Chapter 62
Thank you Samantha, Netharsi and LurkingReader for the Ko-fis!
Editor: yummers
Meng Qing really didn’t expect that Zheng Xing was a field mouse spirit.
Moreover, after seeing the dog, his Shifu refused to change back.
So the young cultivator could only carefully hold this big fat field mouse and whisper to him.
“Shifu, I really like Shi Qing.”
“He’s always so gentle and kind. Although he acts tough and uncaring, he only does good deeds.”
The big field mouse’s eyes darted to Shi Qing, who was teasing Wang Cai.
He was leisurely leaning against a tree with his long legs crossed. His fox-like face had a faint smirk on it as his eyes narrowed with amusement.
No matter how you looked at it, he clearly radiated a malevolent aura.
Zheng Xing, “......”
His blind disciple was still speaking.
“He might be a demon, but Shifu, weren’t you the one that taught me that we should look beyond the appearance of any creature as long as they possess a kind heart?”
The chunky mouse squeaked angrily.
—I said that because I’m a spirit! It was just supposed to be a precaution in case you discovered my identity and couldn’t accept it!!
Who knew that his efforts would just pave the way for this demonic fiend!
Meng Qing was relieved to see his Shifu responding so passionately. He carefully helped him to his feet so his Shifu could face Shi Qing directly.
“Look Shifu, isn’t Shi Qing such a good demon?”
“I’m really happy when I’m with him.”
Zheng Xing, who could only see a cluster of sheer darkness in front of him, was speechless. “......”
Meng Qing said, “He’s a demon so he has no need for merit, but he just helped a doctor who died from overexertion and only asked for that in exchange.”
“Shifu, he really is a good person. I only realized it when I saw him standing on the Underworld’s River Styx surrounded by a sea of stars.”
The big field mouse’s beady little eyes widened. “Squeak squeak squeak?! Squeak!!”
—What’s wrong with you?! Why’d you go to the River Styx?!
—What have I always taught you?! Didn’t I tell you that the living should never set foot there?!
And yet there was a small smile on his disciple’s lips as he continued to look at that demon who was playing with the dog. There was no room in his eyes for anything else.
Zheng Xing was alarmed, he jumped up and down on his disciple’s hand, squeaking frantically in an attempt to draw Meng Qing’s eyes back from the demon king.
However—
“Shifu, you think so too, don’t you?”
Meng Qing’s eyes were soft as he looked at his companion. “The only requirements a cultivator should have is someone who is kind and willing to do good deeds.”
“Shi Qing is a demon, but he was born that way. No one can decide the circumstances of his birth, so why should we hold it against him?”
The large field mouse tried its hardest to wiggle its fat body from side to side.
“Squeak squeak squeak squeak!!!”
—Disciple! Are you blind?! Have you forgotten everything he did before?! You used to hate him with a passion, ah!!
The young cultivator said, “Shifu, I understand. You’re trying to tell me that a cultivator shouldn’t worry so much. Thank you, Shifu. Without your support all my life, I wouldn’t have grown into the person I am today.”
The big mouse, “???”
“Shifu, I know you might not be able to accept it right now, but it’s okay. I’ll come visit you with Shi Qing in the future. You’ll come to realize that, despite being a demon with a vicious and wicked appearance, he actually has the softest heart of anyone I know.”
Zheng Xing, “......”
If he remembered correctly, didn’t demons literally lack hearts to begin with?!
He couldn’t stand this kind of roundabout communication anymore, so he gritted his teeth and jumped out of his disciple’s hand.
The one standing on the ground was no longer a big fat field mouse, but a righteous cultivator with a long beard.
“Meng Qing, Shifu has to tell you...”
“Shifu.”
Shi Qing stepped forward and called out nonchalantly, “Shifu, you’ve changed back?”
Zheng Xing, “...What did you just call me?”
“Shifu, of course.”
The demon king smiled, leaning on Meng Qing.
The young cultivator reached out and smoothly corralled him into his arms. Even a swift glance exchanged between them displayed their strong mutual affection.
Zheng Xing, “......”
His rat eyes were going to go blind at this rate.
The demon king spoke, “Since Meng Qing and I are together, I should also call you Shifu.”
“Shifu, you don’t need to be so against the idea of us. Although I’m a demon, Meng Qing isn’t human either. We’re a fated pair with 10/10 compatibility.”
Meng Qing looked confused, “I’m not human?”
He then looked at the equally stunned Zheng Xing and came to a sudden realization, “Am I a mouse too?”
Zheng Xing blew up, “Bullshit! This master personally carried you up from the foot of the mountain! If you weren’t human, how could you have been dumped there soon after your birth?! Don’t listen to this demon’s nonsense!”
“I’m telling the truth.”
Shi Qing raised his eyebrows. “There is clear and turbulent energy in the world. The turbulent energy created me, and the clear energy created Meng Qing. Zheng Xing Shifu, have you not noticed the aura around Meng Qing? It’s even purer than a newborn baby despite his age! Haven’t you considered what this might mean?”
Zheng Xing, “...”
Since it was his first time taking in such a young disciple, he had actually thought it was due to his godly talent for raising children. He was even pretty proud of it.
He looked at his confused disciple, and then at the demon king whose face had the expression of, “I’m telling the truth so there’s no loopholes for you to exploit”.
Then, he took a closer look at his disciple again.
Sure enough, the air around him was almost supersaturated with pure white energy.
Zheng Xing, “&#k2026;&#k2026;”
So not one of the three people present right now was human?
Shi Qing, “I’m made of turbulent energy and he’s made of clear energy. We were born to be a pair, Zheng Xing Shifu, do you still have a reason to stop us?”
Zheng Xing, “&#k2026;Let me think for a second.”
“Don’t follow me. I want some peace and silence.”
Shi Qing quirked his lips. “No problem.”
Looking at Zheng Xing Shifu’s back, he untied the leash around Wang Cai’s neck and touched its head.
“Good boy. Go and play with him.”
Wang Cai threw out his tongue and wagged his tail happily as he set off in Zheng Xing’s direction.
After a while, Zheng Xing’s terrified screams were heard once more.
“Dog!!!”
“Mommy save me!!!”
“Ahhhhhhhhh squeak squeak squeak!!!”
“Shifu!”
When Meng Qing heard his Shifu’s screams, he subconsciously stepped forward. However, the demon king lazily brought up an arm to stop him as he draped his entire body on Meng Qing.
The deep voice that always contained temptation whispered in his ear, “Don’t worry, your Shifu has been cultivating for 700 years. Wang Cai can’t get close to him if he isn’t willing.”
“But Shifu, he...”
“Do you know why your Shifu came to this temple to cultivate?”
Shi Qing pulled a corner of Meng Qing’s clothes to make him sit. He laid himself comfortably on the other’s lap.
“He was a field mouse before he became a spirit. He lived by stealing grain from a family of farmers. That family also raised a large dog, so that was what he was most afraid of then. He was still afraid after becoming a spirit.
“The reason he has cultivated for so long, and why he came to Qingzhen Temple, was to get rid of his fear. So why not let him and Wang Cai figure it out? I’m sure they’ll find a solution.”
Having said that, the demon king slowly got up and embraced the young cultivator from the back. He whispered into his slowly reddening ear, “I helped your Shifu overcome his fear, so what will you give me in return?”
Meng Qing blushed and gently took his hand.
“I grew up on the mountains with no possessions to my name, so I can only offer you myself.”
Shi Qing laughed and leaned close to the young cultivator’s face. He took in the nervous tension in his eyes. “You were already mine.”
Seeing Meng Qing’s eyes fill with joy as he looked at him, Shi Qing leaned back to Meng Qing’s ear and asked quietly.
“How’s your body? I remember that you’ve been practicing martial arts since you were a child.”
Meng Qing didn’t understand why the topic suddenly changed to this, but he still answered seriously, “Yes, I’ve been practicing martial arts since I was a child, and my body has always been strong.”
Shi Qing, “Then you should be very good at fighting.”
Meng Qing, “Other than a few times when I went down to the mountain to get rid of demons that had harmed people, I’ve never fought anyone before.”
He then asked, “Shi Qing, why are you suddenly asking about this?”
Shi Qing replied, “Do you know Zhao Zilong?”
“At the Battle of Changban Valley, he went in and out seven times. He’s someone I admire.”
Meng Qing nodded, “Although I’ve never been to school, my Shifu knows the ancient and modern world well. He also likes to read novels, so I know a bit about this person.”
The demon king slowly, slowly squeezed his hand into Meng Qing’s.
To Meng Qing, there seemed to be starlight glittering in the eyes of his companion. There was an eager look on his face.
The demon king always played to his advantages.
He lifted the young cultivator’s hand to his fair cheek. The slender fingers, with thin callouses from childhood practice, could feel the tender smoothness of the demon king’s face.
Shi Qing blinked gently, each movement carrying an endless temptation.
“I like Zhao Zilong, so will you try to be like him for me?”
Meng Qing straightened his back and replied with a completely serious face, “I will!”
Then he was taken down the mountain.
Into a hotel.
And saw a bed with rose petals scattered on it.
The next morning, the demon king rested comfortably in his arms and praised him to the heavens.
Only then did Meng Qing realize which quality of Zhao Zilong they were talking about.
***
Even with Wang Cai there, Zheng Xing still refused to agree to their relationship.
But his disciple was no longer a child.
Despite his objections, the two of them still left the mountain. A field mouse in Qingzhen Temple was so angry that he devoured an entire pot of rice by himself until his belly had turned round.
Wang Cai was left at the temple. Although Zheng Xing’s knees went soft and he still wanted to shift into his original form whenever he saw it, he couldn’t send Wang Cai away after those two left.
He just tried his best to live with the dog and his jelly-like legs.
Meng Qing would come back to visit him every year.
Zheng Xing couldn’t say anything harsh as he watched his apprentice continue to accumulate merit.
It was useless to even try since Shi Qing was more eloquent than him.
He couldn’t beat him in an argument or a fight.
What a tragedy.
In the fifth year, Zheng Xing was barely able to maintain his human form in front of Wang Cai.
But Wang Cai had just about reached the end of his lifespan.
He was already an old dog, and living up to this point was his limit.
Shi Qing and Meng Qing happened to come for a visit that night, but they learned that he had been in seclusion all night.
Early the next morning, Zheng Xing shared some of his cultivation with this old dog.
He finally understood.
Although he gave back to the family he stole food from after he became a spirit...
Although he roamed around doing good deeds and slaying evil and accumulating merit...
Although he even came to Qingzhen Temple to study cultivation...
Deep inside, he was still the little field mouse who had stolen the grain that others had worked so hard to grow in order to fill his own stomach.
The reason mice were afraid of humans and dogs could be explained as instincts or a guilty conscience.
At least, Zheng Xing couldn’t tell which was the cause of his fear.
After thinking it through, Zheng Xing was no longer afraid of Wang Cai.
He took Wang Cai with him and left Qingzhen Temple, saying he wanted to be like his pupil and the demon king, travelling the world to do good deeds.
Meng Qing, who had actually travelled around the world to eat delicious food, felt a little guilty.
However, the demon king didn’t feel like they misled Zheng Xing at all. They did help people, just while eating good food too.
But helping people was really more of a side thing, the food was more important.
After Zheng Xing left Qingzhen Temple, Meng Qing came back less often.
He gradually realized that his appearance never changed from the year he met Shi Qing. There were cultivation techniques that could preserve youth, but they were definitely beyond someone of Meng Qing’s age.
The cultivator asked the demon king about this.
The demon king replied, “I lied to you back then. The contract we signed wasn’t to make you my servant, but my companion.”
“We’ll live and die together.”
The cultivator asked another question. His lifespan was only that of an ordinary human, so what if he died?
The demon king shrugged carelessly. “We’ll leave together.”
Meng Qing wasn’t sad at all.
The more he walked through this world with the demon king, the more it became clear to him that he would be able to meet Shi Qing again in his next life.
The two of them traveled to a lot of places, ate a lot of food, and helped a lot of people. Together.
When the cultivator was 90 years old, he pushed open the door and deeply inhaled the morning air. He turned to Shi Qing and said, “It’s time for me to leave.”
The demon king wasn’t sad either. He came forward to take his hand, as wicked and charming as ever. “Let’s go then.”
“We’ll send off one last person and hitch a ride with them.”
Hand in hand, they stepped through the fog to a hospital.
There was an old man struggling to stay alive on a ventilator in the ward.
Perhaps sensing that his time had come, he called for his children and grandchildren. With trembling hands, he took the oxygen mask off his face.
“The picture... Give me the picture...”
The equally elderly son at his bedside quickly took down the picture on a nearby cabinet and handed it to his father.
“Dad, don’t give up yet. The doctors said that there’s still hope...”
“No more treatment. I don’t want to be treated anymore.”
The old man held the photo with difficulty, as if he were holding a priceless treasure. He gently ran his fingers along the surface. His aged eyes slowly curved as he smiled.
“I’ve tried my best to live my entire life. Now it’s finally, cough cough cough! Finally time for me to rest.”
“When I die, bury me in the plot I arranged before. I’ve already paid for it, so all you have to do is put my ashes in.”
His son nodded, and his grandchildren and their children began to cry as well.
“Don’t worry, Grandpa.”
“I won’t. I’m relieved, kiddo.”
The old man reached out with a trembling hand and touched his son who was kneeling by his bedside. “With no one watching over you after Dad’s gone, don’t forget to offer incense to your father.”
His other hand clenched tightly to the photo as he tried to catch his breath. “Don’t forget him. No one in his family remembers him except for us. We didn’t, didn’t get a license, but we got married...”
“You’re his son, so you must never forget him. Even when you, cough cough, you leave later, you must remind your son and your grandson to offer incense to your father, alright?”
“Y-yes dad, I’ll remember. I will definitely not forget to offer the two of you incense.”
The eldest son also had a head filled with white hair. He knelt on the ground and cried. “If it wasn’t for Dad adopting me in the first place, I wouldn’t have lived such a peaceful life. Don’t worry Dad, I will never forget.”
“Good, good. You’re such a good child. Your father would’ve...liked you as well. He likes, likes all children...”
His hand slipped away.
“Dad!!!”
“Grandpa!!!”
“Great-grandpa!!!”
The nurse outside heard the commotion and called the doctor.
The doctor came over to check and sighed.
“Mr. Mi, Mr. Chen has passed away. I’m sorry for your loss.”
Grief filled the entire room.
Shi Qing and Meng Qing stood by the door and turned at the sound of crying inside.
The old man was standing behind them.
He looked at them for a while before slowly revealing a smile. “You two haven’t changed at all from back then...”
Shi Qing leaned against Meng Qing and looked at him with a smile. “Aren’t you the same?”
The old man looked down and saw that his hands had regained their youthful luster and firmness. He touched his face. It was smooth and not wrinkled at all.
He lifted his head and smiled.
“Thank you.”
“There’s no need for that, it’s a small gift for hitching a ride with you.”
The three of them reached the Underworld.
The River Styx was the same as ever, with a sea of ghosts crowding around it.
Underworld guides rolled trolleys and advertised their wares.
Other guides shouted through a megaphone, “Go into the River Styx if you don’t want to be reincarnated! Don’t crowd! The guy in the green shirt, I saw you cut in line! Go to the back right now!”
It was loud and noisy everywhere, but Chen Zeyu still immediately saw a man standing by the River Styx looking at him under the glittering stars.
Mi Lang smiled and waved at him.
As if he had returned to his youth, Chen Zeyu jumped down nimbly and walked over to Mi Lang.
“I made you wait a long time, sorry.”
“It’s all right. There’s plenty of interesting things here.”
“Did you see the letters I burned for you?”
“Too many things are burned up there, so barely any of it gets here.”
“Then I’ll tell you now. I adopted a child and gave him your last name. He grew up and had children of his own, and they too had children of their own. I told them to remember to burn incense for you every year.”
Mi Lang said, “My parents told me about that when they came down here. They said they regretted what they did. I was happy to hear that. It might be a bit too late, but I’m glad they understood us in the end.”
He smiled and took Chen Zeyu’s hand.
“Shall we go?”
Chen Zeyu held his lover’s hand tightly.
“Yes, together.”
They slowly crossed the River Styx and got in line.
Shi Qing jumped into the River Styx and waved at Meng Qing. “Come on, get down here.”
The still young-looking cultivator laughed and jumped down.
They laid in the water and looked at the dense expanse of stars that lined the sky of the Underworld.
Hand in hand, and shoulder to shoulder.
Meng Qing, “Will we meet again in the next life?”
Shi Qing, “Definitely.”
“I’m sure of it.”
As the cultivator beside him gradually ceased to breathe, Shi Qing gently leaned into his embrace and closed his eyes as well.
[Ding! End of vacation world. Welcome back, Host!]
[Please select: 1. Vacation or 2. Continue the mission.]
Shi Qing: [22222]
[Ding! Please make your preparations. We will jump to the next world immediately! Jump in progress: 3, 2, 1]
***
When Shi Qing opened his eyes, there was a woman in front of him glaring at him with contempt.
“Shi Qing, don’t think that you’re hot shit just because you got into your position using family connections! I know best what kind of person you really are!!”
“You’re only here because Uncle dotes on you. But would he continue to do so if he knew how you abuse the power he gave you outside?!”
While quickly accepting the original host’s memories, Shi Qing leaned back and lifted his chin, like he had nothing to be afraid of because of his background.
“If you want to tattle then go ahead! Why are you wasting time telling me about it?”
“You!”
His words further incensed the woman. She shot Shi Qing one last venomous look and furiously left the room.
Only then did Shi Qing focus on going through the plot.
This was once a modern fantasy novel where China was a constitutional monarchy with a royal family and nobles. The protagonist was an aristocrat who joined the army.
In one of his missions, he was sent to protect the villain, who was also from a noble family. The villain used his connections to get into the Science and Technology Institute and had a very malicious personality. He only considered the protagonist, who was also a noble, to be a bodyguard and nothing more.
The villain coveted the finding of a new researcher at the Institute and decided to not only steal them, but also stab him in the back. After being exposed by the protagonist, he started to target him.
The villain was supposed to continue making trouble for the protagonist as he rose to the top.
But after the novel became a world of its own, the villain arranged for someone to take the protagonist out in a car accident after he dared to expose his theft of the newcomer’s results.
And he actually pulled it off.
The protagonist’s life unfortunately ended there.
Shi Qing’s mission was to protect him.
Upon examining the white lab coat he had on, Shi Qing could already guess what was going on.
[System, what’s the protagonist’s animosity value?]
The system quietly emerged. It always felt guilty after they entered a new world, no matter how many times they had gone through this song and dance.
[Protagonist Qin Yunsheng’s animosity value: 100/100]
Shi Qing: [Not bad. At least it’s under 100 this time.]
The System carefully asked: [Host, you’re not angry?]
[I’ve gotten used to it by now.] Shi Qing smiled. [There’s nothing to be done anyway. You’re the only system I’ve got.]
But the timeline was dangerously tight though.
The original owner had already stolen the newcomer’s research results for himself. He’s also framed the newcomer for plagiarism after he found out.
And the protagonist has already stepped up to speak on the newcomer’s behalf.
No matter how you look at it, it seemed like a dead end.
System: [...Host, maybe we should give up on this world. It’s too hard...]
Shi Qing picked his eyebrows and stood up. He shook out his wrist.
[I’m not passing up a chance to have some kinky uniform playtime. Besides, there’s a very simple way to resolve this situation.]
System: [Is there really...?]
[Hmph, the usual method will do.]
Shi Qing searched for a mirror in the room and smiled even wider as he looked at the equally fox-like face in the mirror.
[From now on, I’m a bigshot researcher.]
Arc 5 complete! Man, that world was a roller coaster of emotions. I hope there’s enough fluff in the future to make up for it haha. Next up is the bigshot researcher!
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