In the end, Shen Zhixian didnโt have to carry his little hedgehog disciple inside. He was too afraid that if he really did hug him, he would be skewered on the spot. No way was he willing to enter the hornetโs nest.
Relieved, Shen Zhixian happily opened up his little discipleโs thin top, then his heart immediately sank.
The wound was even worse than he thought.
The residual chill from the disciplinary whip lingered on the wound, and the pitch-black accumulation of blood had piled over the laceration, making it look even more ghastly. Dark-red blood oozed out of the cracked scab, dispelling the medicinal ointment.
This ointment was a common one, with a subtle scent and a poor rate of effectiveness. In terms of quality, it was light-years away from the first-class elixir heโd sent. In these past few days, Yan Jin must have been using this ointment instead, which explained why his wound wasn’t healing.
Shen Zhixian soaked a gauze in a special liquid medicine before carefully using it to clean the wound. As soon as the fabric touched his skin, Yan Jin trembled slightly, his muscles tightening. The motion caused the wound to flex, and soon after, the blood began to flow more freely.
Shen Zhixian gently patted his arm with his other hand and said in a soothing tone, โRelax.โ
As Shen Zhixian spoke, Yan Jin lightly and cautiously murmured in agreement, his back muscles tightening.
Shen Zhixian, “…”
He admitted that he was working hard to distribute goodwill! What the hell did the original Shen Zhixian do to make this youth behave like this?!
Shen Zhixian helplessly became silent. Originally, he wanted to ask Yan Jin why he didnโt use the elixir heโd sent. Now that he thought about it, it was probably because Yan Jin was afraid to use it.
He was afraid that Shen Zhixian was tricking him.
After wrapping the bandages around and around his disciple, Shen Zhixia tied the two ends together into a knot. Once finished, he got up to clean his hand. Reaching into his storage bag, he pulled out Yan Jinโs brocade band.
Throughout this entire thing, Yan Jin had been silent and forbearing.
Shen Zhixian called, โAโJin.โ
Then, taking a deep breath, he passed the band to the youth, solemnly saying, โIโm sorry.โ
Yan Jin saw the familiar brocade ribbon and his body began to tremble. He could barely resist the urge to snatch the ribbon away. Once it was in his hand, he carefully studied the piece of cloth before finally determining that it was the one he’d lost. Relief swept through him. Then, at last, he finally reacted to the words–What did Shen Zhixian say?
In the silence, Yan Jin tightly clutched his newly recovered ribbon, feeling as if the situation was completely absurd.
Sorry.
Shen Zhixian had apologized to him.
What were you sorry about? Sorry for all the past things, or have you devised a new way to torture me, orโฆ
Yan Jin turned his head and looked at Shen Zhixian. His black eyes were mocking, the emotion so slight that it could be easily overlooked. His voice came out slow and subdued, โMaster, have you been possessed?โ
Shen Zhixian, “…”
Good heavens, how can the protagonist be so sharp?!
With some difficulties, he opened his mouth in denial. โPossessed? How can this be possibleโฆ?โ
After a short pause, he resolutely added, โMaster had been thinking a lot over the past few days. I admit that, in the past, Iโd behaved excessively, but I wonโt do it again.โ
He said this with the most serious and sincere attitude. Recently, by personally bring this person down the Cliff of Reflection, by giving him his ribbon back, by making sure he had the best medicine, Shen Zhixian had been working very hard to wash himself clean…
After listening to what he had to say, Yan Jin shrugged back into his top and expressed his disbelief with silence.
Three feet of ice could not form in a day, and thawing would take more than a matter of moment. Shen Zhixian frantically comforted himself in his heart, resisting the urge to hug the youth and wail for forgiveness.
It didnโt matter. The situation wasnโt completely hopeless. After all, it’d only been a year since the original Shen Zhixian accepted Yan Jin as his personal disciple. The only terrible thing that heโd done was the Hidden Sword Pavilion incident. Other than that, his faults were his indifference and his indulgence toward Yan Shen and the other disciplesโ bad treatment of Yan Jin.
He hadnโt yet done the most extreme and cruelest thing; he hadnโt severed Yan Jinโs spirit root. Shen Zhixian remembered that this punishment was exacted soon after Yan Jinโs return from the Cliff of Reflection. Fortunately, heโd transmigrated over before it happened. Otherwise, it would have been too late.
It was good timing. Right before things got worse.
Shen Zhixian quietly sighed. Thinking of the Hidden Sword Pavilion incident gave him a headache.
Heโd been paying close attention to the Hidden Sword Pavilion, but Yan Shen had cleaned up his trail too quickly and cleanly. Heโd only arrived and so he hadnโt yet been able to figure out the various people hiding in the background. His demand to re-investigate the matter was simply blowing hot air.
This matter was doomed to come to nothing–at least, for now.
Shen Zhixian felt that he was the worst scumbag. Right after apologizing, he now had to tell the other party that he couldnโt figure out his grievances.
He hesitated as he thought about how to phrase his words, but Yan Jin reacted first, saying, โThis discipleโs lowly life doesnโt matter. Master neednโt worry.โ
Shen Zhixian listened to Yan Jinโs self-deprecating words, and his brows furrowed. โDonโt talk nonsense. Youโre very good.โ
โWhat’s good?โ Yan Jin asked. His eyes had a slight irony, making people wonder whether he was being sarcastic or self-deprecating.
Shen Zhixian was at a loss for words. But, Yan Jin was the protagonist. What was the protagonist? The protagonist was undoubtedly very good! Even a strand of the protagonistโs fallen hair could be considered a treasure too!
While Shen Zhixian was speechless, Yan Jin silently stood as if there was nothing more to say. After bowing respectfully, he turned to leave.
Shen Zhixian subconsciously reached out to grab his arm, but Yan Jin was already quietly guarding against him and immediately sidestepped to calmly avoid him. Shen Zhixian ended up pulling on his sleeve instead.
His strength was not weak, causing Yan Jinโs collar to slip, revealing his thin collar bone with its delicate arc. This instantly attracted Shen Zhixianโs eyes.
Shen Zhixian, “…”
He quickly retracted his hand, coughing as a cover, and blurted out under Yan Jin’s silent gaze, โItโs good…good-looking.โ
Yan Jin, “…”
Yan Jin, “???”
He froze for a moment, then walked toward the door without a backward glance.
As for Shen Zhixian…Shen Zhixianโs face flushed red. He just wanted to crawl underneath his blanket and pretend to die.
He watched as Yan Jin walked out and, still wanting to help him, added vaguely, โCome back at nightโฆโ
Before he could finish speaking, he saw Yan Jinโs steps suddenly quickened, and he was gone in a flash.
โ…so I could re-apply the medicine,โ he finished slowly and then deeply sighed.
The young disciples had made quick work of their tasks and cleaned the small, empty house. When they were about to come over to look for Shen Zhixian, they saw Yan Jin stepped out of Shen Zhixianโs house.
His clothes were somewhat disheveled and his face was pale. One of the disciples clearly saw that the tips of his ears were slightly red.
Disciple, “… Ah?”
The two young disciples were new, and they were very curious about everything. They didnโt know much about the contradictions between master and disciple, and their hearts, which were still contaminated by the secular world, longed for gossip.
Watching Yan Jin enter his new home without saying a word, the two disciples looked at each other, their expressions curious.
This is where it's gonna start. If Yan Jin ever looks back on this scene, even though this won't be when he fell, it'll be what sparked the whole thing. In the future, he'll probably blame his interest on Shen Zhixian's actions too. Ai, watch your back MC. You don't know what you've started.
– XF
Good luck mc. Melt the ice.
Thanks for the great translation ๐
MC read the book, so he knows Yan Jin blackens in the original plot. We (the readers) know that Yan Jin "reincarnated" but did it happen after the severing of his root? Or way later? Little confused haha.
Thanks for the daily updates ^^
-Ulfr
Well Yan Jin think his master is pervert now… Poor master haha
I was initially confused too. In the book, weโre told that he committed suicide so we (or I, at least) had expected him to be reborn after heโd committed suicide. But, it actually happened after his spirit root was severed. After his spirit root was severed, I guess he must have kind-of died? Yan Jin briefly talked about his rebirth in Chapter 3.
Ahaha, poor clumsy Shen Zhixian! Now he'll have to convince his little hedgehog of a disciple that he doesn't harbour any improper intentions!
Thank you for the chapter!
Oh ok cleared it up for me, thanks!
-Ulfr
Thanks for the chapter (โโขแดโขโ)โค
Thanks for the chapter ๐๐
๐๐๐.
The misunderstanding lmao
You idiot, i love this ๐ค๐ญ
Shen really said “come back at night” I’m freaking screaming ahhhhhhh! Shen, slap yourself a hundred times, you idiot lmao
Hahahaha
Thank you so much for your hard work!๏ผฏ(โงโฝโฆ)๏ผฏ
Aiiiii this misunderstanding he probably thinks his master wants to eat him ๐
Good one SZX. ๐๐๐
good looking ๐