Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Wei Xi was suddenly touched on the cheek by his apprentice, and he groggily opened his eyes to look at the other person.
The cabin lights dimmed, blurring the vision, but the apprentice’s eyes remained unusually clear as he stared intently at him.
After a long while, Wei Xi heard his voice, filled with indescribable emotion: “Wei Xi, you are not a wandering ghost.”
Wei Xi was taken aback by his gaze, then realized that he was now a person and mumbled an “uh-huh”.
But Wei Dedao had already said that he was indeed just a wandering ghost. What is a wandering ghost? It is something that doesn’t know where it comes from, nor where it should drift to, something that no one worships, no one remembers, and that simply vanishes when it disappears.
Sometimes Wei Xi would reminisce, wondering what his life was like before, but his memories were always fragmented. Occasionally, he would recall things like eating, drinking, and bloodshed, suggesting that he was probably an insignificant person when he was alive.
As he was thinking this, his chin was pinched by two fingers, the force of which forced him to lift his head. His apprentice still said to him earnestly, “Remember, you are not a wandering ghost, not something insignificant.”
Wei Xi stared at him blankly, unsure how to react.
But his head instinctively moved closer.
The apprentice quickly glanced at the person beside him, tilted his head back as if to refuse: “Hungry?”
Wei Xi nodded, then shook his head, stared at him for a moment, and then said, “I won’t eat, I’ll just touch you.”
The apprentice paused for a moment, then his eyes suddenly deepened, and he slowly turned his gaze back.
While Tuan Tuanyi was talking to the Taoist priest on the other side of the aisle about the strange and wonderful things he had found out about Xin’an before boarding the plane, he suddenly heard his junior brother sitting in the middle call out to a passing flight attendant: “Excuse me, could you please give me a blanket?”
“Huh?” Tuan Tuanyi was stunned as he watched his junior brother take the blanket from the flight attendant. “Junior brother, are you cold? The temperature in the cabin is alright.”
Then the junior brother unfolded the blanket and covered his master, who was sitting on the inside, saying, “You go ahead and talk.”
Oh, so Master was sleepy. Tuan Tuanyi didn’t think much of it. After his junior brother covered Master with a blanket, he leaned over and seemed to be talking, but it was dark in the cabin and he couldn’t see clearly. The conversation was halfway through, so he naturally continued the conversation.
Under the blanket, two pairs of burning lips were pressed tightly together. Wei Xi grabbed his apprentice’s collar and opened his lips, letting his tongue in without any warning. He couldn’t help but rub his nose against the other’s cheek.
He was wrapped in a blanket, feeling extremely hot, and when he bit his lower lip, he couldn’t help but let out a soft groan.
“Don’t shout.”
The apprentice released him, slowly licking and biting his lower lip, his teeth sliding from the corner of his mouth to the side of his neck, then nibbling his earlobe. His voice, like a warm breath, rushed into his ear, enveloped in the blanket, as hot and calm as a burning campfire: “Don’t scream, do you want more?”
Wei Xi was panting. He had only wanted to touch it, but his ears were burning hot, and his head felt like it had melted. He could only instinctively reach for the other person’s neck.
“Want.”
The apprentice licked his earlobe and seemed to chuckle.
….
It was already late at night in Xin’an when Wei Xi got off the plane. He sniffed, feeling both full and exhausted.
Tuan Tuanyi yawned, glanced at his master in the lamplight, and was slightly taken aback: “Master, why are your lips so red?”
Master let out a sound of surprise, and his gaze seemed to be filled with tears as he looked at him. At this moment, his junior brother suddenly took off his down jacket and covered Master with it: “Put it on.”
The junior apprentice’s clothes were probably a bit tight for Tuan Tuanyi’s muscular, coach-like physique, but they were much looser on Master. The sleeves were way too long, and the hem, which should have reached his calves, almost touched his ankles— it was practically a giant quilt. And that wasn’t all; the junior apprentice also insisted on pulling the hood up over Master’s head. The huge hood immediately covered Master’s head completely, leaving only half of his smooth, thin chin exposed.
Tuan Tuanyi: “…Junior brother, what are you doing?”
The junior apprentice, with a cold face, helped his master zip up his jacket, while also stopping his master from lifting his hat, saying without changing his expression, “It’s too cold in Xin’an.”
Tuan Tuanyi: “…”
Tuan Tuanyi carefully felt the temperature on his body surface. Why did it feel warmer than in the capital?
However, it was early winter, and the damp chill in Xin’an was indeed quite uncomfortable. It was still night, and the chubby little boy who had been brought along was rubbing his arms pitifully, saying, “It’s so cold… boohoo.”
At the same time, he turned his expectant gaze to thei junior brother from Taicang, who seemed to know how to take care of people.
Just kidding, the second disciple of Taicang Sect naturally ignored him as if he didn’t exist.
Wei Xi raised his hand and let his second apprentice roll up his overly long sleeves. At the same time, he tilted his head back and tried to look at the other person from under the hat. The apprentice lifted his eyelids and glanced at him, expressionless, but his gaze paused for a moment.
Wei Xi felt a strange, inexplicable feeling welling up inside him, a feeling that made him inexplicably want to laugh. Even though they were separated by clothes, he knew his apprentice was watching him.
He curled his lips into a smile from inside the dark hat. His apprentice’s clothes and breath reeked of his apprentice’s scent. He licked his lips, and even the corners of his mouth carried that same aroma.
The apprentice’s gaze seemed to become more intense again, and while he was zipping up his zipper, he quickly pinched his cheek with his fingers.
The chubby boy, feeling utterly ignored and shivering in the damp winter air, looked at Wei Xi, who was practically wrapped up like a ball, and at Taicang Sect’s second disciple, who was staring intently at Wei Xi. He deeply felt the unfairness of the world and said angrily, “What’s going on? It’s like they’re in love, so cheesy.”
Tuan Tuanyi rolled his eyes at him: “Haven’t you ever seen a close master-disciple relationship? How can your thoughts be so filthy?”
….
Several Taoist priests managed to catch up on sleep on the plane but still felt tired after landing. Fortunately, the people from the Xin’an Taoist Association were already waiting outside and immediately came to greet them.
“Fellow Daoists, as soon as we heard your news, our local Daoist Association quickly convened a seminar.” The leading Daoist introduced himself as surnamed Nian and got straight to the point. “To be honest, the influence of the Xiusheng Sect in our Xin’an area has reached a level that you can’t even imagine. Our Daoist Association, together with the Buddhist Association and the Municipal Public Security Bureau, has tried to crack down on them several times, but we haven’t been able to completely eradicate them. As for Fellow Daoist Kuang’s predicament, we can’t think of a good solution for the time being.”
Kuang Zhiming hadn’t slept. He looked away from his wife’s photo on his phone screen and nodded, his eyes bloodshot. “I think I understand.”
Xin’an was different from Beijing. Beijing had always been strict in its crackdowns, making it extremely difficult for even legitimate organizations like the Taoist Association to develop, let alone for cults to survive. But Xin’an was far from the reach of the central government and didn’t have as many restrictions. They had been developing for many years, so it was no wonder they weren’t easily dealt with.
The old Taoist priest from Xin’an felt great sympathy for him when he saw his distraught appearance. He sighed and said, “This sect is very difficult to deal with. They have too many tricks up their sleeves. You’d better be prepared.”
Everyone’s hearts skipped a beat upon hearing this: “Could you describe it in a more general way?”
The old Taoist priest asked, “You must have heard about their deeds of summoning ghost messengers, right?”
Everyone nodded in agreement; this indeed proved the opponent’s extraordinary strength.
Master Nian said, “But you don’t know this, their sect has even more insidious tricks!”
Many Taoist priests were made apprehensive by his solemn tone.
That year, the Taoist priest said indignantly, “Their cult leader not only summons ghost messengers, but also keeps a large number of ghost soldiers!”
Everyone: “…”
Master Nian said, “I don’t know how these ghost soldiers were trained, but they are very obedient to him and listen to his every word!”
Everyone: “…”
Master Nian said, “Fellow Daoists, to privately raise ghost soldiers and command them to obey your orders— do you think this is a trick only a cult could pull? Our local Taoist and Buddhist associations have reached their limit of tolerance!”
Everyone: “…”
Many Taoist priests, including the chubby guy, secretly turned their gazes to a guy in their own camp who was completely wrapped up in a black down jacket.
Wei Xi: “?”
Faced with the anger of the local Taoist priest, Quan, the pillar of the Beijing Taoist Association, felt as if he had aged several years in an instant: “Well… we can’t generalize about ghost soldiers, can we?”
Master Nian: “?”
Master Quan said awkwardly, “Mainly, sometimes even legitimate Taoist temples might keep some.”
Master Nian thought to himself, “So that’s how it is.” He quickly said, “Fellow Daoist, I don’t mean to condemn them outright. Each Daoist sect raises at most a dozen or twenty ghost soldiers, which is understandable. The main reason we can’t tolerate the Xiusheng Sect is because they raise far too many— at least several hundred! Tell me, is this a normal phenomenon?!”
Taoist priests: “………………”
In the silence, the local Taoist priest from Xin’an began to feel uneasy.
Why has the atmosphere become so strange again?
The chubby boy felt cold and aggrieved. Amidst the cursing, he couldn’t help but mutter under his breath, “What are we compared to you guys? You even have government jobs…”
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