ILDV Chapter 41

Zhou Rui never imagined he would see such a thing on his bed. Shame and fury immediately clouded his mind, momentarily diminishing even his fear. Clutching the storybook in anger, he kicked open Shen Muxuan’s door.

“Shen Muxuan, you said earlier you had matters to attend to and left first—this is your matter?!” Zhou Rui grabbed the storybook and shook it twice. His eyes caught sight of the two figures gazing at each other with deep affection on the cover, and as if seeing something filthy, he shuddered and threw the book far away.

Seeing his reaction, Yin Lang guessed, “Could it be that Peak Master Zhou opened it and read some?”

“No! Who would read such nonsensical fabrications!”

“But Peak Master just said that Shen and Venerable Yin had…”

Zhou Rui shuddered again. “I didn’t—” He quickly denied what he had said, then stiffly changed the subject. “Could it be that Daojun is so unconcerned about his own reputation that he allows these mortals’ wild imaginings to spread freely?”

Yin Lang didn’t mind. He reached out to pick it up and flipped through two pages. “Actually, it’s written quite well. Just like this part that seems like a decisive battle but is actually full of tender affection: ‘At that time, Tianji Daojun bore the responsibility of avenging the Mingxiang Sect and had no choice but to draw his sword against the tearful Seventh Venerable. Seeing his cold and stern brow, his heart felt as if cut by knives…'”

Zhou Rui’s face turned pale, his stomach churning. The man beside him was still reciting from the book in cadence. Unable to bear it any longer but not daring to snatch the book, he could only fling his sleeves and leave in anger.

After the door closed, Yin Lang shut the book and muttered to himself, “No abnormality whatsoever. It seems Zhou Rui’s hostility toward me truly is only for Xu Rong’s sake. Counting Zhao Hejing, these ‘special people’ have now appeared as four… Does the Heavenly Dao have some special criteria for letting people in?”

Qin Xun at least had the sense not to carry the book back in his arms.

The martial brothers were arranged in the same courtyard. As Qin Xun approached, he suddenly heard a commotion. Quickening his pace around the corner of the wall, he looked up to see someone clinging to the wall.

—Inexplicably similar to how he had just climbed over his master’s wall.

He shook his head vigorously and quickly stepped forward. As demonic qi brewed within him, he shouted, “Who goes there!”

The person on the wall seemed startled. His hands slipped and he tumbled inside with a roll.

From within the courtyard came Xu Rong’s alarmed cry, “Who is it!” followed by a series of crackling sounds mixed with a somewhat familiar voice screaming in pain.

After a chaotic scramble, the two martial brothers stared at the figure sprawled on the ground. “Young City Lord?”

“Climbing walls? Right when my little disciple was bathing?” Ripples spread across the liquid in the cup as the person holding it laughed aloud. “Interesting, interesting. This ‘Young City Lord’s’ behavior truly far exceeds my imagination.”

Yin Lang thought about Ji Chang’an and Xie Tingxuan’s behavior. He had originally thought that ‘visitors from another world’ would either be cautiously careful or treat the ‘natives’ with equanimity when facing them. He hadn’t expected there would be someone who actively threw themselves forward like this.

Recalling last night when Xu Rong stood there in his outer robe, grinding his teeth, his hand gripping his sword trembling with embarrassment, even Qin Xun couldn’t maintain his cool expression and coughed lightly. “This Young City Lord indeed possesses certain talents that ordinary people lack.”

After identifying the ‘protagonist,’ he firmly latched onto him. Even when his own father dragged him over the next day to apologize, his eyes never left Xu Rong, forcing Xu Rong to beg Qin Xun to move out. This was indeed a rare talent.

“So where is he now?”

“Still resting at the immortal sect’s residence. From his expression, he doesn’t plan to come out before the auction begins.”

Downstairs, the storyteller was recounting strange tales from the Lantian Realm in dramatic cadence, occasionally winning enthusiastic applause from the entire hall.

“Old man, don’t just tell these same worn-out stories over and over! Give us something fresh!”

The storyteller smiled and obliged, changing topics. “Recently a storybook has been circulating called Across the Sea of Love. It tells the love story between Demon Venerable Yin of the Demonic Path and Immortal Lord Shen of the Immortal Sect. The story goes that after the Mingxiang Sect was destroyed overnight, Sect Master’s close friend Immortal Lord Shen was heartbroken. Yet he also heard that the one who destroyed the Mingxiang Sect was none other than the famous Seventh Venerable of the Demonic Path. For a moment, it was as if struck by lightning. Love and friendship struggled within his heart, and overnight his hair turned white…”

Whether the Immortal Lord Shen in the story was struck as if by lightning, Qin Xun didn’t know. He only knew he was about to suffocate.

“Master…”

Yin Lang had been listening intently with his ear turned. Hearing his voice, he turned his head back and, meeting Qin Xun’s hopeful gaze, said, “Disciple, the name of this storybook seems different from the one your master saw?”

“……” 

The disciple burst into tears with a wail.

“Hahaha, this fellow Daoist is quite interesting.” A figure stopped outside the curtain and gently knocked on the wooden door frame. “Meeting by fate, may this humble one come in?”

Qin Xun mouthed silently, ‘It’s Li Sun.’

Before speaking, they had cast a spell to conceal their forms of address. When transmitted to others’ ears, it would automatically be replaced with XXX. Li Sun had most likely been drawn by Qin Xun’s voice.

At Yin Lang’s indication, Qin Xun straightened his posture. “Visitors are guests. Please enter.”

The beaded curtain lifted as a man in blue robes walked in slowly. When he saw the two people’s appearances clearly, his steps paused slightly before he quickly adjusted without showing anything unusual. Cupping his fists with a smile, he said, “This humble one is Qi Sun. I apologize for the intrusion.”

This fake name was even less creative than theirs.

Li Sun’s gaze quickly swept around. After seeking permission, he took a seat near Qin Xun. Immediately after, Qin Xun heard a voice transmission. “The Young Venerable is actually here too. But I wonder who that person across from you is…?” 

His appraising gaze was cautious and restrained, never letting the other party feel the slightest discomfort. Qin Xun silently sighed—truly worthy of being his master’s most valued subordinate. His intuitive judgment of danger was quite precise. He transmitted back, “No relation, just a fellow traveler met by chance.”

Li Sun figured the Young Venerable wouldn’t deceive him, so he clapped his hands with a smile. “Earlier I heard you two speaking and it seemed you had quite an interest in this Across the Sea of Love?”

Yin Lang said, “This storybook is told quite interestingly.”

“Oh? Could you elaborate?”

“Love deep to the bone, emotions entangled by a thousand threads. Great righteousness and personal affection interweave, layer upon layer, each wave surpassing the last. That the author could write such magnificent prose suggests they must be someone with the world in their heart, using books to express their feelings, wishing that all the disputes of this mortal world could end like the conclusion in the book—withdrawing together into seclusion, living peaceful years with no more turmoil.”

“Moreover, Qin believes that the part where Daojun breaks into the Eighteenth Hell was written extremely well. On one side, the heart breaks into pieces with love and hate intertwined; on the other, the beloved’s heart is like iron, cold and merciless. The descriptions in between are so vivid they seem to appear before one’s eyes, clearly showing that the author must be extremely familiar with these two individuals.”

The first half made Li Sun’s mouth twitch as he thought—is this person genuinely unable to understand or pretending not to understand? I’m not asking you to critique the plot. But then the latter half suddenly shifted, and whether intentional or not, it genuinely awakened him.

The plot was indeed absurdly far-fetched, but if one set aside the infuriating romantic scenes, even from Li Sun’s position, the author had captured their master’s temperament perfectly.

…This was perhaps too terrifying.

He firmly committed this matter to memory. When he looked at ‘Fellow Daoist Qin’ again, his gaze held a subtle difference, and he advised, “It seems Fellow Daoist has considerable research into such storybooks. But Fellow Daoist Qin should know that most storybooks in this world are fabricated nonsense and cannot be taken seriously.”

‘Fellow Daoist Qin’ laughed heartily. “Since this storybook was able to circulate, it must have received the consent of those two individuals. Since they themselves don’t particularly care about it, we might as well just treat it as a story.”

Just treat it as a story.

Li Sun’s eyes held deep meaning. “Fellow Daoist Qin is truly a remarkable person.”

While they exchanged veiled remarks, Qin Xun suddenly leaned sideways, draping one arm over the railing, and called out loudly, “That storytelling old man, fabricating such nonsense—aren’t you afraid that one day Venerable Yin will come find you? For the sake of your life and livelihood, change to a different storybook!”

He really couldn’t listen anymore. If it continued, it would soon reach the bedroom scenes. Even if his master didn’t care, such things couldn’t be casually let others hear!

Below there was a commotion—some were happy, some unhappy, creating a cacophony. Seeing the situation getting out of control, the storyteller weighed his options and changed storybooks. “It just so happens this old man recently heard some old anecdotes and trivial matters. Let me tell you all about them. This starts from the Taihua Immortal Sect over a hundred years ago…”

Having escaped one disaster, Qin Xun ground his teeth inwardly. “Why did you have to come over for no reason!”

The questioned Li Sun covered his mouth with his fan. “Hearing the Young Venerable’s voice, I originally thought our master had arrived. How could I not come to greet him? I just didn’t expect that the Young Venerable would actually have a day of conversing pleasantly with others.”

Qin Xun shot him a death glare.

“All right.” Li Sun smiled until his eyes curved, then said seriously, “The Young Venerable must have also come after hearing news of the ‘Jade Fragment.’ Although our master is still in closed-door cultivation and hasn’t given orders, as subordinates, we must always be more attentive to gain favor.”

“You should have heard something about the recent situation in the Northern Demon Territory. This place isn’t convenient, so it’s better to discuss the specifics another day. To summarize—the First Venerable is already approaching madness.”

Qin Xun’s pupils suddenly contracted. He instinctively looked toward Yin Lang, only to see him leaning on the railing listening to the storybook with great interest, as if completely oblivious to this side. For a moment, he was dumbfounded.

He tilted his ear to listen.

“…That Fairy Qilan was devoted heart and soul. Even though Daojun refused her repeatedly, she still stole the precious Nine-Revolution Soul-Returning Pill from the secret chamber of Qingnang Peak in the middle of the night. Peak Master Liu flew into a rage and immediately, disregarding Deputy Peak Master Hua’s bitter pleas, went straight to Huayuan Hall to report to the Sect Master, demanding that Hua Qilan be immediately captured and thrown into Heavenly Punishment Ravine to retrieve the precious Soul-Returning Pill.”

The hand Qin Xun had placed on the table froze. He wished he could beat himself up. Why did you have to speak up and make him change stories? Wasn’t Across the Sea of Love perfectly fine?! And this storyteller—of all things to talk about, you just have to keep hitting Master’s sore spots!

Li Sun asked quietly, “Young Venerable, is there something wrong with this storybook again?”

“…It’s nothing.” Qin Xun was stiff as a stone, forcing out a smile with difficulty and repeating, “It’s nothing.”

Li Sun didn’t have the heart to tell the Young Venerable that his acting skills were truly terrible.

With lingering unease in his heart, he simply stood up and walked over to the well-informed ‘Fellow Daoist Qin’s’ side, blinking his eyes and lowering his voice to sound mysterious. “Could it be that Fellow Daoist has some interest in this theatrical performance?”

Qin Xun was shocked and couldn’t stop him in time.

“Oh?”

‘Fellow Daoist Qin,’ who had been leaning on the railing, had already turned around and slowly began to smile. “Could it be that Brother Qi actually knows about these old matters as well?”