TIC Chapter 66: Bewitching Demon

This little bastard, even when his life was half gone, all he could think about was not getting a divorce…

Lin Fuqing’s temples throbbed so hard that he felt dizzy.

He was too cold to get angry, and he couldn’t really kick the seriously injured Fang Zhiyuan into the water. So he could only hold back his anger and say, “…No, no divorce.”

Fang Zhiyuan’s eyes lit up slightly. “Really?”

Lin Fuqing: “…Shut up.”

Fang Zhiyuan became visibly relieved. 

He knew that Lin Fuqing cared deeply about him. Ever since he was young, no matter how angry he made the other man, he would never really do anything to him. At most, he would give him a beating and scold him a few times, and that would be all. 

The only difference now was that they had become a Doaist couple. Therefore, the worst consequence he could imagine for making his senior brother angry was divorce.

As long as he had promised not to divorce, then everything else was easy to deal with.

The rocks on the shore were within reach. Lin Fuqing supported Fang Zhiyuan and said with feigned anger, “If you still have the energy to talk nonsense, go up there yourself.”

He knew the other man was seriously injured, and he was just saying it out of anger. But unexpectedly, after hearing this, Fang Zhiyuan actually lifted himself away, grasping a protruding rock on the shore with five fingers. With a splash, he reached the shore.

Lin Fuqing was stunned, unable to stop him.

Fang Zhiyuan frowned and coughed twice, his face becoming even more pale. He leaned over and reached out to him. “The water is cold. Hurry up…”

Lin Fuqing pushed his hand away, climbed up the river bank by himself. He curled up on the ground with a light breath and tugged at the tassel knot on his fur coat with trembling fingers.

He really couldn’t stand the cold and wanted to take off his cold and wet robe.

“Don’t!”

Fang Zhiyuan suddenly hugged him from behind, and burning spiritual energy immediately enveloped the two of them. “Bear with it. I’ll dry it.”

“You…!” Startled, Lin Fuqing instinctively tried to push him away. “You’re injured like this and you’re still wasting your spiritual energy. Do you want to die? And since you won’t let me divorce you, do you want to make me a widow?”

Hearing this, Fang Zhiyuan smiled silently. But instead of releasing him, he tightened his arms and said in a hoarse voice, “No…”

He placed his chin wearily on Lin Fuqing’s shoulder, eyelids drooping. “No, my injuries aren’t serious…I’ll be fine after a bit of rest…”

Lin Fuqing became terrified, afraid Fang Zhiyuan would faint from exhaustion and never wake up. He took out the pills from his Qiankun bag, speaking soft words to distract him. 

Fang Zhiyuan closed his eyes and hummed intermittently in response. When Lin Fuqing held him in his arms and fed him the medicine, he opened his mouth and swallowed it with a rare obedience. 

Lin Fuqing’s face was expressionless, but his lips were pressed tightly together. His fingers shook slightly as he held the porcelain bottle.

Of course, he wasn’t so naive as to believe that Fang Zhiyuan wasn’t seriously injured, just because he said he wasn’t “seriously injured.”

Zhiyuan had taken at least seven or eight hits for him, especially that initial explosion. The reason he was conscious now and could even respond was because he was used to being attacked and in pain since childhood. 

“Shi-ge.” Fang Zhiyuan had opened his eyes at some point and tugged at his sleeve. “It’s really nothing, don’t worry… I’ll be fine after a night’s sleep. We’ll look for the others tomorrow, okay?”

It was then that Lin Fuqing realized that darkness had come in with the night. The fantasy realm was a rare high-level space, and it actually had a day and night cycle within it. 

He had no intention of arguing with this inhuman little troublemaker. He helped Fang Zhiyuan lie on his legs and covered him with his dried fur coat. “Rest.”

Fang Zhiyuan didn’t want his robe and reached out to push it away. Lin Fuqing patiently advised, “Stop it, I’m not cold anymore.”

Fang Zhiyuan gave a faint smile, his voice so light it vanished in the wind, “But I’m worried you’ll be cold… I won’t be able to bear it.”

That night, Lin Fuqing didn’t dare sleep. He sat all night, his fingers on Fang Zhiyuan’s neck, counting his pulse and monitoring his spiritual flow.

In the middle of the night, Fang Zhiyuan’s breathing weakened, and so he quickly woke him up.

When he opened his eyes, his gaze was out of focus, his consciousness a little fuzzy. Lin Fuqing crushed a pill and fed it to him with his mouth. Half an hour later, he convulsed and coughed up blood, then fell into a deep sleep.

This person, when awake, he had tried his best to be energetic in front of him, but now that he had fallen asleep, the seriousness of his injuries became all the more clear. 

Lin Fuqing held Fang Zhiyuan in a daze, looking up at the sky until the ground in the distance turned a soft white, illuminating the pale pink clouds.

The river bank was lined with shrubs with slender leaves, swaying in the breeze.

While thinking about what to do next, Lin Fuqing used the rich spiritual energy of heaven and earth in the fantasy realm to regulate his breathing.

It was a common practice to allow the winners of the Golden Osmanthus Challenge to enter a small fantasy realm. Those who were able to enter were thus heroes responsible for the future of the immortal world. Over the years, there had never been any reports of issues with spatial turbulence.

But this suddenly occurred, and Lin Fuqing thought that it was related to the group of strange golden-eyed people again.

That group of golden-eyed people who appeared without warning over a hundred years after the immortal calamity, wantonly plundering the demonic cultivators…

Suddenly, an idea flashed across his mind.

He recalled the scene when he and Fang Zhiyuan entered the small fantasy realm. The dark spatial turbulence, the flowing light beams, and the heavy golden door that disappeared once Mu Qingxue appeared.

Mu Qingxue, who walked out from the golden door, clearly appeared in the same place as them. 

Suddenly, an idea flashed in Lin Fuqing’s mind!

Then why didn’t they both end up in the same location as Shentu and the others?

Lin Fuqing’s pupils contracted slightly, and a chill crept up his spine.

Someone wanted to kill them.

The spatial turbulence was triggered at a perfectly timed moment before they entered. The culprit who interfered with the space behind the golden door must be among the people who had entered before them. 

However, these people were still, still yet to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, so it was impossible for them to have the power to interfere with space. There must be a mastermind behind the scenes who took advantage of someone who entered first, intending to kill himself or Fang Zhiyuan.

Lin Fuqing’s eyes were dark, and he exhaled slowly and calmly.

But looking at the situation outside, the entire space has been disturbed. If they couldn’t find a way to escape, the twelve people would likely be trapped here and die.

He didn’t know what had become of Shentu Linchun and the others. If he had come here alone, he would have risked his life to save them.

But now that he had this Life-bearing Soul Array, so how could he dare take any risks?

It was already daylight, but Fang Zhiyuan was still asleep. Lin Fuqing had no intention of waking him up. He gently carried him on his back and walked upstream along the riverbank.

The ecology of this fantasy realm was unique. Along the way, he saw many rare spiritual plants, spiritual beasts, and spiritual minerals, many of which were priceless items.

The Demon Lord was knowledgeable and had a broad vision. He knew that time was precious now, so he did not touch anything except some healing herbs.

After walking for more than an hour, Lin Fuqing suddenly stopped.

He looked at the large group of creatures gathered in the air not far away, like soft little mushrooms floating, and felt a little surprised.

“…A bewitching demon?”

Monsters that rarely appear in the immortal world were actually swarming in this small fantasy realm…

Lin Fuqing frowned and smiled bitterly, feeling mixed emotions.

He didn’t know if this was a case of a higher being giving them a way out. Bewitching Demons were sacred healing objects. Every time one appeared in the immortal world, it would cause a frenzy of bidding and chasing for medical practitioners.

However, the side effects when healing…

It’s quite tricky. 

A faint moan sounded in his ears.

“Zhiyuan?” Lin Fuqing turned his head when he heard the sound. Fang Zhiyuan shifted on his back  and woke up hazily.

When Fang Zhiyuan regained consciousness, he discovered that he was being carried on his senior brother’s back. He became gloomy and unhappy. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

As he was about to come down, Lin Fuqing stopped him. “Stop talking about this, look at what that is.”

Fang Zhiyuan was also surprised when he saw it. “A dewitching demon? There are so many bewitching demons in this small fantasy realm?”

Lin Fuqing said, “Indeed, all the creatures I’ve encountered along the way have been very kind. The core divine object guarding this small fantasy realm might be a high-level magical weapon or immortal artifact that controls medical treatment.”

He shook his head calmly as he spoke. “…None of this matters. You and I don’t have time to explore what divine objects exist in this world. Zhiyuan, I just want to ask you, this bewitching demon… are you brave enough to take the risk and use it on me?”

The Bewitching Demon, this little creature that looked like a pink mushroom, has such an enchanting name for a reason.

The fragrant mist sprayed by the bewitching demon could relieve pain and heal wounds, but it would also make people fall into an illusion and evoke the darkness that they dare not face in their lives.

For ordinary cultivators, as long as their soul was strong enough and their will firm enough, and they were not shaken by the illusion, their lives would be saved. 

But.

But…

Lin Fuqing and Fang Zhiyuan looked at each other and saw indescribable subtlety on each other’s faces.

Their memories of past lives weren’t good things. If they were truly trapped and killed by their inner demons, they would be doomed.

Fang Zhiyuan took a breath and came down from Lin Fuqing’s back. He looked at the group of bewitching demons not far away and said, “I’ll give it a try.”

The spatial turbulence outside was changing rapidly, and they had to rescue people as soon as possible… There was no time to rest, and they couldn’t keep dragging on with their injuries.

Fang Zhiyuan walked forward, and when they passed each other, he raised his hand and pushed Lin Fuqing back, “Don’t come near me, wait for me here.”

Lin Fuqing raised his eyebrows calmly. “Are you talking in your sleep? …How could I ask you to go alone?”

“Shi-ge!”

Fang Zhiyuan was getting anxious. His eyes seemed to be burning with heat as he pressed against Lin Fuqing’s thin shoulders and said, “Listen to me. Listen to me! I don’t have any real painful demons, except you.”

Whether it was due to weakness from injury or some other reason, Fang Zhiyuan’s voice was even hoarser than usual. But his eyes were truly bright, burning with a full grasp of obsession, so dazzling that one dared not look directly at them.

Lin Fuqing lost his voice. He stared at the person in front of him, knowing that it was true. 

Fang Zhiyuan stroked Lin Fuqing’s shoulder and said firmly, “So, now that I know you’re waiting for me outside, I won’t be trapped by the illusion. I will definitely come out to see you soon.”

“But you are different, shi-ge. You absolutely cannot enter.”

Fang Zhiyuan raised his right hand and fondly touched Lin Fuqing’s long black hair that was loosely tied behind her head.

His expression was open and frank, without any trace of grievance or sadness, not even the resentment or anger that appeared when the two of them were playing around in private.

When he said this, his tone was as natural as if he was saying that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

Fang Zhiyuan said, “…because your inner demon is not me.”

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