Chapter 9

Translated by boilpoil Edited by boilpoil

Wen Fu came back after more than 3 months have passed.

He has untreated wounds on his body, but he appears to be energetic when carrying in the alchemical stove and all sorts of alchemical ingredients for Bai Lianhua.

The alchemical stove appears old-fashioned. Bai Lianhua does not recognise it, but he can discern it being of excellent make. It’s probably one of the top ones among the whole cultivation realm. As for all the various alchemical cultivational ingredients he does recognise most of them. All of them are beneficial for a cultivator wishing to cleanse their body of impurities, and improve their cultivation base. These are also the top quality ingredients of their kind, and it’s something you can only chance upon by luck… Even if an ancient era concealed realm is a special environment where all these rare materials could be obtained, it does not mean you can just get them without fail. They are all located in incredibly precarious locations and would often be accompanied by poisonous plants in symbiosis. It’s quite difficult to take them unscathed.

——This is another thing the whole cultivation realm except Bai Lianhua knows. The demonic cultivator Wen Fu who in others’ eyes appear to unusually despise alchemical cultivators, can actually beat more than the majority of cultivation realm’s alchemical cultivators in the blink of an eye when it comes to recognising, picking, processing, and storing alchemical ingredients, and in the theoretical knowledge of refining pills. This is all ingrained in him when he accompanied Bai Lianhua as he refined stove after stove of alchemical pills.

Bai Lianhua feels conflicted and hard to speak.

Wen Fu probably doesn’t know how his expression no longer looked as depressing, dark or unreadable as he normally is in front of Bai Lianhua when he took the materials out. Instead of easily scaring the white lotus in front of him into hiding his bulb, the expression is instead bright, dazzling, expectant. He doesn’t even look like a Dacheng cultivator, nor does it make him appear unreadable.

He’s almost basically printed his emotions on his face——I got the alchemical stove for you, I picked the cultivable qi plants for you, I did everything for you.

Having spent these days with him, Bai Lianhua does not doubt his prideful attitude in front of others. He is always that demonic cultivator elder who both seems to and does not seem to have a smile on, whose every act strikes pressure into others. Yet that Wen Fu, in front of him, still cannot hide his emotions well. His guise would also break.

After all, it is just the word ‘affection.’ He is different to Wen Fu. That system’s embarrassing words are correct. Even if he had lied to Wen Fu, but in his mind, he is still the only stretch of peacefulness in him.

Oof. He suddenly feels he’s such a scum! He’s not a good white lotus. He’s not at all caring or healing. Instead, he has mutated a series of spikes on his body that wounds people who touch him.

Bai Lianhua isn’t made of steel. Seeing someone whose emotions are usually concealed show such an expression unconsciously, he seems to have been punctured by a long and narrow needle in his chest. He can’t help not caring about those treasures, and instead rushes forth to look at Wen Fu’s wounds.

He’s an alchemical cultivator so he has a calming cultivation power. If nothing else, it’s quite useful for healing wounds. Especially when the fundamental cultivation power of Wen Fu is still inside him, it is extra effective.

Though with his Zhuji level of cultivation amount, it is a brave idea to try to heal Wen Fu completely. Still, at least he will be able to tell how his wounds are and help make him feel better.

Wen Fu, only managing to secure all this pile of stuff after numerous hardships, sees Bai Lianhua only taking a glance at them before looking elsewhere. Then his cold aura completely dies down after seeing what Bai Lianhua does next.

Wen Fu doesn’t put up another fancy fake smile this time. His lips are flat naturally, though he still seems to be quite pleased somehow, from the bottom of his heart. It is soothing just to watch.

“You’re worried about me.”

Bai Lianhua doesn’t stop using his cultivation power, and fails to fiercely stare at him. He isn’t in the mood to retort, “yes. I am. Very much so. Is that enough?”

Wen Fu stops, but he keeps staring fixedly at Bai Lianhua.

His ferocious aura seems to have retracted completely, looking just like the young cultivator who used to accompany Bai Lianhua when picking ingredients and refining pills those years, as if nothing has changed. He might be misanthropic, completely on guard against everyone, disdainful of all sorts of weakness and kindness, but only because of Bai Lianhua, is he willing to believe that the world would treat him with kindness.

At that moment, Bai Lianhua feels as if he has managed to recover that little bok choy he nurtured delicately——And not the tainted version. It is spreading its leaves in the fog, as if glittering.

Though the system ruins that mood the next moment with its murmurs, “oh! Host you certainly deserve to be called the chosen white lotus. Look, this series of reflexive actions of yours have touched the softness in his heart so easily. The mission to soothe him has progressed greatly! If I didn’t know host you didn’t have that presence of mind, I’d have thought you’d planned everything as soon as the antagonist came back with all these wounds. Look, ‘no treasure is more important to me than you,’ what a touching segment!”

——It’s alright if he doesn’t have the necessary brains to be a scheming white lotus. The host has natural, instinctual reactions befitting a born white lotus! It is certainly an excellent trait.

Bai Lianhua lowers his head, ignoring the system’s distasteful remark, and speaks seriously, “system, I’m telling you for real. If you don’t pull me out of this damn world… I might be defeated. I might fall for Wen Fu.” It is quite a serious incident when one is reverse-conquered trying to conquer the antagonist.

“Oh. Then fall. Don’t worry host. This system judges Wen Fu not to be a trap. He’ll definitely catch you as you fall.”

“What?”

“Cough. I meant, if the host is willing to pretend to be together with Wen Fu, of course it will help the mission progress. Don’t the novels all say this? XX, evil as the devil himself, meets his predestined little white lotus, and therefore abandons all his schemes and plans; he cleanses himself and changes his evil ways with the persuasive power of love… These are all positive examples to follow.”

Bai Lianhua “…” Did he actually say the word ‘pretend’ just now? Didn’t he say he was afraid he’ll actually become romantically invested in Wen Fu?

Bai Lianhua furrows his brows in confusion. Huh? Why did he feel as if the system is quite glad to see him being reverse-conquered by the antagonist?

No no no, probably not. If word of this were to get out that XX system’s current host is so easy that he got reverse conquered by the mission objective, wouldn’t the system become the butt of their jokes? The stupid system might like to tease him, but it wouldn’t be so enthusiastically one-upping himself… right?

…

One thing is real, though. Since his reunion with Bai Lianhua, his predestined white lotus, other than that concealed realm exploration, Wen Fu has stopped making trouble.

It’s no surprise then that his mission to soothe the antagonist is going well with the progress bar jumping forward bit by bit.

In the system’s terms, Bai Lianhua has, with his saintly, sacrificial disposition, doing justice to the codename of double white, to have completely attracted Wen Fu’s attention onto himself. So he has incidentally stopped Wen Fu from going outside to mess about, then finishing his opus magnum of unifying the demonic cultivators and annexing the cultivation realm.

Bai Lianhua keeps thinking it sounds weird. Is it really describing him? If the adjectives were modified a bit, wouldn’t he have been a standard evil royal consort?

He decides to refine another stove of pills in his depression from his thought——Of course, under the supervision of Wen Fu, who suspects pretty much everything. He seems to be really afraid that he’d go mad and then refine a poisonous pill before putting it into his own mouth, and bite into it in one fell swoop with a ‘clunk,’ then everything would be over. So he’s accompanying him at all times when he’s refining pills.

Since Bai Lianhua knows that those natural bounties would be a waste on him given his body, and it won’t be helpful at all, so he feels like saving them for Wen Fu, but Wen Fu completely denies him the opportunity. When he realises that Wen Fu is unwilling to refine and eat those pills, he’s more than likely to transform back into that demonic cultivator who is broody and moody back when they met each other again. So Bai Lianhua often just cowards his way and fires up the stove like a wimp, treating the pills he end up refining as sweets, then also refining some pills that might be able to alleviate Wen Fu’s inner wounds while he’s at it.

Thanks to that last time, now the relationship between the two have been mended quite a bit. Bai Lianhua is no longer acting as a silent background painting, and Wen Fu also stopped looking at him with that goosebump-inducing gaze——Though he still likes to touch him here and there.

Though at least Wen Fu would acquiesce and does not mind eating all those pills Bai Lianhua made that much given Bai Lianhua’s obedience. He would even hold Bai Lianhua’s chin and smile gently when he sees him struggling in thought, furrowing his brows for him.

“It’s alright if you can’t come up with it. When you’ve spent so much time and effort to make it yourself, I’ll eat it even if it were poison.”

“I don’t know if this is genuinely your feeling. Since I did say that it’ll be pretty nice if you manage to deceive me for life. It’s your talent if you could… Still, right now, I am pretty happy.”

“It’s the happiness I have never felt after I finished my revenge.” And before that, the time he felt so calm and happy is when he lived with Bai Lianhua in the Forest of Mists with just the two of them in solitude.

Now that he thinks about it, all his sincere smiles in his long, long life, were all given to the same person.

…

Seeing how Wen Fu seems to have begun treating him with a more cordial attitude over time, after a bit of contemplation, Bai Lianhua feels brave enough to finally express to Wen Fu that he doesn’t want to be held in the residence anymore.

——Since that one time the system remarked in admiration “this is probably the so-called ‘keeping a mistress in a love nest,'” Bai Lianhua has felt odd, and so is trying to eliminate this feeling.

After Wen Fu stares at Bai Lianhua in silence for a bit, he agrees. Though his condition is that Bai Lianhua had to agree in words that the deal from before is valid.

Bai Lianhua pauses for a second, the deal? Oh, it’s that damned ridiculous exchange for Wen Fu’s age complementation body using his genuine affection?

Bai Lianhua’s head hurts. So it turned out Wen Fu is still fixed on it. Hasn’t a season passed already? He’s so busy refining pills, cultivating, urging Wen Fu to eat his pills for those wounds of his; he’s forgotten that already thanks to his plentiful daily activities.

When will he finally let that bit go…

The system pops up, “why don’t you agree, host? Another day you refuse is another day that Wen Fu doesn’t feel secure… Recently the mission progress hasn’t been moving forward much you know, sob.”

“Plus, aren’t you already treating Wen Fu with genuine affection?”

Bai Lianhua counters, “but he wants a genuine love.” Not a genuine care.

“Then why can’t host love him? This isn’t just the system blindly selling him out, but look at Wen Fu. He’s handsome. He’s got the cultivation amount. He’s romantically pursuing you with feelings unchanged for a few centuries. If you aren’t satisfied with anything else, host, why don’t you tell Wen Fu, and he’ll probably change himself to what you like?”

Bai Lianhua feels depressed. He doesn’t feel unsatisfied with anything. In fact, he does feel a bit of awkwardness in his chest. Even if that little sprout has been forcefully restrained by him trying to push it back inside.

Bai Lianhua stares at Wen Fu who is patiently waiting for his answer, and grinds his teeth.

Fine fine fine. You always thought I have ulterior motives, then let’s just say I do. Since the day I die at last you’ll figure it out anyway, that I really wouldn’t reforge you.

Author’s notes: Congratulations to our Bai Lianlian for winning our system-certified awards of ‘evil royal consort’ and ‘mistress in love nest.’

Next chapter will be a big plot progression. It felt a bit wild to me… Well I did like the next chapter best when I wrote this originally =w= [HEY!]

Read only at Travis Translations