Ch32 – Coffin quakes, again

Translator: Abo Dammen

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After Chu Ze finished explaining, Jing Liansheng lifted Bai Qing and carried him into the thousand-year-old ebony coffin in the West Wing of the Jing residence. 

The chill seeping from the coffin walls penetrated deep into his flesh. Bai Qing’s eyelids trembled violently, broken gasps spilling from his throat. His perpetually pale skin was now flushed with an unhealthy, feverish red.

The peach blossom miasma surged along his meridians. The stimulation made Bai Qing arch his neck, nearly smashing his head against the coffin wall, but before he could, Jing Liansheng reacted instantly and caught the back of his neck. A palm rough with faint calluses pressed against his scorching skin.

Jing Liansheng did not hesitate any longer. He reached out and tore open Bai Qing’s clothes.

Rip— 

The sound of fabric tearing rang out.

Bai Qing’s heart clenched in pain. Ah, this outfit… this wasn’t thrifted!!!

This was bought at full price! This season’s new release!! Original price from the local boutique!!!

But he had no time to mourn his clothes. His body was once again engulfed by heat, spreading like wildfire. 

Wherever Jing Liansheng’s palm brushed past, it was as though sweet rain had fallen. The heat gradually receded wherever his touch lingered. Perhaps because Jing Liansheng was a fierce ghost devoid of body temperature, his touch was icy cold. At this moment, it was perfect.

Bai Qing instinctively chased after that chill, unconsciously pressing his knee against Jing Liansheng’s waist, only to be firmly restrained by a cold, powerful hand.

It felt as though a volcano lay hidden inside Bai Qing. Scalding magma roared through his blood, surging wildly, searching for an outlet, ready to erupt. Just as it reached the critical point, about to burst forth, the exit was abruptly clamped shut.

“Not allowed.” 

The fierce ghost’s voice brushed past his ear bones, still deep and heavy, yet carrying a hoarseness rarely heard.

As if… he too were restraining himself with great effort.

The heat inside Bai Qing swelled to its absolute limit, like a volcano imprisoned and raging. Jing Liansheng’s palm pressed down below his navel, forcing the turbulent heat back into his spasming waist and abdomen.

Bai Qing’s eyes were squeezed shut, yet a low, tormented sound still escaped his lips. His body trembled slightly beneath Jing Liansheng’s hand, muscles taut. 

“Uh… ah…”

At last, he couldn’t help letting out a longer, pleading whimper.

“Liansheng… please… let me…”

Jing Liansheng’s lashes cast trembling shadows beneath his eyes, but the hand gripping Bai Qing’s vital point remained steady as stone. “I’m sorry.” 

His usually cold, hard voice ground out like coarse sand, carrying a tenderness almost never heard, his tone nearly coaxing. “I’ll be quick…”

Bai Qing’s eyelids felt impossibly heavy, unable to open. He couldn’t see what expression Jing Liansheng wore.

The searing struggle blurred his senses. The whole world sank into chaos.

He seemed to feel something brush against his forehead, his eyes, and finally his lips. Like icy raindrops, they melted at the touch, leaving behind a phantom coolness, making it impossible to tell reality from illusion. 

Just as his tongue tasted a trace of intertwined chill, the place bound so tightly was suddenly released.

Cold exploded up from his tailbone. Bai Qing’s toes spasmed and curled.

Jing Liansheng’s icy palm gripped his waist firmly, as if to keep his body from arching violently and crashing back down. The living corpse’s abnormal flush finally, slowly, faded.

— 

Chu Ze, standing guard outside the west wing, heard the commotion inside and couldn’t help pulling out his academic notebook, jotting notes as he marveled: A living corpse and a fierce ghost actually achieving dual cultivation through coffin sex.

Truly, to live and learn!

Not long after, the room fell quiet.

Chu Ze’s gossip-loving heart stirred. He considered using a spell to eavesdrop, but then thought better of it. Doing something sneaky in front of a Great Fierce Ghost was basically like brandishing a broadsword before Lord Guan, or showing off Italian artillery in front of Commander Er. 

So Chu Ze restrained his curiosity and stood there, eyes on his nose, nose on his heart, wearing an expression of perfect composure.

That said, the west wing was old and poorly soundproofed. Even without mystical arts, he could hear quite a bit.

Soon, he heard the sound of the coffin lid being lifted inside.

Then came Bai Qing’s hoarse, sore voice, “…How am I supposed to face anyone like this…” 

“I’m sorry,” Jing Liansheng said, his voice tinged with guilt. “This time, it really was unavoidable…”

“This was gucci!” Bai Qing said resentfully.

Chu Ze ground his teeth.

…This kid has really made it now. He even wears GUCCI. 

He really did become the wealthy family’s young madam. And yet still gave me 8.8-yuan red envelopes!

Jing Liansheng had no idea what “GUCCI” or “crying over it” meant. “I’m sorry” was the best he could offer.

“It’s cold at night. You should put on some clothes first,” Jing Liansheng said.

“I won’t,” Bai Qing replied, his tone a little like he was pouting. 

Jing Liansheng paused. “…Then at least put on your pants.”

Bai Qing: “Too tired. I don’t want to fuss with it.”

Jing Liansheng: “…Be that as it may, one should still have some sense of decency.”

Bai Qing thought, ‘…That blunt-talking Jing Liansheng is back.’ 

Sensing something, Jing Liansheng added, “Your shifu is still outside.”

Hearing that Chu Ze was still out there, Bai Qing’s heart jumped. What if that shameless academic thief of a shifu ignored ethics and privacy, squatted by the wall, and took notes for research?

Bai Qing hurriedly put on his clothes and pants, pushed the door open, and walked out, smiling at Chu Ze, who stood outside pretending to admire the scenery. “Shifu, still not asleep so late?”

Chu Ze wore an expression full of concern. “How could I sleep? I was worried about you. I just went to the bar restroom, and in such a short time, something this big happened!” 

Bai Qing, as if only now remembering, asked, “What exactly happened? Shifu, why are you here too?”

Chu Ze explained at length, “I’d just come out of the restroom when Lin Zhao rushed over, saying you’d been abducted by the peach blossom demon. The demon set up a maze array, blocking his tracking. He asked if I had any of your personal items so he could use object-tracing techniques to find you.”

Bai Qing frowned. “Then?”

Chu Ze smiled smugly. “I said, kid, what era are we in now? Why use such a complicated, qi-draining method? Just use phone location tracking.” 

Bai Qing: “…Classic you, Shifu.”

Chu Ze continued, “I saw your location was at the Jing residence, so I first sent Lin Zhao away, then came to look for you.”

“Why send Lin Zhao away?” Bai Qing asked.

Chu Ze smiled. “Do you remember why Lin Zhao came here in the first place?” 

Bai Qing’s expression turned grave. “To hunt down and kill the Yin–Yang Twin Fiends who injured his disciples.”

Come to think of it, the Great Fierce Ghost and living corpse Lin Zhao spoke of were probably Bai Qing and Jing Liansheng. After all, a living corpse paired with a great fierce ghost was exceedingly rare. There was probably no second pair like them in the entirety of Lotus City.

According to Lin Zhao, his disciples had been injured by this pair. Chu Ze had come to back up his junior sect members. This matter was, indeed, a bit troublesome.

Bai Qing’s eyes darted around as an idea struck him. “So those Taoists who nailed soul-suppressing nails into our coffin were Lin Zhao’s disciples? That means they’re also Shifu’s fellow sect members?” 

Chu Ze sighed. “I only realized that once I saw Lin Zhao.”

Bai Qing said, “That really is the Dragon King Temple flooded by its own rivers—one family failing to recognize another!”

He couldn’t help laughing. “Looks like that bearded Taoist and his gang must’ve gone back to their sect all beaten up, too embarrassed to tell Lin Zhao the truth. They added fuel to the fire, twisted black into white, and actually painted me as a murderous, bloodthirsty living corpse! How on earth do I deserve that?”

Hearing this, Chu Ze couldn’t help laughing as well. “Indeed. A ‘bloodthirsty’ living corpse? ‘Chowhound living corpse’ would be more accurate. Probably because you lack any murderous aura, even if Lin Zhao could tell you were a living corpse, he didn’t suspect you were the vicious fiend they described. But if he’d come to the Jing residence with me and seen Jing Liansheng… that would’ve been a different story.” 

Bai Qing paused. “That’s true.”

Chu Ze continued, “I came alone to the Jing residence and found that Jing Liansheng had already saved you. Seems he arrived just in time.”

Bai Qing rubbed his nose, thinking, ‘The situation wasn’t quite like that.’

He could roughly guess that he had sent Jing Liansheng his location and distress message first. 

As a great fierce ghost, Jing Liansheng found him extremely quickly, then used ground-shrinking techniques to return to the Jing residence. However, Jing Liansheng didn’t know how to dispel the miasma and was at a loss. It was only after Chu Ze arrived that they knew how to resolve the crisis.

Bai Qing couldn’t help saying, “We still need to find a time to explain the misunderstanding to Lin Zhao, right?”

“Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?” Chu Ze asked with a smile.

Bai Qing froze, then said seriously, “Just… Jing Liansheng and I aren’t terrifying ghostly beings. We certainly aren’t murderous. We were framed by that bearded Taoist and his group.” 

“You might be one thing, but Jing Liansheng being a great fierce ghost is an undeniable fact,” Chu Ze shrugged.

Bai Qing hurriedly argued, “Even though Jing Liansheng is a great fierce ghost, he conducts himself uprightly and has never harmed an innocent person.”

“I believe you when you say it, but my former employer belongs to the conservative faction. According to mainstream conservative views, it’s impossible to allow a dangerous great fierce ghost to roam freely in the human world,” Chu Ze explained calmly.

Bai Qing was stunned, involuntarily recalling Lin Zhao’s attitude toward Tao Yaozhi. 

Indeed, it had been an approach of not asking for reasons and going straight for the kill.

Chu Ze sighed. “Not to mention, Jing Liansheng severely injured his disciples and even dissolved their spiritual energy. With that kind of conduct, forget him being a ghost, even if he were a fellow cultivator, that’s still a blood feud. No matter how you look at it, this won’t end well.”

Bai Qing let out a heavy sigh. “Then what can we do…”

“What does it matter?” 

Jing Liansheng, who had appeared at some point without a sound, drifted over to Bai Qing’s side.

Under the moonlight, Jing Liansheng’s eyes glowed blood-red. “Such Taoists who cannot distinguish right from wrong and disturb my peace are nothing new.”

Bai Qing took a deep breath. “Not the first?”

Jing Liansheng nodded slightly. “Though I lay dormant underground for many years, never committing evil, there were always some Celestial Masters who, through qi divination, star-gazing, fortune casting, and tomb-seeking techniques, discovered my location as a great fierce ghost. They claimed, ‘If this thing emerges, it will surely bring calamity upon the world.’ The better ones merely set up arrays around my tomb to try to suppress me. I paid little mind to those. But some actually dug up the grave and opened the coffin. Some even set fire to the mountain…” 

Bai Qing was utterly shocked and asked cautiously, “Then… what happened to those Celestial Masters?”

Recalling those aggressive intruders, a chill flashed through Jing Liansheng’s eyes.

But when his gaze fell on Bai Qing’s face, equal parts frightened and confused, it softened a little.

This little living corpse is soft-hearted and timid. Best not to scare him. 

So Jing Liansheng pressed his lips together and said as gently and tactfully as he could, “I was… not very polite to them.”

Bai Qing thought it over. “Then if Lin Zhao comes for you, will you also be… not polite to him?”

Jing Liansheng pondered this and asked Bai Qing, “Do you want me to be more polite to him?”

Bai Qing fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. “I’m definitely on your side. But I realize now that my earlier approach was flawed.” 

“What do you mean?” Jing Liansheng asked.

“Shifu’s words really woke me up,” Bai Qing sighed. “These orthodox cultivation sects are all interconnected. Beat the younger ones, and the elders come knocking. What’s more, you’re a ghostly being, so they have even more justification to deal with you. If we keep clashing head-on like this, I’m afraid things will escalate until no one knows how to rein them in.”

Hearing this, even Chu Ze sobered up. “I’m worried about that too. If it turns into a ‘six major sects besieging Bright Summit’ scenario, it’ll be hard to end.”

Jing Liansheng asked, “What is ‘six major sects besieging Bright Summit’?” 

Chu Ze: “Ah… uh…”

Bai Qing downloaded a copy of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber onto his phone and handed it over. “Go read.”

Thus, the thousand-year-old great fierce fiend carried his phone back into the coffin to stay up late reading novels.

Watching this scene, Chu Ze remarked, ‘Even ghosts need remedial education.’ 

Bai Qing stood by the lotus pond, lost in thought. After a while, he said to Chu Ze, “Shifu, could you first stabilize Lin Zhao? Get him to temporarily not come to the Jing residence, and also not to pursue and kill the peach blossom demon.”

Chu Ze was startled. “You want to protect the peach blossom demon too? Didn’t he poison you with the miasma?” Then he guessed, “Don’t tell me you drugged yourself just for coffin play?”

Bai Qing rubbed his nose. “Do I really seem like that kind of person to you?”

Chu Ze replied, “Disciple, I see you precisely as ‘not a person.’” 

Bai Qing was left speechless.

Even so, Chu Ze still agreed to Bai Qing’s request. After all, he didn’t want to see a major conflict erupt either.

However, before leaving, Chu Ze couldn’t help saying, “Ying Zhili is staying at the Jing residence. With the commotion you made in the west wing last night, he definitely knows. Even if I can hold Lin Zhao back, I can’t guarantee that that meddlesome imp won’t come out to stir things up.”

This reminded Bai Qing. Ying Zhili was absolutely going to cause trouble. 

Ugh—what a headache!

But Bai Qing’s top priority now was to get some sleep.

In one single night, he’d experienced two time travelling and one volcanic eruption. He was utterly exhausted in both body and mind.

He returned to his room, collapsed onto the bed, and slept straight through until the sun was high in the sky. 

Seeing the bright sunlight outside after he slept in… memories of his days as a Saint Child, rising at the rooster’s crow a thousand years ago, flickered through his mind. It made him feel dazed and uneasy by turns, but in the end, he settled into a deep sense of relief. The accursed feudal dynasty was gone. He could safely be a lazy civilian who slept in.

Getting out of bed, Bai Qing slid his feet into soft, comfortable cotton slippers, savoring the warmth spreading from the soles of his feet. Then he put on that beautiful outfit he’d bought at great expense. The fabric’s texture and tailoring filled him with an indescribable satisfaction.

At this moment, he finally understood why, as a living corpse, he clung so obsessively to these material things.

His past life had been…far too bitter. 

Of course, his greatest obsession was still…

Bai Qing pushed open the window and looked outside.

He saw Jing Liansheng standing by the lotus pond.

Round lotus leaves floated on the surface of the water. 

Unlike ordinary lotus ponds where leaves stretch endlessly to the horizon, the Ancient Lotus Pond’s leaves were sparse. Only a single stem capable of bearing a lotus flower grew there, standing alone in the center of the pond.

The bud atop it was beginning to take shape, tightly closed, glowing faintly, nourished by a thin layer of morning dew.

The sight reminded Bai Qing that the Ancient Lotus was about to bloom.

If Jing Liansheng’s wish was to resurrect Ci Ying, and Bai Qing was Ci Ying… 

Then couldn’t Bai Qing stop Jing Liansheng from making that wish?

Yet a strange feeling quietly rose in Bai Qing’s heart: from his memories of the past, Ci Ying clearly had feelings for Jing Liansheng, but Jing Liansheng seemed to be… rather indifferent?

Jing Liansheng sensed Bai Qing’s gaze and slowly turned around. Their eyes met in midair.

They looked at each other in silence. The intimacy of the previous night only made this morning’s distance more pronounced. 

Bai Qing gripped the window frame. His resolve was set.

He walked out the door and came to Jing Liansheng’s side, his expression grave as he spoke, “Liansheng, I have something to tell you.”

Jing Liansheng looked at Bai Qing. That strange sense of familiarity surged in his heart once more, stronger than ever before.