Translated by: Niladri This chapter is sponsored by Mangarosario
Lu Heng thought this man was pretty baffling. Having destroyed a piece of clothing, he was properly apologized to and was agreed to be paid adequate compensation, and not to mention that the price could also be decided by him, even so why did he want them to follow him to the garment store?
While mulling over his doubts, Lu Heng heard Shi Kongâs voice: âThis trip is be safe, letâs follow himâ.
Lu Heng and the other person were being led by him and having tuned several corners, he felt that the surrounding environment getting worse and worse. How can such a remote place look like a ready-made clothing store? If it hadnât been for Shi Kong attesting to his harmlessness, Lu Heng would gave already launched an attack by now.
But when Lu Heng wanted to enquire Shi Kong about the otherâs fishy behavior, he refused to say more, and just advised Lu Heng to observe him carefully. Lu Hengâs thoughts churned, but he saw the man stop at the gate of a small courtyard, his breath was taken away.
âBai!â Lu Heng blurted out.
Bai nodded and smiled, âLong time no see.â
âYou were looking for me on purpose. How did you know I was in this city?â When Lu Heng thought about it a little, he was able to connect the dots.
âThereâs a wisp of my breath on the beads. I sensed it as soon as you entered the city.â White pushed open the courtyard door and motioned them to follow him in. âItâs just that the restaurant is full of eyes, so I had to think of this method to lead you here.ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Although the courtyard was not big, it was clean and tidy. It could be seen that the ownerâs house took a lot of planning. A beautiful woman could be seen in the middle of the main room, her abdomen bulging, and her actions appearing somewhat strenuous.
Bai hurried forward and supported the woman, and rebuked with a slightly reproachful tone and a gentle expression: âWhy donât you have a good rest instead doing stuff outside?â
The woman smiled, her eyebrows were full of happiness in anticipation to experiencing motherhood: âItâs rude how can I hide in the house as a host when we have guests here?â
Bai helplessly flicked her nose and turned back to introduce Lu Heng to his wife. This woman, naturally, was Baiâs pregnant wife, Yun Niang.
During the time spent while waiting for Qianye Lotus to blossom, Bai once recounted to Lu Heng some of the stories about himself and his wife. This Yun Niang came from a rich merchantâs family. In the beginning, she liked Bai but her power-hungry family opposed their marriage, and shut Yun Niang up, to marry her to the prefectural magistrate as his second wife. Yun Niang, who had always been gentle and virtuous, did the most rebellious thing in her life and eloped with Bai. The territory of the demon race was not suitable for the life of a human, so they eloped and settled down in the city.
After exchanging pleasantries, Yun Niang returned to her room to rest her pregnant body. Lu Heng drank tea and started chatting at the stone table in the courtyard, describing the events after their separation.
âIâm so sorry that I left you injured that day,â Bai paused for a moment. âBut the Master Shi Kong found you and me in our hiding place. He had your smell on him and I could see that he had been with you for a long time. Your friendship with him far surpassed ours, so I entrusted you to Master Shi Kong. You donât blame me, do you?
Seeing Baiâs face tinged with anxiety, Lu Heng waved his hand: âYou alone led those people away to ensure my safety, and I can distinguish between a good and an evil person. To tell you the truth, you are my lifesaver. Without your innate skill to protect me during the heavenly tribulation, I would have probably been obliterated.
âThe tribulation wasnât too powerful that day. It wasnât a big deal for me. But it was different for you. You were not yet a teenager then and you had just shed your skin. How could I watch you suffer from such serious injury? There was some guilt on Baiâs face. âBesides, the accident was originally caused by me. If I hadnât taken you to see the Qianye Lotus maturing, it would not have happened.â
Lu Heng had always been frank and casual. Hearing Bai, he no longer assumed formalities, just kept this friendship in his mind. If Bai needed any help from him in the future, he would not hesitate to cross even a mountain of blades.
âWhen I heard your wife was pregnant, I couldnât imagine what kind of father you would be like. Now, I have realized that you are still a pretty reliable husband. In order to avoid Bai continuing to feel guilty, Lu Heng joked.
Hearing Lu Heng praise him so much, Bai shyly rubbed his nose, but the corners of his mouth turned up: âWell, of course, I am about to become a great demon, being reliable is inevitable!â
When Lu Heng and Bai were in the midst chatting, the latter often looked at the main room, and knew that he was worried about his wife, so he did not bother him much.
When Lu Heng and company were leaving, Bai said, âWhen Yun Niang gives birth, I can grant her a semi-demon physique by using the power of Qianye Lotus and a secret technique, and then our family could settle down in the mainland. Itâs just a matter of time.â
They were in no hurry to go to the demon raceâs territory. Lu Heng and Shi Kong stayed in the Yingke Lou and diligently cultivated. In addition to cultivation, they went sight-seeing around this small town in Southern Mainland, but time passed fast.
Bai Wei started to collect the auxiliary elixirs for the day his wife went into labor, and went out frequently. Lu Heng had not seen Bai for quite some time. In recent days, Lu Heng has always had a vague sense of uneasiness in his heart. It seemed that something was about happen.
The demon raceâs instinct had always been accurate.
One day, while Lu Heng was sitting in meditation, he suddenly heard a loud noise outside the window. Looking out, he saw a hemi-spherical golden dome in the southern half of the sky, covering half the sky of the town.
Thatâs the courtyard where Bai lives! That dome was Baiâs barrier. Somethingâs wrong!
Lu Heng immediately rushed to the small courtyard where Bai lived, but he saw that it was surrounded by cultivators. Various kinds of holy artifacts emitted colorful lights and were continuously attacking the barrier, which grew increasingly dim, apparently it would not be able to sustain for long.
The courtyard was dead silent.
Lu Heng was anxious to enter the courtyard where Bai lived, and they probably wonât blocked by the barrier as well. However, the besieging monks would not let Lu Heng enter easily. The monks were apparently from the same school, wearing similar daoist robes. The appearance of two new faces immediately attracted their attention.
A man flew out of the crowd, and looking at his clothes, he should be the leader: âTwo fellow daoists, Clear spring sect [T/N: YES, that one] has important business here, please retreat.â
Lu Heng was too lazy to talk to him and directly lashed with the long whip.
The manâs expression changed: âDemon race? Looks like youâre an accomplice of the one in this courtyard!â
Suddenly, a few more people came out of the crowd, fiercely confronting Lu Heng.
At this time, the leading figure saw Shi Kong standing beside him and bowed his hand to make a ceremonial gesture: âThis master is representing the Fanyin temple sect?â
Fanyin Temple was one of the leading sects, and when cultivating the human heart, it was necessary to borrow help from the monks of Fanyin Temple to expel the heart demons. Therefore, it had a very special status. Generally speaking, when a monk saw the disciples of Fanyin Temple, he had to show politeness in all three points. [T/N: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Rules_of_Discipline_and_Eight_Points_for_Attention maybe?]
Shi Kong actually responded to his courtesy by returning the ceremonial gesture for a while.
The man acquiesced towards Shi Kong, restrained himself for a few minutes, and assumed a respectful stance: âMaster, donât be deceived by the demons around you. The evildoer in this courtyard robbed our sect of our treasure...
This person can invert black and white so easily. Lu Heng was so angry that he was about to launch an attack, but he heard Shi Kongâs voice say to him, âLetâs go in.â
As soon as the voice fell, Lu Heng saw a huge golden palm materialize in the air, and sweep aside the monks who had blocked the road. In such an urgent situation, Lu Heng and the other person did not entangle with these cultivators, but broke in directly into the courtyard.
Looking at the situation in the courtyard, Lu Heng was dumbstruck. Baiâs wife lay in the courtyard covered with blood all over. Her life and death was uncertain. Bai looked anxious but was carefully holding Qianye lotus, and was on the final step of its refinement.
Seeing Lu Heng and the other person, Bai considered them to be his lifesavers, and pleaded urgently, âZheng, hold the formation for me. This ritual has reached its final step. I have no time to distract myself to take care of the barrier.â
âBut I know nothing about barriers.â Lu Heng was somewhat annoyed that he had devoted himself to cultivation but had not learned about these miscellaneous things.
âMight as well.â Shi Kong said, âIn recent years, this poor monk have done some research on the skills of the demon race, but this barrier can only be maintained by demonic energy. You should see the poor monks do it once.â
After he finished speaking, Shi Kong drew a complex and mysterious rune in the air. Itâs just that Baiâs Barrier was very advanced, and it was naturally not easy to maintain it. Although Lu Heng had great insight, but as the time passed, it felt like driving a duck onto a perch [T/N: things beyond his ability], and mistakes were unavoidable.
The barrier in mid-air, under the constant barrage of attacks, grew dimmer and dimmer. To make matters worse, after a loud bang, one of the layers trembled violently for a few moments and disappeared. It seemed to have been attacked by powerful holy artifacts.
Shi Kong saw that there was no time to worry too much. He embraced Lu Heng from behind, put his left hand in Lu Hengâs dantian area, and grasped Lu Hengâs wrist with his right hand: âFor the time being, follow this poor monkâs guidance, and operate your demonic energy.â
Shi Kongâs body was tall, and Lu Heng was still a teenager. During the conversation, Lu Heng felt that Shi Kongâs open lips gently caressing his hair, and his face burned up at once. Lu Hengâs perception had never been this sensitive. Even through a few layers of clothing, his back seemed to feel Shi Kongâs robust pectoral muscles, as well as the shallow breathing that had been brushing his hair.
However, Lu Heng was not allowed to be absent-minded for too long. He calmed himself and said, âCome.â
Lu Heng was familiar with the spiritual power of Shi Kong. At the moment when Shi Kongâs spiritual power entered his Dantian, Lu Heng tacitly separated a thread of demonic energy, and gently wound it up and ran it along his meridians. Outside, with Lu Hengâs hand, Shi Kong drew a mysterious trace in the air slowly but rhythmically.
With the addition of the demonic power, the barrier quickly stabilized, the golden light overflowed, and the outside attack on it was like scratching oneâs boots, which did not pose any danger at all.
Only then did Lu Heng devote his attention to the situation in Baiâs area.
The Qianye lotus in Baiâs hands had been gradually refined into a spherical drop of liquid with the ritual. Bai sent the liquid to Yun Niangâs mouth and urged her to swallow it.
Yun Niang tried hard to open her eyes and shook her head lightly: âI feel that the life of a child in my abdomen is passing away. Iâm afraid itâs vitality is not good enough to be born, so Iâll transfer it to the child.â
âYun Niang is clever, you must support yourself, the child...... Weâll have other children.â
Yun Niang, however, stubbornly clenched her teeth and refused to swallow the elixir. Reluctantly, he had to firmly pinch Yun Niangâs cheek and force the liquid into her mouth.
As soon as the liquid fell into her abdomen, Yun Niangâs face immediately looked much better. She clenched her teeth and twisted her face with intense pain. This long and painful labour was at the last stage.
An advance notice: Since Chapter 30 is more than 3 times the length of normal chapters [11646 words], it will be split into 3. Each release will count as a separate release (sponsored or otherwise). Which means, there will NOT be daily releases for this whole arc (probably).