NEBM Chapter 56: Secrets

For the first time, Shen Zhixian felt deeply that Yan Jin was full of small secrets.

He was certain that since he’d transmigrated, he’d never set a restriction on Yan Jin and there was no memory within this body that indicated the original Shen Zhixian had done so either.

Shen Zhixian was silent, and an absurd idea quietly materialized—he and Yan Jin, maybe they’d known each other before they became a pair of master and disciple.

Maybe, long ago, in those vague memories, they…No, it should be the original owner, who’d met or intersected with Yan Jin in some way.

Shen Zhixian’s heart felt stuffy, brimming with a very unhappy emotion.

He couldn’t help but remember that “very good person” that Yan Jin had once mentioned.

Shen Zhixian wasn’t a person who liked to indulge in the past, nor did he like to hold grudges over other people’s past. So, all this while, he’d been telling himself not to become too caught up in Yan Jin’s old matters. All he knew was that Yan Jin had a difficult childhood, and so he was all the more resolved to treat him well in the future, determined to make him happy.

But now, he felt as if a small thorn had sneaked up in his heart, making him feel more than a little uncomfortable.

He realized that he might be a little bit jealous. He and Yan Jin had just formally established a relationship, and yet, he’d already tasted the sour taste of vinegar mixed with a few big lemons.

Due to Yan Shen’s detonation, the surrounding area had the fishy odor unique to fiends. The smell was disgusting. Shen Zhixian retracted his eyes and pretended to relax, saying, “It smells bad here. Let’s change places.”

Yan Jin quietly said, “Mmn.”

They didn’t deliberate over the direction and randomly chose a path to walk. After walking for a while, they reached a short hill.

At the highest point on the hill, Shen Zhixian sat down cross-legged. “Let’s stop here.”

The night was particularly pleasant. The moon was bright, the stars twinkled, and a small breeze shook the grassy hillside.

Yan Jin silently sat down beside Shen Zhixian.

Shen Zhixian said, “Actually, I really wanted to sit by a cliff like this when I was in Qingyun Sect.” He smiled softly and lightly said, “Unfortunately, whenever I looked down at the bottomless cliff side, I was scared enough to cry. I also didn’t dare to call you, fearing I would lose the dignity of a master.”

Yan Jin pursed his lips. In fact, in the past few years, as the only disciple who could freely go in and out of Shen Zhixian’s fifth peak, he had long been accustomed to witnessing Shen Zhixian’s various laziness. Something like a master’s dignity had long ago…

He didn’t dare to tell the truth and only said, “If master wants, later…”

I will accompany you when we return to Qingyun Sect.

He paused, not speaking out the second half. There was a bitter apprehension in his heart.

In the future… Will there be a future?

It seemed as if Yan Jin hadn’t called the name Sui Xian in a while, as if fearing that by saying this name, Shen Zhixian would remember something. Shen Zhixian blinked, as if he wasn’t aware of Yan Jin’s anxiety, and said his next words in a casual tone, “Okay. Accompany me later.”

Yan Jin’s eyes brightened, and his spine straightened ever so slightly.

Shen Zhixian lowered his head a little and looked at the small flower beside him. He asked softly, “Have we ever met before you came to Qingyun Sect?”

There was a terrible silence in the air. After a while, Yan Jin said with some difficulty, “Yes.”

He paused and suddenly looked at Shen Zhixian. “Master, you can’t remember, can you?”

Although it sounded like a question, his tone made it unequivocal. Shen Zhixian grew a little bit nervous, but he forced his face to remain calm. “It probably happened before the heart ailment. I don’t remember that time period very well.”

Even if I did remember, that person wasn’t really me…Shen Zhixian silently added in his heart.

And so on.

Shen Zhixian recalled when the original owner went out to gain experience, he’d used the name “Sui Xian.” Yan Jin also knew a person named “Sui Xian” when he was much younger. Since Yan Jin had said that they’d meet before, could it be that the Sui Xian that Yan Jin knew before was actually the original owner?

All sorts of messy thoughts jumbled around in Shen Zhixian’s head. He signaled for Yan Jin to continue.

Yan Jin composed himself, then continued, “At that time, I was small, thin and weak, and I was often bullied by people…”

Yan Jin was born in a small village. His childhood was full of suffering. From as far back as he could remember, he’d always been spurned by everyone he’d met. The confused little Yan Jin could only vaguely understand why this was so by listening to the hostile words people had thrown at him.

Soon after he was born, both his parents died. His mother died giving birth to him, and his father slipped and drowned in the lake when he went to fetch water. Later, he didn’t know who took care of him and saved his life. But, the village people said that he was a calamity. His hands would be stained with the blood of many people, and he would bring about many disasters.

Later, he was driven away from the village. Homeless and alone, he wandered everywhere. But, due to malnutrition, he was too thin and was often bullied wherever he went. Until, one day, Sui Xian saved him.

He seemed to have played down much of his childhood hardship and skipped many things, but Shen Zhixian could guess how much he’d suffered back then and patted the back of his hand to comfort him.

“…Later, I was passing through a small town when something happened, causing the people there to be very hostile toward me. At that time, Master had no choice but to take me away. Soon after, we were separated.”

He stopped, his thoughts drifting back to the past.

There were two kids fighting in that small town. They both fought fiercely. The fatter child was careless and accidentally pushed the other down. The kid’s head slammed into the curbside on the road.

They were in the corner of an alley with a dead end. No one passed through. The child who’d pushed the other saw the blood on the ground and panicked. He stood frozen for a long time, unable to calm down. Finally, with a weak cry, he ran as fast as he could to find an adult.

When the adults arrived, the fallen child barely had a breath left. He took one last gasp, unable to say anything. Although he was rushed to a doctor, he died within a quarter of an hour.

His parents were angry and anxious. When they asked who did it, the child couldn’t admit his crime. He stammered for a while and suddenly pointed at the noodle shop across the street from the medical clinic. Sitting there was another child, eating noodles. “It’s him! I saw the two of them fighting!”

Little Yan Jin, who was inexplicably made to carry the pot, swallowed a mouthful of noodles, feeling at a loss. He looked in bafflement at the child pointing directly at him and snapping, “That’s him! He’s a kid from outside! He killed Dahong!”

Dahong was the name of the dead child.

Everyone’s eyes gathered on Little Yan Jin, full of hostility.

This small town was tiny and remote. Each family had their own small circle of land outside town. They were all very self-sufficient and rarely travelled far. What’s more, few outsiders passed through. This overly closed environment caused the people in town to be more prejudiced against outsiders. Once something happened, they would naturally be biased.

At this moment, after listening to the child whom they’d known swore that Yan Jin was at fault, the townspeople didn’t even think of doubting him. They rounded on Little Yan Jin with fierce hostility.

Dahong’s father was a big man. The moment he came close enough to Little Yan Jin, he reached out to grip his sleeve.

Sui Xian, his face slightly dark, turned his chopsticks around and deftly blocked the man’s hand, pushing back a few steps. “Just based on his words, how can you determine that we’re at fault?”

The child saw that everyone was beginning to believe the man. His eyes shifted, then he shouted, “They’re accomplice! They’re accomplice! They killed Dahong together!”

Later, things got out of hand.

No matter how Sui Xian argued, the people turned a deaf ear to his words. As far as they’re concerned, these two outsiders killed Dahong. Dahong’s mother cried and shouted, “God dammit! We only had this one child! From the very beginning, we raised him so well. It’s you outsider’s fault. You brought disaster and caused this to happen!”

Due to the ruckus, a group of people came over and crowded around them. Sui Xian saw this and gave up arguing. Without saying another word, he guarded Little Yan Jin and left.

They didn’t speak, and everyone also refused to let them go. Some people stood by the side of the road, brandishing poles. Meanwhile, others threw stones. It took a lot of effort for Sui Xian to protect Little Yan Jin in his arms and escape from town.

Little Yan Jin was securely guarded by Sui Xian, and so he was not hurt at all. But, he heard the sounds of things hitting Sui Xian. His little hands tightened on Sui Xian’s sleeves, and for the first time, he hated his own weakness.

He couldn’t even protect himself.

Nor could he…protect the person he valued.

A thorn that was buried at the bottom of his heart took root in his flesh. From time to time, it would pierce him, causing unbearable pain.

This matter was only the beginning. Along the way, their journey was not at all smooth, and they always seemed to encounter various accidents, some of which were quite troublesome.

Sui Xian had to protect Little Yan Jin several more times, causing him some injuries.

Little Yan Jin could only silently remember that the villagers had said that he was a calamity.

He was unwilling to admit it, but it was becoming undeniable that he’d become a burden to Sui Xian.

Little Yan Jin’s innermost heart ached with pain and suffering. The better Sui Xian treated him, the worse he felt. Then later, he experienced that thing…

“A’jin? A’jin?”

Shen Zhixian’s soft voice dragged him from his memories. The moment he returned to the present, Yan Jin suddenly looked at Shen Zhixian and said aloud, “Master.”

Shen Zhixian said, deeply apologetic, “I’m sorry. These things… I really can’t remember.”

Even if he could remember, that past had belonged to the original owner, and it had nothing to do with him. The one who was good to Yan Jin was the original owner, and the one that was constantly on Yan Jin’s mind was also the original owner. He was just an outsider who’d accidentally transmigrated into this world for unknown reasons, occupying this body and assuming this identity.

He shouldn’t conceal this from Yan Jin, but these words were hard to say, making him unable to speak.

Yan Jin said in a low voice, “It doesn’t matter. It’s fine as long as I can remember it.”

Shen Zhixian sighed silently.

That night, the two sat for a long time and talked a lot.

Shen Zhixian felt that things were becoming more and more mysterious. He didn’t know how Yan Jin’s restriction came about. When he asked, Yan Jin shook his head blankly; he’d just learned about the restriction himself.

Shen Zhixian asked vaguely, “If I’m completely different from before, would you regret it?”

Yan Jin gazed at him, shaking his head slowly but firmly.

Shen Zhixian’s mood was very complicated.

He suddenly wanted to ignore everything else that was going on. He wanted to immediately find the Undead City, locate the Soul Tracing Grass, merge it with the scale, and completely heal his heart ailment. He wanted to restore the original owner’s memory. He wanted to determine what kind of person the original owner was that he was able to make Yan Jin unable to forget him even after so many years had already passed.

Yan Jin’s thoughts also coincided with his. Ever since last night, he no longer called him Sui Xian and only continued to call him Master. His manner was suddenly very resolute. “Master, let’s go to the Undead City first, okay?”

It sounded like a question, but Yan Jin added firmly, “Master’s heart ailment can’t be dragged on for too long.”

“Aside from Song Ming, there are most likely other people behind Yan Shen. I think he probably colluded with some kind of fiend…Do you remember the devil cultivator that Yan Shen colluded with at the Sword Competition? At that time, Yan Shen must have encountered something…”

“Master,” Yan Jin interrupted, gazing at him.

Shen Zhixian tried to analyze for him, “But I don’t think this matter can be dragged on for long…”

In the modern world, on the Internet, Shen Zhixian had seen too many of these types of vicious rumors. Once a false word was spread by countless people, it would take on the shape of “truth.” In the end, no one really cared what the actual truth was, as people were instead more interested in following the crowd to castigate and cast judgement.

Although he urgently wanted to know the truth about the original Shen Zhixian, he also didn’t want to let Yan Jin become the victim of this type of “truth.” Although these small sects wouldn’t be a big problem individually, if they were to work together…

“Yan Shen is dead. No one will make further disturbances, so this issue can be postponed.”

“Once these small sects couldn’t find us, they would definitely go to Qingyun Sect. Song Ming made such a big move and borrowed Yan Shen to force me to appear. I’m afraid that he’d made up his mind and shredded all pretense of cordiality. I don’t know what else he intends to do.”

After thinking about it, Song Ming and Yan Jin had no direct correlation with each other. The only possibility was that once Song Ming discovered that Shen Zhixian was missing, it wouldn’t be easy for him to find someone to chase after Shen Zhixian. Thus, he could only use Yan Jin to force Shen Zhixian to appear.

“Sect Leader Song’s conduct is a little cowardly,” Yan Jin directly said. “He’s in the light, and Master is in the dark. As long as Master doesn’t appear, he can’t do anything–Even if Master goes back to Qingyun Sect, you’ll have to be careful. But, once the heart ailment is resolved, Master’s safety will be absolute.

Shen Zhixian, “…”

This argument seemed very reasonable.

Shen Zhixian couldn’t refute it anymore. In the end, the two forcibly reached a consensus. For the time being, they let go of Qiongyu Sect and left to find the Undead City.

Shen Zhixian’s guess was correct. After the death of Qiongyu Sect’s people, Spiritual Master Qiong Yu couldn’t find the culprit and immediately and arrogantly led a crowd of people to Qingyun Sect. But, this was a story t be told later.

Since their previous flying fish mount had already died long ago, they bought two new mounts once they’d reached a new town.

This town was not large and so the types of mounts being sold were not many. Aside from cranes, there were only civet cats and pegasus.

Shen Zhixian stared at a fluffy civet cat, remembering Duan Yuan saying that civet cat’s hair was perfect for rubbing. He immediately clapped. “I want that civet cat.”

Yan Jin chose a pegasus.

Since Yan Jin was still a poor disciple, Shen Zhixian paid for it. Afterward, he shoved a small money pouch in Yan Jin’s arms and said, “Going out, it’s not good to have so little pocket money.”

The two rode on their respective mounts and resumed their journey. Previously, the painted skin demon mentioned inconclusively that the Undead City seemed to be in the north, so they planned to go all the way north.

Soon after they left, the shop that sold the mount ushered in a sweaty bald-head monk.

The monk held half a steamed bun on one hand, puffing and panting. With the other hand, he patted the counter. After taking a deep breath, he said, “Have you–cough, cough–have you seen someone who is this tall, looks like this….Umm, also, there’s a person who looks like this…”

After gesturing, he said, “Have you seen these two people?”

The business proprietor was confused and disoriented by him. After a while, he finally reacted and hesitantly said, “It seemed it might be those two people . They looked like what you described. They just bought a mount each and left.”

“What mount did they buy? How long ago did they leave?”

The business proprietor answered quickly this time. “A civet cat, a pegasus. They left this morning.”

The bald monk pulled a bitter face and waved his hands weakly. “A civet cat and a pegasus…All I have are my own two broken legs. How can I catch up, ah….Okay, thanks.”

The business proprietor earnestly recommended, “If you’re chasing people, why not buy a pegasus?”

The monk put the remaining half of the steamed bun in his mouth, chewed, and sighed. “This monk is poor and has no money! I can only afford a few steamed buns!”

He went out with a long sigh. After looking around for a while, he bought a lot of steamed buns from a pastry shop.

The large and fresh steamed bun exuded endless temptation. The bald monk looked at the pile of hill-shaped steamed buns, swallowed the saliva in his mouth and reached out for one, wanting to take a bite.

But he held back. After struggling with himself for a long time, he finally sighed in sorrow, packed his buns, and ran after the two people.

Meanwhile, Shen Zhixian and Yan Jin hastened on their journey. It was said that there were moon white Wanggui flowers outside the Undead City. Once they found the flowers, the city should not be far away.

The two had excellent eyesight so, throughout the journey, they watched the scenery below for the flower.

However, after flying for two days, Shen Zhixuan cajoled Yan Jin into changing mounts.

The fluffy fur of a civet cat was very comfortable to rub…but it shedded too easily!

The moment Shen Zhixian sat on the civet cat, he couldn’t help rubbing its fur. But, the moment he rubbed its fur, the cat started to shed. The moment the cat started to shed, Shen Zhixian would feel the need to sneeze.

So, two days later, when Shen Zhixian saw that Yan Jin was about to climb on to the pegasus, he grabbed his sleeve and very sincerely said, “A’jin, have you ever sat on a civet cat? It’s fun. Let’s switch mounts so you can try it.”

Yan Jin glanced at him, silently switched places with him, and sat on the civet cat’s back.

Shen Zhixian got on the pegasus with satisfaction and rubbed its head–Very good. No hair loss.

He greeted the pegasus happily, then leaned his head to look at Yan Jin.

The fluffy civet looked adorable. When contrasted with Yan Jin, whose face was cold and expressionless, as he sat on the cat’s back, the overall look was…quite interesting.

Shen Zhixian struggled hard not to laugh in front of Yan Jin. He turned his head back to hide his smile. “Let’s go.”

Since he was able to change his mount, Shen Zhixian was very happy that day. He was especially attentive as he looked around, not letting even a corner go unobserved.

They flew late into the evening, until night quietly descended.

Shen Zhixian was about to find a place to rest, but in the blink of an eye, he suddenly saw a large moon white flower nearby.

“Ajin.” He patted the pegasus, motioning for it to slow down, his eyes trained on the moon white flower. “Look at what’s growing over there…Does it look like the flower on the demon thrush’s wrist?”