DDAM 28

Jun Jiewu did not know why he had come to Zhuoyu Palace, yet by the time he realized it, he was already standing before the barrier guarding the entrance.

The surface of the Zhuoyu Pond shimmered with a silvery light under the moonlight, reflecting the upturned eaves of the palace. He stood outside the barrier and looked at the thin halo of light. He felt confused, wondering what he was doing there. He knew well that Shen Runze’s words were rarely reliable.

…And even if it were true, so what?

“Matters of marriage or mourning are henceforth no concern of the other”; those were his own words. Then what did his presence here signify?

Just as he was lost in thought, the barrier of the Zhuoyu Palace flickered briefly. Then, as if it had recognized his aura, it dissolved the moment it touched him. Jun Jiewu was taken aback; he stared at the spot where the light had vanished.

After standing there for a moment, he finally looked away and began to walk down the steps. He had taken only two paces when a clear, youthful voice rang out from within Zhuoyu Palace:

“Ouch! Can’t you be a little gentler? Do you actually know what you’re doing?”

The youth’s voice sounded almost like plea for indulgence. Immediately following came Li Zhuochen’s coaxing:

“Don’t move. It hurts more the more you struggle; just bear with it, and it will pass.”

The youth seemed unable to endure the pain:

“Hurry up… I can’t stay on my feet much longer…”

Li Zhuochen sighed softly; his voice grew even gentler:

“If you can’t stand, go to the couch. Come here…”

Jun Jiewu had already turned around, yet his feet felt rooted to the spot; he could not take another step. His expression cooled, and his fingertips tightened around the jade whip at his waist.

Inside the hall, Li Zhuochen helped Chu Huaiji sit by the couch. A fine sheen of sweat had broken out on the youth’s forehead; his face had gone pale, and the color had drained from his lips. Li Zhuochen had him lean against his body; he placed his palm against the youth’s back to slowly channel spiritual energy into him.

Chu Huaiji let out a muffled groan:

“Can’t you be a bit gentler? Your son’s life is a life too.”

“If I were gentler, the spiritual energy wouldn’t flow through. The Ice Luan’s chill is stuck in your meridians, the worst of the pain is yet to come.”

Chu Huaiji felt like weeping without tears; he lowered his head in dejection as he listened to his father say from behind,

“Settle your breath into your dantian and circulate your spiritual energy through the meridians.”

The door creaked open. Li Zhuochen and Chu Huaiji were both startled and turned their heads in unison.

At the doorway of the bedchamber, a refined figure was silhouetted against the light, his expression unreadable. The night wind rushed in through the open hall doors, causing the hem of his robes to flutter under the shifting moonlight.

Li Zhuochen’s movements faltered, and the flow of spiritual energy slowed; he furrowed his brows and, after a moment of hesitation, asked:

“…Why are you here?”

Chu Huaiji also opened his mouth and echoed,

“Yes… why are you here?”

“Runze Shenjun.”

Shen Runze, or rather, Jun Jiewu disguised as Shen Runze, looked at the youthful face before him, which bore an eight-tenths resemblance to the child in his memories. He dug his fingertips into his own flesh to suppress the turbulent storm raging within his heart.

He even felt a sense of ill-timed relief, thankful that he was wearing robes with wide sleeves, which prevented the two of them from immediately noticing anything amiss.

Just moments earlier–

Outside the Zhuoyu Palace, Jun Jiewu listened to the indistinct sounds coming from within. He knew the most sensible course of action was to leave immediately, yet he found himself unable to take a single step away.

He closed his eyes, inwardly loathing himself: You were the one who insisted on drawing a line between [stolen content]you, yet you are standing in front of his palace gates at the slightest hint of activity. Jun Jiewu, when did you become someone so indecisive and hypocritical?

He lowered his gaze to the fragmented moonlight dancing on the surface of the Zhuoyu Pond. Yet, he still raised his hand and swept it gently before his face. His features, physique, and aura all transformed into the likeness of Shen Runze. He knew it was nothing more than self-deception, but it was the only justification that allowed him to take that step forward.

He told himself he simply wanted to go inside and take a look, nothing more. If there was nothing going on inside, he could simply leave; if something was actually happening… well, having Shen Runze stumble upon it, rather than Jun Jiewu, might at least preserve a shred of dignity for them.

He had mentally rehearsed every possible scenario, yet the scene that actually met his eyes was one he had never imagined.

Jun Jiewu tried to keep his voice calm and steady. He mimicked Shen Runze’s tone as he said,

“I realized there was something I’d forgotten to mention earlier, so I came back to check.”

He walked a little closer, his movements stiff; for a fleeting moment, he even moved his arm and leg on the same side. Fortunately, neither of the two on the couch seemed to notice. Amidst the pain, Chu Huaiji managed to force a weak, harmless smile.

“We’ll be done soon; please, have a seat.”

His lips were drained of color from the pain, and his back pressed against Li Zhuochen’s palm as if he had completely lost his strength. Jun Jiewu’s Read onheart tightened as he recalled the snatches of conversation he had overheard outside, though he kept his expression calm.

“Is Li Zhuochen channeling spiritual energy into you?”

Chu Huaiji nodded. “Yes. Just as you instructed, he’s using external force to help me gather the aura leaking from the Ice Luan egg into one spot.”

He paused, and his tone grew slightly anxious.

“Is… is there a problem?”

Jun Jiewu was taken aback. So that’s why the Ice Luan egg vanished, he thought. No wonder the two of them kept it from me.

Jun Jiewu walked up to him. He looked at the fine sheen of sweat on Chu Huaiji’s brow and pressed the back of his cool hand against Chu Huaiji’s forehead.

He asked softly,

“Does it hurt a lot?”

Chu Huaiji was taken aback by the touch; he couldn’t fathom why the person who had treated him so coldly earlier that evening had suddenly turned so gentle. He started to nod, but caught himself and shook his head instead.

“It’s bearable.”

He was always concerned about saving face in front of others. Jun Jiewu remained silent for a moment, then said to Li Zhuochen, who was standing behind him,

“Let me handle this.”

Li Zhuochen looked at him for a moment before slowly rising to yield his place.

“Hold your breath and steady your mind.”

Chu Huaiji obediently complied. The next instant, a surge of spiritual energy far more potent than Li Zhuochen’s, yet gentler, flowed into his body.

Chu Huaiji let out a muffled groan as heat spread through his limbs and bones. A warm current advanced slowly along his meridians, moving like a stream and Read on soothing every point of blockage or stagnation.

Chu Huaiji groaned again, but the pain was quickly overwhelmed by a wave of warmth. His rigid spine gradually relaxed, and his breathing evened out. Wherever that spiritual energy flowed, warmth followed in its wake.

Chu Huaiji couldn’t help but let out a breath of relief,

“Baize Shenjun truly lives up to his reputation; compared to my fath–” He cut himself off, “–it feels much more comfortable than when Li Zhuochen does it.”

Jun Jiewu naturally didn’t miss the slip of the tongue. His expression remained the same, though he reminded him:

“Focus; do not let your attention wander.”

“Li Zhuochen is still young; he likely doesn’t have much experience in healing others.”

Chu Huaiji chuckled.

“So, his age counts as ‘young’ up in the Nine Heavens?”

Jun Jiewu didn’t take the bait, so Chu Huaiji asked,

“Then, Baize Shenjun, how old are you?”

“I can’t quite recall,” Jun Jiewu said. “Around a hundred thousand years, I suppose.”

Chu Huaiji: “?!”

He was stunned,

“A hundred thousand years… what kind of concept is that…”

A moment later, something else occurred to him, and he asked casually, as if it were an afterthought,

“What about Jiewu Shangshen? How old is he?”

“He and I grew up together; our ages should be much the same.” Jun Jiewu lowered his eyes. “Are you very interested in him?”

Chu Huaiji thought to himself: Of course I am–he’s my own dad. Yet, outwardly, he grinned as he bantered,

“Who wouldn’t be curious about a breathtaking beauty like Jiewu Shangshen?”

Jun Jiewu chuckled and shook his head noncommittally.

“Flattery like that ought to be delivered to his face.”

Chu Huaiji wrinkled his nose in protest.

“It’s not flattery! I mean every word of it.”

“Besides…” He glanced at Li Zhuochen, who was sitting nearby, and whispered, “When it comes ​stolen content​to singing Jiewu Shangshen’s praises, if someone claims second place, no one dares claim first.”

Jun Jiewu’s lips straightened into a neutral line; he lowered his gaze and said nothing more.

Seeing him go quiet, Chu Huaiji assumed he had become annoyed by the pestering and no longer wished to indulge in idle chatter, so he quickly quieted down as well.

Half an hour later, Jun Jiewu withdrew his hand, the spiritual energy flowing back into his palm in tandem with the movement.

The latter part of the process had been so soothing that Chu Huaiji had fallen asleep at some point; his head had been bobbing like a chick pecking at grain. Only when the flow of spiritual energy ceased did he wake up. He blinked a few times as though he hadn’t yet realizing he had fallen asleep.

“That’s all for today. It’s getting late, you should go and rest,” Jun Jiewu said. “I’ll pass the guiding technique on to Li Zhuochen later, so he won’t hurt you again tomorrow.”

Chu Huaiji nodded, and his voice still had that nasal tone of someone who had just woken up.

“Thank you, Baize Shenjun.”

As he spoke, he rose from the couch and looked at Li Zhuochen.

“Which room am I staying in?”

Li Zhuochen draped his outer robe over the young man’s shoulders and patted the back of his head.

“Follow the corridor inside, the courtyard filled with peonies, and take the first room on the west side.”

Chu Huaiji was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open; he rubbed his face and gave a couple of nods to signal his understanding before leaving.

His retreating figure vanished beyond the doorway, yet the hall doors were not fully closed. The night wind slipped through the opening, causing the candlelight to flicker; neither man spoke immediately.

A moment later, Jun Jiewu withdrew his gaze and spoke in his usual tone:

“When you channel his spiritual energy tomorrow, simply direct your power to the Tianchi and Quchi acupoints and guide the cold energy to sink downard in sequence. Once the cold energy has gathered, slowly disperse it using a gentle flow and force it out of his body in small increments…”

Li Zhuochen listened quietly until he finished, then said softly,

“You should do it again tomorrow.”

Jun Jiewu frowned.

“I’ve already done more than enough by coming here tonight. Why should I get involved in the affairs between the two of you…”

“Because you’re his father.”

Li Zhuochen cut off the rest of the sentence; Jun Jiewu’s words were cut short as he looked up at him.

Li Zhuochen sighed softly:

“Jiewu, Shen Runze cannot breach the barrier of this palace.”

“It grants passage to no one but you.”