BW Extra 17

Xie Jiu × Pei Heguang

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The first time Cui Ci saw Pei Heguang was in that narrow and oppressive barrier.

Young Master Xingyuan had fallen, all vitality in Xun Prefecture was severed, and there were vine monsters everywhere. His family wouldn’t let him leave the house. He was truly worried about Chengfeng, so he secretly tried to escape more than a dozen times without success, until he finally managed to slip out by accident.

Ning Chengfeng and Wen Zaiye were his best friends.

They had made a pact to travel together as heroes in the future, subjugating demons and eliminating evil, becoming great figures like Young Master Xingyuan and his companions, renowned throughout the seventeen states.

Besides that, he extremely envied Chengfeng’s carefree and unrestrained nature.

Ning Chengfeng lived the way he wanted to live.

So he had to go save him.

But he overestimated his own abilities and underestimated the current tragic state of Xun Prefecture. After going through countless hardships to reach Ning City, he was chased by vine people and forced into a strange barrier.

Inside the barrier lay a young man with a deathly pale complexion. His whole body emanated a strange fishy stench, his abdomen was torn open with a large gash, fresh blood gushing out continuously, and his face looked as if it had been brutally slashed by some sharp weapon, with flesh turned outward, presenting an extremely terrifying appearance.

His first reaction was to save the person.

“Hey, are you alright?” He crouched in front of the other person, wanting to touch him but not knowing where to start.

That person moved his lips slightly. He leaned closer to listen, but was suddenly grabbed by the throat by a bloodstained hand. Overwhelming pressure and surging spiritual power rushed toward him, causing instant severe pain in his dantian and making his whole body tremble.

Cui Ci had never felt himself so close to death.

However, the other person seemed to temporarily abandon his intention to kill him. His grip loosened slightly, and a hoarse voice sounded by his ear. “What… is your name?”

“Cui… Ci.” He gasped heavily, suddenly broke free from the other’s hand, and turned to run.

However, this barrier was truly bizarre. He kept running in circles in the same spot, until finally that hoarse voice along with a cold hand fell on his shoulder. “You can’t get out.”

Cui Ci spun around abruptly, warily staring at the bloody figure across from him.

“Do you know Ning Xingyuan?” the other person asked.

Cui Ci nodded.

“It was him who trapped me here.” That person’s terrifying face revealed a twisted smile. “He knew long ago what I wanted to do, yet deliberately let me succeed. He didn’t kill me but kept me here. What exactly does he want to do?”

Cui Ci almost instantly determined that this person was not a good person, and the wariness and vigilance on his face became even more obvious.

“I want to… dissolve his spiritual roots and inner core… and make them my own.” The other person’s hand gripped his neck. “Cui Ci… I remember now… you’re Chengfeng’s friend… Help me, and I’ll… spare you.”

Cui Ci would rather die than submit. “No! You might as well kill me!”

That person chuckled softly. “No… I insist on keeping you alive. My name is Pei Heguang. Remember it.”

Cui Ci gritted his teeth and struck out, but was beaten without any ability to fight back.

At first, the two were mutually wary of each other.

The other person was obviously severely injured, but unfortunately Cui Ci’s cultivation was too low to kill him. He would still be dragged over to have spiritual power forcibly infused into him, then thrown aside, repeatedly.

In the first few years, Cui Ci tried to resist and kill the other person, resulting in his arms and legs being broken. He lay miserably on the ground together with Pei Heguang, serving as a container for regulating spiritual power.

Cui Ci used the most vicious language he knew to curse angrily, but the young master raised by a great clan had very limited ability to curse. Pei Heguang laughed until his whole body trembled.

“You madman!” Cui Ci glared at him angrily.

Pei Heguang pinched his chin and examined him. “Looking carefully, your appearance is quite good.”

“Even if you want to possess my body, Chengfeng and Zaiye will definitely recognize you! Give up!” Cui Ci bit down hard on his finger.

Pei Heguang seemed to feel no pain and laughed. “You’ve been here with me for four years. You’re twenty this year, right?”

Cui Ci stared at him warily. “What do you want to do?”

Pei Heguang coughed and said, “Cut out your golden core and eat it like candy.”

Cui Ci retreated in horror, but his hands and feet had been broken, so he could only rage helplessly.

The wounds on Pei Heguang’s face had long since healed. He seemed to hate showing his face, and each time Cui Ci could only see a hastily transformed appearance.

“This is too slow.” Pei Heguang murmured, “Ah Ci, do you have any good ideas?”

Cui Ci said angrily, “Don’t call me Ah Ci!”

“I insist on calling you that. Ah Ci, Ah Ci.” Pei Heguang deliberately teased him.

Cui Ci’s face flushed red with anger.

This barrier was really too small, and besides them there was no one else. Before long, Cui Ci’s broken hands and feet were reconnected by Pei Heguang.

“Next time if you don’t behave, I’ll chop them right off.” Pei Heguang threatened him.

“If you have the ability, then chop them off!” Cui Ci remained unyielding until death, and was once again beaten into fleeing with his head covered.

The turning point came in the tenth year.

Pei Heguang had given him a lot of spiritual power. He was eager to defeat the other person and get out, so he cultivated especially hard. But haste makes waste – his spiritual power backflowed and he went into qi deviation.

Pei Heguang intervened to save him.

It was just that the way of saving was somewhat unusual. Cui Ci looked with a completely red face at the person who had been tormented by him until covered with kiss marks and in complete disarray, feeling at a loss.

“If this body weren’t so weak, it wouldn’t be your turn to take advantage.” After Pei Heguang finished regulating his breathing, he reached out to clasp his chin, smiling lightly. “Ah Ci, dual cultivate with me.”

Pei Heguang was using him.

Cui Ci understood this all too clearly.

The spiritual roots and inner core in his body were not originally his own. An ordinary mortal’s body simply couldn’t withstand such tremendous spiritual power, and his cultivated spiritual consciousness was also exceptionally weak, causing him to have powerful cultivation but an extremely frail body.

Previously, when he forcibly infused spiritual power into Cui Ci’s body, it was only drinking poison to quench thirst – his body still weakened day by day.

But dual cultivation could connect both parties’ spiritual power, equivalent to him having an additional body. Cui Ci also had excellent natural talent, so it couldn’t be more suitable.

“Ah Ci, I saved you.” Pei Heguang’s voice was low and carried some indescribable playfulness. “You were just crying and saying you wanted to take responsibility. Are you going back on your word?”

Cui Ci shook his head, feeling that everything had become chaotic.

Pei Heguang was both vicious and clever, an unscrupulous villain. He shouldn’t associate with such a person, shouldn’t get involved.

But the other person was like deadly poison wrapped in a layer of sweet frosting, smilingly telling him he wanted his life, and wanting him to willingly swallow it.

“No, I won’t!” Cui Ci frantically pushed him away.

Pei Heguang was pushed down by him, hit his head, and nearly lost half his life.

The other person had just saved him, and even… saved him with his body. Cui Ci’s heart was in complete chaos, but he still lifted the person up.

He absolutely would not dual cultivate with such a despicable and shameless villain. Cui Ci thought firmly.

However, he always overestimated himself like this.

“Ah Ci, I don’t want to die.” Pei Heguang’s voice sounded by his ear, low and ambiguous. “Help me.”

Sinking into the sea of desire, lingering in love, retreating again and again.

By the time he came to his senses, he had already bullied the person beyond recognition.

The evil and despicable demon had pulled the unstained young master into the mud, to sink and suffocate together.

Hundreds of years later, Pei Heguang, whose cultivation had reached great heights, finally split open that damned barrier with a sword and led him to freedom.

“The barrier is broken. Stay or go as you wish.” Pei Heguang completely changed from his previous gentleness and intimacy, looking at him expressionlessly and condescendingly.

Cui Ci clenched his fists and frowned as he stared at him. “I’ll go with you.”

“The Cui family has been looking for you all along.” Pei Heguang said, “If you go back, you can still be the young master of the Cui family, and in the future become the head of the Cui clan. If you follow me, you’ll be committing evil deeds everywhere, living in poverty and displacement.”

“I’ll go with you.” Cui Ci repeated once more.

Pei Heguang’s face showed an amused smile. “Ah Ci, you clearly know I was only using you. I don’t like you, much less love you. Don’t be presumptuous.”

He only felt that every word Pei Heguang spoke was like a knife stabbing accurately into his heart, and he had to maliciously gouge out the flesh inside, stepping on it underfoot with contemptuous spitting.

“I’ll go with you.” He angrily pulled the person into his embrace, gritting his teeth. “Did you hear me clearly or not!?”

Pei Heguang was stunned for a moment, then slowly but firmly pushed him away. “What if I want to kill Ning Chengfeng? Who will you help?”

Cui Ci looked at him silently.

“If I want this entire seventeen states to disappear, to kill everyone, will you still follow me?” Pei Heguang looked at him mockingly. “Don’t be naive. Go back to your Cui family.”

Cui Ci held him tightly and refused to let go. “You come back with me. I won’t let anyone discover you. I’ll protect you.”

Pei Heguang sighed. “Ah Ci, I told you, don’t be presumptuous, and don’t meddle in other’s business. No one can stop what I want to do. If you don’t leave, I’ll kill you.”

Cui Ci hugged his neck and refused to let go. “Then kill me.”

As straightforward as the youth who had just mistakenly entered the barrier hundreds of years ago.

Pei Heguang pulled at the corner of his mouth, struck him half to death with one palm, and carelessly threw him on the ground, raising a cloud of dust. “Fool.”

Then he flew away.

A few months later, Cui Ci stood covered in blood at Pei Heguang’s bedside, staring at him intently, frightening the just-awakened Pei Heguang until his face turned deathly pale.

“You little madman.” Pei Heguang gritted his teeth hatefully.

Cui Ci held him tightly and firmly repeated his words. “Pei Heguang, I’ll go with you.”

Pei Heguang kicked him away and said coldly, “You following me will only cause trouble and chaos. Get lost.”

Cui Ci refused, crawling up to grasp his hand, his gaze gloomy. “If you want to do evil deeds, I’ll accompany you. Let me follow you.”

Pei Heguang stared at him expressionlessly. “Fine, then go help me kill Ning Chengfeng.”

“No.” Cui Ci refused.

“Then get lost.” Pei Heguang stepped on his shoulder, but his ankle was grabbed by him.

“Seal my memories for me.” He knew he was making an extremely wrong and foolish decision, but he couldn’t control himself. Even if there was an abyss ahead, he had to keep going forward. “Give me a different name. I… won’t be Cui Ci anymore.”

He was bewitched, controlled, willing, sinking into the quagmire.

He betrayed his principles and went astray, went into qi deviation and generated delusions. He deserved to die without a burial place.

“From today on, you’ll be called Xie Jiu.” Pei Heguang pushed him away and said coldly, “Take me as your master.”

Cui Ci froze in place, looking at him in disbelief.

Master, master – the teacher is elder, like a father, not to be tainted, not to be desecrated.

There was no emotion whatsoever in Pei Heguang’s eyes. “Take me as your master. I’m only your master. As for anything else, you must never fantasize again.”

Cui Ci remained silent for a long time, then knelt before him and kowtowed three times.

“Disciple Xie Jiu pays respects to Master.”

****

When he replaced Fang Wanchen and rushed into the Heaven-Piercing Blood Formation only to be discovered by Pei Heguang, there was actually a trace of twisted pleasure in his heart.

Pei Heguang’s momentary astonishment didn’t seem fake. “Ah Ci?”

He held Pei Heguang tightly and smiled. “Master, they’re all unwilling to die with you. How come you never asked me? I’m willing to die with you. Don’t be afraid.”

Pei Heguang gripped his wrist tightly, his voice carrying a slight tremor. “I said… don’t be presumptuous.”

Cui Ci protected him in his embrace. “You’re so bad that no one in the world would like you. There’s only me.”

“Pei Heguang, someone loves you.”

Blood light flashed through the great formation, and a powerful spiritual force surrounded him completely. His embrace suddenly became empty.

“Pei Heguang!” he roared angrily.

Then he was kicked out of the formation without mercy.

When he opened his eyes again, everything had already settled.

Pei Heguang was dead.

But there was an additional hideous wound on his wrist that couldn’t be healed no matter what, entrenched there like a brand carved in someone’s anger and shock.

He didn’t like him, yet saved him anyway, and had to leave such a wound to make him unable to forget – this person was simply selfish and vile to the extreme.

He waited for someone to come, and Ning Chengfeng came.

They had met several times before, but he had never shown his true face, and memories related to Ning Chengfeng had always been sealed. Now that Pei Heguang was dead, those long-sealed memories all surged forth.

His old friend seemed to have changed a lot, yet also seemed unchanged. He had formed a dao companionship with Chu Jun and had several lovely children. After this battle, his situation had improved considerably.

It was just that Ning Chengfeng looked at him with furrowed brows, wanting to speak but stopping, his eyes full of guilt.

This friend of his appeared cold and heartless, but was actually extremely soft-hearted. He understood this all too well.

“You don’t need to feel guilty either.” Cui Ci sneered. “Although I went to Xun Prefecture under the pretense of looking for you back then, I was actually fed up with the nagging discipline of my family…”

Ning Chengfeng obviously didn’t believe it. He remained silent for a long time before asking. “Why?”

“What do you think it was for?” He was somewhat irritated, crossed his arms, and said a series of very harsh things.

Ning Chengfeng looked astonished. “Why did you never tell us?”

“…What use would telling you be? Could you convince those people in the Cui family or did you have the ability to take me away? …It wasn’t really worrying about your life and death. Don’t be presumptuous.” He coldly made things up, and as he spoke, he actually felt somewhat relaxed.

That’s right, just treat it as being because of this.

He didn’t mistakenly enter the barrier looking for Ning Chengfeng, wasn’t worried about his life and death – he just used it as an excuse.

“Then why were you still willing to help Pei Heguang wholeheartedly?” Ning Chengfeng was indeed angered into laughter.

Cui Ci also wanted to laugh, but forcibly held it back.

Why did he want to help Pei Heguang?

He had thought about it for hundreds of years without understanding. Probably he was truly bewitched, unable to distinguish right from wrong, sunk in demonic delusion.

“Even if he told me to die, I would be willing.” Cui Ci finally said a true sentence to him righteously.

They finally parted on bad terms.

The guards of the Chongzheng Alliance couldn’t contain him.

He escaped, found a place, and buried Pei Heguang’s corpse.

He didn’t erect a tombstone, fearing that this notorious scoundrel’s grave would be dug up by people.

He sat in front of the grave, vigorously poked at the burial mound, and asked with red eyes. “Pei Heguang, weren’t you always very afraid of death? Why wouldn’t you let me die with you?”

“Back then, did you deliberately save me and trick me into dual cultivation with you?”

“Were you always acting in the barrier?”

“…After we got out, did you really not want me to follow? Then why did you keep grabbing my sleeve and not letting go?”

“What were you afraid of?”

“Why did you never send me to kill Ning Chengfeng? Why were all the things you had me do just trivial matters?”

“What were you afraid of?”

He leaned against the burial mound and murmured, “In these five hundred-plus years, did you really never… like me even a little?”

The night was deep, heavy snow fell continuously, evening wind blew over the grave mound, then gently settled between the layered sleeves.

Crimson warm blood fell, staining his clothes.

A desolate grave with withered bones – this could also be considered growing old together.