Love Travels through Time (My father who traveled through time and space to cultivate immortality came back to pick me up) - Chapter 61
Chapter 61: Change of Mind
Han Qi came to a halt.
There were less than five feet between the two of them. Hostile aura swirled around them, so intense that even the falling snowflakes shrank away and drifted around.
The hostility hung in a deadlock.
After a long silence, Yin Changli, his expression gloomy, spat out a few words.
“You are truly disgusting.”
Han Qi: “…?”
Why call him disgusting?
In the past when conflicts flared between them, Yin Changli would curse him as scum or a bastard, but he had never used the word “disgusting.”
The last time, when Xiang Haikui was performing the sword-swallowing trick on the lotus boat, he had said he was disgusting.
This was the second time.
Even now, Han Qi could not figure out what he had said that was so disgusting.
While he was still pondering, the enraged Yin Changli had already raised his hand, choking Han Qi’s throat across the empty air.
Caught off guard by this sudden, overwhelming loss of sanity, Han Qi’s fifth-grade physical body could not withstand it.
Fortunately, the Tian Kuang sword aura surged forth, and Xiang Haikui arrived right behind it.
Enduring the oppressive hostility, she leaped between the two, shielding Han Qi.
Her sword aura swept past, forcing Yin Changli back two steps.
Looking slightly startled, Yin Changli suddenly turned his gaze to her.
His eyes held a trace of disbelief, followed by an extra layer of anger.
Xiang Haikui felt the mad intent within the Tian Kuang Sword rising—surging rapidly.
Astonished, she quickly explained, “Senior, I don’t care if you hit him, but this is my senior brother’s physical body! Take a good look before you strike, don’t hit my senior brother!”
Explaining only made it worse; the mad intent spiked even faster.
Xiang Haikui was bewildered.
She hadn’t expected to still harvest mad intent from her former boss at a time like this.
What she couldn’t grasp even more was how a single counterattack on her part could generate so much mad intent.
And Tian kuang, be human for once, will you? Stop plucking wool from the same sheep over and over, or you’ll shear him completely bald sooner or later.
Lu Xiqiao was totally confused about the situation.
Xiang Haikui had been poking him with her sword when she suddenly threw him aside and ran off.
With his hands bound by spiritual shackles, he trotted forward.
“Sister Kui, what happened?”
As soon as he stepped closer, he felt an utterly terrifying atmosphere—even more terrifying than under the Jianmu Tree.
Xiang Haikui hastily changed the subject, sheathing her sword and pushing Lu Xiqiao forward.
“Seniors, please check what’s going on with him first! Meng Nanting suddenly gave up, and now the Lesser Jianmu is completely deserted…”
Yin Changli and Han Qi knit their brows at the same time, both turning to look at Lu Xiqiao.
Both of their faces were dark, radiating heavy killing intent.
Lu Xiqiao’s hairs stood on end as he straightened his back.
Spiritual vegetation energy drifted around him, and his cultivation was still naturally growing, having already broken through to the late Ninth grade, though the speed had noticeably slowed compared to when he was inside the tower.
Yin Changli looked at Han Qi.
“Did you send the message?”
Han Qi: “I only just learned that Meng Nanting was hiding inside Lu Xiqiao’s consciousness sea.”
He hadn’t expected to underestimate this concubine-born son of the Meng family.
“Besides, why would I care about the Meng family?”
Yin Changli: “My coming here was on a whim, and your following me was likely on a whim as well. So who sent the message to Meng Nanting—and with enough authority that he withdrew directly without even trying to put up a fight?”
Han Qi frowned: “The Emperor’s people in the lower realm?”
Yin Changli: “It shouldn’t be that fast.”
“Seniors,” Xiang Haikui interrupted, “the most urgent matter right now is for you two to judge who he actually is—whether he’s truly Lu Xiqiao, and if so, whether Meng Nanting is still inside his consciousness sea.”
Han Qi shook his head: “Unclear. Meng Nanting hid inside his consciousness sea for too long, and having just fused, his aura is unstable. I can’t pry into it.”
With that, he looked at Yin Changli.
Yin Changli shook his head as well.
“Then what do we do?”
Xiang Haikui felt a headache coming on.
“Easy.”
The two struck almost simultaneously, tapping both sides of Lu Xiqiao’s temples.
Lu Xiqiao rolled his eyes back and collapsed onto the ground, curling up like a “red apple.”
“Take him to the Underworld and test him with the Soul-Observing Mirror, then we’ll know,” Han Qi said.
“Wait for me a moment. I’ll return to the upper realm right now and bring you to the Underworld in my true body.”
While he was still discussing it with Xiang Haikui, Yin Changli had already drawn the apple into his palm, stuffed it into a jade box, and put it away.
“I happen to be going to the Underworld anyway. It’s on the way.”
Han Qi found it amusing: “It’s true you’re used to coming and going from the Underworld, but the Soul-Observing Mirror is in Bian City. Do you dare go to the Bian City right now?”
Ignoring him, Yin Changli said to Xiang Haikui.
“Didn’t you want better terms? Name your conditions.”
Xiang Haikui froze for a moment before reacting.
“But didn’t Senior say…”
Yin Changli: “I changed my mind.”
Xiang Haikui’s strike at him earlier had stirred a pang of bitterness in him, like a kitten he had raised suddenly biting him.
So much so that he couldn’t bear to imagine the scene if she were truly swayed by this shameless Han Qi and turned her blade against him.
Yin Changli: “If you won’t speak, then I’ll make the offer.”
“From now on, follow me. I’ll give you one thousand spirit pearls every day, and you can take whatever you want from the collections in the palace, including those tens of thousands of rare feathers.”
“Brother Han Qi offered to let you hang your name under his for protection. His title as a Great Astrologer is indeed resounding. But I will spare no effort to cultivate you, just as I did back in the Cave of Ten Thousand Bones. Your bone structure was reshaped by me; I know everything about you inside out.”
“In just ten years, you will surely cross the tribulation and Joining Dao. The name of the Master of the Tian Kuang Sword will echo throughout the Three Realms, and you will never need to rely on anyone else in this life.”
Holy crap, the dog boss is bleeding money!
What was there left to think about? Xiang Haikui nodded repeatedly, stepping over to stand beside Yin Changli.
Seeming un surprised, Han Qi’s expression remained unchanged as he looked at Xiang Haikui.
“Young lady, his next step will be to release those imprisoned Shanhai clan members. Do you know what kind of people they are…”
Xiang Haikui thought of Ba Ying and Wuxiang, replying.
“A bunch of idiots.”
Han Qi: “…?”
“They are a band of brainless brutes, a group of warmongers who spill rivers of blood at the drop of a hat,” Han Qi said solemnly.
“Even if killing Yin Changli loses me my bargaining chip against the Emperor, I must stop him. If the Shanhai clan and the Celestial clan go to war, it is us humans who will suffer!”
Yin Changli chuckled softly.
“Miss Xiang, do you consider your master dangerous? Besides, you are warlike yourself, and you are also someone who… doesn’t care much for grand moral principles. Do you consider yourself dangerous?”
Xiang Haikui did not answer, asking only, “Are we heading to the Underworld right now?”
The answer was clear as day.
She had only two paths to choose from now, and compared to Han Qi, she approved much more of Yin Changli’s character and way of doing things.
Besides, Master was fond of battle, but he was by no means a warmonger.
Master even loved his human disciple—whom he had only known for eighty days—from the bottom of his heart.
How could he possibly cause rivers of blood to spill at every turn and turn the mortal realm into purgatory?
Having cultivated Master’s sword way, Xiang Haikui was absolutely certain of this.
Han Qi pinched the bridge of his nose between his eyebrows.
Yin Changli smiled faintly, holding his umbrella as he walked past him. Pausing briefly when they stood shoulder to shoulder, he sent a voice transmission: “Han Qi, a girl you have harmed, while I have saved and personally cultivated… what do you have to compete with me?”
Han Qi composed himself, pressing the tip of his scabbard into the ground and resting his crossed hands over the hilt.
He, too, smiled faintly: “Has Brother Changli finally accepted his own weakness?”
“Even if I have a weakness, so what? Can any of you grasp it?”
Yin Changli raised his hand unhurriedly, using the tip of his index finger to lightly draw a vertical line over his heart, his tone abruptly turning cold and stern.
“Listen closely. I will slice open a wound right here, hide it inside, and sew it up. As long as I do not die, no one shall dream of digging it out!”
“So, after expending all your calculating efforts to create a weakness for me, what on earth are you ultimately after?”
“Just looking for trouble because you’re bored out of your minds!”
With that, he flicked his sleeve and strode off, walking with the wind such that every single feather on his heavy cloak trembled.
Xiang Haikui gave chase.
Han Qi blocked her path, a trace of helplessness in his gaze as he looked at her.
“Young lady, you do indeed have value to be exploited, but I also genuinely find you very interesting. At the very least, you are the first woman to change my perspective—and that has nothing to do with Brother Changli.”
Sheathing his sword and carrying it behind his back, he offered her an apologetic smile.
“Some things were said merely to anger him, with no intention of offending you.”
Han Qi also began walking outward.
“I am returning to the Upper Realm now. Since you are following him, there will still be plenty of opportunities for us to meet in the future. You are a woman of strong opinions, young lady; following either of us makes no difference, and you will soon come to understand that everything I have done in my life was out of sheer necessity, with a clear conscience.”
—
Originally, Yin Changli could have activated a barrier gate or taken the passage beneath the Lesser Jianmu Tree to reach the Underworld.
However, bringing Xiang Haikui along made that impossible.
They had to leave the city first to reach an area unaffected by the Jinling City-Sealing Formation.
Although Meng Nanting had withdrawn completely, the tree roots remained all across the city, and evil spirits still ran rampant, with the sounds of fighting echoing everywhere.
The vortex of the Lesser Jianmu Tree was still gradually strengthening, its passage steadily expanding.
Resolving it would require Pangu’s Axe and some kind of high-grade Karmic Fire—none of which were matters for Xiang Haikui to worry about.
She had long since sent out word that the Lesser Jianmu was at the Lu family’s estate; what came next had nothing to do with her.
Following Yin Changli along the deserted street, she asked, “Why did you suddenly change your mind?”
Yin Changli’s umbrella was large enough to cover them both.
“Because…”
He had originally drawn a clear line with Xiang Haikui in hopes that she could extricate herself from this matter.
Yet now it seemed impossible for her to pull out, and that was his responsibility.
“The reason I advised you to accept his offer was that I know Han Qi has always had a bottom line in how he does things.”
Though his methods were cruel, he had indeed seized the right timing to win an opportunity for the human race.
“In the past, the human race was oppressed by the Celestial clan above and coexisted with my Shanhai Clan below, leaving them with very narrow living space. For Han Qi to climb to where he is, he suffered countlessly and endured endless hardships. Now that he has power, his desire to change the plight of the human race is beyond reproach.”
“By following him, you could learn things.”
Yin Changli’s words sounded as if they were severed into many fragments, jumping around.
“But now… he is becoming increasingly obsessed.”
And he had become thoroughly disgusting.
“Oh.”
Xiang Haikui raised her head to steal a glance at him.
“Is something wrong?”
Xiang Haikui disliked bottling up her questions.
“Just now, I accidentally overheard Senior Han Qi say that you were sliced over eight thousand times by your own kinsmen?”
Yin Changli replied indifferently, “Mm.”
He had intended to brush it off with just that single “mm,” but from the corner of his eye, he caught Xiang Haikui’s face full of curiosity.
After a moment’s hesitation, he continued, “Our Zhulong Clan actually has two forms. During infancy and youth, we are in snake form. Upon reaching adulthood, those who are stronger can transform into dragon form. When our clan was suppressed, I happened to be entering my youth; when I escaped from the Celestial clan, I had just reached adulthood…”
It was precisely because he had manifested that second form that he found the opportunity to escape.
When he located the nearest tribe, far from taking him in, they believed he had brought shame upon the Shanhai Clan. They struck his name off the records and used spirit blades to slice off his scales, one blade per person.
It was the most cruel punishment of the Shanhai Clan.
His white scales fell off completely, exposing black skin beneath.
He completely lost the ability to transform into dragon form, remaining forever in black snake form.
At that point, even as a snake, he had no protective scales to guard his body.
Crawling caused him pain, so he transformed into human form.
In human form, his skin was similarly ulcerated all over, making it impossible to even wear clothes.
Ashamed to step outside, he hid inside a pitch-black cave for over a dozen years.
Even after recovering, he was left with deep-seated injuries that could never be cured; once exposed to light, his skin burned with excruciating pain.
In the past, he had always stayed in the Underworld. After leaving the Underworld, he hid inside his Little Black Orb Palace, rarely exposing himself to sunlight.
This old wound had tormented him for most of his life, which was why last night, when he was caught in a dilemma, he did not want Xiang Haikui to end up suffering incurable pain like his own.
Xiang Haikui looked up at the ribs of the umbrella—no wonder he carried an umbrella whether it was sunny, rainy, or snowy.
Even when the puppy boss possessed Dao Chen, the umbrella never left his hand.
It seems the old pain had seeped deep into his soul.
Puzzled, she asked, “Your kinsmen… you still…”
Yin Changli found it amusing.
“I still what? Why haven’t I harbored hatred in my heart and instead chosen to help them? The Shanhai Clan numbers in the tens of millions—what do eight thousand represent? Should I turn traitor to my own clan over just those eight thousand? Besides, our clan is unyielding by nature and has no tolerance for cowards; I am the anomaly here.”
Put that way, it did make sense, but Xiang Haikui said, “Still…”
Yin Changli said coldly, “After I recovered, I slaughtered my way back, gouged out their inner cores to boost my cultivation, and then scattered their bones and ashes—leaving not a single one behind.”
Holy shit!
Xiang Haikui stroked her neck, remembering last night.
It was a damn miracle her head was still attached.
At that moment, Yin Changli knit his brows.
Stopping in his tracks, he reached out and grabbed Xiang Haikui’s sleeve.
Xiang Haikui, who was in mid-stride, stumbled from his pull and turned to look at him.
“What is it?”
“I suddenly remembered…”
Yin Changli felt a deep sense of familiarity with these surroundings, even though they were covered in the roots of the Lesser Jianmu.
Xiang Haikui looked around as well. She remembered now—this was where the puppy boss had warmed her hands before.
It had been snowing then too, and he was holding the umbrella for her.
Just as she was feeling a touch of sorrow over how much things had changed, she heard Yin Changli say, “I suddenly remembered… did I hire you for so much money just to treat you like a lord?”
Xiang Haikui: ?
Yin Changli shoved the handle of the umbrella into her hands, gesturing for her to hold it over him.
“Be more proactive from now on, or I’ll deduct your pay.”
With his hands now free, he leisurely tucked them behind his back and continued walking forward.
Xiang Haikui fumed with rage, itching to collapse the umbrella, treat it like a sword, and charge up to smash this dog of a boss over his head!
Yin Changli had walked quite a distance, yet she still hadn’t caught up.
Tilted his head slightly, he glanced at his own shoulder.
“If a single snowflake falls on me, I’m deducting a hundred spirit pearls from your pay. Oh, let me count…”
“Don’t!”
Xiang Haikui quickly jogged forward. As she took off, she puffed out her cheeks, rushed over, and blew a hard gust of spiritual energy right at his shoulder.
While every single snowflake was indeed blown away, the force also blew up Yin Changli’s loose hair.
Mixed with a bit of spittle and melted snow, the dark mass pasted flat across his face.
Taking a deep breath, Xiang Haikui hastily reached out to brush the hair off his face, only to have her wrist flicked away by him.
“Go away.”
“Oh.”
Gloomily, Yin Changli combed his hair clean and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his face.
As he wiped, his hand froze mid-motion.
What happened to his beloved handkerchief?
It was originally plain, but now it was embroidered with designs—the back featured sunflowers, while the side he used to wipe his face was covered in hyenas.
On a handkerchief merely the size of a palm, fully a dozen dog heads had been embroidered, digging painfully into his face.
And no matter how he looked at them, those dog heads seemed to be mocking him.
Yin Changli’s hand trembled slightly.
Quietly wiping himself clean, he hastily put the handkerchief away.
With a smile on his lips—clearly trying his best to maintain his composure—he said, “Xiang Haikui, your pay for today…”
“Today’s pay is gone,” Xiang Haikui said, understanding all too well.
She grabbed his hand and forcefully shoved the umbrella handle right back into it.
“In that case, hold the umbrella yourself.”
Hmph. As long as I’m a monk for a day, I’ll strike the bell for a day—I only do a day’s work for a day’s pay.
