Xie Lingjun, age twenty, a virgin.
This time, he had stumbled in the gutter, poisoned by a lust toxin. As his consciousness returned, the first words he heard in a daze were“On the sixteenth of every month, come find me for dual cultivation.”
Fu Yun realized that the memories of the two Lingjuns truly did not connect.
In the blink of an eye, that “Xie Lingjun” with a sinister aura was gone. The one now looking at Fu Yun narrowed his eyes as if ready to kill, each word dripping with icy shards: “You and I… dual cultivated?”
Xie Lingjun’s memory stopped at the moment Fu Yun knocked him out. Upon waking, the first thing he did was check his own body.
His meridians were in disarray, fire and water spiritual energies clashed, and the lust toxin had vanished.
Xie Lingjun had been raised with strict discipline. Even though he secretly admired Xie Yun, he only approached him slowly sparring, discussing swordsmanship, letting things unfold naturally never crossing any boundaries.
His elders had taught him that dual cultivation was the most solemn act between Dao companions. Otherwise, it would demean oneself and insult the other… but they had never mentioned the special circumstances of an “emergency dual cultivation.”
His first reaction was to draw his sword.
But a glance revealed the sword was in Fu Yun’s hand.
After observing for a while, Fu Yun concluded: This was the original Xie Lingjun. His lips were pressed into a thin line, and upon closer inspection, they even trembled slightly.
Just as Fu Yun was sizing him up, his hand suddenly burned.
Yuzhao flew back to its master’s palm, mercilessly pressing against Fu Yun’s neck.
Admittedly, Fu Yun could have used an array to counterattack, but he didn’t. First, he wasn’t yet proficient and feared collapsing the space and crushing himself. Second, why resort to force when words could resolve the matter?
Thus, Fu Yun called out softly, “Junior Brother.”
Xie Lingjun: “Don’t say the sword energy is too cold tell the truth!”
He was so angry he was incoherent.
Fu Yun immediately straightened his attitude, speaking concisely: “I only wanted to use my spiritual energy to heal you.”
Xie Lingjun pressed coldly, “Then what about the pollen on me? Your spirit bird scattered it.”
Fu Yun feigned confusion, not revealing any flaws.
When the other “Xie Lingjun” had exposed the pollen earlier, Fu Yun had already grown suspicious: What was Xie Lingjun’s personality like? Straightforward. He hadn’t mentioned the pollen all the way through the secret passage, so why question it only now?
He likely only noticed the pollen after the lust toxin took effect.
Fu Yun had used the spirit bird before entering the secret passage.
Fu Yun frowned: “I did use a spirit bird. but what pollen?” He furrowed his brow in thought, then let out a sudden “Ah,” carefully avoiding the sword’s edge as he picked up the demon flower he had harvested.
Remnants of dust clung to the flower’s stamen, similar in form to the pollen Xie Lingjun had mentioned.
Fu Yun asked, “Is this what you meant?”
Xie Lingjun fixed his gaze on it and did not deny it. This was tacit acknowledgment.
Fu Yun offered a reasonable conjecture: “You must have brushed against its pollen when you killed the demon flower.” Just as Xie Lingjun was about to speak, Fu Yun cut in first, his tone weary yet forgiving: “Junior Brother, since this is all a misunderstanding, I won’t hold it against you.”
After this entire performance, Xie Lingjun truly didn’t know what to say.
He had indeed been bluffing Fu Yun.
After waking up, Xie Lingjun was particularly sensitive to Fu Yun’s spiritual energy. Coincidentally, the pollen had been squeezed out by Fu Yun himself, naturally carrying his aura, which Xie Lingjun had detected.
But he wasn’t sure when the pollen had gotten on him or whether it was related to Fu Yun.
So he pretended to be certain “You used your spirit bird to scatter it on me” to see if Fu Yun would show any guilt.
He couldn’t tell.
How could a young man barely out of his teens see through Fu Yun, who had managed to rise to the position of steward in the notoriously complex and treacherous Internal Affairs Department?
Xie Lingjun still felt something was off. “Using spiritual energy to heal would benefit both of us. Why did you have to knock me out?”
“Junior Brother has always disliked me. I was afraid you’d be angry, but that really was the best way.” Fu Yun lowered his gaze with a sigh, then reassured Xie Lingjun, “Don’t worry, you’re still a pure and virtuous young man.”
Xie Lingjun: “…”
He raised an eyebrow. “You also used my sword without permission.”
Fu Yun explained, “After you fell unconscious, the demonic flower attacked again. In the heat of the moment, I borrowed your spiritual sword. I assure you, there was not the slightest hint of impropriety.”
When he said “impropriety,” Xie Lingjun’s eyes flickered briefly, but he quickly regained his composure. “But how were you able to draw my sword?”
Fu Yun’s expression turned serious. “That’s exactly what I wanted to discuss. Junior Brother, my original intention was to heal you, but you.”
“You were delirious and forced me into dual cultivation.”
Xie Lingjun froze in place.
A trace of embarrassment flashed across Fu Yun’s face. “You even said something about… dual souls in one body, forcibly drawing out my water spiritual energy to extinguish your fire poison. I couldn’t break free, but I couldn’t just wait to die either.”
At this point, Xie Lingjun understood completely then Fu Yun had reversed the process, drawing out his fire spiritual energy before taking his sword.
Xie Lingjun scrutinized Fu Yun.
Fu Yun spoke nothing but the truth, allowing himself to be examined without even a change in his breathing.
Betraying that “Xie Lingjun” was no impulsive decision on Fu Yun’s part.
Xie Lingjun had woken up early, proving that “Xie Lingjun” had no real control over the body. How could Fu Yun dare to conspire with him? Dual souls in one body ultimately, it was still one body. Even if he secretly siphoned spiritual energy, how long could he hide it from the Xie family?
“That Xie Lingjun” held no value for Fu Yun. It was better to sell him out and earn a favor from the real Xie Lingjun instead.
Xie Lingjun’s reaction was unexpected not the murderous intent one might expect upon hearing of a sibling’s betrayal, but… annoyance. Like the frustration of being bitten by a dog or having mud smeared on one’s face, but far from true malice.
Xie Lingjun asked, “What else did he say?”
Fu Yun recounted the story of the water and fire spiritual energies.
After a brief silence, Xie Lingjun said, “You’re the second person he’s deceived.”
Fu Yun: “How so?”
Xie Lingjun replied simply, “There are no dual souls in one body, and there is no second Xie Lingjun. As for the rest, Senior Brother, please don’t concern yourself.”
His expression was impassive, his tone firm and unyielding. “He won’t appear before you again.”
Fu Yun changed the subject. “Who was the first person he deceived?”
Xie Lingjun: “It was me.”
Xie Lingjun clearly had no desire to elaborate further. Just then, the space trembled, the lake water shook, and the ground beneath their feet cracked open. After falling, the scene before them changed they were now in a new secret passage.
This dramatic upheaval was Fu Yun’s doing. After placating Xie Lingjun and reestablishing their alliance, he thought, “Leave this space,” and the two were transported into the passage.
However, Fu Yun wasn’t yet proficient with the formation. No matter how much he willed, “Take us out of the passage,” nothing happened.
With Xie Lingjun beside him, Fu Yun couldn’t study the formation in detail. He simply claimed that the demonic flower’s death had broken the formation and suggested they continue along the corridor.
After their “frank discussion,” Xie Lingjun treated Fu Yun with extreme aloofness.
Though confined to a small space together, he always managed to maintain a precise distance of over three feet from Fu Yun. Their conversations were limited to monosyllabic responses like “Mm,” “Fine,” or “Okay.”
After walking for about three hours, Fu Yun slowed his pace, his breathing growing noticeably labored.
He examined his meridians and soon called out to Xie Lingjun ahead, “The cold poison is flaring up. I need to stop and regulate my breathing.”
Fu Yun was telling the truth.
Killing the demonic flower, seizing the formation, carrying the jade slips, and coaxing Lingjun these events had come one after another, leaving Fu Yun no time to catch his breath. After walking for a while, the cold poison had invaded his body. If it weren’t truly unbearable, he wouldn’t have called out to Xie Lingjun.
Fu Yun leaned against the wall, feeling around to confirm there were no hidden mechanisms before allowing himself to slump down.
Part of his meridians had frozen over, trapping his spiritual energy within; the rest of his body was being pierced and squeezed by the cold poison. Huddled in a corner of the corridor, his nails dug into the earth and stone.
Xie Lingjun heard the faint, ragged gasps and, without a word, took out some pills, neatly arranging them in front of Fu Yun. He tilted his chin slightly, as if to say take what you need.
Among them was even a bottle of medicine his senior sisters used for menstrual cramps.
The system chimed in, “Wow, a generous young master.”
Fu Yun didn’t even have the strength to laugh.
The pain was so intense that his vision darkened. In a frantic motion, he swept his hand, knocking over several bottles blocking his way.
The pills rolled noisily to Xie Lingjun’s feet.
Too weak to observe Xie Lingjun’s expression, Fu Yun said directly, “Useless.” He was well-versed in pharmacology himself and had already taken many of the healing pills he’d previously obtained from Xie Lingjun. They were ineffective.
A long silence followed.
Finally, Xie Lingjun spoke. His originally clear voice echoed in the corridor, sounding deep and inscrutable. “Senior Brother might need to guide it with spiritual energy.”
The words were tactful, but the meaning was clear the simplest method was dual cultivation through spiritual energy.
Unexpectedly, Fu Yun weakly refused.
Pale-faced, Fu Yun lifted his gaze, his voice barely a whisper as he sneered, “Senior Brother values his integrity too much to act frivolously toward his junior.”
These were the very words Xie Lingjun had once used to mock him, now thrown back to silence him.
A few seconds later, Xie Lingjun retorted with a cold, angry laugh, “Senior Brother wasn’t so polite when he knocked me unconscious earlier.”
Fu Yun knew he was furious he could even speak in full sentences now. But hearing this, Fu Yun turned his face toward the stone wall, feigning a stubborn, feeble indifference.
Xie Lingjun said, “As long as we both have clear consciences, even dual cultivation through spiritual energy doesn’t signify anything.”
Fu Yun inwardly sighed: Fool, I’m afraid of draining you dry and exposing my absorption technique.
The suppressed gasps, like tiny hooks, scraped at the senses.
The faint light before Fu Yun’s eyes vanished. Had Xie Lingjun extinguished the illuminating flame?
That didn’t seem right.
A shadow fell over Fu Yun. Xie Lingjun must have been standing before him, his broad shoulders blocking the light.
As Xie Lingjun moved, a gust of wind brushed Fu Yun’s face, making him feel even colder. He instinctively curled up slightly.
Fu Yun heard a sigh drifting down from above.
Xie Lingjun took a deep breath, as if making a firm decision, and abruptly reached into his storage pouch, pulling out a sword sheath. He then stepped forward, stopping just a pace away from Fu Yun.
Xie Lingjun placed the sword sheath horizontally on the ground.
“Let this sheath be the boundary,” Xie Lingjun said. “Senior Brother, Lingjun will not cross it.”
Without further hesitation, he knelt on one knee before Fu Yun, reached across the distance of an arm, and grasped Fu Yun’s hand, which was hidden in the shadows, holding it tightly.