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Chapter 40: Demon Abyss Corruption
The young cultivator's white robes brushed against the blue-stone steps as he climbed onto the bridge, watching the pleasure boats on the river's surface, casually feeding dried fish bits to the fluffy little fluffball in his arms.
Cang Shun crunched his way through one crispy fried dried fish, and a new one was already brought to his mouth.
He crunched through that one too, and another new one was brought to his mouth.
He pressed down on the dried fish and looked up.
【I'm full!】
Chen Moqing: "Take it to gnaw on."
Cang Shun: "......"
He didn't take the dried fish, but instead gently took hold of Chen Moqing's hand.
Chen Moqing's fingers paused, then quickly withdrew.
Not letting himself be bitten.
He turned his hand over instead and offered a piece of osmanthus cake, tucking it into the Demon Emperor's paw.
Cang Shun: "............"
He knew it!
The snow-white little beast leapt indignantly onto the young human's shoulder and began nudging him with his fluffy body.
Chen Moqing lowered his eyes.
Perhaps this Demon Emperor had only started teething after reaching adulthood, which was why he liked biting people every day.
Cang Shun raised his head.
Why doesn't he like it when I kiss him.
He'd seen some little demons do this when they encountered someone they were fond of... and he hadn't even kissed anywhere else.
The snow-white little beast said nothing, tucking his two little paws together, pressing them beneath his chest, seeming lost in thought.
Willows drooped over the embankment, a willow leaf drifting across the stone bridge, caught by a slender hand and gently placed atop the snow-white furry head.
The snow-white little beast stayed perfectly still, the slender willow leaf hanging softly before his eyes, becoming a little parasol for the fluffball.
Chen Moqing, with the little fluffball wearing its willow leaf atop his head, crossed the long bridge over the flowing water; the streets on either side grew gradually more bustling, a restaurant built along the riverbank, its second floor offering a view of the riverside scenery.
Jade-colored teacups held a clear green brew, a curled leaf floating atop the tea, like the moon's reflection in a well.
"Sir, do try this, it's our tea shop's famous Moon-Fragrance Tea, far and wide renowned, its aroma lingering in the mind for three days after!"
Chen Moqing lifted the teacup, the rising tea mist dampening his eyelashes slightly; his slender fingers tapped the table, and a piece of silver rolled out.
Under the waiter's suddenly eager gaze, he said, "Would the proprietor happen to know of the Yue family in this city?"
Within Wu Hao's Ten Thousand Souls Banner, a young spirit named Yue Zhaoshuang had entrusted him to pass along a message to her family, who were said to be in Qingyue Prefecture, in the Yao Kingdom's imperial capital.
"The Yue family? Who doesn't know them! Madam Yue is the kindest soul—every winter she hands out porridge without fail, and she often looks after us neighbors too. Everyone's deeply grateful for Madam Yue's kindness!"
Chen Moqing produced another piece of silver, and the waiter's eyes went wide, words pouring out as if a floodgate had opened: "And Madam Yue's certainly blessed too, her daughter turned out to have the aptitude of an immortal! Taken away personally by an immortal over twenty years ago, they say cranes circled the city that day, and Miss Yue bowed farewell to her mother three times before leaving, it was so moving!"
"It's just that Madam Yue hasn't been well these past two years, and no physician, however famous, has been able to cure her. All us neighbors hope she recovers soon."
Chen Moqing took a small sip of the jade-green tea, setting down the cup; a fluffy little head leaned in close, drinking a sip straight from beside his hand.
"Do you have fish wontons here?"
The waiter puffed out his chest: "Our Zuixian Restaurant is the most famous in the region, far and wide! Forget fish wontons, if you wanted flying fish from the heavens themselves, we'd catch one and stew it for you!"
"Very well then, a full banquet of flying fish," Chen Moqing said, setting down the silver and rising with the snow-white little beast in his arms. "I'll return tonight."
Deep within an alley, a residence, its main gate half-open, a man dressed as a household steward standing behind it, appraising the white-robed visitor before him.
"The servants tell me, sir, that you claim to be an old friend of our young mistress?" the Yue household's Steward Wang spoke with great courtesy. "Might I ask if you have any proof?"
Chen Moqing gave a brief description of Yue Zhaoshuang's appearance in a few words.
Steward Wang gave a soft chuckle, his sleeves folded before him, his expression unchanged: "My apologies, but Madam has been unwell these past few days and is not receiving guests."
"Uncle Wang, who are you speaking with?"
A voice sounded from nearby, a man in silk robes approaching the gate.
Upon seeing him, Steward Wang's smile instantly grew warmer; he outright ignored Chen Moqing, hurrying to greet him instead: "Young Master Yue, you've arrived."
He stepped forward and murmured a few words to the silk-robed man, who glanced at Chen Moqing without looking closely at his face, his gaze pausing briefly on the snow-white little beast on his shoulder before he sneered: "Another swindler claiming to be my sister's friend, here to freeload? A few of these show up every year, more than we can chase off!"
With that, he pulled out a brightly colored porcelain vial from his sleeve: "This is an immortal's spirit medicine I bid on for a hefty sum yesterday, a secret medicine bestowed by Linxian Sect upon its inner disciples, with only this single dose ever released to the outside market. Aunt is sure to recover after taking it. I'll deliver it to her myself."
Chen Moqing gave the pill a glance—first-grade, early stage, a Qi Refinement pill, with only the effect of strengthening the body.
Hearing this, Steward Wang's warm smile faded slightly; he gave a dry laugh or two: "You and Madam truly share deep affection between aunt and nephew... but I'm afraid, Young Master Yue, that Madam truly isn't receiving guests. She said just yesterday that she wouldn't see anyone who came..."
The silk-robed man frowned, "Then call for Auntie Lan, have her deliver it to my aunt—she's to take it tomorrow together with the morning dew, mind you, it must be dew gathered before sunrise, that's when it works best."
Steward Wang assented, then remembered there was still someone else present; just as he turned to dismiss him, he saw the long corridor was empty—the white-robed man had already vanished without a trace.
"Next time you run into a swindler like that, don't waste words on him, just have him beaten out with clubs! My sister has immortal-grade aptitude, why would she ever associate with the likes of him!"
"Yes, Young Master Yue is quite right."
The Yue family estate, its courtyard corridors long and deep, springs flowing between the stones.
Chen Moqing moved through the corridors, watching the dappled shadows of bamboo play across the courtyard walls, his dark eyes catching a faint glimmer of light.
"A spirit eye."
That a mortal residence in a mortal city should contain an extraordinarily rare spirit eye, ceaselessly overflowing with spiritual energy, blanketing the entire estate.
This spirit eye was quite unusual—just outside the Yue estate moments ago, he hadn't sensed the slightest trace of energy leaking out; only upon actually entering the estate did he feel the spiritual energy surging, abundant—faintly even more potent than the dragon aura in the imperial palace.
No wonder Yue Zhaoshuang's spirit had carried that faint golden glow, uncommon among mortals—all nurtured by the spiritual energy of this place.
【A natural spirit eye, rare even in the middle prefectures】Cang Shun toyed with the hem of his robe, rubbing it back and forth, 【There's spiritual power deliberately concealing it—unless one is at Nascent Soul stage or above, it's impossible to sense the spirit eye's presence at all】
Chen Moqing pondered briefly: "It seems a cultivator above Nascent Soul has passed through here."
Qingyue Prefecture was mostly populated by mortals, with few cultivation sects, the highest cultivation among them no more than early Golden Core.
The moon-white outer robe swept past the corner of a carved veranda, and by the time it settled, he was already standing behind a folding screen painted with flowers and birds.
The bedroom, its doors and windows shut tight, was steeped in a bitter medicinal scent; the flower-and-bird screen separated off the bed, where a woman with hair streaked white lay quietly, her breathing barely perceptible.
Chen Moqing recognized traces of Yue Zhaoshuang's features in her brow and eyes, though her face was withered and haggard, bearing the look of a lamp with its oil nearly spent.
The screen inside the room was gently tapped; the woman, a light sleeper, startled awake, turning her head to find a blurred, tall figure standing behind the screen.
"Madam Yue," before she could cry out, a clear, pleasant voice spoke first, "I come at your daughter's request, to pay my respects."
The woman startled, immediately trying to sit up, but moving too quickly, she only managed halfway before breaking into violent coughing.
The figure behind the screen raised a hand slightly, and the woman felt a gentle force lifting her body; her long-ailing, weakened frame seemed to regain a measure of strength, and she slowly sat up.
The door and windows opened with the wind, bright light streaming in, dispelling some of the medicinal scent. The woman saw a corner of moon-white robe emerge from behind the screen—a young man, a few strands of black hair gathered up with a wooden hairpin, his figure tall and slender as pine, his bearing clear and refined as bamboo.
An immortal, indeed.
The woman's once-dim eyes lit up with a light like morning dawn: "Immortal Master, are you... one of Shuang'er's teachers, or a fellow disciple?"
Chen Moqing, seeing her eyes brighten so suddenly, was silent for a moment before saying, "I am an old friend of hers, passing through this place, come to bring her a word."
Cang Shun looked up slightly, watching the young human's expression, and silently placed his paw over the back of his hand.
The woman's mouth curved into a smile; just as she was about to speak, she covered her mouth and broke into coughing again, several broken coughs in succession, before she managed to force out a smile once more.
"That child Shuang'er—all these years, and not a single letter sent home... no, I misspoke. Shuang'er has been diligent since childhood; she must be training hard at her sect, day and night without rest, with no time to spare. It's just as well she doesn't write, wouldn't want to delay her on the great path."
A trace of comfort rose to her pale face, but when her gaze passed behind Chen Moqing and found no one there, a touch of wistfulness crept back into her eyes.
Chen Moqing lowered his lashes, gently setting a white porcelain vial down at the bedside: "This is a pill that Junior Sister Yue asked me to bring you, it can cure your long-standing illness."
The woman cupped the pill in both hands, running her fingers over the fine white porcelain vial again and again, murmuring, "This... this must be so expensive. I hear immortals don't use mortal gold and silver at all—a single spirit stone is worth a fortune, hard to come by even with a thousand pieces of gold. She's still so young, how much could she possibly have saved up in spirit stones..."
"Junior Sister Yue is diligent; her sect has rewarded her generously many times over."
The woman looked up: "But Yue'er was only eight years old when she left home... how would she know I only fell ill in these recent years?"
Chen Moqing's expression remained unchanged: "The medicine bestowed within the sect can indeed cure mortal ailments and extend one's lifespan, Junior Sister hopes for your long life and peace."
The woman's doubts vanished completely; she carefully put away the pill, then braced herself against the rosewood cabinet by her bed, slowly rising to her feet.
Her smile was warm, her eyes, lined with fine wrinkles, carrying a touch of careful, ingratiating hope: "Since you're Shuang'er's friend, you're also an honored guest of our Yue household. Might I ask the Immortal Master to stay a few days longer?"
...
In the guest room encircled by bamboo groves and a pond, the young human sat quietly by the window, his moon-white robes spread over the bed like fallen snow, a snow-white little beast wandering about atop it.
【We'll have to tell her eventually】
Chen Moqing, eyes closed in cultivation, was quiet for a moment, then said, "With the pill regulating her body, she still has a century of life left. If she learns the truth now, I fear grief alone might take her from this world."
Cang Shun leapt onto his knee, tilting his head up to look at those calm eyes.
He knew that this man had just been thinking of his own mother.
His mother must have been an exceptionally good person too, to have raised someone like him.
Not wanting to let him dwell on sadness, Cang Shun changed the subject: 【Something's not right about this place】
Chen Moqing gave a soft "Mm."
The Yue estate was sheltered by a spirit eye; even mortals unable to cultivate, nourished by spiritual energy over long years, should remain free of illness and misfortune, living to a hundred—yet that Madam Yue bore the look of premature decline. Had they not arrived today, she likely wouldn't have survived to see next year.
"An anomaly in an ordinary place—even without opportunity to gain from it, it can't be ignored," Chen Moqing said, gently squeezing Cang Shun's paw. "I'll need Your Majesty the Demon Emperor to accompany me a while longer here."
Cang Shun muttered: 【Didn't I already say—wherever you go, I'll go with you】
【Even when you go to slaughter that wretched sect someday and overturn the cultivation world, I'll be there too】
Countless hardships, standing against tens of thousands—none of it mattered.
After all... right now, this man had only him.
Cang Shun pressed close against the young human without a word.
Chen Moqing's gaze flickered faintly, and he laughed softly, about to say something, when he saw Cang Shun lower his head slightly, leaning in toward his fingertip—
He withdrew his finger quickly.
Cang Shun: "?"
The snow-white little beast immediately raised his head, round eyes staring at him unblinking.
Chen Moqing met the Demon Emperor's gaze.
Round and full.
Fluffy.
"......"
He lowered his finger again, opening his palm, and the snow-white little beast buried his head into it, rubbing softly back and forth.
Chen Moqing gathered up this clingy little heap of white sugar cake, the corners of his eyes curving slightly: "If it were you..."
Before he could finish, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Cang Shun's head snapped up instantly, to see the person beside him covering his mouth, coughing without stop, blood seeping through his fingers, thin black lines climbing up his pale neck, seeping into the fragile pale-blue veins beneath.
Those pitch-black lines were like blazing flames kindled in the underworld, carrying an eerie and ominous aura, devouring the young human's pale body inch by inch.
In that instant, the Demon Emperor's eyes turned to the most bone-chilling frost, a towering rage rising within him.
——Demon Abyss corruption!
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