Chapter 97: Soft-Eared Mama’s Boy 12

There was no disagreement.

Perhaps those words had sounded like a gentle refusal to the young man at the time, but to Zhu Miaojie, they were nothing short of a pathetic probe.

In the Cultivation World, where tales of ghosts and gods ran rampant, attitudes toward calamity and misfortune were ones of utter avoidance, like shunning venomous snakes and scorpions. After all, cultivation wasn’t merely about practicing the Dao—achieving immortality required not just effort, but a convergence of various factors.

Such as the most favorable fortune and the favor of the Heavenly Dao.

Any ordinary person who heard that he possessed an Innate Disaster Body would keep as far away as possible.

Heavenly Slayer Lone Star, defying the heavens with no luck to speak of. In other words, drawing close to Zhu Miaojie was tantamount to severing one’s own path to immortality.

By then, the man was already devoid of any will to live. He was like a corpse stumbling aimlessly through the world in a dazed haze. Over nearly a century of wandering the mortal realm, he had tried every method imaginable.

Replacing bones with new ones, carving out his heart and lungs… Even if he swapped bodies, or was refined into a Corpse Puppet, or whittled down to bare bones, his form would inevitably revert, bit by bit, to this grotesque, bizarre appearance—like a Demon Entity cloaked in white snakeskin.

Zhu Miaojie didn’t understand why it had to be him.

He couldn’t even seek release in death, couldn’t end it all himself.

He was driven away and reviled wherever he went.

After being expelled from the Immaculate Pavilion, the man sealed himself off completely.

He hid in desolate, damp wetlands devoid of human presence, burrowed into endless deserts where windswept sands rose and fell, and concealed himself in savage, overgrown primeval forests. He dared not show his face to anyone. On rare occasions when he encountered villagers or hunters, he would lurk within a formation, peeking out secretly—as if glimpsing the lives of ordinary folk could somehow make him normal too.

But his situation didn’t improve. The more he acted this way, the more he resembled a rat skulking in the shadows.

His days of solitude stretched on endlessly, each one dragging like a year of torment.

Even his memories began to blur.

Zhu Miaojie couldn’t recall how long it had been since he’d spoken to another person. In just a few short years, he had forgotten how to talk properly.

He had even lost the perceptions and thought processes of a normal human.

The reason he had come to the Hesong Small Secret Realm this time was due to a Secret Realm Token held by the leader of a small sect and his Madam.

They were a couple who appeared utterly blissful, and Zhu Miaojie still remembered their faces clearly.

The man wore the robes of a righteous cultivator, strikingly handsome. The woman was dressed elegantly, her features radiating gentle warmth and grace. Their daily lives must have been peaceful and harmonious. They had ventured into these deep mountains to search for the second Secret Realm Token.

Zhu Miaojie had trailed behind them for several days.

He watched as the man and woman supported each other with love, the husband doting endlessly on his wife, the wife cherishing and protecting her husband in return. No matter how treacherous the mountain paths, they never gave up their quest for that second token.

At times, they hardly seemed like people seeking opportunities at all. True pursuers of power and fortune had no time for sightseeing, reciting poetry, or building little huts amid leisurely chats under the trees—as if they intended to settle here permanently and live as hermits.

Zhu Miaojie observed them in secret for a long while. At first, he didn’t understand. Gradually, he grew accustomed to it, and even felt a faint twinge of envy.

He didn’t know what “liking” was, but he envied them deeply.

In his brief century of life, Zhu Miaojie had mostly witnessed hatred, loathing, and betrayal. Those around him were entangled in schemes and deceit, or false affections.

He had never experienced the kind of favoritism, respect, and mutual care that the couple shared.

Having isolated himself from society for so long, Zhu Miaojie had become like a toddler taking its first shaky steps. His curiosity overwhelmed him, making him forget the world’s cruel treatment of him—like lashes from a whip—and the curse that shrouded his existence.

The couple discovered his lapse in caution.

To his astonishment, they showed no disgust or fear at the man’s bizarre appearance. Instead, they willingly drew near.

Zhu Miaojie had barely revealed himself, yet the kind-hearted pair prepared meals for him, left clothing, and even invited him to their home as a guest… They treated him like a guardian spirit of the mountains.

The turning point came one day when the couple encountered Malevolent Spirits lurking in the mountains. Zhu Miaojie emerged to save them.

Though the man had intended to slip away afterward, they warmly and politely insisted on inviting him home for a meal to express their gratitude.

For the first time, Zhu Miaojie realized that not everyone who encountered him would be struck by calamity.

He spent nearly half a month in their company, and nothing untoward happened.

It was undeniable—Zhu Miaojie had been overjoyed beyond measure at the time. He thought he had finally become “normal.” He believed he could live like an ordinary person. During those days, the man would even gleefully catch sight of fresh mushrooms sprouting after rain and chatter excitedly about them.

But fate loved to toy with people. It lured them into lowering their guard with malicious intent, only to deliver a fatal blow at the critical moment.

It was a rainy evening when Zhu Miaojie returned to the Small Wooden Hut. There, he found two half-puppets whose minds had been corrupted by Malevolent Spirits.

Those two faces were so familiar, even as their features gradually twisted into something horrific. They still clasped hands, huddling tightly together.

Even upon seeing Zhu Miaojie, the couple showed no hatred—because they knew nothing at all.

They only believed their luck had run out, that they had simply crossed paths with a powerful evil spirit whose malevolence had reignited from the ashes.

In their final moments, the deeply loving couple begged the white-haired man who rushed to their side to kill them, sparing them from turning into Malevolent Spirits themselves and being forever denied peace in the afterlife.

~~~

Zhu Miaojie killed them with his own hands, severing the last thread of hope he clung to in life.

He even steeled himself to grind his own bones to dust and scatter them to the winds.

But just as he resolved to do so, he encountered Jiang Rang.

It was as if that strange curse had activated once more—the man could not die. And in the eyes of that handsome, vibrant youth, he glimpsed something achingly familiar.

All too familiar: the flicker of affection, joy, and hesitation that had occasionally lit up that couple’s gazes as they looked upon each other.

It was not yet profound, more like a tender sprout just beginning to bud. Yet it was enough to stir endless fantasies and a fierce desire to cherish it.

This was the one and only time in Zhu Miaojie’s life that he saw such fondness directed solely at him.

How could he describe the ecstasy of that discovery?

Swell of emotion, ravenous hunger, profound gratitude, twisted obsession… No words seemed quite right.

The man drowned in it, utterly ignoring the fact that they were mere strangers who had crossed paths by chance. Likewise, he forgot the truth that true feelings could shift like the wind—or perhaps he was simply too pitiable. Pitiable enough that the moment he encountered a heart that was not even purely his, he willingly stepped into the trap.

And so, with shameless directness, he asked the youth if the reason he had saved him time and again was because he liked him.

In truth, Zhu Miaojie wasn’t truly asking if the other man liked him. No, he was begging.

He was begging the youth to love him.

Even if it was mere lust at first sight, even if it hid ulterior motives, even if it meant being flayed alive and devoured whole… it didn’t matter. Just love him.

He was willing to offer his own flesh and blood for a taste of that absurd love.

Zhu Miaojie knew he was despicable. It was he who had forced the issue, seduced the youth whose feelings were still unclear, coaxed a confession from him, and deliberately let him witness the scenes of his own humiliation.

With his Calamity Body, he had played hard to get—pushing Jiang Rang away even as he welcomed the youth’s overtures and allowed him to trail adoringly at his side.

He even made a point of letting the youth see him nourishing the other with his blood, helping to suppress the curse.

He stood in a position of utter innocence, occupying the moral high ground. Beneath that pristine facade lurked a monster that fed only on love.

Zhu Miaojie knew it was wrong, utterly vile and shameless. His stubbornness might ruin the youth’s future, might leave him betrayed and isolated by all.

But he had no choice. The man trembled his long white lashes and thought: Jiang Rang never should have saved him.

The kindhearted youth had rescued a monster—a monster that now clung to him, determined to devour him whole.

~~~

Jiang Rang had been riding high lately.

Zhu Miaojie’s change in attitude toward him was nothing short of dramatic.

Perhaps it was because they had finally talked things out, or because of their unspoken mutual protectiveness and flirtation. The reserved man had begun responding to the youth’s advances with growing initiative.

Their expedition through the Secret Realm went off without a hitch. Typically, the youth led the way with his sword while the man supported from the flank with Formations. Their synergy was flawless, and they racked up victory after victory.

Before long, the spoils piled high in his Storage Pouch.

In front of the man he liked, Jiang Rang was the picture of earnest simplicity. He split every good find evenly—one half for Zhu Miaojie, the other for Shizun.

He even set aside portions for the little ones back at the sect, without exception.

The youth was like a busy little bee gathering nectar, fine sweat trickling from his forehead down to the tip of his jaw. Yet his dark eyes sparkled with delight, making him look utterly captivating.

In his hand, he clutched a Nine-Curve White Jade Hairpin that shimmered with flowing light. His usually bold and carefree face now held a rare hint of hesitation.

He and Zhu Miaojie had spent over ten days circling and maneuvering to claim this Immortal Hairpin from the Eight Trigrams Peculiar Array. Legend had it that the Nine-Curve White Jade Hairpin was a protective treasure given by Suhe Immortal Lord to his mortal wife before his ascension. It had been lost to the lower realms, its whereabouts unknown.

This made the hairpin not only profoundly meaningful and exceedingly rare, but also a Protective Artifact of immortal grade. It was said to withstand a single strike from the Thunder Tribulation of the Tribulation Crossing Realm.

By all rights, if Jiang Rang wanted to please his beloved, he should have offered the Immortal Hairpin to Zhu Miaojie without the slightest hesitation.

Yet the young man remained still for a long while, clearly wrestling with some concern or other notion.

Today, Zhu Miaojie’s long hair was neither left loose nor bound with a red rope. Instead, the man’s beautiful, flowing white locks, soft as the wings of a cloud sparrow, were loosely gathered by a pretty tassel silver hairpin.

Over the past few days, it had been Jiang Rang who tied Zhu Miaojie’s hair. The youth had volunteered for the task, and the first time he did so for his beloved, his heart had pounded and his cheeks had flushed bright red. Anxious about causing any pain, he had let the hair fall loose again and again.

But he had reined in his somewhat impatient nature, patiently working at it time and again until it was secured just right.

That tassel silver hairpin was an exquisite antique, a gift that Kunyu Immortal Venerable had brought back from the foot of the mountain during one of his preaching trips. Jiang Rang had begged for it after getting into trouble and being confined as punishment.

Now, however, the thoughtless young man had passed it on to his beloved.

Zhu Miaojie had no idea about any of this backstory. Ever sensitive to the emotions of others, he immediately grasped the meaning behind the youth’s hesitation.

The white-haired beauty spoke softly. “Does A-Rang already have someone else in mind to give it to?”

Jiang Rang touched his nose, a touch embarrassed. “Ah Miao, we obtained this Immortal Hairpin together, so I wanted to ask your opinion first. I was thinking of giving it to my Shizun. He’s already at the Peak of the Tribulation Crossing Realm, and who knows when the Thunder Tribulation might descend? An extra layer of protection is always a good thing.”

Jiang Rang’s words brimmed with fondness for Kunyu Immortal Venerable, yet he hadn’t considered that Zhu Miaojie—who was plagued by endless calamities—might actually need the hairpin’s protection even more.

Deep down, Jiang Rang probably understood this logic. But in the end, he cared more for the Shizun who had painstakingly raised him to adulthood. His face reddened further, and for once, he stammered a little. “It wasn’t easy for my Shizun to raise me all these years. He’s always thought of me first with anything good…”

As he spoke, he seemed to remember something. He pulled a jade pendant from his robes and grinned. “Ah Miao, I carved this jade pendant myself using that River Demon Beast Inner Core. If you wear it, it’ll keep you safe too. How about I give this to you in exchange?”

There was something rather biased in Jiang Rang’s words. He was young, after all, and had been spoiled growing up, so it was only natural for him to lose a bit of tact now and then.

He had originally intended the jade pendant for Zhu Miaojie anyway—a token of pure sincerity. Using it now as mere compensation inevitably cheapened the gesture.

Zhu Miaojie lowered his gaze thoughtfully. After a moment, a faint, gentle smile curved his lips. The listlessness that usually clouded his features gave way to a spark of beauty. He lightly covered his mouth and coughed twice before murmuring softly, “Very well. I like anything A-Rang gives me.”

Only then did Jiang Rang’s face light up with a brilliant smile. “Ah Miao, then let me thank you on behalf of my Shizun!”