Chapter 52: He’s good at everything, just not as good at taking care of people as Guardian Yin.
The first day, Yan Jingyu did not eat. Liao Chen stuffed a Bigu Pill into him.
The second day, Yan Jingyu did not eat. Liao Chen stuffed a Bigu Pill into him.
The third day… Liao Chen glanced at the food that had already been changed once, then at Yan Jingyu, who had been lying on the bed for three full days without getting down, and had always kept his back to him. He fell into a brief daze.
He finally realized, belatedly, that Yan Jingyu was really angry.
He got up from the side, came to Yan Jingyu’s side, lightly stepped over his body, which was facing away from the outside, and came in front of him. He slowly lay down on his side, looking at his exquisite and gentle face, and reached out to poke him. Yan Jingyu was resting with his eyes closed, letting him poke, but still didn’t give him a single glance.
“It seems there’s a market today.” Liao Chen probed, “Aren’t you going for a stroll?”
Yan Jingyu had always loved lively places the most. Liao Chen had also specially chosen a larger village, thinking of letting him experience the worldly atmosphere properly. But he had never expected that after Yan Jingyu entered the world, he would actually lie in bed for three days straight.
Yan Jingyu did not speak to him.
“I have indeed found a way to save you…” Liao Chen said softly, observing his expression. Yan Jingyu was like a dead person, his eyelashes not even twitching.
He paused for a moment, then reached out to test Yan Jingyu’s breath. He was still breathing, and his breathing was very even. It was just that he couldn’t see what he was thinking.
In the end, he still reached out his hand and helped Yan Jingyu up. Yan Jingyu finally opened his eyes. His body was softly held by him, his eyes wooden and cold. Liao Chen met his gaze, quickly lowered his eyes, took some clothes to put on him, slowly, and did manage to put them on. But as soon as he let go, Yan Jingyu lay down again, still looking at him with that cold expression.
“Didn’t I already apologize to you?” Liao Chen helped him up again and continued to dress him. Yan Jingyu was always silent, letting him knead and shape him. Not until Liao Chen suddenly moved closer and wanted to kiss him did Yan Jingyu finally push his face away heavily.
He got out of bed himself, ate two Rejuvenation Pills, and walked straight out.
It was late autumn, and a morning mist had already risen outside. Liao Chen followed him out, watching as he sat down on a long bench under the eaves, lazily looking at the thin mist in the air. Just as he was about to try to get closer again, he heard him say, “Don’t be an eyesore here.”
Liao Chen walked over and sat down at one end of the long bench. Yan Jingyu didn’t move at first. Not until he was sitting firmly did he suddenly stand up. Liao Chen had clearly never sat on this kind of long bench before and hadn’t expected that you couldn’t sit on both ends. He fell down, caught off guard, and timely pressed his hand on the bench, but his expression was still a little wretched.
Yan Jingyu didn’t even glance at him and walked out of the small courtyard on his own.
Not long after, a person with a ghost mask on his face walked towards him. Their four eyes met, and the other bowed to him. “Immortal Lord Yan.”
Yan Jingyu grunted in acknowledgement. Just as he was about to brush past him, the other suddenly spun around and followed him.
Yan Jingyu: “?”
“…The Demon Lord just sent a sound transmission, asking this subordinate to follow the Immortal Lord.” Yin Shi said, “Although this is a mortal village, it’s not guaranteed that there won’t be any demons… lawless elements, causing trouble here.”
Yan Jingyu looked at his ghost mask. There wasn’t even a hole on the ghost mask. He couldn’t see the other’s real eyes at all. The only pair of ferocious eyes were painted on.
He said, “Aren’t you and Liao Chen the biggest lawless elements?”
“…” Yin Shi didn’t say anything. Yan Jingyu took two more steps, then looked back at him. “Liao Chen said he found a way to save me. What is it?”
After a few moments, Yin Shi finally said in a low, heavy voice, “The phoenix soul can repair the soul-lamp.”
Yan Jingyu’s pupils contracted. He suddenly moved closer to him and lowered his voice. “You know he’s a phoenix?”
Yin Shi: “…The Demon Lord has always trusted this subordinate.”
Yan Jingyu reacted for a moment, his fingers tightening slightly. This fellow, when he was facing his death, he looked so helpless. He finally found a way to save him, and he was actually willing to give up his soul… No, this is not Liao Chen’s style.
Liao Chen was definitely not a person who would willingly sacrifice himself to save others. From what Yan Jingyu knew of him, he might take risks for himself, he might resist the rules for himself, but none of this violated his nature, because he himself was a person who took the unorthodox path… But, to sacrifice oneself for others?
Liao Chen’s greatest enemy in this life was him. As a result, just because they had slept together a few times, he suddenly gave up on killing him and was even willing to sacrifice himself to save him…
Even if Liao Chen were to commit suicide after he died, it would be more believable than this.
…Yin Shi, he always appears so cleverly.
Liao Chen actually even told him that he was a phoenix? This was too out of character for him. If it were before, it would be one thing. He was at the Demigod stage, and it was no problem to suppress Yin Shi. But now that he had fallen to the Taiqing Realm, would he let Yin Shi, a person who was almost at the same peak as him, appear in the same place at the same time?
From what Yan Jingyu knew of him, his first reaction upon discovering that he had fallen from his realm would definitely be to get rid of all those who threatened him without hesitation.
Liao Chen seemed to be very reckless, but Yan Jingyu had always felt that he was more afraid of death than anyone else.
It was precisely because he was afraid that he would cultivate whenever he had the chance, that he would use all his killing moves every time he fought, that he would hoard so many messy things in his Qiankun Pouch, and that even after becoming a Demon Lord, there was not a single living person around him…
He had always been a loner. Perhaps Yan Jingyu, this arch-nemesis, was the one with the deepest bond with him in this world, and also the only one who had a bond with him.
At least the two of them had the same goal, which was to kill each other.
Yan Jingyu glanced at his ghost mask again and smiled. “I didn’t expect that Guardian Yin is even closer to him than I, his partner.”
In the small house, Liao Chen’s eyes shot open, his expression strange.
Yin Shi: “…Immortal Lord Yan is the one closest to the Demon Lord.”
“Is that so?” Yan Jingyu said, “But why doesn’t he tell me anything, but tells you instead?”
He became a little aggressive. Yin Shi was asked until he held his breath, and thought, “He, he’s just afraid that the Immortal Lord will worry.”
“You clearly know that he’s afraid I’ll worry, yet you still tell me this. Aren’t you afraid that he’ll crush your head?” Yan Jingyu looked back and smiled. “How strange. He can clearly spy on everything in the entire village, yet the moment you said it, he didn’t even make a sound to stop you. Can I boldly guess that he deliberately let you say this?”
“Absolutely not!” Yin Shi said resolutely, “It’s just, it’s just…” He had a flash of inspiration. “It’s just that the Demon Lord has returned to the Demon Palace to handle matters, so this subordinate dared to reveal it.”
“He’s gone?” Yan Jingyu was curious. “Then you came to find me specifically?”
“…Yes.” Yin Shi thought. “The Demon Lord saw that I did a good job of relieving the Immortal Lord’s boredom last time, so, so he asked me to come and persuade the Immortal Lord.”
Yan Jingyu rolled his eyes. “Then you were just pretending to almost brush past me just now.”
“Yes, yes, it was a special instruction, not to be too deliberate. I didn’t expect that the Immortal Lord is so smart and saw through it at once.”
“So that’s how it is.” Yan Jingyu let him off for the time being. “Alright, I want to go to the market for breakfast. You can accompany me.”
“It would be a great honor.” Yin Shi made a gesture of invitation. Yan Jingyu looked at him with a faint smile and walked out first.
It was called a market, but it was actually a market formed by a few nearby villages. But Lingyun City was a prosperous place after all. The nearby villages were not only large, but also had many people, so the prosperity of the market was also very considerable. You could basically buy anything.
Yan Jingyu, while strolling, said, “This ordinary little market is much more lively than the city your Demon Lord built.”
“…The demon city is also very lively now. It’s just that the Immortal Lord has not been out, so you probably haven’t noticed.”
“You are quite supportive of him?”
“The Demon Lord is this subordinate’s only master.”
“Speaking of which, everyone looks at you as if there’s no difference from others. You used an illusion?”
“Yes.”
“Then is what I see real, or is what they see real?”
“Naturally, it is the Immortal Lord.”
Yan Jingyu nodded with satisfaction and sat down in front of a steamed bun shop. “Ten steamed buns, two bowls of congee.”
Yin Shi immediately said, “How can this subordinate eat with the Immortal Lord?”
“Am I older or are you older?”
“…”
Liao Chen in the small house frowned.
After a while, Yin Shi sat down at the small table. Yan Jingyu said, “You can take off your mask. We’ve known each other for so long, and I haven’t seen your real face yet.”
“This subordinate… has an ugly appearance and is not good at seeing people.”
“Yu Qiuye can’t even stand his disheveled hair, yet he is willing to keep such an ugly you by his side?”
“That is why this subordinate wears a mask all year round.”
“Then how are you going to eat the steamed buns I’m treating you to?”
“This subordinate can watch the Immortal Lord eat.”
“But I want to watch you eat.”
Liao Chen, through Yin Shi’s body, looked at his soft expression and his sparkling eyes. His brow gradually furrowed even tighter.
He felt that something was not right.
Under his serious gaze, Yin Shi finally took off his mask. Yan Jingyu immediately went to look at his face. It was not very surprising. At a glance, it seemed as if he had remembered his face, but as soon as he lowered his head, he would immediately forget.
“This illusion of yours is just like Liao Chen’s.”
“…It was taught by the Demon Lord Liao himself.”
“He actually has the patience to teach others personally.” Yan Jingyu stirred his congee, watching as he also picked up a spoon and took a quiet sip. “Have you also slept with him?”
“Pfft—”
The congee that was sprayed out was timely controlled by spiritual energy and directly thrown onto the ground on the side, not a single wisp landing on the table. Yan Jingyu blinked with a feigned confusion. Liao Chen in the small house was also numb for a while.
Yin Shi’s Adam’s apple rolled. After a long while, he said, “Of, of course not.”
“Then why doesn’t he have that much patience with me?” Yan Jingyu said, “I am still his demonic nature’s partner. The day before yesterday, we just came out of the bed curtains, and he turned around and threw me into the wilderness, didn’t even give me a piece of clothing to wear, and wouldn’t let me eat, starving me for three days and three nights… Do you think he’s human?”
Liao Chen’s expression was a little stunned, and he subconsciously reflected on his own behavior.
Yin Shi, on the other hand, twitched the corners of his mouth. “…The Demon Lord, is actually so, excessive?”
“What else?”
“…He is not human.” Anyway, he wasn’t human to begin with.
“But he wasn’t human to begin with.” Yan Jingyu said, “He’s simply a shameless villain!”
“…”
“Not only is he shameless, but he’s also very irresponsible. It’s always like this. He causes trouble himself and doesn’t solve it himself. He always lets you come! Who are you to him? A substitute?! Guardian Yin…”
He slapped Yin Shi’s hand, filled with righteous indignation. “I really feel for you.”
Yin Shi looked at his hand and subconsciously raised his thumb…
“You dare to touch him, try me!”
Yin Shi restrained his thumb from stroking him, but his fingers still unconsciously gathered his fingers. Yan Jingyu’s hand was fair and exquisite, his flesh and bones even, his fingers round. He was clearly a dying man, yet he had been raised to the point where even his nails were a faint pink. In the end, Yin Shi couldn’t resist and gently placed his thumb on the back of his hand.
Yan Jingyu glanced at it. “Guardian Yin.”
“Hmm…”
“I think you’re better than him.” Yan Jingyu held his hand in return and said softly, “You are more gentle than him, more considerate than him, more understanding than him… you are even taller and more imposing than him.”
Yin Shi: “…”
His heart beat faster.
Liao Chen: “…” This is simply nonsense!
This cultivation body of his is clearly one-to-one.
Yan Jingyu directly pulled his hand back, smiled, and said, “Last time I drank with Yu Qiuye, it was you who carried me back… thank you.”
“…The Immortal Lord is too kind.”
“You said he’s not in the village now?”
Yin Shi: “…Yes.”
“Then…” Yan Jingyu moved closer to him, his breath gently spraying on his ear. Yin Shi’s whole body stiffened. Liao Chen in the small house also stiffened. He heard his voice low and secretive:
“Do you want to kill him and become the Demon Lord yourself?”
Both bodies went cold at the same time.
Under his gaze. Yin Shi said somewhat woodenly, “This subordinate is loyal and devoted to the Demon Lord.”
“If you become the Demon Lord, then wouldn’t everything of his be yours?” Yan Jingyu said, “I heard that some races in your Demonic Domain even inherit their partners. Is that true?”
Yin Shi looked even more numb. He observed Yan Jingyu’s expression, was quiet for a while, and said in a somewhat sharp tone, “The Demon Lord went through fire and water for you, and even withstood the heavenly tribulations…”
In Yan Jingyu’s probing gaze, he slightly held back, remembering his identity, and softened his voice. “It’s not good for you to be like this.”
“He, he’s good at everything.” Yan Jingyu looked deeply at Yin Shi and sighed with regret. “Unfortunately, he’s just not as good at taking care of people as Guardian Yin.”
“…”
Liao Chen restrainedly took a breath, but Yin Shi could clearly feel it. “He seems to like this me very much.”
“It’s this me!!!”
Liao Chen, while really wanting to immediately recall his consciousness, also couldn’t help but feel that being with him like this, without so much baring of teeth and claws, without so much mutual attack, just so plain and simple, was quite…
…But that’s the guardian, not this Lord!
But, if he weren’t Liao Chen, perhaps he could have very easily…
…established a deep, friendship with him.
