Chapter 29 - The peerlessly talented demon ba snake (12)
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Translated by: Niladri
Edited by: celes
This chapter is sponsored by Mangarosario
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Lu Heng thought that this man was pretty baffling. Having a set of his clothing ruined, he was properly apologized to and was offered adequate compensation, not to mention that the price could also be decided by him; even so, why did he want them to follow him to the garment store?
While mulling over his doubts, Lu Heng heard Shi Kong’s voice: “This trip is be safe, let’s follow him”.
Lu Heng and the other person were being led by him and having turned several corners, he felt the surrounding environment getting worse and worse. How could such a remote place look like a ready-made clothing store? If it hadn’t been for Shi Kong attesting to his harmlessness, Lu Heng would have already launched an attack by now.
But when Lu Heng wanted to enquire Shi Kong about the other’s fishy behavior, he refused to say more and just advised Lu Heng to observe him carefully. Lu Heng’s thoughts churned, but he saw the man stop at the gate of a small courtyard, and his breath was taken away.
“Bai!” Lu Heng blurted out.
Bai nodded and smiled, “Long time no see.”
“You were looking for me on purpose. How did you know I was in this city?” When Lu Heng thought about it a little, he was able to connect the dots.
“There’s a wisp of my breath on the beads. I sensed it as soon as you entered the city.” Bai pushed open the courtyard door and motioned them to follow him in. “It’s just that the restaurant is full of eyes, so I had to think of this method to lead you here.”
Although the courtyard was not big, it was clean and tidy. It could be seen that the house’s owner had done a lot of planning. A beautiful woman could be seen in the middle of the main room, her abdomen bulging and her actions appearing somewhat strenuous.
Bai hurried forward to support the woman and rebuked with a slightly reproachful tone and a gentle expression, “Why don’t you have a good rest instead doing stuff outside?”
The woman smiled, her eyebrows were full of happiness in anticipation to experiencing motherhood: “It’s rude; how can I hide in the house as a host when we have guests here?”
Bai helplessly flicked her nose and turned back to introduce Lu Heng to his wife. This woman, naturally, was Bai’s pregnant wife, Yun Niang.
During the time spent waiting for the Qianye Lotus to blossom, Bai once recounted to Lu Heng some of the stories about himself and his wife. This Yun Niang came from a rich merchant’s family. In the beginning, she liked Bai, but her power-hungry family opposed their marriage and shut Yun Niang up, forcing her to marry the prefectural magistrate as his second wife. Yun Niang, who had always been gentle and virtuous, did the most rebellious thing in her life and eloped with Bai. The territory of the demon race was not suitable for the life of a human, so they settled down in the city.
After exchanging pleasantries, Yun Niang returned to her room to rest her pregnant body. Lu Heng drank tea and started chatting at the stone table in the courtyard, describing the events after their separation.
“I’m so sorry that I left you injured that day.” Bai paused for a moment, “But the Master Shi Kong found you and me in our hiding place. He had your smell on him, and I could see that he had been with you for a long time. Your friendship with him far surpassed ours so I entrusted you to Master Shi Kong. You don’t blame me, do you?
Seeing Bai’s face tinged with anxiety, Lu Heng waved his hand: “You alone led those people away to ensure my safety. I can distinguish between a good and an evil person. To tell you the truth, you are my lifesaver. Without your innate skill to protect me during the heavenly tribulation, I would have probably been obliterated.
“The tribulation wasn’t too powerful that day. It wasn’t a big deal for me. But it was different for you. You were not yet a teenager then and you had just shed your skin. How could I watch you suffer from such serious injuries?” There was some guilt on Bai’s face. “Besides, the accident was originally caused by me. If I hadn’t taken you to see the Qianye Lotus maturing, it would not have happened.”
Lu Heng had always been frank and casual. Hearing Bai, he no longer assumed formalities and just kept this friendship in his mind. If Bai needed any help from him in the future, he would not hesitate to cross even a mountain of blades.
“When I heard your wife was pregnant, I couldn’t imagine what kind of father you would be. Now, I have realized that you are still a pretty reliable husband.” In order to avoid Bai continuing to feel guilty, Lu Heng joked.
Hearing Lu Heng praise him so much, Bai shyly rubbed his nose, but the corners of his mouth turned up: “Well, of course, I am about to become a great demon, being reliable is inevitable!”
While Lu Heng and Bai were in the midst of chatting, the latter often looked toward the main room, and knew that he was worried about his wife, so he did not bother him much.
When Lu Heng and company were leaving, Bai said, “When Yun Niang gives birth, I can grant her a semi-demon physique by using the power of the Qianye Lotus and a secret technique, and then our family can settle down in the mainland. It’s just a matter of time.”
They were in no hurry to go to the demon race’s territory. Lu Heng and Shi Kong stayed in the Yingke Lou and diligently cultivated. In addition to cultivation, they went sight-seeing around this small town in the Southern Mainland, but time passed by quickly.
Bai Wei started to collect the auxiliary elixirs for the day his wife went into labor and went out frequently. Lu Heng had not seen Bai for quite some time. In recent days, Lu Heng has always held a vague sense of uneasiness in his heart. It seemed that something was about to happen.
The demon race’s instinct had always been accurate.
One day, while Lu Heng was sitting in meditation, he suddenly heard a loud noise outside the window. Looking out, he saw a hemi-spherical golden dome in the southern half of the sky, covering a portion of the town.
That’s the courtyard where Bai lives! That dome was Bai’s barrier. Something’s wrong!
Lu Heng immediately rushed to the small courtyard where Bai lived, but he saw that it was surrounded by cultivators. Various kinds of holy artifacts emitted colorful lights and were continuously attacking the barrier, which grew increasingly dim; apparently, it would not be able to sustain for long.
The courtyard was dead silent.
Lu Heng was anxious to enter the courtyard where Bai lived, and they probably wouldn’t blocked by the barrier either. However, the besieging cultivators would not let Lu Heng enter easily. The cultivators were apparently from the same sect, wearing similar daoist robes. The appearance of two new faces immediately attracted their attention.
A man flew out of the crowd, and judging by his clothes, he should be the leader: “Two fellow daoists, Clear Spring Sect [T/N: YES, that one] has important business here, please retreat.”
Lu Heng was too lazy to talk to him and directly lashed with the long whip.
The man’s expression changed: “Demon race? Looks like you’re an accomplice of the one in this courtyard!”
Suddenly, a few more people came out of the crowd, fiercely confronting Lu Heng.
At this time, the leading figure saw Shi Kong standing beside him and bowed his hand to make a ceremonial gesture: “This master is representing the Fanyin Temple Sect?”
Fanyin Temple was one of the leading sects, and when cultivating the human heart, it was necessary to borrow help from the monks of Fanyin Temple to expel heart demons. Therefore, it had a very special status. Generally speaking, when a cultivator saw disciples of Fanyin Temple, he had to show politeness in all three points.
[T/N: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Rules_of_Discipline_and_Eight_Points_for_Attention maybe?]
Shi Kong actually responded to his courtesy by returning the ceremonial gesture for a while.
The man acquiesced towards Shi Kong, restrained himself for a few minutes, and assumed a respectful stance: “Master, don’t be deceived by the demons around you. The evildoer in this courtyard robbed our sect of our treasure…
This person can invert black and white so easily. Lu Heng was so angry that he was about to launch an attack, but he heard Shi Kong saying to him, “Let’s go in.”
As soon as the voice fell, Lu Heng saw a huge golden palm materialize in the air and sweep aside the monks who had blocked the road. In such an urgent situation, Lu Heng and the other person did not entangle with these cultivators but directly broke into the courtyard.
Looking at the situation in the courtyard, Lu Heng was dumbstruck. Bai’s wife lay in the courtyard covered with blood all over. Her life and death was uncertain. Bai looked anxious but was carefully holding the Qianye Lotus and was on the final step of its refinement.
Seeing Lu Heng and the other person, Bai considered them to be his lifesavers and pleaded urgently, “Zheng, hold the formation for me. This ritual has reached its final step. I have no time to distract myself to take care of the barrier.”
“But I know nothing about barriers.” Lu Heng was somewhat annoyed that he had devoted himself to cultivation but had not learned about these miscellaneous things.
“Might as well,” Shi Kong said. “In recent years, this poor monk has done some research on the skills of the demon race, but this barrier can only be maintained by demonic energy. You should watch this poor monk do it once.”
After he finished speaking, Shi Kong drew a complex and mysterious rune in the air. It’s just that Bai’s barrier was very advanced, and it was naturally not easy to maintain it. Although Lu Heng had great insight, as time passed, it felt like driving a duck onto a perch [T/N: things beyond his ability], and mistakes were unavoidable.
The barrier in mid-air, under the constant barrage of attacks, grew dimmer and dimmer. To make matters worse, after a loud bang, one of the layers trembled violently for a few moments and disappeared. It seemed to have been attacked by powerful holy artifacts.
Shi Kong saw that there was no time to worry too much. He embraced Lu Heng from behind, put his left hand in Lu Heng’s dantian area, and grasped Lu Heng’s wrist with his right hand: “For the time being, follow this poor monk’s guidance, and guide your demonic energy.”
Shi Kong’s body was tall, and Lu Heng was still a teenager. During the conversation, Lu Heng felt that Shi Kong’s open lips gently caressing his hair, and his face burned up at once. Lu Heng’s perception had never been this sensitive. Even through a few layers of clothing, his back seemed to feel Shi Kong’s robust pectoral muscles, as well as the shallow breathing that had been brushing his hair.
However, Lu Heng was not allowed to be absent-minded for too long. He calmed himself and said, “Come.”
Lu Heng was familiar with Shi Kong’s spiritual power. At the moment when Shi Kong’s spiritual power entered his dantian, Lu Heng tacitly separated a thread of demonic energy and gently wound it up and ran it along his meridians. Outside, with Lu Heng’s hand, Shi Kong drew a mysterious trace in the air slowly but rhythmically.
With the addition of demonic power, the barrier quickly stabilized, its golden light overflowing, and the external attack on it was like scratching one’s boots, not posing any danger at all.
Only then did Lu Heng devote his attention to the situation in Bai’s area.
The Qianye Lotus in Bai’s hands had been gradually refined into a spherical drop of liquid by the ritual. Bai sent the liquid to Yun Niang’s mouth and urged her to swallow it.
Yun Niang tried hard to open her eyes and shook her head lightly: “I feel that the life of the child in my abdomen is passing away. I’m afraid its vitality is not good enough to be born, so I’ll transfer it to the child.”
“Yun Niang is clever, you must support yourself, the child…… We’ll have other children.”
Yun Niang, however, stubbornly clenched her teeth and refused to swallow the elixir. Reluctantly, he had to firmly pinch Yun Niang’s cheek and force the liquid into her mouth.
As soon as the liquid fell into her abdomen, Yun Niang’s face immediately looked much better. She clenched her teeth and twisted her face with intense pain. This long and painful labour was at the last stage.
An advance notice: Since Chapter 30 is more than 3 times the length of normal chapters [11646 words], it will be split into 3. Each release will count as a separate release (sponsored or otherwise). Which means, there will NOT be daily releases for this whole arc (probably).