Chapter 68 Part 2: …He found me.
The sharp thorns pierced his palm. He looked at Liao Chen’s still ferocious expression, and with a fierce exertion, he tore all the vines from his body.
The torn flesh and bloody foam did not have time to splash. He took out the wound medicine and quickly and evenly sprinkled it on his body, then picked him up and left the mountaintop.
Compared to Liao Chen almost having his soul scattered by the rules, he only briefly felt the laws of the Heavenly Mandate stir in his body.
The laws of the Heavenly Mandate could only be balanced by other laws. But the backlash against him would be many years later. That was a past he had already experienced. He would not apologize to the past, or rather, the relatively future self.
Because he knew very well that as long as it was himself, as long as it was Yan Jingyu, as long as he had reached this step, even if it were to happen thousands upon thousands of times, he would definitely make the same choice.
Just like Liao Chen, even though he kept retreating, even though he had thought of running away countless times, he would still choose to save him.
He was not saving the heavenly mandate, but Yan Jingyu.
Yan Jingyu, as he wished, also had his own divine quality.
He was not a selfless, emotionless symbol of the heavenly mandate, but the Yan Jingyu who had to exist with Liao Chen no matter what.
He also had not expected that he would be so tired after using the laws. He fell asleep in a daze.
When he woke up, little Liao Chen was already gone. He looked around in a daze and found that the medicine bottle he had used to treat his wounds had also been taken away, without a trace… He then looked at his own foot, and his eyelid twitched.
This dog thing had even stolen his shoes.
He immediately used the Heavenly Mandate to spy on the other’s movements and found that after the other woke up, he was very vigilant. He first held his breath and pretended to be asleep. Not until he was sure that Yan Jingyu was really asleep did he start to move, quickly gathering the scattered medicine bottles and the messy gauze. Before he left, he turned back to look at Yan Jingyu.
Finally, he landed on his foot.
Yan Jingyu had no extra shoes and had to turn his face to look at the divinity beside him. “What do you mean? Are you afraid I’ll chase after you?”
The divinity was quiet for a while. This time, its movements were gentle as it burned through time and space, as if it were apologizing to him for its actions back then.
“Also a little bastard…”
Following the guidance of the divinity, Yan Jingyu soon came to a strange mountain. He made a rough guess and found that this was already two years later.
There was no place to hide people left or right…
As he was thinking, his eyes were suddenly drawn to something in the cracks of the rocks.
A feather jade…
The next instant, the feather jade suddenly flashed with light, and a small, blood-covered youth shot out from inside.
Yan Jingyu was just about to act, but saw him look around warily. Yan Jingyu immediately realized that this was the Liao Chen who had separated himself from the demon body back then…
It was because the Flame-Sealing Thousand-Thorn Grass had almost killed him last time that he had thought of separating his human body from his demon body…
At this moment, the little thing that had landed in front of him was extremely weak. He panted heavily, his expression ferocious as he rolled on the ground. But he always gritted his teeth and did not make a sound, only occasionally letting out a soft gasp.
Yan Jingyu’s expression was complicated. In the end, he couldn’t resist and walked out from behind, coughing lightly. Liao Chen suddenly looked up at him, his bloody face, a pair of pupils cold and fierce.
Yan Jingyu paused for a moment, took out a medicine bottle from his sleeve, threw it at him, and said, “Painkillers.”
Little Liao Chen still looked at him with an expressionless face. He was like a young beast that had just come out of a cave, tracelessly blocking the place where the feather jade was hidden behind him. He was protecting his demon body, and might be considering hiding back at any time.
“Dog thing.” Yan Jingyu showed him his bare feet. “The old man who saved you back then, do you see clearly?”
Liao Chen: “?”
He looked at the white feet with hesitation, then at the youth with an indistinguishable face in front of him. He hesitated for a moment, then slightly straightened his body, and with a backhand, he drew out his own fetal jade from below, and while nonchalantly hanging it on his body, he grabbed the so-called painkillers in front of him and stood up.
“…So you started pretending from a young age.” Yan Jingyu turned his back in annoyance. “If it hurts, then obediently take the medicine. I won’t look. You don’t have to endure it.”
He really had given little Liao Chen enough face. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes, and deliberately withdrew all his divine sense.
After a few moments, he asked, “Did you eat it?”
There was no sound. Yan Jingyu suddenly realized something. He suddenly turned his head to look, but where was the other’s shadow?
He immediately tracked him with his Heavenly Mandate Eyes, and at the same time, took a step to follow. He was both angry and amused. “I’ve already saved you. Why don’t you believe me so much…”
His gaze followed the other, watching as he then used his external spiritual sea to quickly escape from the mountain, and at the foot of the mountain, he followed a woodcutter.
Yan Jingyu was a little unsure what he wanted to do. He followed him, barefoot on the air, and observed his expression. Not until he suddenly rolled on the ground, casually broke off a tree branch, and cleanly and neatly stabbed the other’s leg.
The woodcutter cried out in pain and was directly fed a painkiller by him, and then he quieted down.
Yan Jingyu watched from afar. Liao Chen met the woodcutter’s gaze and said coldly, “Does it still hurt?”
The woodcutter: “No, no…”
He then sat on the other’s body and observed for a long time. Before Yan Jingyu’s figure passed by, he quickly left, and at the same time, finally stuffed a pill into his own mouth.
Yan Jingyu had no choice but to heal the woodcutter’s injury and followed all the way. Liao Chen always stayed far away from him, only occasionally looking at him with an expressionless face.
Yan Jingyu had no choice but to raise his hand. “This old man definitely has no ill intentions. If I wanted to kill you, you would definitely be no match for me.”
Liao Chen was silent. Yan Jingyu probed again. “Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something…”
Liao Chen suddenly threw out a wisp of spiritual energy. Yan Jingyu raised his sleeve to block it. He had already fled at high speed again, like a startled bird, far away from Yan Jingyu’s sight.
“…” Yan Jingyu looked at the divinity on the side. The divinity was quiet and still, with no intention of communicating at all.
Yan Jingyu sighed and stayed in the dark to observe the other. Liao Chen did not go towards the human race. Most of the time, he moved in the mountain forest, relying on his external spiritual sea to barely fight with wild beasts. But he was still too young at this time, and his fighting experience was insufficient. Several times, he was almost eaten by wild beasts.
He had not yet reached the stage of abstaining from food, but he would rather eat raw game than the food of the human race.
He always remembered that the human race had deceived him with food, and he had almost been crushed to pieces by the Flame-Sealing Thousand-Thorn Grass.
He usually slept in the mountains at night, and he did not sleep well. Any movement could wake him up. He often had to confirm what was making the sound before he would go back to sleep.
Otherwise, he would change places again, or keep his eyes open and wait for daylight to arrive.
This day, he suddenly ran down the mountain all the way. Yan Jingyu followed behind him and saw him pass by a fortune-telling stall. He took the initiative to speak. “Can you drive away ghosts?”
The fortune-teller glanced at him. Seeing his tattered clothes and dirty face, he waved his hand. “Go, go, don’t disturb my business.”
Liao Chen looked left and right, then turned back and said to the fortune-teller, “There might be a big ghost around me. If you catch it, you can improve your own Dao.”
“Get lost.” The fortune-teller was annoyed. Not until the boss on the side let out a laugh. “Little beggar is also afraid of ghosts? Then why don’t you just get a basin of black dog’s blood?”
Liao Chen immediately turned around. “Black dog’s blood?”
“Black dog’s blood can drive away ghosts. If you hold that dog’s blood every day, you will never have to be afraid of ghosts again.”
That night, a black dog died.
Yan Jingyu watched as he used a broken pottery jar to catch the blood flowing from the black dog’s neck. That night, he really did start to sleep, holding that pottery jar. It was already smelly enough, but now, it was even smellier.
…He hadn’t expected that the young Liao Chen would also be afraid of ghosts… no wonder there was a jar of dried dog’s blood in his Qiankun Pouch. He didn’t know how he had survived for so many years, so small, so fragile…
Yan Jingyu let out a slow sigh. Liao Chen suddenly sat up straight. Yan Jingyu held his breath slightly.
He looked at Liao Chen, and Liao Chen was also looking at the air in front of him. He held the black dog’s blood tightly, then reached in and covered his hands with it, and then began to sprinkle it around.
Yan Jingyu suddenly realized something. He was a little in disbelief, watching as he sprinkled the black dog’s blood around the cave where he slept. He didn’t sprinkle too much, just intermittently, drop by drop.
Yan Jingyu waited until he had finished sprinkling before he spoke. “…The ghost you’re talking about, it’s not me, is it?”
Little Liao Chen immediately looked at him, reacted for a moment, and his brow furrowed. “Have you been following me all this time?”
“…” Yan Jingyu patted his forehead, helpless. “I was protecting you.”
Liao Chen was still wary and on guard, looking him up and down without a change in his expression. Yan Jingyu said, “Don’t worry. You can’t figure out who I am even if you rack your brains.”
Liao Chen was silent. Yan Jingyu knew that he was willing to talk to him, which meant that the secret help during this time had made him let down some of his guard. He directly sat down on a nearby stone. “How about it? Do you want to become this old man’s apprentice? I can teach you immortal arts, and also teach you to abstain from food. In this way, you will never have to risk your life to find food for yourself again in the future.”
It was late at night, and Liao Chen had nowhere to go. He directly went around Yan Jingyu and sat down at the entrance of the cave, far away from Yan Jingyu, and said coldly, “I don’t learn immortal arts.”
“Why?” As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Jingyu regretted it. As expected, Liao Chen looked at him coldly. Although he did not speak, Yan Jingyu had already read: I will sooner or later slaughter all you immortal sect evil dogs and tear you to pieces.
He already knew the reason why the phoenix clan had been annihilated. Later, he had indeed slaughtered many immortal sects. The Huanxing Hall was just the first sect he had become famous for cultivating demonic arts.
That was already in the past for Yan Jingyu, but for the current Liao Chen, it was the future.
“Alright, alright.” Yan Jingyu pointed to his own boots on his feet. It was now late autumn and early winter. His bare feet could no longer withstand the severe cold in the air. He had been walking around in these boots for the past two days. “Do you want…”
Before he could finish, Liao Chen suddenly leaped up and rushed out of the cave.
Yan Jingyu: “…”
So you’ve already started to not listen to people at this time?!
He raised his hand, and Liao Chen was soon restrained in place. Yan Jingyu took a breath. “Don’t worry, I won’t fight with you for it.”
Liao Chen turned around and at the same time, picked up the black dog’s blood and splashed it at him. Before the black dog’s blood could splash on him, it was fixed in the air by his spiritual energy and returned to the jar. Yan Jingyu crossed his legs, looking at the other’s vigilance and nervousness revealed in his shock. He beckoned, and Liao Chen immediately flew towards him.
At this moment, he was standing, but was only barely parallel to the seated Yan Jingyu. He struggled for a moment, but could not escape from in front of Yan Jingyu. His face gradually became ugly. He reacted extremely quickly. “Didn’t you say you were here to protect me?!”
Yan Jingyu smiled slightly, moved his wrist, and in his wary gaze, he suddenly grabbed his face. Liao Chen immediately bared his teeth and let out a hissing sound.
Yan Jingyu pulled his face hard, making his head be forced to tilt to the side, and gritted his teeth. “This old man finally saved you, and this is how you repay me? Why do I feel that I’m so at odds with you, kid? We’re naturally incompatible, right? I want to slap you as soon as I see you…”
Liao Chen’s face was being pulled, his brow furrowed even tighter, but a hint of confusion passed through his eyes.
He clearly had not expected that this big ghost who had been following him around would actually use this method to deal with him. It was not the Flame-Sealing Thousand-Thorn Grass, nor a cage, but… a child-like tearing of the face…
In the end, Yan Jingyu was also worried that he would really tear his face, so he soon let go of his hand, took out a handkerchief from his pocket. Liao Chen immediately dodged. Yan Jingyu directly grabbed him, wet it with water spiritual energy, and then wiped his dirty face for him. As he wiped, he cursed, “I’ve been sick of this face of yours for a long time! Don’t move. Let me clean it up a bit. Like a little tiger, who do you want to eat? If you look again, I’ll dig your eyes out!”
He really felt that he and Liao Chen might be a little incompatible. Every time he felt that the other might be a little pitiful, the other would do something that would make him explode, and his bit of sympathy would be shattered to pieces.
That face finally became clean under his wiping. The young Liao Chen’s face was a little round, and his eyebrows and eyes were far from being as sharp and imposing as they would be later. His features hadn’t fully developed yet, and he looked both cute and arrogant.
As Yan Jingyu looked, he couldn’t help but rub his bruised cheeks, and he was a little reluctant to let go.
Although Liao Chen couldn’t see his face clearly, he could already feel the change in the other’s emotions from the other’s hand on his cheek. He frowned again. “Old ugly freak.”
Yan Jingyu stopped his movements. “…?”
“You’ve been chasing me all this time, saying you’re protecting me. Do you want to make me your furnace cauldron?”
“…What did you call me?”
“Isn’t it?”
“You said I was ugly?”
“Or a catamite?”
“You actually said I was ugly…”
“The hearts of the human race are really dirty.”
The two of them were talking to themselves, each with their own incomparably firm position, and neither was responding to the other.
Yan Jingyu met his eyes, looking at his cold and implicitly mocking gaze. He suddenly smiled and pulled him into his arms.
Little Liao Chen was caught off guard and suddenly wanted to push him away, but Yan Jingyu directly held him on his lap, looking at his flushed cheeks, the corners of his mouth lifting. “You know quite a lot, even catamites… do you know how to write the character for ‘catamite’?”
“Let go of me—!!”
“Let go of you.” Yan Jingyu snorted lightly. “This old man is going to have you for this life. What, you’re not convinced? You bite me!”
As he spoke, he forcefully rubbed his soft face again.
The corners of his lips and his eyes were both curved.
In the hidden space, Liao Chen suddenly opened his eyes, a touch of astonishment on his calm face.
The lotus spirit immediately shot up. “What, how is it?”
“…He found me.”
In the dark space, a line of light began to appear.
