Chapter 231: Back To That Key Moment ⑥

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Chapter 231: Back To That Key Moment ⑥

Their secluded life in the mountains passed slowly and pleasantly, and before they knew it, twenty years had gone by. Shang Ke’s teahouse flourished, serving mainly low- and mid-level cultivators. Through drinks and food with different effects, he helped them solve all kinds of problems encountered in cultivation. Major sects had their own accumulated resources and had neither the need nor the inclination to seek outside help, but for most unaffiliated cultivators and disciples of small sects, Shang Ke’s teahouse offered an entirely new path for cultivation.

Even remote Great Shadow Mountain gradually became well known because of Leisure Teahouse. Quite a few unaffiliated cultivators simply established secluded cultivation sites nearby. Over the decades, a unique cultivation district and network of defensive formations had formed around the teahouse, guarded by more than a dozen powerful unaffiliated cultivators. Anyone who ignored the rules, tried to cut in line, or steal someone’s seat would be escorted out very “politely.”

Leisure Teahouse’s rules were simple: first come, first served; what you got to “eat” depended on fate; enjoy yourself quietly; and no dining and dashing. Once inside the teahouse, everyone was a fellow tea drinker. Personal grudges stayed outside.

Shang Ke kept no fixed business hours, but he opened at least three days every month. The rest of his time went toward cultivation and searching for ingredients. His cultivation advanced at astonishing speed, while Yan Lu’s realm continued to fall. In exchange, however, the periods when Yan Lu remained fully lucid grew longer and longer.

Although his inner demon continued tormenting him, Yan Lu managed to keep his urge to kill under excellent control. Shang Ke estimated that within a few decades they would finally be able to begin true dual cultivation. At that point, Yan Lu’s cultivation should begin rising again as well.

Whenever he had nothing else to do, Yan Lu would go out searching for immortal herbs and spirit medicines, always taking Rabbit with him. The rabbit was a rare oddity in its own right. It had lived with the two of them for decades and possessed spiritual intelligence, yet had no idea how to cultivate. It also refused to age or die and had an exceptionally foul temper. More than a few cultivators had been “bullied” by it.

Shang Ke insisted that Rabbit accompany Yan Lu mainly in case Yan Lu suddenly lost his senses halfway through a trip and could no longer find his way home. For the same reason, Shang Ke hung a small brocade pouch around Yan Lu’s neck containing three emergency measures.

First: Let Rabbit lead you home.

Second: Stay where you are and send Rabbit home to get Little Mushroom.

Third: Crush the communication talisman in your storage ring.

When Shang Ke first handed him the pouch, Yan Lu’s expression became as colorful as an overturned dye shop. In the end, however, he silently hung it around his neck.

Every time Yan Lu went out, Shang Ke reminded him to come back early and stay safe.

The teahouse was closed that day. Shang Ke was transplanting newly cultivated medicinal seedlings when a familiar ripple suddenly entered his spiritual sense: Yan Lu was back.

He immediately set down his tools and went to greet him with a smile. Before he reached the door, however, he caught the faint scent of blood. Several specks of blood stained Yan Lu’s clothes. Unfaded killing intent clung to his body, and his eyes were sharp and utterly devoid of emotion.

“Little Deer?” Shang Ke normally used that nickname only when Yan Lu was in his foolishly adorable state, but he also used it whenever Yan Lu seemed unable to restrain his killing intent.

Shang Ke’s figure reflected in Yan Lu’s cold eyes, and a trace of life immediately returned to them.

“You killed someone?” Shang Ke asked.

“Mm,” Yan Lu answered in a low voice.

“Why?” They had lived peacefully for twenty years. Why had he suddenly killed someone now?

“I don’t know.” Yan Lu’s face was tense. “The moment I saw those three faces, I couldn’t stop myself from killing them.”

He killed them just because he saw their faces? Three of them at once? Just how catastrophically ugly had they been? Shang Ke stared at him in disbelief.

Yan Lu looked away like a child who had done something wrong and did not dare meet his eyes.

After a moment of silence, Shang Ke said, “Go grow mushrooms in the backyard for a month. I don’t want to talk to you during that month.”

Shang Ke could not approve of Yan Lu killing people for no reason. It was not entirely about morality; he was more afraid that killing would worsen Yan Lu’s inner demon.

Yan Lu said nothing. He silently went to the backyard. He had never been this obedient before, but after enduring more than a century of loneliness, no one cherished the Little Mushroom he had lost and regained more than he did.

Shang Ke’s heart hurt, but he had to harden it. He could not comfort Yan Lu gently immediately after he killed someone. Too much indulgence might become an excuse for Yan Lu to loosen his restraint and begin killing freely again. Only if he had something to fear losing would he constantly remind himself not to slaughter people at will.

That night, Shang Ke tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.

Just as he began wondering whether a month was too long, the System’s voice suddenly sounded in his mind: 【Dear Host, friendly reminder: Yan Lu has triggered divine retribution. A great calamity will befall him soon.】

“What? Divine retribution?” Shang Ke’s heart tightened. “Because he killed those people today?”

【Yes.】

“What exactly is divine retribution?”

【Divine retribution is unpredictable and leaves no trace to follow. It may take the form of terminal illness, accidental death, qi deviation, or even death without apparent cause. Yan Lu once bathed the cultivation world in blood and carries the resentment of countless dead. The divine retribution he faces is therefore exceptionally severe. Once it descends, his soul will inevitably scatter.】

“His soul will scatter?” Shang Ke asked quickly. “If his soul scatters in this world, can he still reincarnate?”

【A scattered soul means complete annihilation. The Host would never find him again in any world.】 Shang Ke had only received the opportunity for reconstruction because the Crimson Skyfire had preserved one thread of life for him. Now that the Crimson Skyfire had shattered, once Yan Lu’s soul dispersed, the bond between them would truly end. Even the Reincarnation Lamp would be powerless to reverse it.

“He killed so many people before without triggering divine retribution. Why did killing only three people this time set it off?”

【You think he never triggered divine retribution before?】 the System said faintly. 【His inner demon invaded his mind and left him wandering the world alone in a muddled, half-mad state. Had you never appeared, he might have wandered for thousands of years until his cultivation was exhausted and he fell back into mortality, suffering aging, sickness, pain, and disability until he finally entered reincarnation again.】

Shang Ke’s voice trembled. “You mean my appearance helped him gradually regain his sanity, and that made the punishment from divine retribution worse?”

Before Shang Ke returned, Yan Lu had still had a chance to reenter reincarnation. Now his soul was going to be completely destroyed?

【No. What I just described was only the projected outcome under normal circumstances. In fact, in his previous life he was killed before his divine retribution had run its course. If you had not returned, he would have continued reincarnating within this world until he either atoned for his sins or exhausted his soul.】

“What can I do to save him?” Despite the System’s explanation, Shang Ke still felt that his own return had contributed to this. Yan Lu’s foolish, confused state had actually been a kind of self-protection. Shang Ke had done everything possible to restore his lucidity, only to discover that he might have harmed him instead.

【The Host must find a solution yourself. The System offers no opinion.】 As the main soul’s rival in love, the artifact spirit would have loved nothing more than to see that bastard’s soul scatter. But he also knew that losing him would leave Shang Ke in unbearable agony. And so he would allow Shang Ke this final choice. If Shang Ke saved the main soul, then the artifact spirit would remain within the Reincarnation Lamp and protect them for all eternity. If Shang Ke ultimately failed, he would leave the Reincarnation Lamp, use every bit of his power, and take the main soul’s place as Shang Ke’s partner.

Shang Ke was shaken. He had never expected the situation to be this serious. No matter how much pain he had endured in the past, hope had always remained in his heart because he knew he would meet that man again. This time was different. If Yan Lu died now, it would be true death. There would be no next reincarnation.

He would never allow that to happen!

Determination flashed through Shang Ke’s eyes.

“System, one last question.” Shang Ke forced himself calm. “Why did Yan Lu kill those three people today?”

【The three people he killed today are the very people who would have killed him in the ‘future.’】 Although Yan Lu’s cultivation had fallen, as a Divine Lord he still possessed extraordinary foresight. The instant he saw those future enemies, killing intent arose naturally.

Yan Lu sat amid a patch of mushrooms, staring without blinking at the bamboo house nearby. Light still glowed from Little Mushroom’s room, and through the window he could faintly make out that familiar figure.

An ominous feeling had lingered in his heart ever since he killed those three men. Little Mushroom did not want him to create more blood debt, yet today he had broken his promise—and, as far as he knew, for no reason at all.

Would Little Mushroom be disappointed in him? Afraid of him? Would he grow distant? Yan Lu could not bear even the possibility. The mere thought nearly drove him mad.

He did not want to kill. He only wanted to resolve his inner demon and live peacefully with Little Mushroom.

So, Little Mushroom, don’t doubt him. Don’t give up on him…

Light flickered unsteadily in Yan Lu’s eyes, faintly stained red. He lowered his head, long hair hiding his expression, while his fingers dug deep into the soil. A dark aura seemed to gather around him.

At that moment, soft footsteps approached from the distance, fallen leaves rustling beneath each step.

Yan Lu slowly raised his head. A slender figure stood quietly beneath the moonlight, robes stirring gently in the night breeze, his whole body radiating a soft warmth.

“Little Deer.” That soft call pulled Yan Lu back from the edge of losing himself. Shang Ke looked at him and said, “I can’t sleep by myself.”

“So?” The bloody tint in Yan Lu’s eyes gradually faded.

“So come back to the room.”

“I don’t have to grow mushrooms anymore?”

“No.”

“And you’re not angry that I killed people?”

“Killing still can’t be excused. Your punishment is taking care of Rabbit for three days.”

“…Then I’d rather keep growing mushrooms.”

“Don’t push your luck.” Shang Ke glared at him.

Yan Lu’s lips curved upward. He sprang to his feet, darted to Shang Ke’s side, and swept him tightly into his arms.

“There can’t be a next time, Yan Lu.”

Yan Lu knew exactly what he meant, but he could not promise that. He had once believed he could control himself. What happened today forced him to reconsider.

After a long silence, Yan Lu suddenly asked, “Little Mushroom… what if one day I completely lose control of myself?”

Shang Ke looked up at the moon and slowly answered, “Then I’ll bear the infamy and the sins with you. However many people you kill, I’ll atone for that many sins.”

Heat rushed into Yan Lu’s eyes. For a long time, he could not say a single word.

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