Chapter 200

Xie Bi An used many tactics, but failed to escape, and finally he left Chidi City after a hundred days of captivity, although it’s just falling from one cage to another.

That night, the snow was so heavy that it didn't look like a normal flurry, but rather like a mat sweeping down. The wind blew the windows until they creaked, as if a demon was roaring from far away.

The snow was too heavy. It reminded Xie Bi An of that day when he nearly froze to death in the snowy plains. When he was inside the house burning with charcoal fire, he could also feel the pervasive coldness just by getting close to the window wrapped tightly in cotton wool.

When a person's heart is cold, the body can't warm up.

While he was dazing away, a puff of Yin energy suddenly appeared behind his back. He turned his head around suddenly and a red cloud appeared inside the house without a sound.

Xie Bi An said in a deep voice: "I thought you would come earlier."

"It’s hard for me to get out ah." Jiang Qu Lian chuckled, "Are you waiting for me to save you? Or are you waiting for him?"

"I’m waiting for no one." Xie Bi An's gaze was cold, "Because you are not here to save me."

"At least I can save you from this old demonic woman."

"Being in her hands, and being in your hands, what's the difference?"

"That is not up to you either." Jiang Qu Lian said, "Zong Zi Xiao wants you every day. If he hadn't been seriously injured from his chakra which has only recovered recently, plus Official Lord Cui sent a large number of Yin servants to find me, we could have come earlier."

We? He came too?

Xie Bi An's heart drummed hard a few times.

"It's not easy to sneak into this place, so don't talk nonsense."

Xie Bi An took a step back and quickly drew a demon subjugation talisman in the void.

"You are unarmed now. Don't do anything superfluous."

"Bring me my sword and soul weapon." The talisman that was made of spiritual power flashed with an eerie green aura, "Otherwise don’t think of taking me away easily."

Jiang Qu Lian's evil and beautiful face was covered with a shadow: "I don't have that spare energy. If I disturbed that old demonic woman, you won't be able to leave today."

"So what?"

"If you leave Chidi City, you still have a chance to go back to the Underworld. If you keep on being locked up here, I'm afraid you can only wait for your human soul to be brought back by an Yin servant."

Xie Bi An gritted his teeth. In this hesitation, he was instantly caught in a red fog and quickly lost consciousness.

---

When he woke up again, Xie Bi An found himself in a stone room.

The walls were covered with blackish-red. The uneven, rocky soil was exactly like the favus* skin of some demonic beast, which made people feel extremely uncomfortable. Xie Bi An felt that he had seen this kind of soil somewhere, but his brain, which had just woken up, was still a bit confused and could not recall for a while.

Although this is a stone room, it's neither crude nor cramped. The space is quite spacious, and household supplies are all here. Other than the disgusting walls and the void of windows, it is still considered comfortable.

Xie Bi An did not waste his effort in guessing where he was, nor did he try to leave. The one who took him away was the Ghost King. It was hard to say whether this was the earth or not. Besides, his chakra was sealed again, so he could only sit and rest.

After a while, the door of the stone room was pushed open. When Xie Bi An opened his eyes, his gaze collided into a pair of familiar, gloomy pupils. His hands unconsciously tightened the hem of his shirt.

After Fan Wu She's gaze was locked on Xie Bi An, he almost refused to blink. He just stared at the person in front of him. He was carrying a tray in his hand and he put it on the table, hesitating for a moment before he said, "Come and eat."

Xie Bi An didn't even move his expression, even though the hatred and pain in his heart were already raging in the dark.

"Let's eat." Fan Wu She's tone was a little softer than the deliberately gentle previous sentence.

Xie Bi An said, "I want to go back to the Underworld." Maybe his master was still waiting for him and hadn't reincarnated. Maybe they could still see each other again.

"You can't go anywhere." Fan Wu She nudged the table with his fingertips, "Eat first."

Xie Bi An's eyes were stern, "How can you still have the face to appear in front of me like this like nothing has happened?"

Fan Wu She's expression also changed. When Xie Bi An leaked out the disgust hidden under that calm mask, he also could no longer pretend. He took a deep breath: "I don't want to argue with you now. You were really good to me when you were my senior brother, so ..."

"Shut up!" Xie Bi An shivered, "You don't deserve to mention this."

Fan Wu She's face became gradually gloomy: "Zong Zi Heng, if you had not remembered your previous life, I might have been able to treat you as Xie Bi An for the rest of my life. I would have loved you, spoiled you, and gave you all you wanted. But what you owe me, no matter how many lifetimes you reincarnate, you can't finish repaying." He paused and almost gritted his teeth and called out, "Big, brother."

"I don't owe you anything." Xie Bi An was cold to the core, "You want my core, go ahead and dig it up and let me go back to the underworld."

"I don't want your core." Fan Wu She walked over with a few steps, dragged Xie Bi An roughly off the bed and pressed him in front of the table, "How many times do you want me to say it? I don't want your core, and I won't let anyone touch you."

"Then what else do you want!?" Xie Bi An struggled hard, but with his chakra sealed, he barely had any strength in front of Fan Wu She, and he didn't know when Fan Wu She had become much taller and stronger than him.

"You." Fan Wu She forced a look into Xie Bi An's eyes, "Aren't you asking the obvious? From last time until now, I've always wanted you."

Xie Bi An saw the familiar wolfish lust in Fan Wu She's eyes again, and he couldn't help but think of the time when this man pretended to be his little junior brother, that nature that he tried his best to hide but also showed from time to time, those dangerous moments that he didn't even notice. He couldn't help but cower for a moment: "Let go of me."

But Fan Wu She wrenched his shoulders and gently adjusted his face to face him with his index finger: "I just want you to have a good meal now. Don't force me to do anything else."

Xie Bi An panicked for a moment. The young man's face in front of him and the cold, hard contours of the Supreme Demon’s face kept overlapping in front of his eyes. Sometimes it was Fan Wu She who acted coquettishly to him just to ask for a shallow kiss, sometimes it was Zong Zi Xiao who forcefully pinned him down and did whatever he wanted. He remembered the sweetness Fan Wu She gave him and also the humiliation Zong Zi Xiao gave him. When they were mixed together, he couldn't tell what this complex, indistinguishable fog really represented.

Xie Bi An pursed his lips and whispered, "Get out, I will eat by myself."

"I want to watch you." Fan Wu She sat in a chair at one side, "You used to be like this last time, refusing to eat. I won't let you become like that again."

"No matter what I become, the culprit is you." Xie Bi An said coldly, "In this life, I could have spent it peacefully and happily with my master."

Fan Wu She leaned his body slightly closer to him, "This sentence, I want to return to you in its original form. I was originally a promising prince, how did I fall into the demonic path step by step? I was already at the top of my game on earth, but why did I have to barge into the underworld and end up in the infernal hell? Because of you, it's all because you turned your back on me again and again." Once he opened his mouth, hatred filled the air, "I was in hell for a hundred years, suffering from torture, and never forgot you for a moment, yet you didn't hesitate to drink Meng Po soup."

Xie Bi An clenched his fists, "How can I be liberated if I don't forget you?"

"What right do you have to free yourself?" Fan Wu She showed a cold smile, "Zong Zi Heng, I admit that I am cheap. I just can't let you go. No matter what you have done to me, I still like you. If I cannot be freed, you shall fall together with me."

Xie Bi An looked at the love-hate intertwined in Fan Wu She's eyes and only felt his heart wither: "This is not like."

"Whether it is or not, it doesn't matter." Fan Wu She pushed the bowl in front of Xie Bi An.

Under that threatening gaze, Xie Bi An forced himself to finish his meal. Everything seemed to go back to a hundred years ago, when he was the puppet Emperor of Wuji Palace, a captive under the Supreme Demon’s sword, a slave under his crotch. He fought with death, but he did not expect to be reincarnated and have to repeat the same mistake.

---

After eating, the two men put back on their stiff, indifferent masks.

Xie Bi An lowered his eyes, looked at the ground and said lightly, "Tell me, how did you and Jiang Qu Lian start conspiring? How did he steal you out of hell and send you into human reincarnation? And how did he get you close to my master?"

Fan Wu She pondered for a moment and said, "He was the warden of hell, so naturally it started at that time. He brought me out of hell from that secret passage in the Red Palace’s underground palace, and when King Qin Guang personally sent 'me' to the Hell Path, it was also him who did the trick and found a scapegoat."

"And then what?"

"He found the reincarnated me and hired someone to keep me in Mount Qingcheng until this body could take care of itself. The approach to Zhong Kui was also a set-up by him."

Xie Bi An's heart twisted with pain: "You guys have been plotting to deceive my master from the beginning, taking advantage of his goodness and decency, and finally getting him killed."

"I didn't want to get him killed." Fan Wu She’s face was ashen, "I didn't know that Jiang Qu Lian and Yun Zhong Jun were the same person. We were very defensive of each other and hid from each other. He knew where the Xuanyuan Heavenly Secret Talisman was ages ago, and I found out that it was suppressed under the Eastern Emperor Bell at the same time as you guys."

Xie Bi An said with hatred, "If you had known earlier, you would also have done whatever you could for the Heavenly Secret Talisman as well."

"I wouldn't kill Zhong Kui!"

I don't want to make you sad, and I don't want you to hate me.

Xie Bi An lowered his head. His shoulders were trembling slightly. That extreme, suppressed pain made Fan Wu She’s heart also seized up.

"I am determined to get the Heavenly Secret Talisman, but I never wanted to kill Zhong Kui." Fan Wu She narrowed his dangerous hanging fox eyes, "When I get the Heavenly Secret Talisman, I will make Jiang Qu Lian pay with his life."

"You are all in the same boat." Xie Bi An clenched his fist. His nails almost sinking into his palm, "What exactly is Jiang Qu Lian’s purpose? What does he want from you?"

"... He said he wanted to 'be human'."

"What?"

"Those who fall into the Hungry Ghost Path are equally sinful and almost can't free themselves for eternity. As a ghost king, he can't cheat under the cover of a diversion like me." Fan Wu She frowned, obviously also doubtful about this saying, "He wants to be reborn as a human."

 

 ----

PS: haiyoooo finally reached 200 chapters. Hope y'all enjoy the story so far. Currently the latest official chapter is 228, and I'm hyperventilating from the climax. It's time to 追妻火葬了. And...chapter 201 is another long chapter again QAQ. My updates may be a little slower this time as I have a paid translated project currently on hand.

 

favus*[癞痢]—some skin disease, viewer discretion is advised:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Favus#:~:text=Favus%20(Latin%20for%20%22honeycomb%22,tinea%20barbae%2C%20or%20tinea%20corporis.

 

Edited on 23 May 21 (Emzie)

 

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