Chapter 53#
Banquet#
When Yin Yuheng woke up, the wounds on his body had disappeared.
Xue Ciling’s low, hoarse voice came: “Awake?”
Yin Yuheng blinked, his expression turning to one of confusion.
“Does it hurt?”
Yin Yuheng slowly remembered what happened before and shook his head.
“Doesn’t hurt? Trespassing into a forbidden area, you’ve got quite a nerve.” Xue Ciling narrowed his eyes.
Yin Yuheng was startled and wanted to sit up, but was stopped by Xue Ciling.
Sunlight spilled through the window onto the bedding, forming patches of light in various shapes. Yin Yuheng said softly: “City Lord, your hand…”
“You only thought of this?” Xue Ciling raised an eyebrow, but his eyes held a smile. “It’s already healed. Such a small injury, why the fuss?”
Xue Ciling also stopped talking about the trespassing: “Why the hurry to get up? You were injured, rest more.”
A puppet didn’t actually need to stay in bed to recover, but Xue Ciling felt an inexplicable palpitation at the thought of those small wounds all over the other person. Seeing Yin Yuheng buried in the bedding gave him a strange sense of peace.
“What time is it now?” Yin Yuheng looked at the bright sunlight, appearing a bit apprehensive.
“It’s already past noon,” Xue Ciling smiled. “Why, are you hungry?”
Yin Yuheng pursed his lips uneasily, hesitating to speak: “City Lord, I… I…”
Xue Ciling gave a questioning “Hmm?”
“I haven’t practiced the sword today,” Yin Yuheng whispered.
Xue Ciling hadn’t expected him to say this. He was stunned for a moment, then said softly: “No practice today.”
Yin Yuheng lay in the bedding in confusion, frowning slightly; but then he remembered that Xue Ciling liked to see him smile, and his expression immediately stiffened.
Watching his expression change, Xue Ciling couldn’t help but smile. He himself hadn’t realized that when he looked at Yin Yuheng now, what he thought of was no longer that startling glimpse of the Li Dynasty’s Crown Prince by the Ghost River.
*
Xue Ciling departed, and Yin Yuheng sat alone on the bed reading a book, with gentle features and a focused expression.
However, once Xue Ciling’s figure disappeared, his gaze immediately turned cold and indifferent.
Yin Yuheng turned a page, but his mind was not on the book.
He thought of Xue Ciling staying by his bedside just now, gently and concernedly advising him to rest; in truth, he wasn’t much moved.
He was currently pleasing Xue Ciling, so Xue Ciling was willing to coax him a bit; if one day he accidentally said the wrong thing or did the wrong thing, Xue Ciling could destroy him at any time. Yin Yuheng understood this kind of person, so he didn’t hold expectations in his heart.
Yin Yuheng disliked the feeling of his fate being controlled by others.
But Yin Yuheng cared very much about Xue Ciling’s eyes. When those eyes looked his way, they always gave Yin Yuheng a sense of deja vu.
Familiar, yet different.
The more he looked, the more frustrated he became. Yin Yuheng rarely had such unsettled thoughts, and finally closed the book with a “snap.” He touched his chest, always feeling like something was missing.
Truly unable to figure it out, Yin Yuheng took a deep breath to calm his thoughts. He simply got out of bed, picked up his sword, and went out.
He went to the place where Xue Ciling usually forced him to practice the sword and began his strikes. The sword wind swept through the treetops, startling down a few yellow leaves, which were then split down the middle by the sword’s edge as they fluttered.
—In fact, even if Xue Ciling didn’t force him to practice the sword, he would still do it.
Only with a sword in hand could he feel at peace.
Compared to the stiffness of his body when he first woke up, Yin Yuheng could now slowly control his movements, at least enough to complete a set of sword techniques. When he truly couldn’t stand anymore, Yin Yuheng would lean against a tree to rest for a moment before getting up to continue.
From the twilight sunset to the moon rising over the willows.
The sword intent finally stopped, and Yin Yuheng was covered in moonlight. When he turned around, he saw the man in black in the distance, who had apparently been standing there for some time.
The long night was silent; neither was the first to speak.
Xue Ciling had forgotten to speak.
The bright moon’s flowing light shone on Yin Yuheng’s white clothes. His shadow fell on the ground, lengthened by the moonlight.
Yin Yuheng’s face appeared softer than usual, with the bright moon and stars reflected in his eyes. Xue Ciling collided with those eyes, and in an instant, his heart beat like a drum.
The rustling of the wind all around accentuated a sense of emptiness and loneliness. Yin Yuheng sheathed his sword with a “snap” and walked over, treading on the moon shadows.
“City Lord,” Yin Yuheng said, his eyes curving gently.
Xue Ciling gave a dazed “En.”
“It’s late. Why isn’t the City Lord resting?”
With his thoughts slightly steadied, Xue Ciling said: “I’ve just received a decree. The Demon Lord will hold the ‘Listening to Snow’ banquet at Kunwu Mountain, inviting cultivators of all tribes. I will set out for Kunwu Mountain tomorrow. Would you like to come with me?”
Kunwu Mountain? Yin Yuheng’s thoughts raced, and he revealed a smile of pure trust: “Since the City Lord is going, I will naturally accompany you.”
*
The ‘Listening to Snow’ banquet at Kunwu Mountain—Yin Yuheng remembered this part of the plot.
In the original work, it was at this banquet that Xue Ciling met the protagonist.
The amnesiac protagonist was treated as a male pet by Lu Yan and brought to the gathering to be publicly humiliated. Coincidentally, the Transformation Stage Sword Sovereign Li Guanghan also brought his beloved little disciple Zhu Anning, and although he recognized the protagonist’s identity, he looked on coldly and was unwilling to lend a helping hand. The elegantly dressed Zhu Anning was protected behind his master, looking with malice at his former senior brother being trampled underfoot, even speaking words of mockery. Amidst the protagonist’s embarrassment, only the City Lord of Luxia City, Xue Ciling, spoke a few words for him.
The protagonist was thus full of gratitude toward Xue Ciling. He didn’t know that Xue Ciling only wanted to imprison him for his own enjoyment.
Yin Yuheng sighed for the protagonist who shared his name as he boarded the deer carriage.
When Xue Ciling traveled, he liked to use five-colored divine deer to pull the carriage; when they ran, they were like light clusters flowing with the wind.
Xue Ciling was already sitting in the carriage and raised an eyebrow: “Why the sigh?”
“It’s nothing.”
Yin Yuheng shook his head with a smile, thinking that this trip to Kunwu Mountain would finally allow him to see the protagonist and catch a glimpse of several scum gongs. Ever since he woke up in the City Lord’s Manor, he had been very curious about these book characters.
“Nervous?” Xue Ciling said softly. “Don’t worry. The Demon Lord set up this banquet specifically to enhance the friendship between the three tribes. I heard the Demon Lord specifically brought out the ‘Blue Sky Attraction’ (Biluoyin), intending to give it to someone destined at the banquet.”
The plot hadn’t mentioned much about the Blue Sky Attraction, so Yin Yuheng asked casually.
Xue Ciling introduced: “It’s a rare treasure in the Demon Lord’s collection, said to be able to gather souls, condense spirits, and bring the dead back to life.”
Yin Yuheng nodded and didn’t pay too much attention.
The journey to Kunwu Mountain was long, taking three days by deer carriage. Xue Ciling laid out a chessboard: “Accompany me in a game of chess?”
Yin Yuheng was genuinely stunned this time and finally said: “…I don’t know how.”
Xue Ciling raised his brows: " I’ll teach you. Learn well."
Yin Yuheng: “…”
What, could it be that the protagonist is very good at chess, so he, as a stand-in, must also be good at it?
Yin Yuheng helplessly picked up a chess piece, thinking, When we reach Kunwu Mountain and you see your white moonlight protagonist, there probably won’t be any place for a stand-in like me. At that time, I’ll leave quietly on my own; no one should notice, right?
*
Zhu Anning stood at the foot of Kunwu Mountain, his lips tightly pursed.
The person beside him gave him a cold glance, his gaze having no temperature at all.
Zhu Anning didn’t care either; he just lowered his eyes and clenched his fists.
He must get the Blue Sky Attraction for his Senior Brother… he must wake up his Senior Brother.
Stepping onto the mountain path, he heard the discussions of other guests arriving for the banquet in twos and threes.
“This is really a big event this time. Have you heard? That Sword Sovereign of the Human Clan is coming…”
“More than that. The new Emperor of the Demon Clan is arriving in person, and I heard it’s precisely for that ‘Blue Sky Attraction’.”
“The Blue Sky Attraction is a treasure for gathering souls and condensing spirits. What, do they all have someone they need to save with it?”