Living Up to You

Chapter 17

“Let go of Ah Chou!!!”

- Chou means ugly

Suddenly, there was a roar followed by a purple light. Ling Xi watched as the old demon was beaten by Qing Kui’s gourd that she lost her shape. She wailed and let go of her (LX). The dark clouds quickly flew away.

“Damned demon, don’t think about escaping!”

Qing Kui was about to mount the wine gourd and chase after her. Ling Xi could finally breath and had been thrown on the ground by the old demon. Her eyes went black and she couldn’t stand up at all. Qing Kui looked at the two girls who had fallen on the ground and spit. He had to give up on pursuing the deserter.

“Ah Chou, how are you?” Qing Kui quickly helped Ling Xi up and said anxiously, “It’s all this deserving of a beating wine gourd’s fault! That demon didn’t look simple. Did you suffer any losses?”

Qing Kui glared once at his wine gourd. The wine gourd turned smaller by itself, drifted to Ling Xi’s face and rubbed her cheek like it wanted to apologize.

Ling Xi tried her best to shake her head. Only now did her blackened eyes recover a bit. While she touched the body of the wine gourd to appease him (gourd), she shook her head and said, “Fortunately, you came back in time. Quickly go see how Xue Ran is.”

Only now did Qing Kui remember that there was another girl who had fainted. After he had stabilized Ling Xi, he went to look at Xue Ran.

“It must be because that demon’s demonic energy was too great. She had fainted because she exerted too much force. When junior sister Qing Lian returns and give her some energy, she would wake up.” Qing Kui pinched Xue Ran’s acupuncture points and returned to Ling Xi.

“Hey, when little Ling Xi fainted, you hugged her and asked about this and that. When miss Xue Ran fainted, you couldn’t even bear to give her some energy…,” Juisheng who was in Ling Xi’s hand suddenly spoke. It was actually a cute boy’s voice.

Juisheng hasn’t finished speaking yet, Qing Kui gave his gourd’s body a slap. Ling Xi didn’t pay attention at all to what Juisheng was saying. She just asked surprised, “Second senior brother, it…he can talk?”

“Of course!” Qing Kui crossed his arms proudly. He had begun to spoke two years ago. It’s a pity that he (QK) didn’t know how he got a “unequalled sharp tongue”. His cute and obedient Juisheng would never come back!

“Second senior brother…” Originally Ling Xi had some questions to ask Qing Kui. After she thought about it, it was better to ask Juisheng. She turned to the wine gourd and asked, “Little Juisheng, how old are you?”

“Two hundred and fifty-year-old!” Juisheng’s childish voice said very proudly.

Qing Kui took Juisheng and put it on his waist. He looked once disdainful at Ling Xi and said, “Do you think that it is like those demons of the demon realm? Spirits that only grow with righteous energy would grow extremely slow. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many “spirits” who used some crooked path to become “demons”.

The moment Ling Xi heard that, she closed her mouth.

“If your Xiao Hei didn’t swallow my two hundred years of cultivation, how could he shape shift so quickly?” Having spoken till here, Qing Kui glared angrily at the black Chinese rose on Ling Xi’s head.

Ling Xi felt guilty. Juisheng was able to talk after two hundred and fifty years. Even if Nan Zhi swallowed Qing Kui’s two hundred years of cultivation and could immediately shape shift, is…isn’t this too fast?

“Second senior brother, how many years would it take if an immortal spirit wanted to shape sh*t to human form?”

Qing Kui rested his chin on his hand and pondered for a moment, “This naturally is also connected with the cultivation of the spirit’s master, but under normal circumstances, it must be at least eight hundred to thousand years.”

This unsettled Ling Xi even more. Qing Kui continued, “As for that immortal spirit of high-tiered deity Donghua, it had cultivated for eight hundred years before it was able to shape shift into human form and two thousand years for it to get flesh. It will take about three thousand years. If you abandon the righteous practice and use the demonic way, an ordinary spirit would be able to get a flesh in just five hundred years. However, the moment, it used dissenting ways, it is a demon! This is the difference between a demon and an immortal spirit…”

Qing Kui still continued to speak, but Ling Xi couldn’t concentrate on what he was saying anymore. According to this, even a demon needed two hundred years to shape shift…

Then, what is her Nan Zhi?

—

When Qing Lian and Qing Nian came back together, Xue Ran hasn’t woken up yet. Qing Kui had always treasured his cultivation very much. He felt that that Xue Ran had no relation to him, why should he give her energy? Ling Xi sat alone at the bottom of the tree and was immersed in her own thoughts.

The moment Qing Nian saw that Xue Ran had fainted, he got anxious. Before Qing Lian reacted, he had already given her energy to let her wake up.

“Bone-eating demon!” It was apparent that Xue Ran hasn’t regained her senses yet. The moment, she woke up, she shouted.

Although, once Qing Nian was the youngest disciple of Cangjia and was still at a young age when he cultivated an immortal body, his face didn’t look young. He frowned and asked, “The one who just attacked you was the bone-eating demon?”

The one Qing Nian asked was Ling Xi. Ling Xi had no understanding of the bone-eating demon at all and blinked blankly.

Xue Ran coughed twice and said, “She wanted to take my and Ling Xi’s skin. It was the same as the bone-eating demon you once described to me, so…”

“What is bone-eating demon?” Qing Kui had always been at Tianmai Peak and had also not heard of it.

Qing Nian looked once at Qing Kui, but he didn’t spoke. Qing Lian said indifferently, “Eat the bone, leave the skin. It is a demonic creature that had appeared in the last two years in the demon realm. No one knows from where she had come from. Ever since she appeared, she harmed the young and beautiful women of the mortal realm. She swallowed their bones and blood and left the beautiful skin.”

Five people formed a circle in the forest. Qing Lian said without a pause, “A year ago, master let junior brother go down the mountain to go catch the bone-eating demon. It was hard to catch because she had a thousand faces. Moreover, she had taken in a hundred little demons in the demon realm to do things for her. Junior brother hadn’t even seen her true form after being busy for half a year. It happened that it was the time to prepare for the Four Immortals’ Association that master had called him back.”

Qing Lian said that casually, but Qing Kui’s expression became more and more solemn. It even paled.

“Our trip to Donghua this time was extremely fast and we specifically avoided those places with dark energy. Under normal circumstance, we wouldn’t have disturbed these demonic creatures. That they took action when the opportunity arrived means that she came with an objective and they are clear about the disparity in strength of the five of us.” Qing Lian’s analyzed calmly and it was very reasonable. She looked at the other four people and said, “The demon that appeared today is certainly not the bone-eating demon’s true self. It must be a small demon that she had taken. Since they came with an objective and if that objective isn’t met yet, they wouldn’t give up so easily. Presumably, they would take further actions.”

“When that demon appeared just now, did it target something in particular?” Qing Nian who had always spoken little asked Ling Xi.

Ling Xi thought for a moment. After being irritated by her, that old demon coveted Xiangyin sword. Then, it said that she had a ten-thousand-year-old skin. In the end, she got interested in Nan Zhi. She didn’t seem to be targeting something in particular…

Ling Xi told them the progress. Xue Ran was puzzled, “What is ten-thousand-year-old skin?”

Qing Nian and Qing Lian shook their heads at the same time. Ling Xi looked at Qing Kui. Qing Kui seemed to have just came out of daze, shook his head and said, “I haven’t heard about it.”

“It is very normal for that demon to be interested in Xiangyin sword and immortal spirits. It is also very normal for her to be interested in skin…,” Qing Lian frowned. “However, it is not only us who has immortal spirits. Could…it be your so-called ten-thousand-year-old skin has some origin?”

It was rare for Qing Lian to look directly at Ling Xi. Ling Xi touched her face uncomfortably. From childhood till now, she always had this face. Ten-thousand-year-old skin…it made her whole body go cold.

“I’m tired. I will go sleep.” Qing Kui who hasn’t spoken took out the wine gourd on his waist, drank a gulp, turned and left.

“Second senior brother…,” Ling Xi hasn’t finished yet when Qing Kui already jumped on a tree and lay down.

“Forget it. Qing Nian had already explored the path of tomorrow. Everyone is tired tonight. Take a short break here.” Qing Lian also turned around. She chanted a spell to cover the five people and mediated with her eyes closed under a tree.

Only Ling Xi, Qing Nian and Xue Ran were left at the original open space. Qing Nian wiped the stain on Xue Ran’s face and asked in a gentle voice, “Big sister, rest a bit first, alright?”

Xue Ran nodded. Qing Nian turned to Ling Xi and said solemnly, “Junior sister Ling Xi, can you take a walk with me?”

Xue Ran was puzzled and was about to say something when she was stopped by Qing Nian’s gaze. Ling Xi was even more puzzled. This senior brother Qing Nian who was always of a few words, what could he had to say to her?

When looking for a way in order to reach Donghua Mountain as soon as possible, they tried to avoid the areas where demonic creatures appeared often. This forest was actually not very big. The nearby mountains and rivers were beautiful and one could faintly see the lights of the mortal realm.

However, the forest was very quiet. When they reached the edge of a lake, they could smell the faint lotus. It was almost midsummer.

The farther away they got from the original place, the quieter it was. Ling Xi felt more ill at ease. In the end, she couldn’t help but speak. She asked first, “Senior brother Qing Nian specifically asked me to come with you, do you want to say something to me?”

Qing Nian stood against the moonlight. His fair face was full of seriousness. He lowered his eyes. His fan-like eyelashes covered the look at the bottom of his eyes. A gust of wine blew past and made his blue robe rustle.

“Qing Nian has something that I have to say.”

Ling Xi turned around and happened to see Qing Nian kneel down calmly. His face faced the moon. Although, it wasn’t kneeling at her, Ling Xi was still shocked and anxiously said, “Senior brother Qing Nian, what are you doing?”

“Qing Nian is at fault first and should have apologized to junior sister long ago. It was only today that I was willing to put down my face and apologize to junior sister. I hope that junior sister doesn’t blame me.” Qing Nian’s expression was firm and he didn’t wait for Ling Xi to speak. His eyes softened and he said, “My mother passed away when I was born. Seven days after I was born, it coincided with a natural disaster. Father passed away. Half of the boys of the village had passed away. The people of the village said that my inauspicious influence was too great and caused the death of my parents. They didn’t allow me to stay. Big sister left with me and raised me in hardship. When I was six, the village where I and big sister stayed at was attacked again by demons. In order to save me, big sister’s flesh was scraped from the bones while she was still alive. I was saved by master and brought to Cangjia Mountain.”

Qing Nian’s voice was calm, but Ling Xue was in trance after listening to that. It was as if she saw her and big brother’s past.

“After I cultivated an immortal body, I went down the netherworld without permission, found my big sister’s original soul and found her reincarnation. I protected her silently. It had been like this for six lifetimes.” Qing Nian paused as if he tried to calm his emotions and continued, “Xue Ran is big sister’s seventh lifetime. After the seventh lifetime, she would no longer go to the mortal realm. So, I wanted to look for an opportunity to take her up the mountain and let her cultivate. Before I could do that, big sister’s village was attacked by demons. You also know what had happened afterwards.”

Ling Xi nodded silently. The time when Qing Nian went down the mountain happened to be the time she secretly went down the mountain to search for big brother. Hence, he went down the mountain with her…

“If it wasn’t because I was anxious to save big sister and took you down the mountain, you also wouldn’t have gotten into trouble and locked up in the water prison by master as punishment. I didn’t dare to stand out and caused eldest senior brother to suffer the lashes in your stead.” Qing Nian lowered his head guiltily and said, “Qing Nian is at fault but didn’t dare to tell master the truth for fear that he would be dissatisfied with big sister because of this and will not let her enter the sect.”

Ling Xi was relieved. It turned out to be because of this matter. She had never blamed Qing Nian for this matter. It was her that didn’t stood firm enough, fell into those demons’ trap and got into trouble…

“Three years ago, Cangjia Mountain was in chaos.” Qing Nian took a deep breath and continued, “Because of big sister, my mind was disturbed by the demons. In order to save me, big sister brought you to the scene. In order to get rid of the demon inside my body and at the same time keep my life, eldest senior brother had no time to protect you…if it wasn’t because I was easily controlled by the demon, eldest senior brother…wouldn’t have died! You would also not had been locked up at Xuwang Cliff for three years!”

Ling Xi’s eyes got wet. She had always thought that everyone blamed her for eldest senior brother’s death. The thoughts of these siblings were so pure and they put the responsibility on themselves.

“At that time, big sister hasn’t entered the sect successfully yet. Hence, I still didn’t take the initiative to admit my mistake to master…” Qing Nian lowered his voice and continued, “All the pain that junior sister had suffered was largely due to the selfishness of big sister and I. Qing Nian cultivated into an immortal body for nothing more than to ask for big sister to be safe and sound for forever. Since master took junior sister as disciple, junior sister must have something extraordinary. This trip to Donghua is extremely dangerous. That bone-eating demon is unfathomable. It is inevitable that…that there would be times that Qing Nian wouldn’t be able to take care…”

It seemed difficult for Qing Nian to continue, but Ling Xi has already understood what he wanted to express. She said softly, “Don’t worry. Even without your request, I will try my best to protect Xue Ran, but unfortunately…”

Unfortunately, her cultivation couldn’t even be compared to Xue Ran’s.

“Qing Nian is grateful for this promise!” Qing Nian interrupted Ling Xi. Suddenly he raised his right hand, looked at the moon and said very solemnly, “Qing Nian swore in front of the moon, no matter what happens in the future, Qing Nian will follow Ling Xi around to compensate for the previous sins and repay this gratitude!”

Ling Xi was moved. When an immortal swears, it was not a game. Once, he violated his oath, he would suffer the wrath of the heaven.

Qing Nian kowtowed three times at the mountains and the moon. He said that he will go look at Xue Ran and left.

Ling Xi stayed at the lake for a long time before she prepared to go back. She didn’t mind whether Qing Nian followed her or not. What moved her was the dedication that Qing Nian has towards his big sister.

He followed her for seven lifetimes. Where did her big brother go? How can she find him, even if it was some clues?

Ling Xi raised her hand dispirited to touch her hairpin. She wanted to call out Nan Zhi and have a talk with him. This touch, her heart suddenly emptied. The Chinese rose in her hair had disappeared!