After Escaping From Death, He Went Even Crazier By Criticizing Black Lotus Chapter 29
byChapter 29: The Past
To leave this body and never return…
Su Huan tentatively asked Ning Zhou, only to be met with a glare.
Ning Zhou was choked with anger, his expression extremely ugly as he demanded, “Have you forgotten everything that happened in the past?”
Su Huan pointed at the sleeping youth: “…He is my younger brother?”
Ning Zhou glared furiously: “You are the younger brother!”
Su Huan felt sheepish. So what if he said it wrong? Why was he being cursed at?
Ning Zhou looked heartbroken, his eyes accusing Su Huan of being an ungrateful scoundrel.
The words he spoke were no better: “I can only tell you that you are indeed A-Chao’s younger brother, and he once saved your life. As for the rest, you must wait until A-Chao wakes up and chooses whether or not to tell you himself.”
The information was pitifully scarce.
No matter how much Su Huan pressed, Ning Zhou refused to speak further.
But if Su Chao truly was his older brother, why did he have no memory of him whatsoever?
Could this be a hidden background setting the author gave the villain cannon fodder?
…
Tao Shouyue had no desire to sit around doing nothing with them, so he parted ways the next morning and went elsewhere.
Su Huan expected the Black Lotus to show impatience, but unexpectedly, he quietly stayed by his side without saying a word.
It wasn’t until the twilight of the third day that Su Chao slowly woke up.
During this time, Su Huan had wandered around, gathering some spirit herbs. Seeing that night was approaching, he went to the stream to catch a few fish, planning to make grilled fish. Just as he returned, Su Chao woke up.
The moment Su Chao opened his eyes, he immediately struggled to look around for Su Huan. Seeing that he was fine, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Realizing something, he looked deeply at Su Huan, his round eyes filled with apology.
“You…” “I’m sorry, I seem to have…”
Su Huan and he spoke simultaneously, causing them to pause.
Knowing what he wanted to say, Su Huan also recalled the Immortal-Mortal Bone he had missed out on, and his heart couldn’t help but bleed.
However, given his current body, if he had been struck by the Immortal-Mortal Bone, he might have been completely shattered. In that case, it wouldn’t have been solved by simply sleeping for three days.
Thinking this way, he didn’t feel so bad anymore. He placed the prepared fish on the grill and even had the presence of mind to comfort the other party: “Don’t worry about it. Opportunities are inherently mysterious. As the saying goes, what I gain is my luck, what I lose is my fate.”
Su Chao hesitated repeatedly. Seeing that Su Huan genuinely didn’t mind, he finally let out a breath. Half-relieved, he then heard Su Huan chuckle, “Ning Zhou said you are my brother and that you saved me, but I don’t remember. If you still feel guilty towards me, why don’t you tell me exactly what happened between us!”
Su Chao nearly choked.
Su Huan played a trick, using moral coercion and adding a small lie: “A few days ago, I suffered a great calamity and forgot many things. Tell me about it; maybe I’ll remember.”
However, upon hearing this, a hint of understanding flashed in Su Chao’s eyes: “No wonder your cultivation has regressed so severely.”
After speaking, he seemed relieved instead, the tension on his face dissipating, making him appear calmer: “It’s better that you forgot. They were all bad things, nothing worth dwelling on.”
As if that wasn’t enough, he pulled Su Huan’s hands and held them tightly, frowning earnestly: “Huan’er, promise me, stop thinking about the past, alright? As long as you live well, that’s better than anything…”
Those round eyes were like grapes, black and bright, with a hint of moist sheen. His brows were slightly furrowed, and when he looked over, it was as if he could melt a person into water, making Su Huan unable to refuse.
“No.”
The one who spoke was not Su Huan, but Xiao Jianming.
Su Huan was startled and looked at him.
Xiao Jianming smiled: “Because I want to know too.”
Ning Zhou scoffed and said directly, “Who are you? Why should A-Chao tell…”
Clang—
A sharp sword tip pressed against his throat, drawing a trace of blood.
Su Chao froze, trying hard to lean back, but the sword edge pressed closer, sinking into his flesh.
Blood flowed down, staining his collar.
“Who I am is not important.” Xiao Jianming stood tall, holding the sword. A cold light flashed on the tip, and he said softly with a smile, “What’s important is that if I want to know, he must speak.”
*
The situation was quite tense, and Su Huan couldn’t help but swallow.
Ning Zhou was furious that he had so easily allowed A-Chao’s life to be threatened, but with the sword at his throat, he was helpless and could only look at Su Chao.
Su Chao remained silent.
Su Huan advised him, “Why don’t you just… confess?”
“No!”
Su Chao closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his expression towards Ning Zhou was mournful, with a hint of determination in his eyes: “I won’t say anything. If you want to kill me, then kill me!”
Su Huan was stunned.
Xiao Jianming raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised, and indeed applied force to his hand.
Ning Zhou was shocked and hurriedly shouted, “Stop!”
“If you won’t say it, I will!”
“A-Zhou!”
Ning Zhou also shouted, “You are willing to die for him, but I am not! Do you expect me to watch you die?”
As he spoke, his voice couldn’t help but tremble slightly, “Why do you both value him so much? First, he made you change your name and flee far away, and now you are willing to sacrifice your life to protect his secret…”
Su Huan was greatly shocked. Listening to this, there was major gossip!
Xiao Jianming also raised an eyebrow: “Oh? I’d like to hear the details.”
Su Chao was silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth: “…Stop talking. If you really say it, I will, I will divorce you!”
Ning Zhou turned his head away: “I don’t know the specifics very clearly. I only know that A-Chao is the biological son of Uncle and Aunt Su, while this person, Su Huan, suddenly appeared four years ago. Not only did he push out A-Chao’s soul and occupy his body, but he also forced A-Chao to flee to a small sect like Wangyue Gate, forced to live under a different identity!”
At this point, Ning Zhou couldn’t help but glare at Su Huan. Su Huan lowered his head guiltily, thinking that the original owner was also a “fake.” But he couldn’t be blamed for this; he hadn’t transmigrated four years ago.
“I originally wanted to kill him to get A-Chao’s body back, but A-Chao wouldn’t let me interfere. He said he did it voluntarily, and that this person was his younger brother. He had agreed to someone else’s request, so he absolutely had to save him. Only this way could he survive…”
“Ning Zhou!”
Ning Zhou paused, then continued, “As for who that person is, I don’t know. But A-Chao and I grew up together, living next door, and I once saw her at the Su family.”
Xiao Jianming: “What is her name?”
Su Chao tried to impale himself on the sword, but Su Huan held him down.
A flash of an image crossed Su Huan’s mind, but it was like a white light, impossible to grasp. He hugged Su Chao and pleaded, “Let him finish. I seem to have an impression…”
Su Chao held him, shaking his head vigorously: “Don’t think about it, don’t think about it…”
“I don’t know. But the woman was veiled. Judging by her eyes, she should be a very beautiful woman, and between her brows, she had a bright, striking red mole.”
As Ning Zhou spoke, some images slowly surfaced in Su Huan’s mind.
In the haze, he saw a woman gently holding and rocking him. The cinnabar mole on her forehead was very beautiful, and her voice was soft as she sang: “Buhuan, Buhuan… leave this body, and never return…”
Su Huan was stunned and murmured the name aloud: “Buhuan?”
“Ugh…” His head suddenly began to ache violently, so much so that he couldn’t help but hit his own head with his hands.
Xiao Jianming, hearing the name abruptly, looked at him, his eyes full of astonishment.
Su Chao embraced Su Huan, tightly shielding him, his voice filled with pain: “Huan’er, be good. Your brother begs you, please stop thinking about it, alright? Just forget those painful memories…”
Xiao Jianming suddenly retracted his sword and forcibly pulled Su Huan out of Su Chao’s embrace: “Did you just say the word ‘Buhuan’? Didn’t you say earlier that you had never seen him…”
Bang!
A sudden, fierce kick from the side sent him flying.
Xiao Jianming fell to the ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
Ning Zhou pulled Su Chao closer, stopping the bleeding wound on his neck. His Soul Transformation stage pressure surged out, completely suppressing Xiao Jianming: “Hmph, brat, how dare you hold A-Chao hostage? Did you really think I couldn’t beat you?”
“Huan’er!” Su Huan was in so much pain that he couldn’t help but collapse onto the ground. Su Chao worriedly tried to go to him, but Ning Zhou held him back.
Ning Zhou scorned, “Didn’t you see him helping an outsider bully you just now? Why bother with someone like that?”
Xiao Jianming completely ignored the mountain-heavy pressure on him, staring fixedly at Su Huan. He recalled the sudden fading of the malevolent intent on Ji Buhuan a few days ago, the monstrous malevolence beneath Su Huan’s formerly gentle surface, and the subsequent clean, spotless aura…
Soul swapping… one named Huan… one named Buhuan…
All the clues connected, pointing to the same answer.
“So that’s how it is, so that’s how it is…”
Xiao Jianming couldn’t help but laugh: “The person I was looking for was right in front of me all along.”
He slowly stood up. Ning Zhou was surprised that this person, whose ribs he had just broken with a kick, could still withstand his Soul Transformation stage pressure. He was about to strike with his spiritual power when he saw Xiao Jianming walk step by step toward the youth who was writhing in pain on the ground, and with difficulty, pull him into his arms.
Ning Zhou paused involuntarily.
Xiao Jianming’s heart ached, and his hands trembled uncontrollably.
Eighteen years ago.
His father used an immortal artifact called Undefiled Dust to disguise himself as a naturally innocent person. After becoming an Imprinter, he falsely claimed that the leading aristocratic family, the Dongfang family, was in trouble, and pleaded with the Lingxi Clan to gather various heavenly treasures from the seabed to help the Dongfang family escape danger.
Although his mother found it strange, she was deceived by his hypocritical father into genuinely believing that the Dongfang family was about to face a catastrophe. She sent a large amount of resources to the Dongfang family. Although this did establish an alliance with the human race later, it came at the cost of the Sea of No Delusion’s spiritual energy being sharply reduced.
Later, in order to seize power over the Lingxi, he deceived his mother into giving him her heart and marrying him. If his mother hadn’t accidentally discovered his secret of having fallen into the demonic path and forcibly searched his soul to find and destroy the immortal artifact, he would have succeeded.
Unexpectedly, he held a grudge because of this. He feigned repentance, tricked his mother into forgiving him, but secretly stole his mother’s spiritual seal, forcing the clan members to open the sea domain and let the demon race enter the sea…
He still remembered that day when the Sea of No Delusion fell into chaos. Tens of thousands of evil spirits suppressed beneath the sea took the opportunity to escape, joining forces with the demon race to kill people everywhere. The seawater was completely stained red, and the entire Sea of No Delusion was like a purgatory.
Xiao Jianming slowly stroked the youth’s painfully furrowed brow. A blue spiritual light appeared on his fingertip and flowed into Su Huan’s glabella.
“What are you doing! Huan’er only has half a soul; forcibly searching his soul will kill him!”
It was too late. A flash of white light passed, and through Su Huan’s memories, Xiao Jianming saw himself, just having pried open a corner of the iron window of the black prison.
Looking up at the sky through the iron bars, he was sallow and emaciated, dressed in rags, looking like a beggar.
He also saw the white-haired youth who had mistakenly stumbled into the forest that day, looking like an immortal.
The lost youth heard the sound, his eyes lit up, and upon seeing him, his expression was one of shock and deep distress.
“Who is so wicked as to lock a child in a place like this!”