Ch25 – Let’s be friends

Translator: Abo Dammen

Ying Zhili gave a slight smile. “Explain what?” 

Jing Liansheng waved a hand. The peach wood sword soared out and hung steadily before Ying Zhili’s eyes, its tip trembling, ready the next second to slit his throat. “This sword, and this wind chime. What are they?”

Ying Zhili extended a finger, lightly tapping the sword’s body. The peach wood sword moved an inch away from his throat.

Ying Zhili replied calmly, “These are the Saint Child’s relics.”

“I, of course, know they are the Saint Child’s relics,” Jing Liansheng said. “My question is, how did the Saint Child’s relics end up in your hands?” 

Ying Zhili seemed to find the question amusing, but he knew if he laughed now, that sword really would slice his head off. So he habitually assumed his hypocritical, sorrowful, and compassionate expression. “Naturally. When Ci Ying sacrificed himself, there was no one else beside him. He had no choice but to entrust these to me. I had no real use for them, so I’ve always been thinking of finding a suitable time to give these items to you.”

Jing Liansheng sneered repeatedly. “You certainly know how to pick a suitable time.”

Ying Zhili knew Jing Liansheng was in a bad mood, but he loved nothing more than seeing others in a bad mood. Of course, he was skilled at gauging the line between “making someone uncomfortable” and not quite provoking “the other party into flying into a rage and swinging a sword at him.”

Ying Zhili immediately shifted the topic, turning to Bai Qing with a smile. “Starting today, should I call you ‘Eldest Young Mistress’ or ‘Madame Jing’? Or, since you are a man, would you prefer a different form of address?” 

With these words, the atmosphere indeed changed.

Bai Qing was taken aback for a moment, then said without hesitation, “It doesn’t matter! It’s just a form of address! You are my teacher so I shouldn’t take advantage. If you’d do me the honor, you can call me ‘Great-Grandmother,’ and I’ll still call you ‘Shibo.’ We can each call each other as we like!”

Even the battle-hardened Ying Zhili was thrown for a moment by this. Though Ying Zhili was a thick-skinned fellow, the words “Great-Grandmother” truly got stuck in his throat, locked in his jaws, and simply could not come out.

Bai Qing, rarely seeing Ying Zhili’s constipated expression, was delighted, clapping his hands like a drunken gorilla. 

He didn’t maintain this gorilla state for long. Suddenly, he put on a stern face, adopting the demeanor of a great-grandmother, and pressed, “Since you knew so much about Jing Ren and came rushing here, did you foresee he would try to harm us? Why didn’t you give us a heads-up?”

Ying Zhili smiled faintly, responding calmly, “Though I knew Jing Ren’s background, that doesn’t mean I could foresee he would attack Jing Liansheng. I came here because I heard you were getting married and specially came to offer congratulations. How could you say I predicted Jing Ren’s ill intentions?”

Bai Qing didn’t believe a word, but couldn’t immediately find a reason to refute it.

Ying Zhili, however, continued, “Even if I truly knew Jing Ren would come to harm Jing Liansheng, what could I do? Rather than worrying about Jing Liansheng, I’d better worry more about the people trying to harm him.” 

Bai Qing raised an eyebrow skeptically. “So you just watched Jing Ren walk toward death, without even advising him?”

Ying Zhili chuckled lightly. “He who is unjust is doomed to destruction. Why should I interfere with such karmic retribution?”

Bai Qing wanted to ask more, but Ying Zhili didn’t engage. Instead, he said, “However, your netherworld marriage was interrupted by those Taoists. You didn’t lie in the coffin for the full required time, so it doesn’t count as the ceremony being completed. You’ll likely have to perform it again. Have you thought about how to proceed?”

Bai Qing frowned, only then remembering this matter. Right, they hadn’t lain there long enough. 

Jing Liansheng, however, said coldly, “This point does not require you to trouble yourself. Speaking of which, you should return to the Jing residence first to tend to the lotus pond. After all, for you, nothing should be more important than serving the Ancient Lotus.”

Hearing this, Ying Zhili’s lips curved into a smile. “That is of course true. Serving the Ancient Lotus is my duty. I’ll depart tomorrow. Now, the night is deep and the good hours are short. I shouldn’t disturb the newlyweds further. I’ll take my leave.”

With that, Ying Zhili turned and left the room, leaving Bai Qing and Jing Liansheng looking at each other.

Originally, Bai Qing and Jing Liansheng being alone in a room felt natural. But after Ying Zhili’s “the night is deep and the good hours are short,” the room’s atmosphere became a bit strange. 

After Ying Zhili left, with only the two of them present, the air seemed to stiffen and solidify. Bai Qing rubbed his nose, thinking of the intimacy in the coffin. It felt hazy, hard to distinguish reality from illusion.

He frowned, quietly muttering, ‘Could it have been a near-death hallucination when I was almost drained of spiritual energy?’

Jing Liansheng suddenly stood and bowed deeply to Bai Qing. The movement startled Bai Qing. Bai Qing hurriedly stood up, not understanding why, and also bowed to him. The two of them went back and forth, forming the posture of a couple performing frantic mutual bows.

It looked like they could generate new electricity from all the bowing. Jing Liansheng, looking puzzled, said, “What are you doing?” 

Only then did Bai Qing straighten up. “Don’t know. Didn’t you start it?”

Jing Liansheng was speechless. “Brother, this is not a competition.”

Bai Qing thought, ‘…Hmph. I call you husband, you call me brother.’

Jing Liansheng continued, “Tonight in the coffin, I was overstimulated and lost control. I over-absorbed from you, damaging your spiritual body. I am at fault and naturally must apologize to you.” 

Hearing this, Bai Qing’s mind instantly buzzed. Other sounds became indistinct, blending into a sea of white noise. Only the phrase “over-absorbed” struck his ears like thunder, booming and shaking his entire little universe.

“Absorbed?“ Bai Qing instinctively gripped his own fingers. “You mean… we…”

“Indeed,” Jing Liansheng paused slightly, his gaze fixed on Bai Qing. “You don’t remember?”

Bai Qing was stunned, finding his voice only after a moment. “I might have been somewhat exhausted then. It was hard to distinguish reality from…” 

“I see. It seems you suffered from yang depletion,” Jing Liansheng, this ghost with thick eyebrows and large eyes, spoke terms like “yang depletion” and “absorb” with righteous solemnity, as if he were a doctor saying, “This patient has erectile dysfunction”. It was awkward for the listener, but frank for the speaker.

Bai Qing finally understood. “No wonder you forced those Taoists to give me the spiritual energy pearl. You knew I was exhausted, so you had me replenished, right?”

“Speaking of which, if they hadn’t been aggressive, we wouldn’t have fallen into that situation. Making them compensate with spiritual energy doesn’t count as bullying them,” Jing Liansheng explained, having his own set of logic.

Bai Qing agreed. He even thought it wouldn’t be excessive to extract these stubborn Taoists’ spiritual energy and then search through their qiankun bags to resell on second-hand platforms. 

Jing Liansheng added, “I did such a thing to you. I am indebted to you. However you wish to seek justice, I have no objections.”

This seemed to be the first time Jing Liansheng spoke to Bai Qing with such a low posture.

But Bai Qing felt no pride or arrogance.

He just smiled faintly and said, “Though I don’t remember the process clearly, I remember it was my initiative initially. I myself was willing to help you. If that’s the case, then what wrong did you do?” 

“One cannot say it like that.” Jing Liansheng shook his head, his expression still serious. “No matter what, I violated you and caused you harm. That is my fault. If you have any request, just tell me. Even if it’s mountains of swords or seas of fire, I am willing to go.”

Bai Qing was more astonished than anything. He was stunned. “You mean I can ask for anything from you?”

“Yes,” Jing Liansheng said with the resolve of a martyr ready to sacrifice himself.

Bai Qing found his expression amusing. “I don’t want your head. You don’t need to be so serious.” 

Jing Liansheng said, “But I fear I have nothing to give you.”

“How could that be?” Bai Qing asked.

Jing Liansheng replied, “If you want my heart, I truly cannot fulfill that.”

Bai Qing hadn’t expected Jing Liansheng to bring this up himself. Jing Liansheng’s heart was indeed what Bai Qing wanted most. But Bai Qing knew better than anyone this wasn’t something he could have just because he wanted it, nor was it something Jing Liansheng could give even if he wanted to. 

He was silent for a moment before slowly speaking, “Actually, I don’t want your heart. I only hope that even if you don’t like me, you can at least treat me as a friend, no longer coldly resisting me. That… is what I want most.”

Hearing this, Jing Liansheng’s black pupils trembled slightly.

At this moment, Jing Liansheng recalled his previous coldness and even harm toward Bai Qing. His dead heart actually felt a trace of regret. Bai Qing’s initial frivolous behavior had indeed made him feel resistance and discomfort, and made him instinctively want to stay away.

But after experiencing these events, Jing Liansheng truly realized Bai Qing had been sincerely devoted to him. 

Unrequited dedication, selfless protection… all made Jing Liansheng unable to ignore Bai Qing’s passion any longer.

He was silent for a long while, organizing his thoughts, finally making an important decision, “From today onward, I will treat you as a friend and deal with you sincerely.”

Hearing this, Bai Qing’s eyes lit up like two electric bulbs. This brightness was too dazzling for a fierce ghost.

Bai Qing was like a child crazily digging for candy in a glass pit. Because grabbing handfuls would cut his palms anyway, he became unrestrained. After all, it would be a bloody mess either way, so what was there to fear? 

Bai Qing moved forward without hesitation, smiling and asking, “So, how many friends do you have?”

“I have no friends,” Jing Liansheng answered.

Hearing this, Bai Qing’s face showed no surprise, having already anticipated this answer. After all, in life, Jing Liansheng was the noble Crown Prince, above tens of thousands, and with his aloof personality, making genuine friends would have been strange.

Bai Qing nodded with a smile. “Then I am your first friend.” 

Perhaps also the only one.

This special bond was enough to make Bai Qing happy enough to not sleep for three days.

Bai Qing began to become overconfident, pulling on Jing Liansheng’s arm. “Do you know? In modern society, it’s perfectly normal for friends to kiss.”