It’s Not Easy Being a Master, Chapter 77: Twin

Duan Yuan was scared half to death. He held the person, not knowing what to do.

He placed a trembling hand over the bloody hole on Lian Qin’s chest. He was so panicked and anxious that he couldn’t think of how he should place his hand. He only knew that when he lightly pressed his hand on Lian Qin’s chest, Lian Qin’s brows furrowed in pain and more blood gushed out.

“Senior Brother! Senior Brother!”

Duan Yuan was so scared that he dared not move. He covered Lian Qin’s chest with his hand, feeling a faint heartbeat. His face was pale with panic, as if he was the one who was seriously injured instead. Feeling that Lian Qin was dying, Duan Yuan frantically tried to transfer spiritual qi to Lian Qin, hoping to protect his heart.

Lian Win was the master’s personal inheriting disciple and was cultivated from an early age.

When Duan Yuan was a child, he was too naughty and shamelessly refused to diligently practice. Master would always poke him in the head, hating iron for not becoming steel. “Why don’t you go and look at your senior brother? He is already very talented and everyday, he would get up early to diligently practice, without slacking the slightest bit. Unlike you.”

Jabbing his forehead a with callus fingertip, poking out his dissatisfaction.

Duan Yuan once hated Lian Qin because Master always praised him, until later…

Lian Qin coughed, the sound pulling Duan Yuan’s thoughts back. Lips trembling, he called, “Senior Brother.”

Xue Ci hurried over, pulled out a life-saving elixir, and let Duan Yuan feed it to Lian Qin.

Blood clotted Lian Qin’s throat and he choked a few times before he managed to swallow down the pill.

Xue Ci checked his pulse, and his eyebrows slightly drew down.

Duan Yuan was originally full of hope but, seeing Xue Ci’s expression turn so serious, he didn’t dare to breathe and only looked at him with wide eyes.

Xue Ci withdrew his hand and was about to speak. But, suddenly he saw the two pieces of broken jade. Startled, he picked it up, and after carefully studying it, he hesitantly said, “Twin jade?”

Only then did Duan Yuan notice the jade. He let out a surprised sound and, supporting Lian Qin with one hand, he reached into his chest with his other hand.

A piece of jade identical to the broken jade was brought out.

Lian Qin had given him this piece of jade and told him that it was merely a warm spirit jade and would be beneficial to his cultivation. He’d worn it for many years, and it was very precious to him. But now, the jade body was full of cracks, as if a slight pressure would turn it into powder.

Xue Ci saw the cracked jade in his hand and thoughtfully murmured, “So it turned out to be like this…”

No wonder Lian Qin was so easily affected by the tear demon before. In fact, it was not the tear demon that affected Lian Qin, but Duan Yuan who had affected him.

Duan Yuan was uncertain, and because he was so anxious, he didn’t dare to hurry Xue Ci. He only said, “Senior Xue, what does this mean…?”

Xue Ci weighted the broken jade in his hand. “This is the associated jade.”

He gestured with his chin to the broken jade in Duan Yuan’s hand and said, “That is the original jade.”

This was a twin jade rarely seen in the world. It could only be found in an extremely hot volcano and, even then, the jade would need to condense for hundreds of years.

A large stone could produce two pieces of jade. The color of the original jade was typically pure black with a warm temperature. Next to the original jade would be a smaller jade with a slightly lighter color.

Because twin jades could only be produced in extremely hot places, the body would stay warm, just like warm spirit jade. However, this was not its rare point. The most amazing thing about it was not only because it was conscious but also because it has its own spirit patterns.

The spiritual qi of heaven and earth had engraved delicate lines on them and each line was full of spiritual qi. This was verified by many predecessors.

“Twin jade would only recognize one master and can resist from being stolen. Once it’s stolen, the jade would break.” Xue Ci said, “Looking at this broken jade, your life might have ended earlier. However, the owner of the companion jade absorbed most of the death blow, so…”

Xue Ci continued to talk, but Duan Yuan couldn’t hear it. His mind had gone blank. Only the sentences “life might have ended” and “absorbed most of the death blow” constantly circulated in his mind.

The ice cone had shot toward him, but senior brother kicked him away…

Lian Qin leaned back against him and let out a sluggish breath. He called out weakly, “Duan Yuan.”

His voice was very weak, but it immediately made Duan Yuan snap to attention.

Lian Qin’s eyes were half-closed, as if he barely had the strength to keep them open. His breathing slowed, and he said, “In a few days, you would have passed your twentieth birthday…”

Twenty!

A clap of thunder sounded in his mind and, from his memory, came his parents words, “Child, father and mother had no other choice. The master looked at your fate and told us to raise you as a daughter until you turn twenty years old. This is the only way to prevent your death…”

Duan Yuan thought that he’d become a man for too long, long enough for him to have forgotten why he went to Qianyin Pavilion in the first place. That fortune telling master had said that there was a chance he could be saved in the west. As a result, his parents took him all the way west and delivered him to Qianyin Pavilion.

“This birthday, Senior Brother may not be able to celebrate it with you…” Lian Qin closed his eyes, not once mentioning the twin jade nor Duan Yuan’s near death. He lifted his hand with difficulties and attempted to fix Duan Yuan’s messy collars. “Senior Brother was very fierce to you before. I just wanted you to practice seriously….Ahem, ahem!”

He coughed a few times, causing blood to spill from his lips. He said intermittently, “…I don’t hate you. Merely later…as long as you’re happy.”

Duan Yuan couldn’t stand it anymore. He let out a whimper and became choked with sobs. “Sorry, Senior Brother. I’m sorry… I’ll listen to you in the future. You have to be okay… Once we get out of this secret realm, I’ll return to the sect with you…”

Since he was a child, Lian Qin was burdened with heavy responsibilities. After learning about Duan Yuan’s true identity, he actually wanted to cultivate Duan Yuan into becoming his second-in-command. But, due to various reasons, Duan Yuan refused to listen to him and chose to leave the sect to gain practical experience.

Duan Yuan was aware that he’d failed to live up to Lian Qin’s expectations. He already had a guilty conscience, but because of today’s event, it was infinitely magnified. Lian Qin must have known about his problem and went through so much trouble to protect him. But he….

Duan Yuan cried so much that he began to hiccup. He still hadn’t recuperated from the injury caused by the ice cone’s rebounded spiritual force. He’d also spent a large amount of spiritual energy on Lian Qin. He felt his chest become very tight, then he turned his head and vomited a mouthful of blood. He looked quite terrible and pitiful.

Lian Qin gasped and said, “Don’t cry, I….”

Of the pair of disciple brothers, one was seriously wounded and the other was in tears, and both needed to communicate with each other sincerely. Xue Ci had already stepped back to Shen Zhixian and Yan Jin’s side. He rubbed his chin suspiciously, “This is… the residual effect of the tear demon?”

Shen Zhixian looked at him with ease, knowing that Lian Qin had no major trouble, and smiled slightly. “The fellow disciples just have a good relationship.”

It seemed like Lian Qin wanted to sit up on his own, but Duan Yuan was afraid he might further aggravate his injury and hugged him tighter, refusing to let him move.

Duan Yuan let out a whimper and said, “If I can go back to the sect with Senior Brother this time, I’ll do whatever Senior Brother asks me to do. I won’t refuse and won’t complain… as long as Senior Brother is fine…”

Lian Qin was startled. He didn’t think Duan Yuan would say that. He hesitated for a moment and then asked, “… Really?”

Duan Yuan nodded eagerly. The movement seemed to have strained his internal injury, and he let out a cough. “Really, really!”

Lian Qin was relieved. “….Then that would be good.”

He finally heard what he wanted from Duan Yuan’s mouth and couldn’t help but smile. But, Duan Yuan saw his smile and misunderstood. His heart jerked with fear, and he hugged Lian Qin even tighter.

Lian Qin was hugged so tightly by him that his chest felt stuffy, as if he was about to gain some more internal injuries.

Although he was seriously injured, it wasn’t enough to kill him. But, the ice cone was indeed powerful. Even after taking Xue Ci’s elixir, it would still take a bit of time for him to fully recover. At the moment, he was so weak that he could barely push Duan Yuan back. “Let go.”

Duan Yuan thought that Lian Qin wouldn’t be able to hold on. He wept, eyes brimming with tears. Treating his senior brother’s words as if it was nonsense, he only hugged him tighter.

“Senior brother, it was all my fault before. I also won’t complain to Master about you anymore and won’t practice my swordplay only once in the morning and then sleep lazily under the tree. I also won’t sneak a turtle into your bed anymore. I’ve made a lot of mistakes…Wu wu wu… Senior Brother, I’m sorry. Don’t die. You need to be fine, okay?”

Lian Qin, “…….”

He finally couldn’t stand it anymore.

His own body was clear to him. He wasn’t hurt to the point of dying. In fact, he just wanted to pressure Duan Yuan to consider returning. But, he never expected that this little junior brother’s brain would be filled with the vast ocean. In front of these outsiders, how could he shake out their old things and remark on them so unabashedly?!

Duan Yuan’s mouth was covered by a pair of slightly warm hands, muffling his voice, and causing him to cry out.

A warm and wet breath sprayed onto Lian Qin’s palm and he sighed, withdrew his hand, and insisted on sitting up. “I won’t die. Don’t cry. Your crying is giving me a headache.”

Duan Yuan cried out “Ahh?” and let out a hiccup. He choked back the rest of his cries and looked at Lian Qin with teary eyes. As he blinked confusedly, a teardrop trembled on his long eyelashes and rolled down his cheek.

Immortal cultivators tend to have good constitution. After Lian Qin circulated his spiritual force, the elixir’s effects began to kick in. The spiritual force that was almost frozen by the ice cone began to function normally. He moderated his breath and said, “I’m not made of tofu. How could it be so easy for me to die…”

Duan Yuan looked at him, stunned, and took a long time to respond. Finally, he carefully touched the wet blood on Lian Qin’s chest. “Senior Brother, don’t coax me… Are you really okay?”

Lian Qin only looked at him and asked, “You’ve sustained some internal injuries. Is it bad?”

After Duan Yuan shook his head, Lian Qin closed his eyes and began to meditate. Duan Yuan looked at him anxiously and then looked at Xue Ci. Xue Ci nodded at him. “As he said, although his injury is serious, he won’t die. He would just need to be careful and adjust his breath for a while.”

Duan Yuan felt as if a large stone had dislodged from his heart. His trembling hand finally calmed and, when he looked at the blood stains on Lian Qin’s chest, he wanted to laugh and cry. “It’s good. Senior Brother will be okay… Hic!”

Fill with an equal mixture of great sorrow and joy, he bursted into tears and couldn’t stop. Afraid that he might disturb Lian Qin, he covered his mouth, not daring to make a sound, and causing his face to become slightly red.

Xue Ci looked amused, then he shook his head helplessly. He passed a medicinal pellet over. “You’ve just suffered an internal injury. You also need to adjust your breath for a minute or two.”

Now that there was no immediate danger, calm was restored. The two people sat and adjusted their breaths. Shen Zhixian was afraid there might be some unexpected incidents and didn’t walk too far from them as he looked around.

The ice pit was massive, making them look like tiny ants inside it. The surrounding ice wall was far away from them and, looking up, the top stretched very high.

Shen Zhixian looked up for a while and frowned. “Those things are looking down at us.”

After the barrier was broken, the demons and monsters saw them and swarmed over. Later, when they fell into the deep pit, the demons and monsters didn’t follow. Instead, they surrounded the ice pit at the top.

But, none of them came down.

Yan Jin had a deeper understanding of the monsters. He looked at them for a moment and said softly, “There are things down here that they’re afraid of.”

Xue Ci looked around. There was only ice and snow all around them. Aside from a foggy, pervading cold, there were no other living creatures. He didn’t find anything wrong so he jokingly said, “Could they be afraid of us?”

Shen Zhixian knew that Yan Jin wouldn’t joke around. He continued to look around, until, suddenly his expression shifted. He said, “No, look at the ice wall–”

By this point, the foggy cold air had dissipated somewhat, revealing the images on the ice wall.

Xue Ci sucked in a breath.

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