Chapter 128: As The Clouds Scatter, A Hundred Years Pass Like Flowing Water.

Immortal Lord Zhenwu was the first to learn that Bian Zhonghua wanted to merge the Dragon bone into his flesh and blood.

Although Bian Zhonghua was already worshiped as the Demon Emperor by countless people, whenever he felt confused or lost, he would instinctively look to Immortal Lord Zhenwu for advice.

After hearing the decision made by Bian Zhonghua, Immortal Lord Zhenwu remained silent for a long time. Finally, he asked: “Do you understand what consequences that will bring?”

Bian Zhonghua nodded heavily: “I do.”

“Will you regret it?”

“No.”

Immortal Lord Zhenwu patted Bian Zhonghua on the shoulder and solemnly said: “Then go ahead. Do it if that’s what you really want to do.”

Bian Zhonghua sighed lightly, smiled, and thanked him.

Before him, there was an unfathomable abyss of uncertainties.

And what he needed the most at this very moment, were those words of encouragement.

Suddenly, all the doubts, insecurities, and hesitations inside him dispersed with the wind, leaving only these words behind: Go ahead. Do it if that’s what you really want to do.

A few days later, Lin Baihu and Qin Yicang heard about it.

Lin Baihu knew that he couldn’t question Bian Zhonghua’s decision, so he didn’t say anything.

Qin Yicang, on the other hand, let out a long sigh and said: “I understand you.”

Bian Zhonghua mocked him: “Come on, what do you understand? Chiwen and I are completely in love with each other. You, on the contrary, are in unrequited love.”

Qin Yicang was so angry at those words that he rolled his eyes, stretched out a hand, and hit Bian Zhonghua.

As soon as the matter was settled, Bian Zhonghua wasted no time and began to make preparations.

Given that there were too many uncertainties, Bian Zhonghua decided to set up a formation in a secluded place, transforming it into a valley that neither he nor Qi Ci could leave unless the Demonic Qi in the Dragon bone had completely vanished.

After all, if Bian Zhonghua’s consciousness were to really be consumed by the Dragon bone, there was no way of knowing what would happen.

After much contemplation, Bian Zhonghua decided to take Qi Ci to the place where they first met.

There, they found a deep lake and clear streams, accompanied by memories of a young man carefully handing a boy some candied plums.

It took Bian Zhonghua dozens of days to move the mountains to build the foundations of the formation, and by casting spells, he created the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams formation around the valley.

Then, one day, when Qi Ci was in those rare moments when he wasn’t under the effect of demonization, Bian Zhonghua obtained his consent and took him to the valley.

Meanwhile, Immortal Lord Zhenwu, Lin Baihu and Qin Yincang stayed outside the formation keeping guard, so as to avoid any unexpected incidents.

After Bian Zhonghua brought Qi Ci into the valley, Qi Ci looked around and asked: “Is this the place where you and I first met?”

Bian Zhonghua nodded with a smile and reached over to take Qi Ci’s hand.

However, Qi Ci flinched and hid his hand behind his back.

In the past few days, Qi Ci’s demonization had become increasingly severe, meaning that his hands had been completely covered by the glowing cyan scales. Qi Ci feared that the scales on his hand would hurt Bian Zhonghua, hence his defensive gesture.

Bian Zhonghua smiled warmly: “It’s alright,” he said and pulled Qi Ci’s hand from behind his back, held it tenderly, and intertwined their fingers together. Bian Zhonghua looked at Qi Ci and said: “I’ll take you to a special place.”

Subsequently, Bian Zhonghua took Qi Ci to the edge of the lake and told him how a young Qi Ci transformed into a Dragon to save his life. He also told him about the time when Qi Ci offered him candied plums. Qi Ci listened to all this in complete silence, as he didn’t want to miss a single word.

As the clouds scattered, a hundred years passed like flowing water1.

After reminiscing about the past, they set out to face the present with confidence.

“Are you ready?” Bian Zhonghua asked as he looked at Qi Ci.

Qi Ci took a deep breath and nodded his head.

Bian Zhonghua wrapped one hand around Qi Ci’s waist, covered his chest with the other hand, and began to chant an incantation in order to extract the Dragon bone.

A few moments later, pain was the only sensation present in Qi Ci’s body.

Every inch of his flesh and every inch of his bones collapsed in agony under the stabbing pain in his chest.

Qi Ci screamed in pain and struggled instinctively.

Bian Zhonghua hugged Qi Ci tightly, and as he called out his name over and over again, for Qi Ci it was like the only support he was holding on to in the face of pain and despair. It was like a warm and powerful feeling, just like taking shelter next to a bonfire in the cold winter, or a bountiful harvest in the desolate autumn.

Time seemed to blur as the pain gradually subsided. At the same time, the hand firmly gripping his waist suddenly loosened.

Qi Ci collapsed on the ground out of breath. However, almost instantly, he realized that the cyan scales on his hands had disappeared!

Qi Ci’s heart was filled with joy, and when he raised his head to show Bian Zhonghua, he saw that Bian Zhonghua was busy absorbing the Demonic Qi emanating from the Dragon bone into his own body.

After all, if he didn’t hurry to proceed right now, the Dragon bone would return to Qi Ci’s body and all his efforts would have been in vain……

The pain of merging the Dragon bone into his body was no less painful than extracting it. All of a sudden, Bian Zhonghua began to cough up blood at the same time his knees gave out. However, he didn’t fall to the ground.

For Qi Ci had stepped forward to embrace him tightly in his arms.

Bian Zhonghua tried to smile at Qi Ci, but he couldn’t find the strength to do so. His body was vehemently trying to fight back the Demonic Qi from the Dragon bone, but he could feel how the Demonic Qi overflowed uncontrollably, roaming through every inch of his being, cutting him like sharp blades.

It was as if he was enduring a long, seemingly endless torture.

The instant the Dragon bone finished merging with Bian Zhonghua’s body, Bian Zhonghua’s Neidan shattered, and his body contorted in scrutinizing pain.

For a moment, everything seemed to return to peace.

After he felt that the Dragon bone had completely assimilated with his body, Bian Zhonghua opened his eyes, completely exhausted. When he opened them, he discovered that Qi Ci was hugging him tightly with reddened and tear-filled eyes.

Upon seeing that Bian Zhonghua had opened his eyes and was looking at him, Qi Ci’s voice trembled: “Are you…are you alright?”

Bian Zhonghua smiled and feebly said: “Don’t be afraid. You haven’t become a widower yet.”

With a slightly choked up voice, Qi Ci rubbed his eyes and asked in confusion: “What is ‘widowhood’?”

Bian Zhonghua tilted his chin and said: “If you give me a kiss, I’ll tell you.”

Qi Ci leaned over with the intention of kissing Bian Zhonghua, but right at that moment, Bian Zhonghua suddenly jerked back. His round pupils shrank like thin needles, and a powerful cry of pain came out of his mouth.

“Bian Zhonghua!” Qi Ci cried out in alarm at the same time his heart squeezed tight.

‘Bian Zhonghua has been consumed by the Dragon bone!’

What happened after that was as if a red-hot iron blade had burned Bian Zhonghua’s heart over and over again, for what felt like countless days and nights.

The pain was so excruciating, it was hard for him to breathe.

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After being consumed by the Dragon bone, Bian Zhonghua was unable to prevent himself from losing control and hurting Qi Ci by accident.

Qi Ci swallowed a mouthful of blood and did everything in his power to redirect the Demonic Qi in Bian Zhonghua’s body towards himself. Then, Qi Ci summoned an ice blade, and just like last time, he aimed it at his own neck with no hesitation.

This time, however, Bian Zhonghua was unable to stop Qi Ci.

“You…. have brought the candied plum? I’d like to taste it again.”

These were the last words Qi Ci said to Bian Zhonghua.

After that, Qi Ci, who was covered in blood and wounds, breathed his last breath in Bian Zhonghua’s arms.

Bian Zhonghua didn’t take Qi Ci’s corpse out of the valley. Instead, he buried him at the bottom of the lake where they met for the first time.

From that day on, Bian Zhonghua seemed to have gone mad and searched everywhere for a method of resurrection.

But it was impossible to go against the Mandate of Heaven, and this calamity had already been predestined. There was no method by which he could be resurrected.

The Son of the Dragon was not a Demon, nor was he a human. He could not reincarnate, nor could he have a new lifetime.

Every page of every ancient text written in black ink that Bian Zhonghua had read contained the same repeated words. Scattering of the soul.

These words pierced Bian Zhonghua’s eyes like thorns, filling him with pain.

Bian Zhonghua traveled through the Mortal World, climbed up to the Nine Heavens and descended to the Underworld. However, no matter what he did, Bian Zhonghua was unable to find Qi Ci’s soul. Then, despite his own disappointment, Bian Zhonghua returned to the Underworld, to wait for Qi Ci at the Naihe Bridge.

But with his Neidan destroyed, how long could he endure in that gloomy, poisonous river of forgetfulness filled with venomous snakes where the ghostly Qi prevailed above all else?

As he waited, Bian Zhonghua experienced the splitting of his three souls, causing his mind to become confused and lose all memory of who he was.

And then….

After long years of separation, across mountains and rivers, inside a vermillion building with green eaves, and surrounded by laughter and conversation….

He looked at a young man lying on a bed covered in a red veil, dressed in lightly tied clothes. Bian Zhonghua smiled at him and said: “I am an assassin.”

Footnotes

浮云一别，流水百年 fú yún yī bié, liú shuǐ bǎi nián ; A modified sentence of the poem 《淮上喜会梁川故人》 by ( 韦应物 wéi yìng wù ) Wei Yingwu [737-792] from the Tang Dynasty [618-907]. The original sentence states that ten years have passed, but due to the context of the novel, the author modified it to hundreds of years. Sentence interpretation: After parting ways, like drifting clouds, I wandered aimlessly and time passed like flowing water, swiftly turning hundreds of years.