a fight.

So, he swiftly flew in the direction of He Heng with his sword. When he finally arrived, Yan Qing’an witnessed the following scene:

His disciple standing in front of another man, asking him, “Can I touch you?”

In response, Yan Qing’an was immediately annoyed, seizing He Heng’s large tail and pulling him over.

“Master, what are you doing?”

He Heng complained in a low voice and then lightly tapped the other man’s shoulders with his tail, making a “pat, pat” sound, expressing his displeasure.

The movements weren’t forceful at all, making it look rather affectionate.

This action left the two men who had just climbed up from the ground dumbfounded. So, his tail is also touchable?

After getting a clear look at Yan Qing’an’s face, Zhou Yue suddenly realized that he might have made a big mistake earlier. If He Heng just referred to him as “Master”, then He Heng should be his disciple.

Zhou Yue vividly remembered that the Sect Master had specifically instructed him before leaving, emphasizing that the Daoist Yan from the Huayang Sword Sect and his disciple should travel together with them. He was reminded to treat them with courtesy and work to promote and strengthen the friendship between their respective sects.

However, he ended up mistaking the other party for a monster upon arrival and unreasonably pulling on the person’s tail.

Seeing that the commotion had settled, Yan Qing’an took out the letter from Nie Zong in his spiritual tool, formally introduced everyone’s identities, and then Zhou Yue and the others apologized to He Heng. Afterward, they found an inn to sit down and discuss the peculiar discoveries regarding the abnormal creatures in Red River Village.

Combining his recent discoveries, He Heng put forward a bold hypothesis. He believed that the corpses of monsters found near Honghe Village were actually transformed from humans. More precisely, they were the villagers who had gone missing one after another from the village or nearby towns.

Zhou Yue, upon hearing this statement, was also surprised and asked him for the reason behind such a belief.

In response, He Heng shared the discoveries he made on the burial hill that day with everyone. Moreover, he pointed out that this very morning he clearly saw human remnants, specifically fingernails, on the palm of the rabbit monster’s corpse.

The corpses of these “monsters” all had a common feature: they had their inner cores harvested and hearts removed by someone. At first glance, it might seem like the other party was doing it to enhance their cultivation, but in reality, this made it impossible to distinguish between human and monster based on their corpses.

However, whether it was the lizard monster on the mountain that retained human skin patterns that day, the rabbit monster with lingering fingernails today, or the strange black shadow that caused both Yan Qing’an and He Heng to develop monster-like features such as ears and tails, all indicated the monster’s ability to transform humans into “monsters”.

Or, more precisely, it had the ability to manifest monster-like characteristics in them.

The cunning aspect of this monster lies in its ability to create numerous illusions to confuse everyone while redirecting suspicions towards other monsters.

For example, the golden eagle.

It transformed all the human corpses into the small monsters in the golden eagle’s food chain, leading the monster hunters to mistakenly identify the golden eagle as the culprit.

Finally, He Heng pointed out, based on information provided by locals, that this monster typically caused chaos in the city at night. Therefore, it might be more effective to take turns standing guard in the city tonight, waiting for the monster to fall into their trap.

The others had no objections to his proposal.

After discussing the detailed plan with the three individuals from Yunjian Academy, they split up and prepared to carry out the plan after midnight.

As for Yan Qing’an, he directly returned to his room at the inn. Today happened to be the day he dedicated to practicing his cultivation method.

To restore his cultivation and repair the damaged meridians, Yan Qing’an needed to concentrate and regulate his breath for several hours every day. Every half month, he would undergo a thorough cleansing and rejuvenation of his meridians.

The pain and suffering during this entire recovery process were unbearable for ordinary people. To give an example, it was akin to changing all the blood in one’s body.

He Heng was concerned about leaving him alone in the room, so he didn’t linger in the inn’s lobby for long. After packing two meals, he returned to his own room, always attentive to any movements in Yan Qing’an’s room. He was ready to bring the food to him once he finished his cultivation.

However, He Heng waited for a long time, all the way until it was dark outside, yet there was no sign of any activity from Yan Qing’an’s room.

Seeing this, He Heng couldn’t sit still. He walked straight to Yan Qing’an’s room and knocked on the door.

“Master, how are you? I brought you some food.”

However, there was an eerie silence inside, and there was no response.

A sense of unease vaguely crept up on He Heng, and he furrowed his brows.

The next moment, he heard a sudden sound of something heavy falling inside the room.

“Master!”

Upon hearing this strange noise, without a moment’s hesitation, he pushed open the door and rushed in.

The scene inside the room appeared chaotic.

Objects on the table were scattered on the floor, and Yan Qing’an was lying in a disheveled state on the cool ground. His hair was messy, his lips pale, and a few traces of crimson blood appeared at the corners of his mouth. His body seemed to be shivering slightly, possibly due to the cold.

Perhaps because of the recent cultivation session, he was wearing only a thin inner garment, not even shoes. His slender and fair ankles were exposed, revealing faint blue veins.

He Heng immediately realized that Yan Qing’an might have made a mistake during the cultivation of his cultivation method. He hadn’t controlled the breath in his dantian well, leading to a reversed flow of qi. Yan Qing’an had only restored a few layers of his cultivation, and his meridians were not completely repaired. With his already fragile constitution, such turmoil was too much for him. If He Heng hadn’t discovered it in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Thinking of this, He Heng’s eyes darkened slightly. He quickly reached out, cradled Yan Qing’an’s neck and knees, lifted him up, and placed him on the bed. He then stood up to get a glass of water for him, but at this moment, the person in his arms grabbed onto the cuff of his sleeve.

“Cold.”

Yan Qing’an’s thin lips trembled as he spoke, his voice very soft, almost imperceptible. It seemed like all the strength had been drained from his body. He resembled a little cat tossed into the snow by the roadside on a cold day, shivering and on the brink of life. His hands and feet were icy, and in an instinctive response to seek the last bit of warmth, he snuggled deeper into He Heng’s embrace.

Seeing him in this state made He Heng feel increasingly helpless and distressed.

“It’s okay, Master. I’m here.”

“I’m here.”

He could only repeat these few sentences over and over, holding the person in his arms even tighter. At the same time, he gently transferred his spiritual energy, channeling it bit by bit into the disrupted true qi in Yan Qing’an’s dantian, assisting him in stabilizing his breath.

Feeling the spiritual energy gradually flowing in, the true qi in his body stabilized, and the piercing dull pain that had been agonizing him began to slowly fade away. It was as if the frost was starting to melt, the temperature rising again. Yan Qing’an felt like he was coming back to life.

At this moment, leaning against He Heng’s shoulder, his consciousness was still a bit hazy. However, his fingertips instinctively clenched the hem of the other’s clothes, unwilling to let go, as if holding on could bring him a sense of security.

The discomfort from earlier hadn’t completely subsided, and his mind was still in a bit of a haze. He couldn’t quite recall what day it was, couldn’t remember his own name, and had a bit of trouble recalling the relationship between himself and the person before him. Yet, the familiar aura on the man brought him comfort and instinctive dependence.

Seeing the gradual return of color to the other’s face, He Heng gradually felt at ease. He patted the other’s back in a soothing manner, resting his chin gently on Yan Qing’an’s forehead, and softly comforted him:

“It’s okay, Ayu, I’m here.”

“Still feeling uncomfortable?”

However, he did not get a response from the person in his arms.

The next moment, Yan Qing’an lifted his head, his eye sockets slightly red.

“Who are you?”

In that instant, He Heng’s brain experienced a bit of a crash.

Because in the previous world, when the other person was still Wen Liangyu, He Heng had always comforted him in such a manner.

After crossing into this world, when the other person, for the first time, nestled in his arms as meekly as a little cat, he forgot about their identities for that moment and unconsciously called out, “Ayu.”

He swore,

When he spoke at that moment, he truly didn’t think it through, but how should he explain it now?

Suddenly, Yan Qing’an felt a surge of sourness in his heart, like being soaked in vinegar, uncomfortable and somewhat swollen, but he couldn’t describe the exact taste.

Why does He Heng call someone else’s name?

Upon hearing the two words “Ah Yu”, Yan Qing’an’s first reaction was “Qiao Yanyu”. Thinking about their past as “childhood sweethearts”, Yan Qing’an felt that the previous feeling of sadness had intensified.

Could it be that He Heng had hugged him like this before?

Could it be that just now he mistook Yan Qing’an for Qiao Yanyu?

Thinking about this, Yan Qing’an’s pupils trembled for a moment, feeling increasingly uncomfortable, struggling to get up from He Heng’s arms.

Seeing that the person in his arms was obviously still in pain but squirmed like an uneasy little creature, He Heng was momentarily stunned.

“Master.”

He patted Yan Qing’an’s shoulder and pulled him back.

Then he met a pair of slightly red eyes.

“Who were you calling just now?”

For the first time, He Heng felt like a mute who had swallowed a bitter pill. He couldn’t utter a word.

Not to mention having only one mouth; even if he had eight mouths right now, he wouldn’t be able to explain it clearly.

 

 

 

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• 1
  “草” (cǎo) meaning grass or fuck, “早” (zǎo) meaning morning so he probably misheard.