Because being protected by his junior brother in the secret realm felt far too blissful,
The next time, beneath the icy, bone chilling depths of a hidden pool within the realm, Senior Brother Yin “accidentally” got swept into a vortex once again.
The time after that, in a cave thick with poisonous miasma, Senior Brother Yin made another “mistake” and ended up so weak he could hardly take care of himself.
“Yin, you, this is clearly intentional!”
“Every single time you deliberately draw out high level demonic beasts and trigger hidden mechanisms, you’re obviously trying to harm the little junior brother!”
Uh…
Yin Xuanlin looked helplessly at the fellow disciples standing at the exit of the secret realm, angrily pointing fingers at him in accusation.
This bunch of mediocrities, truly beyond saving.
For once, they had managed to get the first half right, only to miss the latter half entirely!
Did these brainless fools not think things through? If he truly intended harm, would his junior brother come out each time with nothing more than a few trivial superficial injuries?
If there had really been anything life threatening, he would have already secretly borne it himself, neutralizing it in advance.
He only had… just the tiniest bit of selfishness.
After all, in everyday life, his junior brother was still far too distant and aloof, always seeming separated by a layer of mist that could not be seen through.
Sometimes, Yin Xuanlin would feel that he was special.
He would think that the way his junior brother looked at him carried a faint, almost imperceptible difference yet at other times, he would feel that his junior brother was like snow piled upon a mountain peak, cold and pure when viewed from afar, untouched by the world, unmoved at heart.
It seemed as though he treated everyone equally, gentle and calm, not truly caring for anyone in particular.
Indeed, in the entire sect, he was the only one who had ever pinched his junior brother’s cheek.
But perhaps… that was only because no one else dared to reach out?
What if he let others pinch him as well?
The mere thought of that possibility stirred an inexplicable irritation within Yin Xuanlin, making him toss and turn, unable to sleep.
Which was precisely why he had to seize this one opportunity to show off and prove it.
At the very least, in the moments of danger within the secret realm, his junior brother rushed toward him without hesitation every single time.
Even if he had likely already realized that Yin Xuanlin was deliberately suppressing his own strength to manufacture danger, didn’t he still, time and time again, do everything in his power to protect him?
If that wasn’t favoritism, then what was?
This kind of favoritism made him genuinely feel that life was rich and full of flavor.
As for rumors and gossip? He didn’t care in the slightest. If his junior brother truly believed he was trying to harm him yet still held him, still saved him time and again, wouldn’t that only further prove that this favoritism was unshakable?
They were nothing more than a bunch of sour, pickled cucumbers.
It wasn’t something they could ever envy!
And so, Yin Xuanlin continued living happily like this for quite some time.
During those few months, he even found himself cursing far less often and he picked fights with fellow disciples much less frequently.
Unfortunately, his talent was simply too outstanding. His progress in cultivation advanced far too quickly and once again, he reached a critical juncture where he had to break through to a new realm.
With no other choice, Yin Xuanlin tearfully bid his junior brother a temporary farewell and went to the back mountain to enter seclusion for half a month. Before leaving, he once again emptied out his entire fortune,
He stuffed his junior brother’s room full of money pouches containing high grade spirit stones, jade pendants engraved with protective formations, bottle after bottle of rare elixirs to consolidate and nurture the foundation and even precious immortal nectar that he himself was usually reluctant to use.
Even so, he still felt uneasy. In the end, he simply grabbed hold of Xie Chen and earnestly instructed him, “While I’m away for these half a month, why don’t you… just avoid entering the Green Crystal secret realm?”
“Without me there to protect you, I’m afraid you might get hurt.”
This was, in fact, the truth.
However, when combined with the reality that he needed his junior brother to save him every single time in the secret realm, it sounded inexplicably absurd and out of place.
Yin Xuanlin went into seclusion.
Yin Xuanlin successfully broke through to a new realm.
And yet, the moment he emerged, he was struck with shocking news, during the half month he had been in seclusion, Xie Chen had been injured while protecting someone else!!
And the injury was severe.
Yin Xuanlin was both anxious and furious, his heart aching all at once. That useless, good for nothing, pampered little white lotus, where had that pretentious thing even come from? Why him? Why him? Why him? Why him!!!
Yin Xuanlin had already been on the verge of an emotional explosion.
At long last, in the middle of the night, his junior brother finally woke. He hurried over at once to see him.
Inside the room, candlelight flickered, casting wavering shadows. It illuminated his junior brother’s face, pale as paper, his dark eyes dulled, his thin lips drained of all color. His entire being looked as though it might shatter at the slightest touch.
Yin Xuanlin’s chest ached so fiercely it trembled. His eyes grew misty with tears as he reached out and grasped his junior brother’s small, icy hand, only to hear him speak:
“Senior Brother, I’m fine. Please don’t blame Junior Brother Bai.”
Heaven had gifted Xie Chen with a beautiful voice. Now, weakened as he was, it carried an added huskiness that made it all the more heart wrenching to hear.
And yet, with that very voice, he was asking him not to blame someone else.
A chill spread through Yin Xuanlin’s heart. He suddenly let out a cold laugh. “You’re very generous.”
So, in the end, he wasn’t special at all.
And here he had been, so pleased with himself, thinking he was unique.
It turned out there was no difference whatsoever.
It turned out that he, Bai Shuangcheng, or any other insignificant person within the sect, held roughly the same place in his junior brother’s heart.
Yesterday, he could risk his life to protect him. Today, he could do the same for Bai Shuangcheng and tomorrow? Perhaps it would be Senior Sister Zhang, Junior Sister Wang, Senior Brother Liu, Junior Brother Zhao… anyone at all within the sect. If any random person encountered danger, would he also throw himself forward without hesitation?
An indescribable bitterness and grievance welled up in his chest.
Yin Xuanlin pressed his lips together. With a darkened expression, he abruptly let go of his junior brother’s cold hand and stood up, turning to leave.
But he was, after all, Yin Xuanlin.
How could he truly swallow his anger and walk away without venting it?
After taking two steps, he turned back. Under the flickering candlelight, his face twisted with jealousy, almost feral as he bared his teeth.
“What is Junior Brother Bai to you? Are you even that close? You nearly died just to save that kind of useless waste?”
At that time, Yin Xuanlin did not know that Xie Chen’s life in Xianyue Pavilion had not been a good one.
Everyone naturally assumed that, as the young master of Xianyue Pavilion, he must have lived in luxury, pampered and indulged.
Yet no one knew that before awakening his thousand year fire spiritual root, he had once been regarded as a “waste” by everyone in Xianyue Pavilion.
With mediocre aptitude, he had been subjected to scorn and rejection.
Precisely because of this, under the candlelight at that moment, those deep, pool like black eyes looked at him with quiet intensity. Xie Chen’s voice was soft yet each word rang clear:
“Senior Brother, are you saying that the useless are not worth saving? That the useless deserve to die?”
“Senior Brother prides himself on his talent yet surely you understand that beyond every person there is another, beyond the heavens there are greater heavens. You take pride in your extraordinary gifts but life is unpredictable, who’s to say that one day you might not fall into obscurity, like a pearl covered in dust or a tiger stranded on the plains? When that time comes, if others treat you as worthless, with contempt and disdain, what will you do then?”
Heh.
So he had been taught a lesson.
So Junior Brother Xie wasn’t actually someone who treasured his words like gold after all, when he wanted to speak at length, he could pour out such a long speech in one breath.
And yet the very first time in his life that he spoke so fluently and endlessly… was to defend that little white lotus and argue against him!
Fine.
So his good intentions had been taken for donkey liver and lungs.
Yin Xuanlin cursed under his breath as he stormed out, slamming the door behind him, the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Then suddenly, he turned back, stomping heavily against the doorframe again and again.
His junior brother had no heart.
All the sincerity he had poured out over nearly a year, all the care and devotion, every bit of it had been fed to an ungrateful little wretch.
He had been utterly unnecessary, caring so much about him!
Then again, it made sense. The entire sect revolved around his junior brother anyway, one more person didn’t matter, one less person didn’t matter either. What was Yin Xuanlin, in the end? Nothing more than a pathetic joke, throwing himself at someone in a one sided attachment!
Why had he been so foolish as to think that he was special to Xie Chen?
Yin Xuanlin rushed back to his room and buried himself headfirst into his brocade quilt, crying in anger but after only a short while, he clutched at his aching chest and forced himself to get up.
His love had turned into hatred.
He twisted. He warped. He sank into dark obsession, crawling in the shadows.
Crying, crying, crying, what was the point of crying?
Crying would only drain away whatever little fortune he had left. No more crying! He needed to eat his fill, to properly plan his next move, that was the true path forward.
He wanted Xie Chen, Bai Shuangcheng and all of them to suffer!!!
Yin Xuanlin was a man of his word.
If he said his love had turned to hatred, then he truly hated.
Over the following year, whenever they crossed paths within the sect, he would walk straight past without even sparing a glance.
Xie Chen was surrounded by admirers like stars around the moon, so he gathered his own followers and paraded about flamboyantly. When others celebrated Xie Chen’s birthday, he held banquets every single day, making them grand and ostentatious. When Xie Chen led a group of weak disciples into secret realms, he would bring his own people and intercept them first, seizing every opportunity.
During several sect competitions, he displayed his brilliance without restraint, stealing all the spotlight and trampling Xie Chen beneath his feet.
Through all of this, Xie Chen endured in silence.
Only then did the resentment lodged in Yin Xuanlin’s chest finally ease, if only a little.
Yet, at some point, something began to change.
Those black eyes that had always lowered themselves to avoid his gaze… now began, during his deliberate provocations, to meet his stare directly.
Those dark pupils were deep, unfathomable. At times, they would fix on him without blinking, as though concealing some emotion he could not understand.
Wh.. what did that mean?
That very day, upon returning, Yin Xuanlin completely lost his composure.
Of course he could ignore his junior brother. After all, that little brat had taken so many of his elixirs and treasures, what was wrong with him venting some anger?! And yet he dared to glare at him like that!
What, still unconvinced? Acting all fierce, like a snarling dog, was he planning to resist now?
Not only did he show no intention of mending things, he didn’t even treat him, Yin Xuanlin, as anything worth regard anymore, was that it?
So now he hated him?
Good. Good! Very good indeed!
There truly was no reasoning to be found in this world.
The one who sincerely gave him gifts and protected him was branded the villain; while those who only dragged him down, diluted his resources and relied on nothing more than a few hollow words of flattery and ingratiating smiles were instead considered the “good people”?
Xie Chen, oh Xie Chen.
Do you really think those people swarming around you actually care about you?
And so, later on in the Green Crystal secret realm, there came that illusion, so vivid, so convincing.
Yin Xuanlin wanted Xie Chen to see their true faces.
Watching those fellow disciples, who had once been so attentive and eager, now panic under the illusion and flee for their lives, abandoning Xie Chen without hesitation, Yin Xuanlin finally stepped out slowly from the shadows.
As the illusion dissipated, only the two of them remained within the secret realm. At last, he could freely, condescendingly, mock him to his heart’s content:
“Heh! Do you see it now? You treat others as if they matter, risking your life to protect them but how do they treat you? When disaster strikes, they scatter like birds and beasts. Did a single one of them even turn back to look at you?”
“To them, you’re nothing more than a talented, useful stepping stone! When they can use you to block danger or gain advantage, of course they flatter you but when real danger comes, what you saw today is exactly how it ends!”
“Junior Brother Xie, wake up. If what stood here today had truly been a soul devouring abyssal demon, then you, left behind like this, would have only one fate: death.”
“Or is it that even such a fragile, false illusion, something that shatters at the slightest touch, is something you would rather cling to, deceiving yourself, refusing to let go?”
Xie Chen gritted his teeth. “Shut up.”
At the time, Yin Xuanlin simply thought the brat was beyond saving, too easily deceived. He rolled his eyes and drew his sword.
How could he possibly understand that the hypocrisy and pretense he saw so clearly were not entirely unknown to Xie Chen?
He simply refused to acknowledge it.
No matter what, the Tangdi Immortal Sect had given him something that Xianyue Pavilion never had, however little it might be: a trace of warmth, the guidance of a master, the companionship of peers… a place in this vast world that he could call a “home.”
Whether it was real or false, he did not want to tear it apart.
✦ ✧ ✦
Fleurveil
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
You read the chapter. They wrestled with the words. Seems fair, no? (￣▽￣)
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · Once a chosen one of heavenChapter 2 · Why didn’t you crawl in the shadows?!Chapter 3 · They would rather fight each otherChapter 4 · I’ll do a handstand and run naked three times!Chapter 5 · So what if I’m showing off!Chapter 6 · If you look again, I’ll gouge your eyes out!Chapter 7 · The young couple is fighting again.Chapter 8 · I’m back at the Jinchan SectChapter 9 · Sour, sourChapter 10 · To seize credit for someone’s workChapter 11 · The Golden Toad Sect has come to our aid to annihilate the Demon LordChapter 12 · Sect Leader’s HusbandChapter 13 · The stone, fox, tree, and scarecrow are named XuanlinChapter 14 · My junior and I have had sweet moments in private!Chapter 15 · The truth behind their first falling out back thenChapter 16 · Hate lasts longer than loveChapter 17 · Xie Chen was actually the Demon LordChapter 18 · Slaying the Demon LordChapter 19 · From resistance to enjoymentChapter 20 · Xiao Xie’s perspective begins!Chapter 21 · Only because it was Yin XuanlinChapter 22 · Xie Chen was not a foolChapter 23 · The End