Chapter 20 Part 2: Just pulling you along before I die, how convenient.
After this voice appeared, the relaxed atmosphere in the library suddenly changed. The little demons who were reading all jumped down and stood up straight. Yu Qiuye’s hair was immediately tied up neatly. The red-haired man also hid his double axes. Mo Ting’s expression became slightly serious. “He is under the Lost-Track Umbrella.”
“You dare to give him the Lost-Track Umbrella?!”
Mo Ting’s heart tightened. She quickly walked towards the place where Yan Jingyu had disappeared. The bookshelves in the library suddenly began to move in a crisscross pattern again. It was clear that the doctor was looking for books again. She became flustered and shouted, “Yan Jingyu?! Get out here!”
Swish, swish, swish. The ancient book spirits kept searching for the books Yan Jingyu needed. Each time they found one, the bookshelf would pause briefly, and then start to operate again, trapping Mo Ting inside like a maze, unable to find any trace of Yan Jingyu in front, behind, left, or right.
Yu Qiuye also quickly came forward. “You guys, stop looking!”
The ancient book spirits had an explosive desire for knowledge. How could they possibly listen to him?
“Within half an incense stick’s time, this Lord wants to see Yan Qi in the Suixing Hall.”
“Half an incense stick’s time?!” The red-haired man lost his voice and also rushed through the bookshelves, trying to find him.
The three of them’s faces were pale. Yu Qiuye cursed, “It’s all your fault! You should have just let him take it off here! Why did you have to give him the Lost-Track Umbrella!”
“I…” Her lips trembled, her face pale. The red-haired man’s face was also pale. “What do we do, what do we do? If he runs away with your umbrella, the Demon Lord will definitely kill you…”
Yu Qiuye’s face was ugly. “We’ll also be implicated… What’s going on with these bookshelves?! Doctor, are you looking to die?!”
Time passed minute by minute. The three of them tried to cross several times, but were separated by the arranged bookshelves, unable to reach the corner where Yan Jingyu had disappeared.
Mo Ting raised her hand and stroked her ruler, transforming it into a slender thorn sword with sharp points. A killing aura gradually rose from her body, and her body slowly floated up—
Just then, the bookshelves suddenly stopped. She heard a voice: “Sister?”
A closed umbrella hung down from the void. Yan Jingyu was dressed in pink and white, a smile in his eyes, his expression curious. “Why are you all here?”
Yu Qiuye and Wolf Qiong looked at him with ugly faces. Mo Ting had already rushed over, grabbed his wrist, and her figure turned into a shooting star, flying out of the library.
Yan Jingyu was drenched in snow. He finally stood firm in the Suixing Hall. Mo Ting finally let out a long breath and cursed, “What happened in the library just now?!”
Yan Jingyu had a harmless look on his face. “I was worried someone would make a fool of me while I was changing clothes, so I asked the ancient book spirits to help me find a few more books.”
“The few books you were looking for turned the library’s mechanical bookshelves into an inescapable maze!”
“It’s just a little trick to confuse people,” Yan Jingyu said enthusiastically. “As soon as I went in, I realized that finding books is a great learning. As long as you let the ancient book spirits continuously search for a few books in the corresponding positions, within a certain amount of time, the mechanical bookshelves can form a natural maze. If sister wants to know, I can teach you… or I can teach the children in the academy.”
His eyes were bright. Mo Ting gradually realized his plan and was slightly stunned. “You want to stay in the Demon Palace…”
“He’s staring at me now. I have no choice but to stay.” Yan Jingyu shook his head. “It would be a waste to take all my skills to the grave. I might as well teach them to the little demons in the Demon Palace so they can protect themselves in the future. What do you think, sister?”
Mo Ting glanced at the back hall, then at the person in front of her, dressed in a pink and white dress, yet still not at all shy. After a long moment, she said, “This matter still needs to be asked of the Demon Lord.”
Mo Ting withdrew the Lost-Track Umbrella and heard Yan Jingyu say from behind, “Thank you for your mercy just now, sister.”
Mo Ting snorted, held up the umbrella, and instantly disappeared into the wind and snow of the polar night.
Yan Jingyu lowered his eyes and patted the snow off his clothes.
It wasn’t that he wanted to stay in the Demon Realm, but that he had no way to retreat.
In the Demonic Domain, the strong were respected. If he were to stay here for the time being, he couldn’t just rely on bluffing. He also had to show some real skills. On the one hand, he had to let everyone know that even if Yan Jingyu had lost his cultivation, he was not useless; on the other hand, it was also for deterrence, to make his former defeated opponents feel some fear and think twice before acting.
Most importantly, he needed to find something to do for himself.
…If only I could live a few more years, I think I could also do well in the Demon Realm!
He stomped his feet again, picked up the books, picked up the food box, and ran towards the back hall.
“Xiao Mei! Your food is here!”
As expected, he was blocked by a barrier before he could even get in. Yan Jingyu looked inside through the barrier, tilting his head. “Xiao Mei, Mo Dong brought you food!”
Silence.
“…Could it be that you brought this food specifically for me?!” Yan Jingyu said as if he had a sudden realization. “Aiya, Xiao Mei, I didn’t expect you to be so…”
The barrier suddenly disappeared. Yan Jingyu almost fell straight in. He quickly steadied himself and barely caught the books that were about to fall.
Liao Chen’s eyelids lifted a corner. Just as he was about to close them, they suddenly opened again. He looked at him, dressed in pink and white, placing the books on a table not far away.
“…What is this thing.”
“This is the food that little nine-tails brought today.”
“I’m asking what you are now.”
“…” Yan Jingyu raised a smile, turned his face, and said amiably, “Sister Mo Ting made me a new dress. Is it beautiful?”
“Did your brain get gouged out with your Heavenly Mandate Eyes, or was it melted with the bone-dissolving water? Even with your toes, you can figure out that this can’t possibly be beautiful.”
Yan Jingyu glared at him, turned and went behind the screen to change his clothes, put on his own plain clothes again, and when he came over, he heard his voice: “You even bought a new dress just to see Qin Zhongyou.”
Yan Jingyu picked up the food box again and walked towards the white jade bed. He heard his sarcastic tone. “You are indeed deeply in love with him. You dress yourself up so beautifully just to see him. It’s a pity, he has already found a new love. You are just a pretense for his public display of affection. He’s even too lazy to kill you himself.”
Yan Jingyu moved the small table on the ground and placed it on the bed. “Alright, your mouth is so dry. Have something to eat.”
He went to open the food box. Before he could take out the dishes, the small table was swept off the jade bed. Liao Chen sneered. “My mouth being dry is better than your brain being dry. You’ve been bullied to the point where you can only hide here with your enemy to eke out a living. Immortal Lord Dufang, are you really not ashamed?”
Yan Jingyu put the food box aside. “Are you done yet?”
“You’re quite imposing when you’re being fierce with me. If you have the guts, use this energy on Qin Zhongyou. What were you doing when someone else was pointing a knife at you? If it weren’t for this Lord’s… guardian arriving in time, do you think that piece of jade could have protected you?!”
Yan Jingyu let out a breath, moved the small table back up, and swept the dust off it with his sleeve. “He is Qin Zixuan’s master. It’s understandable for Qin Zixuan to act against me to stabilize his state of mind. I am a dying man, but he has a great future ahead of him. I wasn’t planning on going back anyway, it was just that day when I saw him chasing after me…”
He paused for a moment, thinking of the warm feather jade on his chest, the life-threatening white blade entangled in silver light, and didn’t say any more.
But Liao Chen sneered. “Qin Zhongyou chased after you, and you, in a moment of impulse, helped him kill me. You’ve actually always wanted to go back, you just didn’t dare. You know that a hundred years have passed, things have changed, and you might be rejected if you go back. But in your heart, you still want to… join forces with Qin Zhongyou to kill me. That just gave you a push. You think you’ve already drawn a line with me with your actions, you think they won’t misunderstand you anymore, you decided to follow your heart and return to Hutian.”
Yan Jingyu did not speak.
“But he wanted to kill you,” Liao Chen said. “The fact that he wanted you dead is already a fact. And you still want to argue for him?!”
“I’m not arguing.” Yan Jingyu placed the food on the table. “I understand Qin Zixuan’s thoughts…”
“Then why don’t you just go die?!” Liao Chen suddenly coughed heavily, covering his mouth with his hand. A hint of crimson in the gap between his fingers was quickly dissipated by magic. He looked at Yan Jingyu with hatred. “You thought that cup was a fatal poison at first, didn’t you? Since you understand them killing you so much, why not just swallow it and die? Why did you have to…”
He stopped speaking, but Yan Jingyu finally understood the source of his anger.
“It was just pulling you along before I died, how convenient.” Yan Jingyu was a little puzzled. “When you have a mouthful of deadly poison, wouldn’t you want to leave half for me?”
When Liao Chen had poured the silent poison into his mouth, he had already been thinking about how to pass it back. The two of them had fought each other for so many years. Why was it suddenly as if he had done something unforgivable…
“…You said Qin Zhongyou was your beloved, yet you, passed the poison to me?”
“Qin Zhongyou wasn’t here… no.” Yan Jingyu was annoyed. “Even if he were here, I would definitely still pass this mouthful of poison to you. Is there a problem?”
Liao Chen looked as if he were so angry he was about to explode, his face a mixture of red and purple. Yan Jingyu continued to place the food on the table, but unexpectedly, there was also a bowl of clear and translucent sweet-scented osmanthus jelly inside.
He was a little surprised, then glanced at Liao Chen, who was fuming as if he were about to suffocate. He picked up a silver spoon, scooped up a mouthful, and brought it to his lips. “Have a bite, cool down.”
Liao Chen was silent.
Yan Jingyu was really a little worried about his injuries. He calmed down his emotions, which had been angered by Liao Chen to the point of confusion, and said in a good-natured tone, “I know I was wrong.”
Liao Chen looked at him. He didn’t know if it was because of his injuries or some other reason, but his eyes were a little moist.
“…Actually, I wanted to apologize to you. You saved me, and I am also grateful. It’s just, your words are really too harsh, and I couldn’t hold it in for a moment.”
Thinking about it, he was indeed wronged. He had saved him with good intentions and hadn’t thought of making him pay with his life. He had only fed him a mouthful of silent poison as a slight punishment, and had even implicated himself… And himself? He had been saying he wanted to repay his kindness, but when he was about to die, he wanted to drag him down with him.
That was pretty mean.
He brought the jelly to the other’s lips again, his voice softening. “I’m sorry, I really know I was wrong. If you’re still not happy, why don’t you take that medicine out, I’ll drink a few more mouthfuls, and this time I promise I won’t give it back to you, okay?”
Liao Chen nodded and at the same time, handed over a black medicine bottle.
Yan Jingyu: “…”
