Put down the three heads you're holding in your right hand first, and then we can talk about other things

If just before, one bizarre event after another left Bai Ke unsure of how to react, then now, when the black-robed figure, who effortlessly dealt with the three monsters with a wave of his sleeve, knelt in front of him with eager eyes, calling him "master," Bai Ke's feeling was not just "shock" anymore; it was more like he was falling apart!

Terrific, another lunatic.

A powerful neurotic at that, it seemed.

What to do...

He did have experience dealing with lunatics, from childhood to adulthood, but this high-end model, he had never encountered before.

Bai Ke might appear calm and mature for his age, but deep down, he had still just turned eighteen. Even if you removed a screw from his brain and blocked a passage, he couldn't stay unperturbed facing this kind of situation, where a five-minute spectacle happened eight hundred times.

So, he stared blankly at the black-robed man for a while, and all he could manage was to purse his lips and say, "Put down the three heads you're holding in your right hand first, and then we can talk about other things."

Hearing this, the black-robed man didn't even blink; he just let go: "Done."

The three dark heads weren't light, and with a "thud," they fell to the ground, rolling around a few times, joining the stiff bodies of the monsters.

Bai Ke glanced at them silently, then turned his gaze back. "..."

He felt like if this went on, he would develop a psychological aversion to the sound of "thud."

But the culprit remained kneeling there, unflinching, gazing at him with eyes that seemed eager to devour every detail, as if he wanted to see enough for hundreds of years in one breath.

Except for dolls standing up, Bai Ke had never looked down on anyone like this. But the atmosphere emanating from this person was too strong. Even kneeling, he looked like a lion temporarily squinting, ready to open his eyes at any moment, making Bai Ke feel particularly awkward.

Although Bai Ke had some experience dealing with lunatics, this kind was beyond his capacity. At least he listened to him, so he wanted to have him stand up first and then tell him it was too bad to always kneel and communicate like this.

Bai Ke froze for a moment and then said, "You—" But as soon as he opened his mouth the black-robed man's eyes lit up noticeably, giving Bai Ke the illusion that he could touch even the gods' buttocks fearlessly.

Bai Ke lowered his shell and continued, "Um, you first stand up..."

But before Bai Ke could finish his sentence, the black-robed man interrupted in a deep voice, "It's been too long since I last saw you. Let me kneel for a while."

Bai Ke's face tightened even more. "..."

This was simply impossible to talk like this!

But they had to talk, at least to persuade this slightly off-kilter individual to move around a bit. Bai Ke suddenly felt a headache and dizziness.

He took a deep breath and said with a stiff voice, "You... call me master, but I've never seen you before. I've always—"

Bai Ke was about to finish his sentence when the man in black cut in with a deep voice, "You simply don't recall what I've witnessed."

"...I'm only eighteen, not eighty, and my memory isn't that bad," Bai Ke responded helplessly. "Could it be that I accepted you as my disciple before I turned three?"

Shaking his head, the man in black replied, "Certainly not."

With an expressionless face, Bai Ke questioned, "Then please, enlighten me. When exactly did you become my disciple? And why was I unaware?"

Without hesitation, the man in black stated, "Three years in Nanhua, plus five thousand seven hundred and twenty-one years from today."

"..."

Bai Ke sat in stunned silence for a full minute.

 

Just when he opened his mouth to say something, the spot on the back of his neck where something had pierced him earlier suddenly pulsed, and he felt like he was spinning, with his body tossed like a wooden plank in raging waves. He could almost vomit a sea with a single mouthful.

He didn't even have time to struggle; his vision blackened, his legs weakened, and he fainted silently.

Before consciousness completely faded away, the last scene he saw was the black-clothed man suddenly pulling him into his arms, his brows furrowed with worry amidst the sinister aura, his tone urgent as he called out a name.

This time, because they were so close, Bai Ke finally heard it clearly—

He was calling out "Lingchen."

Somehow, Bai Ke knew exactly which two characters he meant the moment he heard it, unreasonably certain, so sure even he hadn't realized it.

For a fleeting moment, at the brink of his most hazy and scattered consciousness, he seemed to hear a somewhat childish voice, lazily humming an unknown tune...

Looking up to observe the sky,

Bending down to listen to the dust,

Between looking up and down,

Clouds traverse a thousand miles,

Mountains and rivers span myriad years ...

*

When he woke up again, what reached Bai Ke's ears was the melodious chirping of birds, short and long in intervals, lazy and leisurely, almost putting Bai Ke back to sleep despite his recent consciousness.

As his awareness gradually sharpened, the scene before him gradually took shape. The familiar faint light and shadow contours let him know he was lying in his own bed, just like any other morning he woke up.

With his eyes closed, he lay silently for a while, as if listening to the lazy chirping of birds outside the window, and also seemed to be quietly pondering something. His dark and dense eyelashes trembled twice, then he opened his eyes, the movement seemingly hesitant—

The light and shadow contours in his line of sight suddenly became much clearer, and he could even vaguely see the simple pattern on the curtains, a first-time occurrence, an improvement from before...

But, there was no color...

That heavy black color once again became the background, everything remained as usual.

So, it was a dream.

The pouring rain, the soaked young man, Bai Zixu who he had knocked unconscious, the two unfriendly figures at the door, those three monsters with their heads separated... and that not quite normal but exceptionally strong black-clothed man... all encountered in dreams, no wonder it was so bizarre, bizarre to the point that even in the final moments of the dream, the scenery and people before him actually had colors.

Now that he was awake, everything returned to normal and mundane, so mundane that even Bai Ke's sense of disappointment didn't seem too heavy. But he wasn't the kind of person who liked to dwell on a particular matter and couldn't let go, so he just slightly adjusted his mood and planned to sit up.

Who knew that as soon as he lifted his head, before he could make any more movements, he heard a voice from the living room outside: "So, after pondering for half an hour, you still can't remember?"

Bai Ke: "..."

Could someone please explain to him why this voice sounded so much like the black-clothed man from his dream?!

"Sir, please allow me a moment to ponder again!" Another person's voice sounded, replying to the first one, sounding almost on the verge of tears.

Bai Ke: "..." Wasn't this the young man from the alley who almost bumped into him?

"Huo Daoist, I really feel like I've seen you somewhere! Unfortunately, I can't remember... Oh, by the way, how did you feel when you crossed your tribulation? I almost succeeded yesterday, but that prodigal son intervened... Ow—my neck and old waist!"

Bai Ke: "..." Great, it's his prodigal dad.

Fantastic, the lunatic convention had moved to his living room. So, all that stillness earlier was just them pondering?

The mismatched topics and the nonsensical way of thinking made Bai Ke's neck and heart begin to ache again.

He got out of bed expressionlessly, slipped on his slippers, walked over to the door, and somewhat headache-inducingly addressed the people in the living room: "You—"

But before Bai Ke could finish speaking the two words, and before he could even see the situation of the three people in the living room, he felt a flash of white light in front of him, followed by a low voice sounding in his ear: "Are you awake? Feeling uncomfortable anywhere?" As the voice spoke, warm fingertips had already landed on Bai Ke's neck, pressing lightly on the sore spot, instantly relieving much of the pain.

Bai Ke: "..."

As for this person who kept insisting that he was his master, Bai Ke had nothing to say. He seriously doubted if he acknowledged this identity, would this black-clothed man become some sort of accessory hanging on Bai Ke's belt, providing 24/7 all-round protection like an omnipresent amulet.

Although somewhat exaggerated, Bai Ke didn't dislike this black-clothed man. Firstly, regardless of whether he had made a mistake, this black-clothed man was now at least treating him wholeheartedly. Secondly, Bai Ke felt that with the momentum he showed last night, his true nature shouldn't be like this. According to his own words, it was probably because he and his so-called master hadn't seen each other in many, many years.

So, Bai Ke, who usually didn't like physical contact with people, didn't avoid his fingers. He just waved his hand slightly when the man's fingertips lightly pressed on him, saying, "There's nothing particularly uncomfortable."

After speaking, he glanced towards the old wooden sofa in the living room—just as he suspected, the person sitting next to Bai Zixu, with his head drooping and looking listless, was the one he had encountered in the long alley last night.

But just one glance at the teenager made Bai Ke feel uneasy.

"Why did you tie him up like this?"

The teenager, bound from shoulder to ankle with circles of rope, turned his head, wriggling his cocoon-like body, and howled towards him, "Ah! Young hero, save me! My life is in danger!"

 

---

Mini Theatre

One day, Yu Shengmen arranged for the newly admitted junior disciples to organize the largest library pavilion behind Yuxu Palace.

The junior disciples were all around 6 or 7 years old, at the age where they loved to play around and be lazy.

So, the mischievous ones among them slapped the table and decided to make a bet to determine the winner, with the winner being able to slack off once.

As they were pondering what to bet on, a voice suddenly floated over from a nearby tree: "Bet on who dares to touch a beauty's butt."

A few young rascals, although unreliable, still knew the boundaries between men and women. They were suddenly shocked by this bet.

Leading the pack of rascals was Huo Junxiao.

Scratching his head, he felt he was about to lose. Just then, he saw someone passing by not far ahead, dressed in white with black hair, exuding an air of immortality.

Huo Junxiao, thinking about slacking off, had a sudden impulse and dashed forward like a wild monkey, daringly pinching the person's buttocks. His little buddies behind him were dumbfounded.

As soon as he finished pinching, before he could retract his hand completely, the person being touched turned around.

Huo Junxiao covered his face in horror: "..." Help! I just pinched the sect leader's butt!!!

Sect leader Bai Lingchen: "..."

So, Huo Junxiao, who had revealed his potential as a troublemaker, was punished to carry all the books in the top-grade cabinets of the library for seven days. When he was finally released, his face was green.

 

Translator : DarNan