EHRPS CH204

As the last thread of golden light sank into the sea of clouds, the sky looked like an overturned palette of cinnabar. Overlapping rays of sunset dyed the clouds in varying shades of twilight, breathtakingly beautiful.

A single day had passed in the blink of an eye.

The flying boat sped across the sea of clouds. Tu Tianba leaned over the edge, reaching out to catch a wisp of pale purple cloud. In his heart, he secretly grumbled about that cruel, large-chested man who had claimed that since it was rare for them not to dual cultivate, they should use this opportunity to meditate and restore his cultivation as soon as possible…

After saying that, he had tossed him aside, closed his eyes, and began to meditate.

Tu Tianba felt so empty, so lonely, so cold!

Resting his chin on his arms crossed over the boat’s edge, he glanced back at the man who had been focused on cultivation for the entire day. A resentful aura practically materialized above his head, wishing it could bind the man up and drag him right back to his side.

He wanted to kiss him, touch him, hold him, and also… No matter how much they were intimate, it never felt like enough.

It was at this precise moment that Nie Wuhui opened his eyes. The moment he did, he met Tu Tianba’s seemingly expressionless, clearly dazed face.

However, the youth’s gaze was dark, domineering, and highly aggressive, a cold sneer playing at the corners of his lips as a string of weird, breathy chuckles slipped out.

“Jie jie jie jie—”

Nie Wuhui: “…”

He was already used to this. With a calm expression, he waved the youth over, only to be immediately crashed into by the pouncing boy, almost knocking him flat on his back.

Tu Tianba asked excitedly, “Finished cultivating?”

Hearing this, Nie Wuhui didn’t speak. Instead, he took the initiative to drop a kiss on the youth’s lips. The kiss wasn’t lingering; it carried the style of Tu Tianba’s early, sloppy eating habits, landing with a loud smack.

Instantly sensing the pacifying intent behind this kiss, Tu Tianba couldn’t help but viciously pinch the meatiest part of Nie Wuhui’s body, coldly snorting, “You’re using me!”

A massive pot of blame dropped right onto Nie Wuhui’s head. Stifling a laugh, he asked, “How am I using you?”

Tu Tianba naturally elaborated in great detail. “You used my affection for you to get me to dig out a few more top-grade spirit crystals to aid your cultivation! To achieve your goals, you didn’t even hesitate to use charm arts on me!”

He spoke with self-righteous indignation and impassioned fervor. “How could a fine, young man in his prime like me possibly withstand the seduction of your lips and tongue?! In the end, I was just bewitched by your experienced body, used, ravaged, and tossed aside!”

Tu Tianba sighed, clasping his wrist in mock despair. He pouted and closed his eyes, declaring with heroic martyrdom, “Come, this is the destiny I was born to suffer! If I don’t go to… ah no, if I don’t enter hell, who will…”

His tone rose and fell with rich, overflowing emotion. Hearing it, Nie Wuhui could barely hold back his laughter; he had to turn his head away, gently biting his lower lip as the corners of his mouth curled upward.

However, the next second, a hand pinched his chin, turning his face back with undeniable force.

Tu Tianba nuzzled against his lips, his other hand rubbing the spot he had just pinched. “I didn’t control my strength just now, did I pinch you too hard?”

Nie Wuhui couldn’t help but smile knowingly. Even now, though both had accepted each other’s true identities, Tu Tianba still treated him like a ‘delicate crybaby who feared pain’, hiding deep consideration beneath his childish antics.

Nie Wuhui had a solemn and upright personality, not one prone to joking. He wanted to say it didn’t hurt, but when he remembered how the youth’s eyes had lit up the moment he opened his own…

So, he imperceptibly shifted his sitting posture, raising his body slightly, and said softly, “A little bit.”

Tu Tianba felt somewhat remorseful. He made a show of tugging at Nie Wuhui’s belt, muttering, “Oh my, is it that serious? Let me see if it bruised, so I can apply some medicine and heal you up early.”

But they weren’t in the river valley, and there were traveling companions not far away. How could Nie Wuhui let him mess around? He hastily pressed down on Tu Tianba’s hand, rejecting, “There’s no need, you… just rubbing it like this is fine.”

Tu Tianba suddenly chuckled, leaning close to whisper in his ear, “I didn’t even use any force at all. I only said that so I could take the chance to grope your big…”

Nie Wuhui was quick on the draw, clapping a hand over his mouth and blocking out those vulgar, tiger-and-wolf words he was all too used to hearing.

Used to it, yes. But the tips of Nie Wuhui’s ears still grew a little hot. He lowered his voice, “We are outside, restrain yourself.”

With his mouth covered, Tu Tianba could only blink twice to signal he understood. Though he couldn’t speak his mind, the man hadn’t stopped his hands. Thus, Tu Tianba went to town squeezing and kneading, his expression utterly ecstatic.

But before long, he pulled back, completely satisfied. When Nie Wuhui looked down, he found several top-grade spirit crystals containing massive amounts of spiritual energy resting on his lap.

The crystals were translucent, glowing with a deep blue light. Beside him lay a few more crystals that had lost their spirituality, looking like dull, gray gravel.

Tu Tianba scratched his cheek, looking out at the sea of stars beyond the boat. “Cultivate in peace. I’ll stand guard and won’t disturb you. I’ll wake you when we reach the Guiqing Sect.”

Hmph, he wasn’t some ungrateful wretch. During their three years of dual cultivation, Tu Tianba had unilaterally harvested from him to suppress and purify his inner demons. Because of this, spiritual energy couldn’t accumulate in Nie Wuhui’s body, and after three years, he had barely recovered to the Nascent Soul stage.

Now, with the support of the spirit crystals, he would surely advance by leaps and bounds, quickly restoring his Mahayana stage cultivation.

Nie Wuhui gazed at the youth’s side profile, which had shed its childishness. The dark blue sky seemed to drape a cold veil over him; his naturally curly hair swayed in the wind, tugging at the heartstrings.

He couldn’t resist calling out softly, “…Mingxiu.”

Tu Tianba turned his head back. In his vision, the white-clad man sat upright, only the hem of his robes slightly messy. He wore a smile on his face, and the entire sea of stars behind him couldn’t compare to those dark jade eyes.

The man said, word by word, “Having you by my side makes me feel very much at peace.”

Hearing this, Tu Tianba’s heart burst into bloom with joy, though his expression grew inexplicably bashful. He scratched his cheek again, muttering quietly, “I treat you well, isn’t that only natural?”

They gazed at each other for a moment before Nie Wuhui resumed his meditation, and Tu Tianba went back to leaning against the edge of the boat, watching the drifting sea of stars.

His eyes were bright. With his chin resting on the edge of the boat and half his face buried in his arms, the corners of his mouth tilted up high, and a humming tune drifted from his lips. The volume was very low. Probably only Tu Tianba himself could hear it.

…So this kind of feeling was called ‘peace’?

As Tu Tianba hummed, he thought to himself: As long as he stayed by Nie Wuhui’s side, he also felt very much at peace. Not lonely at all.

Right at that moment, he suddenly heard the distinct voice of the Witty Inner Demon, standing out sharply amid the cacophony of inner demon voices.

“Host, the protagonist’s disciple should be in the sect. Once we reach the Guiqing Sect, why don’t you casually knock out that last mission? It’s the perfect time and place! Wouldn’t that be beautiful!”

“Just get the protagonist to put on a little act with you~”

“Besides, you don’t even have a real physical body right now. If one piece gets chopped off, it’ll grow right back in a flash, and you won’t die. This is your unique, God-given advantage!”

Tu Tianba was far less troubled by the inner demons these days. Similarly, his thirst for a new physical body had diminished. Although Tu Tianba often said shocking things and acted without restraint, he had a scale in his heart—the drawbacks of the Soul-Refining Cauldron were fatal, but it wasn’t without its benefits. For example: his cultivation was virtually unmatched in the cultivation world. The biggest threat to him was probably the man behind him.

Thinking of the man, Tu Tianba felt a sweet warmth in his heart. He buried his entire face in the crook of his arm and laughed silently for a while.

Inside the System Space. The White Orb dragged out its voice, repeating, “Host, Host, did you hear me?”

Tu Tianba clicked his tongue secretly. An inner demon was just an inner demon, incredibly annoying. Perhaps some things he didn’t really want to see would happen in the future, so he needed to maintain his current cultivation to deal with whatever was to come.

So, he gave a casual reply, “Got it.”

The Witty Inner Demon fell silent for a moment, suspicious. “Why does it feel like you’re blowing me off?”

Tu Tianba: “Am I?”

Witty Inner Demon: “…You’re not giving a straight answer, you definitely are blowing me off!!”

Tu Tianba: “Heh.”

“…”

Time passed quickly. The sun rose, and then set again.

Inside the flying boat, the top-grade spirit crystals drained by Nie Wuhui numbered around twenty or so, enough to form a small pile of stones. Spirit crystals were different from spirit stones; they were incredibly rare. Fortunately, Tu Tianba was a hardworking lad highly skilled at foraging in the wild, otherwise he really couldn’t afford to sustain the man’s consumption like this. He didn’t feel the sting of the cost; instead, he felt a sort of pride in being the breadwinner of the family.

At noon on the third day. The group finally arrived at the Guiqing Sect.

Righteous sects generally set up grand mountain-protecting formations, and the Guiqing Sect was no exception. But with Nie Wuhui present, the few of them smoothly flew their artifact right into the Guiqing Sect’s territory.

Tu Tianba lowered their altitude, looking down curiously. The Guiqing Sect truly lived up to its title as the leader of the righteous path. It was a wonderland of mystical waters and immortal mountains. White cranes flapped their wings and parted the flowing clouds, naturally drawn to Nie Wuhui. They cried out near the boat, only to have the most beautiful tail feather swiftly plucked out by Tu Tianba. With a panicked squawk, the crane flew off, its wings flapping frantically in what looked like a hasty retreat.

Seeing this, Tu Tianba also let out a loud, squawking laugh.

Beneath the cloudy peaks lay the main peak of the Guiqing Sect, surrounded by several side peaks belonging to the sect elders. As Tu Tianba listened to Nie Wuhui speak at an unhurried pace, he asked curiously, “Then where do you live?”

Nie Wuhui pointed out the location of Lingzhao Peak for him.

Tu Tianba immediately showered it with extravagant praise. “As expected of the peak where you reside! It looks incredibly towering and majestic!”

Nie Wuhui chuckled and said, “I have already sent a message to the Sect Master inviting the other sects to the main hall for a discussion. The Sect Master said there are still people from two sects on their way, and it will take about two hours for everyone to gather…”

He paused, then asked slowly under Tu Tianba’s expectant gaze, “Before then, would you like to go see Lingzhao Peak?”

These words struck right at Tu Tianba’s heart. He nodded furiously, immediately steering the flying boat to change direction, completely forgetting about Xu Que and the others trailing behind.

Xu Que remained very calm, even feeling a bit gratified.

One group continued flying toward the main peak, while on the other side, Tu Tianba had already landed on Lingzhao Peak. He put away the flying boat and looked at the small wooden cabin standing on the flat cliff edge, feeling very pleasantly surprised.

—It looked almost exactly like the little wooden cabin the two of them had built down in the river valley, just much larger!

After all, Tu Tianba was used to living in caves. At first, it was Nie Wuhui who suggested building the cabin, and then Tu Tianba, following his vision, built it up by hand. Instantly, Tu Tianba felt a bit more intimate affection for this unfamiliar place.

He turned to the man beside him and asked, “I thought the place you lived would be like that main peak, filled with grand palaces. Why is it still a little wooden cabin?” Following that, Tu Tianba shook his head and sighed with brisk emotion, “You really love wooden cabins, just like me. I also really love caves. We’re truly a match made in heaven in every way, a perfect pair of jade figures.”

No sooner had his voice fallen than Tu Tianba revealed his true intentions, asking without any reservation, “By the way, can I dig a cave next to your wooden cabin?”

Nie Wuhui naturally agreed. But just as he nodded, as if possessing prophetic foresight, he reached out to grab the hand of the excited Tu Tianba, who was rubbing his palms together eager to start digging. He coaxed, “There’s no rush, rest for a while first…”

Just then, Guiqing Sect Master Gu Fengji sent a voice transmission to Nie Wuhui, inviting him to meet before the discussion with the other sects. Nie Wuhui thought for a moment and agreed. Tu Tianba could sense him transmitting with someone else but deliberately chose not to eavesdrop.

Sure enough. Nie Wuhui took the initiative to explain, “Little Xiu, I need to go speak with the Sect Master for a bit. Will you be okay staying here on your own for a while?”

As he spoke, the man completely opened all the restrictive arrays on Lingzhao Peak to Tu Tianba. There was nowhere he couldn’t go, nothing he couldn’t touch.

Tu Tianba nodded obediently. “I’m very reasonable, go ahead. I’ll just look around casually—” As he spoke, he unabashedly made a highly improper expression, letting out his weird, cackling laughter, “See if your bed is comfortable, see if it’ll fall apart when rocked.”

Nie Wuhui: “…”

Nie Wuhui massaged his forehead. “Stop using that face to make such expressions and gestures. You look like…”

Tu Tianba pressed, “Like what?”

Nie Wuhui fell silent for a moment before answering honestly, “Like a lewd, vulgar scoundrel.”

Tu Tianba hurriedly stopped him. “Alright, stop talking! If you keep saying that I’ll only get more excited! When the time comes, I won’t be able to hold back and I’ll just pounce on you right here, using the sky as our blanket and the earth as our bed. Even if you scream yourself hoarse, you won’t be able to escape!”

Nie Wuhui’s silence was deafening. They stared at each other for a long time. Suddenly, Nie Wuhui turned his head to look at the vast sea of clouds beneath the cliff and said softly, “…I never said I wanted to escape.”

The silence began to shift. Tu Tianba was still holding his hand, and he reluctantly let go, urging him with a heavy expression, “You better hurry up and go. If you wait another two steps, I really am going to strip your clothes off.”

Hearing his mouth full of dual cultivation rhetoric, Nie Wuhui inexplicably felt a bit more relaxed. He couldn’t help but raise his index finger and gently poke the youth between the eyebrows. “Frivolous.”

“…”

Watching the man’s retreating back, Tu Tianba slowed his rubbing of his forehead, sighing inwardly, “I’m just too good at coaxing men. I was born to be a cut-sleeve! If that wasn’t the case, wouldn’t all my skills in coaxing men go to waste?”

He stood there watching for a while before turning around and walking into the little wooden cabin, carrying an immense curiosity as he explored the man’s former residence.

Well then. Tu Tianba did a lap and found that the furnishings inside were virtually identical to the initial state of the cabin down in the river valley. It felt like the dwelling of a martial cultivator who had isolated himself from the world; worldly possessions were pitifully scarce.

Suddenly, a loud bang echoed in the room.

It was Tu Tianba. He threw himself heavily onto Nie Wuhui’s bed, leaving a human-shaped imprint on the pillows and quilt, asserting his presence. He lay there for a while, got up, and paced over to the window, pushing the tightly closed panes wide open.

The view outside was incredibly pristine. Sunlight, blue skies, white clouds. A large clearing. Beside it stood an ancient tree.

Tu Tianba bent down, resting both arms on the windowsill and cupping his chin in his hands. Looking out at the clearing, it was as if he could see the silhouette of Nie Wuhui practicing his swordplay over the past thousand years.

“…Heh.”

Tu Tianba ‘watched’ for a long while before sluggishly stretching and heading outside. He planned to pick a bouquet of wildflowers nearby and keep them in the room.

Tu Tianba wasn’t looking for any rare or precious treasures; ordinary wildflowers could be found everywhere. But he didn’t just pick them indiscriminately—if the bud was too small, he wouldn’t pick it; if the shape was bad, he wouldn’t pick it… He wanted them to look proper, fresh, and tender.

He picked flowers as he walked, arriving at the edge of the barrier array centered around the wooden cabin, and bumped right into someone with a dazed expression.

Gu Chen had only found out two days ago, via the Shadow-Recording Stone sent back by Xu Que, that his Master was no longer in secluded meditation on Lingzhao Peak, and that there was a young-looking boy in black robes by his side.

A Dao companion? How could it be a Dao companion?

Therefore, upon running into Elder Xu Que at the main peak and learning that his Master and that youth had returned to Lingzhao Peak, Gu Chen had immediately rushed over. He never expected that before seeing his Master, he would bump into this unfamiliar youth first.

Gu Chen appeared to be in his twenties, while the black-robed youth looked only seventeen or eighteen. A pair of almond eyes tilted slightly upward at the outer corners, forcefully stirring a rebellious wildness into his childish features.

He was dressed in a dark, narrow-sleeved martial outfit. A red peace knot hung from his waist, and a flash of crimson could faintly be seen around his wrist. In his left hand, he held a bouquet of ordinary wildflowers upside down, their stems about half an arm long. A few pale yellow and lilac petals clung to his shoulder.

Gu Chen was sizing up Tu Tianba, and Tu Tianba was doing the same.

Sunlight poured down. Suddenly, Gu Chen saw the black-robed youth lift the hand holding the bouquet, tilting his head to sniff the flowers. The small mole on the left side of his nose bridge was striking.

“…”

Gu Chen’s gaze landed on the bouquet of wildflowers, but before he could speak, he heard the youth ask, “Are they pretty? If you put them in a vase, they’ll bloom for a long time, and they’ll smell great in the bedroom.”

Inexplicably, a burst of anger flared in Gu Chen’s heart. His eyes instantly grew cold, and he replied in a rigid tone, “I grew up by my Master’s side. He absolutely dislikes these ordinary wildflowers. Cultivators have pure minds and are not burdened by external objects!”

Tu Tianba plucked a tender pink petal, placed it in his mouth, chewed it, and replied with an utterly indifferent yet self-justified tone, “Oh, well, that depends on who’s giving them.”

Inside the System Space. The White Orb screamed like a piece of whole-wheat bread: “The first clash between the Ex-Husband Bro and the True Top! Host landed a critical hit with a single sentence! A total victory!!”

It thought for a moment, a bit suspicious: “By the way, was that on purpose or an accident?”

The White Orb fell silent for a moment, then beeped softly, “Probably a natural-born blackbelly? Or holding a grudge because the True Top got interrupted during the last mission? Wow, if the Host had read the full original novel, he’d probably have offed the True Top the moment they met…”

The Blue Orb squatted in the corner as usual, looking very desolate. It watched from afar as the White Orb flattened into a pancake in front of the light screen, then twisted into a noodle, looking like it wanted to pull out a handful of sunflower seeds and start cracking them loudly right then and there.

In other words—it was getting high off the drama.

Blue Orb: […] Better just secretly take a peek at the novel the Main System downloaded.

Outside the System Space. Tu Tianba watched as the other party’s face turned pale with anger, turning and flicking his sleeves as he walked away without another word. He let out a very innocent scoff. “How impolite.”

After saying that, he didn’t care much as he turned his head and walked toward the small wooden cabin.

The mountain forest was quiet. Abruptly, a very bizarre snicker rang out in the forest. Tu Tianba held the flowers in one hand and covered his mouth with the other, laughing pfft pfft.

“—That’s what you get for ruining my good time.”

Saying this, his pace slowed down, and he began to mutter to himself, “My, my, calling him ‘Master’ this, ‘Master’ that, it really makes one unhappy. That look in his eyes too…”

“No. All of you, shut up.”

“I am not going to just kill people randomly.”

“Whoever makes another peep, I’m going to slap them.”

__

Author’s Notes:

Here it comes! Xiao Ming, a protagonist who combines pure love with ○○, repeatedly jumping between the mortal realm and the underworld. He seems like a comedy character, but is terrifying when you think deeply about him.