YNRHPCYC Chapter 108

“There is a very weak light on Liang Yanbei’s body.” Liang Shuhong said, “So any conscious demon dares not approach him easily. As long as I get a little closer to him, I will feel chest tightness and shortness of breath and will want to escape.”

“Could it be that he is wearing some powerful magic weapon that had been blessed?” Wen Chan proposed a more reasonable explanation.

But in fact, he didn’t believe this statement himself either. When he was on Wuyue Island, those demons had recognised Liang Yanbei. Obviously, Liang Yanbei’s identity was not as simple as it seemed.

He recalled that when he had met with that assassination attempt before, he had seen with his own eyes the Liang Yanbei who had different coloured eyes. At that time, he also wondered if Liang Yanbei might be a demon. But he could not find any clues on that after these days of getting along. So there was really nothing to doubt.

“He doesn’t have it on him. But you have it on you.” He suddenly said.

“On me?” Wen Chan was confused. “What’s on me?”

Liang Shuhong moved his gaze down and stopped at Wen Chan’s left ankle. “Your Highness, there is that light on your feet. When the two women pounced on you just now, they were bounced off by the light from your feet.”

Wen Chan subconsciously touched his ankle, and when he pressed the thick boots, he felt a hard object on his ankle. He suddenly remembered that there were still two copper anklets on his left foot that Liang Yanbei had given him earlier.

“This was what Liang Yanbei gave me. The two copper plates strung with a rope looked old and worn. They shouldn’t be magical tools, right?” Wen Chan couldn’t believe it.

“It’s a very powerful thing.” Liang Shuhong said, “The reason why I can’t get too close to you is because of it. But I don’t know if it can stop the demons in this temple.”

Wen Chan was surprised. He didn’t expect Liang Yanbei to give him such a powerful thing. Fortunately, he wore it.

“Why are you here? Won’t the demon attack you?”

“Since I ate the fruit, I have been living here. In order to prevent the people of the capital from being killed by the demons here, I cut off the temple’s incense offerings and drove back all the people who came to burn incense.” He continued, “The demon wanted me to submit to him, but I refused, and he seemed to be unable to do anything to me.”

“Then do you know what kind of demon it is?” Wen Chan asked.

“It’s a spirit that turned into a demon.” He explained, “There are generally two types of demons. One group are the demons transformed from beasts, and the other are demons transformed from spirits. Demons transformed from beasts are much more powerful, and they find it easier to cultivate. Their bloodline can be passed down, but spirit demons can’t. They are diverse, and like a tree that, if exposed to demonic energy and cultivated for hundreds or thousands of years, can transform into a demon.

“I have fought with that demon twice, although I am not as strong as it. I was able to feel a rotten smell on it. So I guess it should not be a beast demon.”

“You can’t beat it?” Wen Chan thought for a while and asked, “Then are you sure you can get out of this temple?”

“To be honest.” Liang Shuhong looked at Wen Chan apologetically, “I’m not sure at all. I was able to come and go freely in Yanxiang Temple before, but after you came in, the illusion opened here, and I don’t know where to go out.”

“In that case, we can only wait for the demon to find us by itself?” Wen Chan was unsure.

As an ordinary person, how could he possibly win against these demons?

“Don’t worry, Your Highness. I will definitely protect you and get you out of this temple safely.” Liang Shuhong’s expression was full of determination. “Even if I become a demon that is neither human nor demon, I will do my best to protect you…… And Xi Liang.”

Wen Chan was touched and said gently, “Don’t talk nonsense. Aren’t you living a good life now? Whether you are evil or not does not depend on your strength but on your heart. It is enough for you to face the heavens and earth with a clear conscience.”

“My hands are already covered with blood.” Liang Shuhong picked up the scimitar, lowered his eyes and gently stroked the blade, “I am no longer that elegant Young Master.”

“But you are still my friend.” Wen Chan said, “You protected me and the people of the capital. You are indeed no longer the talented Young Master Liang, but you are our hero.”

“Everyone has their own way of living. You are a demon, so what? Liang Yanbei is not necessarily a normal person either.” He said.

Liang Shuhong was very moved by this and smiled involuntarily, “Your Highness, it is a great blessing for me to have been able to be friends with you.”

“For me too.” Wen Chan said, “You are always so calm and composed, both before and now. No matter what happens, you can handle it well.”

“In fact, I am very scared.” Liang Shuhong said, “Even now, I feel very scared. But in order to make Your Highness less scared, I have to endure it.”

Wen Chan laughed all of a sudden, “You are still joking with me at this time.”

However, Liang Shuhong looked serious.

Wen Chan encouraged, “Hang on, Liang Shuhong!”

Liang Shuhong trembled, “Before, with a mask on, I could still put on an act and tough it out. But now that you have exposed my identity, I……”

Wen Chan, “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear these words. You can put on the mask later, and I’ll wait for you to take me out.”

Liang Shuhong, “……”

I’ll try my best. Liang Shuhong thought silently.

They had been sitting for a while as they spoke. Liang Shuhong still maintained his previous vigilance. When the two of them were silent, he looked around. At first, his expression was calm. But when his gaze got fixed on the Buddha statue, it changed in an instant.

He stood up from the ground and shouted in a low voice, “Your Highness, let’s go!”

Wen Chan was startled by his appearance. Without thinking much, he immediately stood up and looked at the Buddha statue subconsciously. He was so frightened that his scalp was numb.

The eyes that were just a simple outline were now wide open.

These eyes were opened so widely that they almost cracked at the corners of it’s eyes. The lifeless eyes stared straight at Wen Chan, and the smile on his face seemed to deepen a lot, making the whole face cold and distorted.

From a distance, the evil spirit seemed to have started to penetrate in, and Wen Chan’s breath was choked. So Wen Chan broke into a run and ran outside the door.

But after running two steps, the door that was originally open seemed to be pushed hard by someone, and it made a loud noise as it closed, which made Wen Chan’s ears hurt in this dead and empty room.

He stopped immediately and dared not move again.

Liang Shuhong’s voice sounded beside him, “Your Highness, walk slowly toward the door. I will protect you.”

The room seemed to block all the sunlight outside. It was pitch black in front of him. Wen Chan couldn’t see anything. He asked anxiously, “Can the door still be opened?”

“I’ll stand by the door. When the door is opened, Your Highness will rush out directly. Don’t stay.” Liang Shuhong lowered his voice.

The next moment after the voice fell, there was a rustling noise around, as if something was awakening in the dark and was restless.

Wen Chan felt more and more uneasy. He forced himself to calm down and walked towards the door in the dark. Thinking that the thing on his foot made Liang Shuhong feel uncomfortable, he didn’t dare to get too close to him, stopping when he estimated he was at a safe distance.

“Keep going.“ Liang Shuhong’s voice sounded from not far in front of him, “It’s very close. Don’t be afraid, Your Highness.”

The noises in his ears came from various places behind him, and the dragging sound seemed to be getting closer and closer, rushing towards Wen Chan’s back. He didn’t dare to stay any longer and continued to move forward.

Liang Shuhong’s voice was right in front of him, low, “Almost, a few more steps……”

Wen Chan could hear that he was very close to Liang Shuhong. He was a little worried about Liang Shuhong. But then just as he was about to ask, he suddenly heard a noise, a bright light pierced in front of him, and a gust of wind rushed towards him.

“Your Highness, hurry up!” Liang Shuhong shouted.

Without any hesitation, Wen Chan stepped over the threshold, and almost instantly, the sound of the door closing echoed behind him.

Did Liang Shuhong not come out?

This thought flashed through his mind, and Wen Chan hurriedly looked back but was stunned.

There are no walkways and pointed-roofed house. The scene behind him changed in an instant. Now there were a few scattered pear trees, which were in full bloom.

The white petals were blown by the breeze, swirling in the air, and fell gently on Wen Chan’s head. He stretched out his hand and took it off. The soft petals that he touched still held the fragrance of flowers.

Birds screamed from the tree; Wen Chan looked up inadvertently. And the golden sunlight shone through the gap and hit his fair face.

“Your Highness.” Liang Yanbei’s voice suddenly came from his side.

Wen Chan thought he had heard it wrong. He turned his head hurriedly and saw Liang Yanbei standing not far away in a red dressing.

The red colour really suited Liang Yanbei. He had a delicate appearance and always got a smile. Wearing such a bright colour added a bit of charming beauty to him for no reason, which stirred one’s heart.

After meeting Wen Chan’s gaze, he smiled brightly, and his beautiful eyes curved, “Your Highness, why are you here?”

Wen Chan had just experienced those things, and his heart had been frightened. Seeing Liang Yanbei now, he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, and he walked over to his side, “If you had come later, you wouldn’t have been able to see me.”

Liang Yanbei raised his eyebrows in surprise, “What happened to Your Highness?”

“We’ll talk about it later. Let’s go back first.” Wen Chan took his hand like driving a lightweight chariot on a familiar road[footnote]fig. to do sth routinely and with ease / a walk in the park[/footnote] and squeezed it tightly, making himself feel safe.

He also began to calculate in his heart that he could not return to Yanxiang Temple at the moment and could only go down the mountain and come back with people. If he wanted to rescue Liang Shuhong, Xie Zhaoxue and Zhong Wenjin, it would be too risky if he just relied on Liang Yanbei alone.

Liang Yanbei looked at their hands that were held together in surprise and stammered, “Your, Your Highness, what are you doing?”

“Going back!” Wen Chan said without turning his head, “How did you get here? Where is your carriage?”

“Carriage? We came here on horseback.” Liang Yanbei replied.

“We?” Wen Chan was confused for a moment and suddenly figured out something. The hand he was holding loosened all of a sudden. He stopped, turned his head slowly, and looked at Liang Yanbei in front of him.

The Liang Yanbei in front of him was exactly the same as in his memory, but there was a lack of emotion in his smile when he looked at Wen Chan.

Yes, how could there be blooming pear blossoms in the cold winter and the twelfth lunar month? If you really leave Yanxiang Temple, there should be snow everywhere, but now it is full of spring.

Liang Yanbei’s clothes were also thin. He looked down at his own and found that it was also a light apricot colour, without the heavy cloak and fox fur.

The time was wrong, and the place was wrong.

This was still in the illusion.

Looking at Liang Yanbei, who was smiling like a flower in front of him, Wen Chan’s footsteps slowly retreated, constantly telling himself in his heart to be calm, to be calm.

Liang Yanbei didn’t seem to notice anything but felt that Wen Chan was acting a little strange. He tilted his head slightly and asked, “Don’t you want to learn the footwork I created? How can you learn it standing there?”

Wen Chan’s memory turned rapidly, and he turned back to his previous life in an instant.

After Wen Chan was left under Liang Yanbei’s hands in his previous life, he continued to practise martial arts for half a year, and his relationship with Liang Yanbei became better and better. After watching Liang Yanbei’s self-created footwork, Wen Chan asked to help him learn it.

Liang Yanbei didn’t hesitate at all and immediately agreed, and then the two rode to a wasteland in the Eastern District of the capital.

The scene in front of him seemed to be that afternoon.

Liang Yanbei walked a few steps to the side, picked up a wooden stick from the ground, and said to Wen Chan, “Your Highness, I will walk you through it first and see how many steps you can remember.”

As he said that, he began to brandish the wooden stick in his hand, and his posture was light as a swimming dragon. His scarlet robe fluttered, carrying the pear blossoms floating in the air, and moved forward and backward with a long trail of petals.

Wen Chan was amazed when he first saw the Liang family’s footwork. Liang Yanbei taught him carefully, improved it while teaching, and finally developed a complete set of Liang family footwork.

This year, Liang Yanbei was twenty years old and Wen Chan was eighteen.

This period of time was the most beautiful and peaceful in Wen Chan’s memory. At this time, while the whole of Xi Liang was at peace and the princes had vaguely begun to compete for the throne, Wen Chan was in that martial arts hall, practising martial arts with Liang Yanbei every day from dawn to dusk.

The two of them were almost inseparable, and their relationship was so good that they slept together and enjoyed peace as they pleased.

Later, the Zhong family rebelled. That was the darkest period in Wen Chan’s life, and he was still afraid to recall it.

The illusion created that time’s beautiful moments for Wen Chan, allowing him to transform into the 18-year-old Ninth Prince and then let time stop and freeze.

Wen Chan looked at the Liang Yanbei in front of him, and a strange emotion surged in his heart, like a kind of greed, wanting to hold his hand and then stay in this place forever, never leave, and never face the disturbance outside.

There was no throne, no rebels, only Liang Yanbei here.

While he was thinking about it, Liang Yanbei had already stopped. He was panting slightly, and his handsome face was flushed from doing the actions. His eyes were full of light, and he looked straight at Wen Chan, “Your Highness, do you understand?”

Wen Chan smiled and nodded and walked towards him, with only one thought in his mind.

Stay here.

“Cough cough!” Two heavy coughs came unexpectedly, interrupting Wen Chan’s steps and instantly pulling him out of his thoughts.

　　

He took a breath of cool air and took a few steps back repeatedly. His consciousness became more and more awake, and a fear surged into his heart.

It seemed that there was an unknown emotion that blinded his original consciousness and kept persuading him to stay. This kind of magic that could control the mind made him feel scared.

If it weren’t for those two coughs, he would have been blinded forever!

Wen Chan looked at the scene in front of him, which, like snow poured with boiling water, melted rapidly. The pear blossom grass disappeared in the blur and turned into a normal high and low brick wall.

He found himself sitting on the ground, got up hurriedly, patted the dust on his body, looked towards the coughing sound, and saw a little girl sitting on the wall.

The girl was fair-skinned, with a pair of big, beautiful dark eyes. Her black hair was casually tied into a high ponytail. She wore a washed-out coarse shirt and linen pants, revealing her slender collarbone and ankles, and a pair of muddy cloth shoes on her feet.

She sat quite casually, with one leg hanging down the wall and the other bent, with her wrist casually resting on it, looking down at Wen Chan.

Wen Chan’s eyes widened slightly when he saw her for the first time, “You…… Why are you here?”

“Do you recognise me?” The girl raised her eyebrows.

The last time he saw this girl was in the palace in his previous life. She was standing next to the person who claimed to be Lou Muge. Wen Chan remembered that her name was Sheng Sheng.

However, Wen Chan was not a fool. The fact that she could always follow Lou Muge showed that she was not an ordinary person either. So Wen Chan chose not to say anything and just said, “Little girl, don’t sit on the wall. It’s too dangerous. Be careful not to fall down.”

“Little girl?” Sheng Sheng repeated amusedly, and a mocking look appeared on her young face. She stood up from the top of the wall, stretched out her hand, and pulled her shirt open with brute force.

The button fell at Wen Chan’s feet. Before he could react, he saw the white and flat chest and abdomen of the person in front of him. He was so shocked that he quickly turned his face away and said, “You are a girl; what are you doing?”

“Can’t you see that I’m a man?” He patted his chest with great dissatisfaction.

“I……” Wen Chan was speechless for a moment. When he turned around, he saw Sheng Sheng with his belly exposed. He didn’t look unnatural at all. It seemed that he was not a girl!

But Wen Chan had always thought that Sheng Sheng was a girl in his previous life! He dressed beautifully every time he appeared, and in addition, you could not distinguish the voice of a child between male and female, so he misidentified the gender.

“I don’t blame you.” Sheng Sheng looked annoyed, “Many other people along the way also mistook me for a girl, which is really annoying.”

“On such a cold day, you’d better close your clothes.” Even the hooligans on the street would not dare to be so blatant as to expose their belly in broad daylight.

“It’s convenient this way, so that no one will call me a little girl again.” Sheng Sheng acted recklessly.

Wen Chan said helplessly, “Even if you expose your belly like this, no one can tell. Boys and girls at your age are all the same.”

After hearing this, Sheng Sheng frowned and said with a sigh, “I forgot about this……”

“You come down first.” Wen Chan beckoned to him.

He glanced around, leapt off the wall lightly, landed firmly on the ground, and put his hands together to hold the broken shirt, “I’ve seen you before.”

Wen Chan looked at his expression, movements and tone of voice. And he didn’t look like a child at all. He thought that this should be an old demon with a contrary good temper. He could try to get some words from him, so he asked, “Where?”

“I also don’t know where it was.” He wrinkled his nose, “You were with him.”

“Who?”

“Yanbei.” Sheng Sheng said, and he glanced at Wen Chan’s ankle, “He also gave you this thing. It seems that you have a good relationship with him.”

“You also know Liang Yanbei?” Wen Chan was surprised.

Why does it seem that everyone knows Liang Yanbei?

“I don’t know Liang Yanbei. I only know Yanbei.” Sheng Sheng frowned again, “He is a very annoying person. I hope I don’t run into him.”

This…… Was there any difference that there was an extra Liang character?

Wen Chan was confused by his words and asked a different question, “Why are you here?”

“I came to find you.” Sheng Sheng looked at him and said.

“Find me?” Wen Chan was even more confused, “Why are you looking for me?”

“You have his scent on you.” He said slowly, “There is still a trace left, although it is almost gone. But I can still smell it.”

Wen Chan immediately smelt his sleeves and found no strange smell. He asked, “Whose is it? Could it be Yanbei’s?”

“No, it’s my apprentice’s.” He said, and then a bitter smile appeared on his face. “But he is not now. After so many years, I still miss him.”

Wen Chan pondered for a moment, realising there were too many mysteries surrounding Sheng Sheng. So, he decided to ask something he could understand, “Do you know how to get out?”

“This is the Rakshasa illusion. There are only two ways to close the illusion.” He said, “One is to directly kill the person who launched the Rakshasa illusion, and the other is to wait for the illusion to receive the souls it needs, and it will naturally close.”

“Which one is simpler?” Wen Chan chose to believe him for the time being.

“Of course it’s the first one.” Sheng Sheng smiled evilly and said, scoffing, “If it weren’t for Laozi not regaining the strength, it would have been already killed a long time ago. Now it is hidden in the illusion. I can’t find it just yet.”

“Then why did you talk about that? Aren’t you afraid that the demon is hiding nearby?” Wen Chan was very surprised. He felt that this person was too casual. His strength hadn’t recovered yet, but he looked like he was not afraid of the sky and the earth, and he easily said out his weaknesses.

He didn’t know if he was stupid or had a plan in mind.

“I’m not that weak yet. If it’s here, I will be able to feel it.” Sheng Sheng said, “On the contrary, you have to be careful. The target of this illusion is you. The illusion will not close automatically without receiving your soul.”

Wen Chan shuddered. Although he had already guessed it, he still felt uncomfortable after Sheng Sheng said it. If it weren’t for Sheng Sheng’s two coughs, the illusion might have been closed by now.

“How about this,” Wen Chan proposed, “Let’s go find that demon together and chop it with a slash.”

It is better to take the initiative than to wait for death. After Sheng Sheng said the purpose of the demon, Wen Chan already understood very well. It wanted his soul; otherwise, it would not have gone to such great lengths to open the illusion.

Maybe it was because he was reborn? So his soul was a little different?

No matter what, Wen Chan still cherished his life very much. Since he had fallen into the demon’s trap, he had to either escape or kill the demon.

Sheng Sheng in front of him seemed to be a powerful figure. Wen Chan pondered for a moment and said, “We can conspire together.”

Sheng Sheng raised his eyebrows again, motioning Wen Chan to continue.

“I know you must have other purposes in entering this illusion. You take what you want, and I take what I want. How about it?” Wen Chan said.

“What bargaining chips do you have?” He did not reject it but said, “Except for the thing on your feet, the only valuable thing on you is your soul. But I am not interested in either of these two.”

Wen Chan said, “I don’t want to give you these two things even if you want them. Have you seen a man wearing a black robe and holding a scimitar here?” He gestured and said, “That’s my subordinate. He is very skilled in martial arts. He should be more than enough to kill that demon with you.”

“Yes, I saw him.” Sheng Sheng nodded, “He was just sitting on the side of the road and was about to die.”

“What?!” Wen Chan was shocked. He didn’t expect to hear such terrible news, “Where is he? Take me there quickly!”

Liang Shuhong let him out of the door, but he stayed inside. Originally, Wen Chan thought he had a way to get out, but he didn’t expect him to be seriously injured. So he couldn’t help but be a little anxious for a while.

“Don’t worry.” Sheng Sheng said, “He has the blood of the Tushan Fox clan flowing in his body, so he won’t die. At most, it can only speed up his demonisation.”

Wen Chan knew that this matter was not simple when he heard it and asked, “Do you know about that demon fruit?”

“What demon fruit?” Sheng Sheng looked puzzled.

“The fruit that can turn you into a demon after eating it.” Wen Chan said.

Sheng Sheng sneered, “If there really is such a fruit, the six realms would have been in chaos long ago! Your subordinate ate the blood of the demon king, so he became like this. Now he is in the demonisation period, and no one can kill him.”

Wen Chan was shocked, thinking that the fruit Liang Shuhong ate was not normal. If it was really as Sheng Sheng said, then Liang Shuhong would be invincible in this illusion.

He was about to speak when Sheng Sheng suddenly frowned and pursed his lips, like a child who saw something he hated. He said, “He’s here.”

Wen Chan raised his eyebrows in surprise and asked, “Who is it?”

Translator’s corner

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