GB Chapter 49

The contract of the Book of Heaven Without Words ended upon the death of one party. The power that had isolated the God of Joy from the world ultimately returned to Zhao Huan, and with the return of the God of Joy, all the fierce ghosts of Yindu who had been imprisoned for opposing Zhao Jicheng’s policies were released. Lüling also successfully escaped from his seal.

The annihilation of the Taiqing Sect had caused a huge uproar in the human world. In the past few days, the flying swords of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, carrying letters of protest, flew one after another towards Wanguishu Academy. The God of Lamentation completely ignored them. In the end, He Huan, bored, picked a few acquaintances and replied a few words. Then, at the same time, the flying sword messages that had been condemning the God of Lamentation at Wanguishu Academy every hour all landed in front of He Huan. Zhuge Qingtian read a few of them, and although the writing styles and usage of each sect varied from elegant to vulgar, and the tone was different, it did not affect their very tacit agreement on the core theme, which was—it must be you again, that damned He Huan!

While He Huan was engaged in their usual friendly exchange with the old Daoists of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, Qian Ren and the God of Lamentation also held a timely negotiation. In his capacity as the Great Protector, he represented the Demonic Cult in forming an alliance with the Ghost Domain. Both parties agreed that if the Heavenly Dao Alliance launched an attack, the other side would definitely provide strong assistance. The Demonic Cult was in the northern desert, and the Ghost Domain was located in the southern sea area. Their interests did not conflict, and they could just sandwich the Heavenly Dao Alliance, which occupied the Central Plains. Therefore, the alliance was very smooth.

When the seals of the God of Lamentation and the God of Joy were sent back to the Demonic Cult by Qian Ren, the elders were so overjoyed that they almost pulled off their beards. After once again marveling that the Great Protector was indeed the hope for the future of the Demonic Path, they all took out their cherished pigeons, and with a flourish of their pens, joined the chorus of cursing He Huan across the entire Divine Continent.

Unlike the righteous cultivators who always liked to make lengthy arguments and quote classics, the Demonic Cultivators’ words were always straightforward. Therefore, He Huan did not even bother to look at the letters, which must have been full of various ways of cursing his ancestors. After tearing them apart along with the envelopes, he sighed to Zhuge Qingtian, “Alas, is it my fault that I was born better-looking than them and became a Transcending the Tribulation cultivator?”

When Zhuge Qingtian lost his memory, he was quite sensible. Now that he saw Qian Ren was busy with the Demonic Cult’s affairs, he would not disturb him. Having nothing to do, he thought that the internal problems of the Heavenly Dao Alliance were not easy to solve, so he volunteered to help He Huan.

However, after only half a day, Zhuge Qingtian deeply understood why Qian Ren had looked at him with a “Are you crazy?” look before he left. He was wrong. If heaven gave him another chance, he would rather be a pretty face beside his master than follow his grand-master. So, what exactly gave him the illusion that this guy He Huan would do things seriously?

Looking painfully at a flying sword that had once again landed in front of him, Zhuge Qingtian was very certain that the sender’s real desire was to stick this sword into his grand-master’s head. Unfortunately, their cultivation was not enough, so they could only vent their anger on the ground.

Looking at the letter in his hand, which was filled with resentment as soon as it was opened, and then looking at He Huan, who had handed over all the letters to his grand-disciple and was now leaning against a rock, reading a book with relish, Zhuge Qingtian finally couldn’t help but protest,

“Grand-master, why are all the letters they send to Master He Ku ‘How has the Sword Lord been recently?’, ‘The Ghost Domain is cold, please remember to add more clothes when you are outside,’ ‘I have recently obtained a batch of good wine, would the Sword Lord like to come to Gusu to taste it?’ while what you receive…”

Although they were the same face and the same soul, the treatment He Ku received was completely different from He Huan’s, making it even more incomprehensible how such an originally upright person could have grown into He Huan. Of course, He Huan was also quite troubled by the fact that his cultivation partner was so popular. At this time, he just said leisurely, “This is what you don’t understand, they can’t get me, so they can only attack another me, truly sad and lamentable.”

“Is this your reason for guarding the entrance to the Ghost Domain? To prevent someone from taking Master He Ku away?”

Although he didn’t believe a word of this person’s nonsense, Zhuge Qingtian still tried to interpret He Huan’s behavior in a normal way, but he soon realized that this was a self-destructive choice.

“Oh, I observed the stars at night and suddenly had an inspiration. I originally wanted to have the God of Lamentation write an earth-shattering masterpiece, but who knew that as soon as I opened my mouth, I was kicked out by the God of Joy. If you want to find a cultivation partner, you must never learn his bad temper.”

Asking the great master Fang Suihan to paint sprites fighting was something only He Huan could think of. Although the expression on Zhuge Qingtian’s face at this moment seemed to clearly write “Third Uncle, well done”, this grand-master did not show the slightest self-awareness. Instead, he added rather aggrievedly, “Of course, if it wasn’t for your Master He Ku helping him cut me, I would never have lost.”

Indeed, what goes around comes around. In the past, Zhuge Qingtian had been so carefree in teasing his master, but now that he had fallen into the hands of his grand-master, he finally understood how frustrated Qian Ren must have been when facing him. Although people of their generation generally didn’t care much about face, He Huan was undoubtedly the best among them.

“Grand-master, I have a lovesickness that only my master can cure. Take care of yourself!”

Finally admitting defeat to this old demon, Zhuge Qingtian dropped the letter and ran into the island. Okay, now he was not afraid of facing the God of Joy anymore. Compared to being with his grand-master, being wary of the Third Uncle was not harmful at all.

The storm calmed down, and the Zhong Yuan Festival arrived as scheduled. The snow-white river lanterns released by the God of Lamentation covered the entire sea area, and the large red lanterns hung by the God of Joy illuminated every corner of Huanhun Island. Watching the ghosts on the streets chatting in twos and threes, Zhuge Qingtian was also infected by the festive atmosphere and flew to the White Mist Forest.

Since he had negotiated the alliance with the God of Lamentation, Qian Ren knew that the elders of the Demonic Cult had already grasped his whereabouts and had the intention to leave. Now that he had spent the Zhong Yuan Festival with Gou Xing, he was about to go out to sea again. When Zhuge Qingtian arrived, the Summer Bird was busy in front of the stove, and the Big Head Ghost was carrying a bundle of firewood, swaying as he walked. Although their appearances were very different from ordinary families, the atmosphere was rare and peaceful.

The Big Head Ghost was born deformed and was killed by his parents, and the Summer Bird died with hatred before her child was born. Although these were two fierce ghosts full of resentment towards the world, they lived far more peacefully than many living people. Looking at them, the mood that Zhuge Qingtian had been suppressing these past few days finally relaxed for a long time, and he threw himself at Qian Ren, complaining, “Master, you didn’t even call me to eat!”

Seeing him running away from He Huan’s side, Qian Ren was not surprised at all. He simply pressed him onto a stool before opening his mouth, “Gou Xing insisted on cooking to see me off, so I had to let her.”

“Qingtian is here, ah, what do you want to eat?”

“Green pepper shredded pork! Please be sure not to put in any Sichuan peppercorns!”

After greeting the Summer Bird, who turned her head back enthusiastically, Zhuge Qingtian seemed to have returned to the carefree days in Jiangdu City. Perhaps the reason he initially chose to live with Zhuge Qingtian’s memory was because he thought that being ignorant was the happiest thing. However, it was not bad now either; at least he could finally stay by this person’s side without any worries.

Thinking of this, he glanced at the black-clad man who still had a indifferent look on his face while sitting in front of the simple table and chairs. He slumped down, leaning closer and closing his eyes, “It’s so nice to have someone who cares for you, I also want someone to cook for me…”

“Aren’t you quite proud of your own cooking skills?”

Catching him with his exceptional reaction, Qian Ren still had a calm expression. However, Zhuge Qingtian, who failed to be comforted by the man, rolled his eyes at him and began to make a fuss, “It’s different, if it’s rice you cooked, even if it’s burnt black, I will still eat it while crying!”

“Oh, then I will make it for you once after I reshape your body.”

“Master, please don’t put half a bowl of Sichuan peppercorns.”

“Hmm, that’s a good suggestion.”

“I was wrong, please forget what just happened!”

Zhuge Qingtian also felt very strange. He was clearly a very composed and calm person in the past, and he could quickly return to his former state when facing Zhao Jicheng. But how come he seemed to have lost his head as soon as he spoke to Qian Ren? He was completely unable to use reason to think about this person’s every move. What was even more terrifying was that he actually enjoyed this feeling very much. Could he have been possessed?

Speaking of which, all the Ghost Gods’ ghost domains had side effects. Could his ghost domain be used to make himself regress? Well, that is indeed a terrible side effect…

When he came, Zhuge Qingtian thought that he must be stable this time, and let Qian Ren see his wise side. If he did, Qian Ren would definitely be captivated by him. However, ideals were beautiful, and reality was cruel. In the blink of an eye, he was already leaning on his master’s lap, and he had even had a very uncool and unattractive conversation.

Zhao Huai’an, ah Zhao Huai’an, even when you were twelve years old you weren’t this hyperactive. Can’t you restrain yourself and be a little more obedient and likable?

Thinking of this, he could only press his head in annoyance, trying to change the topic and salvage his image, “The Zhong Yuan Festival is very gloomy in the human world, but it’s as lively as New Year’s Eve in the Ghost Domain.”

Hearing him say that, Qian Ren remembered the God of Lamentation’s instructions, raised his eyes to look at the big red lanterns hanging in the forest, and asked, “You’re going to leave for the sea tomorrow, aren’t you going to see the God of Joy?”

“After so many things, he won’t trust Zhao Huai’an anymore, right?”

Zhuge Qingtian didn’t think that Zhao Huan would be so naive as to easily trust him, and he didn’t have the strength to put on a disguise and try to please anyone anymore. While he was hesitating, Qian Ren’s palm covered the back of his hand, followed by only one sentence, “You are my disciple, Zhuge Qingtian.”

Although it was just a plain sentence, it inexplicably filled people with courage. Therefore, he finally straightened up and raised his eyes to the man, “Then go with me!”

“Okay.”

At the moment of receiving a definite reply, his mood was unusually joyful. When he reacted, he pressed his head again, as if this could make his reason return.

Stop acting like a child! He was not He Huan. What would he do if his master ran away from him because he was so shameless?

The author has something to say: Zhuge Qingtian: I want to show my master my cool side and then make him fall deeply in love with me!

Qian Ren (clapping): Not bad, ambitious.

He Huan: Wake up, love is a DEBUFF that lowers your IQ. Do you think everyone has the same strong self-control as me?

He Ku (glancing sideways): Oh, you’re sleeping on the beach tonight.

He Huan (solemn): But in front of you, I completely don’t know what restraint is.