After Cultivating With the Enemy

Under Jun Ruzhou’s cursing, Feng Qi left. Ji Chaoyun breathed a sigh of relief, and subconsciously tightened the outer robe Feng Qi left on him. Their outer robes were of the same quality, but as Feng Qi’s figure was much taller than him, the robe on him was too big, making his figure look even more slender.

Jun Ruzhou eyed Ji Chaoyun before immediately looking away at the ground as if nothing had happened.

There was silence in the room for a while, and after a while, he couldn’t bear but to look back. This repeated a few times before Jun Ruzhou couldn’t help but say, “If you can’t stand, then just sit. Do you really want to faint here and let that Second Master Feng pull my dragon tendons? ”

“… Huh? ”

Ji Chaoyun blinked. Jun Ruzhuo didn’t say anything more. He pulled him to the table with a gloomy face and sat down, heated the kettle, poured a cup of hot tea and stuffed it in his hand.

These series of motions were very natural and done in one go.

Ji Chaoyun looked down at the steaming teacup in his hand. His lips curved. “Thank you. ”

“No-no thanks needed. ” Jun Ruzhuo turned his head away and didn’t look at him.

Ji Chaoyun took a sip of hot tea, and felt his body warmed up. He was no longer as sleepy as before. Holding the teacup in both hands, he asked softly, “These years, did he treat you well?”

He didn’t mention the person’s name but Jun Ruzhuo immediately realized who he was talking about.

“Very good,” Jun Ruzhuo said in a muffled voice. “Three hundred years ago, Second Cousin died in the war, and you… defected and left. Uncle has never been able to recover from illness, and the family affairs are all handled by Third Cousin. This time, Third Cousin also hoped that I would come to Hongmeng Academy and help him after I returned from my studies.”

Ji Chaoyun gave a mocking smile and didn’t continue.

Looking at his expression, Jun Ruzhuo bore his feelings, but he still said, “The clan has not been peaceful these years. You know your prestige in the clan. Even though Third Cousin has been in charge of affairs for so many years, the successor in the hearts of many clan elders is still you, so…”

“So these years he eliminated dissidents and punished those disobedient elders?”

”Yes.” Jun Ruzhuo agreed, “but I don’t think Third Cousin is wrong. Uncle would pass that Dragon throne to him sooner or later. If it were me, I would also eradicate any differences in advance.”

“I didn’t say he did something wrong.”

“But, but…”

“Ah Zhuo, you are not young anymore. There are some things you know clearly in your heart, but you dare not admit it.” Ji Chaoyun said softly, “Third Younger Brother… really wants to get rid of me, and he has been doing this since three hundred years ago.”

Jun Ruzhuo’s face instantly turned pale.

Ji Chaoyun said: “Junjue, the third prince of the Dragon King, is the one with the weakest spiritual root among us, but the deepest mind. If I don’t die, how can he inherit the Dragon King throne? I thought that if I go down to the realm, he won’t be suspicious of me anymore. Unfortunately…”

”But now you have lost the Dragon Pearl and become a half-demon again. Why is he still—”

“I don’t understand this either.” Ji Chaoyun frowned again. Sipping tea, his expression couldn’t be seen clearly in the curling white mist. “I can’t go back to Lingyuan Sea anymore. Why doesn’t he let me go…”

The room suddenly fell silent, and after a while, finally the courtyard had some movement. The two looked at each other, got up and went out.

As soon as they left the house, he heard a familiar voice outside the courtyard. “Didn’t you say that you will notify me if you have any news? Aren’t you afraid that I’ll report it to Tianshu Xianzun?!”

“Isn’t it too late not to tell? Can’t you just get him to speak?”

“You damn Phoenix, saying so lightly. If someone finds out—”

Jiang Cheng escorted a young disciple into the gate of the courtyard, and was arguing with Feng Qi when he caught Ji Chaoyun’s gaze unexpectedly. His voice changed. “… Forget it. Next time, you better not fall into my hands.”

Feng Qi followed behind him and rolled his eyes at him. He quickly stepped in front of Ji Chaoyun. “Hey. So will Young Master Jun keep his dragon tendons?”

Ji Chaoyun was too lazy to speak against his childish behavior. He looked past to the place beside Jiang Cheng. “That’s him?”

“Yes.” Feng Qi threw a cloth bag in his hand to the ground, and several jade bottles rolled out of it. “This guy is so familiar with Lucun Peak. I had to chase for a while before I caught him.”

Before Ji Chaoyun could speak, Jun Ruzhuo took the lead. “Wen Yi, is it really you?

The disciple known as Wen Yi turned his eyes away without looking at him, and replied slowly, “Young master.”

Jun Ruzhuo questioned, “You stole my medicine?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because …” Wen Yi finally raised his head, but looked at Ji Chaoyun behind him, “Because I was the one to poison him.

As soon as he finished speaking, he was kicked hard on the knee by the man behind him. He knelt on the ground.

Behind him, Jiang Cheng asked coldly, “Why did you do this?”

Wen Yi fell on the ground and gave a light laugh. “It’s nothing much. My young master doesn’t like this person, and I don’t like him either. As my Young master’s servant, shouldn’t I clear the way for you?”

“Stop making excuses.” Feng Qi said leisurely, “You are a servant, how can you get that Blood Lotus? Who is it? Who asked you to do this?”

“No one asked me to do this, and I don’t know what Blood Lotus you are talking about. I just know that Young Master Jun wanted to deliver medicine to Ji Chaoyun, so I went to Sea Market to buy it. It’s a poison that causes spiritual power to go out of control. But I am not sure which bottle Young Master Jun will take for him, so I poisoned all the medicines.”

Feng Qi sneered. “Such boldness. You’re not afraid of things coming to light?”

Wen Yi retorted, “The evidence of Ji Chaoyun’s loss of control in the arena is conclusive. If you hadn’t insisted on being a guarantor for him, he would have been crippled and kicked out of the academy by now. As for the medicine, I’ve confirmed that it is harmless to immortals. If not for you digging things out, Jun-jun would never notice any problems.”

What he said was indeed true.

When Ji Chaoyun lost control in the arena, everyone was there. Even the immortal healers couldn’t find any drug that caused his loss of control. If Feng Qi hadn’t insisted on the investigation, he would have been expelled from the academy by now. There would never be another chance to go to the Sea Market and locate the root of the spirit grass.

But, Ji Chaoyun’s expression gradually sank.

It was too rational.

This attendant spoke in an orderly manner, without the slightest panic after being exposed, as if he had prepared this speech early in the morning.

Feng Qi still wanted to ask again, but Ji Chaoyun suddenly pulled him from behind, and said in a low voice, “Since we have caught the person, we should not be in charge of what happens thereafter.”

”But—”

“Ji Chaoyun is right. “Jiang Cheng collected the medicines scattered on the ground. He said, “Since this guy confessed to poisoning, I’ll take him back to the Inspector Hall, and let the inspectors strictly interrogate him. Don’t worry, Immortal Venerable Kai Yang sent me to assist. I will take care of this matter to the very end.”

Feng Qi was still worried. “The origin of the Blood Lotus is unknown. The only half-demon that may be related to the Blood Lotus has been silenced. This matter is definitely not that simple, you…”

“ I know!” Jiang Cheng interrupted him impatiently. “Am I stupid? Do you still need to say these things?!”

Feng Qi raised his eyebrows, not agreeing nor denying.

Jiang Cheng was too lazy to argue with him, so he told Jun Ruzhuo, “Jun Ruzhuo, the poison was from the wound medicine you sent out and this Wen Yi is one of yours. You have to come with me too.

Jun Ruzhuo nodded his head. “…Okay.”

Jiang Cheng glanced at Ji Chaoyun, hesitantly opening his mouth. But he didn’t say anything. In the end, he turned his head to look at Feng Qi, and said angrily as if venting his anger, “The issue of you privately taking the token of the Inspector Hall isn’t over yet! Just wait to be punished!” After finishing speaking, he took Jun Ruzhuo and Wen Yi, and left the courtyard.

After those few minutes, Ji Chaoyun shook his head. “Nothing will be found out.”

Feng Qi turned his head to look at him. “Why do you say that?”

Ji Chaoyun said, “Wen Yi is just a pawn, he confessed to his words and deeds, and we found no other evidence from the half-demon. This thread has been broken.”

Feng Qi smiled. “Why be so pessimistic? The Inspector Hall still has some means, maybe they can pry this mouth open.”

Ji Chaoyun frowned imperceptibly, noncommittal.

Feng Qi asked, “What do you want to say?”

“He lives with Jun Ruzhuo. If he wanted to steal the medicine, why would he happen to meet us when we came to investigate?”

”…” Feng Qi closed his eyes, seemingly cursing under his breath. “He deliberately got us to catch him and become a substitute for those behind the scenes!”

Ji Chaoyun said, “Let’s go. As I said, the rest of the matter has nothing to do with us anymore.”

He was about to move forward, but when his tense thoughts relaxed, he was immediately exhausted; his feet weakened and he almost fell down.

Feng Qi hurriedly reached out to help him, annoyed. “I told you not to follow us at night. You insisted on coming. Look at you now, can’t even walk straight.”

“…I’m fine.”

Being in contact with Feng Qi was making Ji Chaoyun a little uncomfortable, but Feng Qi didn’t seem to care. He simply bent over to hug him. As if facing a huge enemy, Ji Chaoyun shouted, “What are you doing?!”

“Carrying you back.” Feng Qi replied, “Look at you, can you still walk?”

“…Of course I can. “Ji Chaoyun gritted his teeth. “It’s haishi1 soon. Do you want to be seen by everyone?”

“If they see it, then they see it. It’s not something to be ashamed of.”

“No means no!”

“…Really no?”

“No!”

“Okay then.” Feng Qi looked rather regretful. He walked around to Ji Chaoyun’s front, bent his knees slightly, and said, “Then it should be fine carrying you on my back ba. Come.”

“You…” Ji Chaoyun was speechless. Neither a hug nor a piggyback was any better than the other.

Feng Qi urged in a low voice, “Hurry up, don’t dawdle. When class is over at haishi2, the whole academy will see that His Highness is carrying you, a little demon dragon. You may not mind losing your face, but I mind.”

Ji Chaoyun stared at Feng Qi silently. Feng Qi remained in the original posture, and the two were in a stalemate for a while before Ji Chaoyun silently climbed up.

Like this, Feng Qi went down the mountain with Ji Chaoyun on his back.

Though his mouth uttered to rush back to Wenqu Peak before the academy’s disciples finished their classes, his pace was still very steady and slow – as of this distance would never end.

Ji Chaoyun laid on Feng Qi’s back, his body tensed.

Noticing his appearance, Feng Qi smiled. “Why are you so nervous? It’s not like I will do anything to you.”

“…”

“You said it yourself. It was an accident before.” Feng Qi’s tone was different. Thinking about it, he joked, “You and I are both beast spirits. It’s nothing much to have estrus. But your reaction is so intense… it can’t be that you can get pregnant ba?”

“… How, how is it possible, I’m a man!”

Feng Qi grinned. “What’s the matter with being a man? There are some male immortals who can give birth. But you don’t look like them.”

In this world, a man who could give birth was called Shuang’er. Though very rare, it was not impossible.

However, Shuang’er’s physique was relatively weak. They could hardly practise martial arts. Although Ji Chaoyun was weak, it was because he lost his Dragon Pearl, his roots completely destroyed. Before that, he was the crown prince of the Dragon King. His cultivation and attainments should not be underestimated. It was absolutely impossible for him to have this kind of physique.

Feng Qi felt a little disappointed in his heart, but he didn’t show it. “I was just joking with you. Anyway, you don’t have to take this matter to heart. I have never been so close to anyone since I was a child. I don’t blame you, so why are you so affected?”

“…En.” Ji Chaoyun responded lightly; his body was not as tense as before.

After a while, Feng Qi said, “By the way, didn’t you realize that your spiritual power has increased a lot today? If it was as before, you would definitely not be able to last until now. Are you not curious why?”

“…”

“Ji Chaoyun?”

Ji Chaoyun didn’t answer. Feng Qi turned his head to look. The latter had fallen asleep on his shoulder.

He buried half of his face on Feng Qi’s shoulder, his face full of exhaustion as he still slept peacefully. The moonlight and silver light caressed his features, the slender eyelashes casting a small shadow on his face, and a few strands of hair hung down softly on his forehead, making him look soft and harmless.

Under the sky full of stars, the corners of Feng Qi’s lips slightly curled up as his pace unconsciously slowed down.

As if like this, he could stretch this section of road endlessly.

When Ji Chaoyun woke up the next day, it was almost dark.

When he was in the lower realm, he was concentrating on cultivation. After he came to the academy, he was busy with his homework. Ji Chaoyun hadn’t slept for so long in a long time. He stared blankly at the gauze curtain above his head; his consciousness still fuzzy.

However, although his consciousness was still a little chaotic, he didn’t feel any discomfort in his body. On the contrary, he felt full of spiritual power as his fatigue was slowly swept away.

Ji Chaoyun turned over, buried his head in the soft pillow. He only slowly got up after lying on the bed for a while more.

He dressed neatly and pushed open the door, accidentally seeing Feng Qi squatting by the pool to tease the fish.

Seeing him coming out, Feng Qi turned around with a smile. “Finally woke up. If you didn’t wake up still, I would have gone to the Ningdan Pavilion to ask the Immortal healers to diagnose your pulse.” Ji Chaoyun didn’t continue that thought.

Instead, he questioned, “Isn’t it time for afternoon class? Why are you still here?”

The suspicion placed on Ji Chaoyun these days has not disappeared, hence, the academy stopped his lessons. As Feng Qi accompanied him in the investigation, he could naturally ask for leave. But now that the suspect has been caught, why does he still look so free?

Feng Qi threw the bait into the water, clapped his hands and stood up. “What else can I learn in the practice classes? Ten years ago, I defeated Yu Heng-jun, who taught the Tianzi level practice class. Even if I don’t go, can he do anything to me?”

“…” Ji Chaoyun resolutely refused to discuss the matter with him. He asked again, “Is there any result from the Inspector Hall?”

”No.” Feng Qi said, “Jiang Cheng sent someone here to tell me that they interrogated all night, but the boy insisted that he was the one who poisoned you, and the source of the poison came from that half-demon. They couldn’t get anything else. They are still trying, but the three-day time limit is approaching. If the real culprit is not found by then, there’s only…”

At that time, they can only hand over Wen Yi to be handled and the matter will be exposed.

Ji Chaoyun nodded, not surprised by this.

Feng Qi sat down on the bamboo chair, putting his arms on his knees. He slowly recounted, “The problem is more than that. Today I have been thinking, who is that black-clothed guy we met in the Sea Market?”

“Do you have a guess?”

Feng Qi shook his head. “That day was too messy. I didn’t see it clearly at all, but I always felt that I’d seen his figure somewhere before. And his sword… ”

“The accompaniment sword?”

“He had placed a spell on the accompaniment sword, so that we can’t see the true appearance of the sword. Why would he do that?”

“A familiar person.”

“Correct.” Feng Qi said, “Also, just as we entered the Sea Market, we encountered a surprise attack on our back, and the only possible escape route was snuffed out. This person knows our movements very well. Maybe… ”

Ji Chaoyun: “That person in black is very likely to belong to the academy. Or, there is a spy in the academy.”

Feng Qi didn’t answer, as if he was thinking hard about something.

Ji Chaoyun was silent, then he continued, “I may have seen that sword before.”

“What?”

“I’ve said before, in the mortal world, I was ever intercepted by their killing intent.” Suddenly, that rainy night, the noisy footsteps, and the sharp sword that pierced his chest flashed before his eyes. Ji Chaoyun regained his composure. In a hoarse voice, he said, “I’ve seen the black clothed man’s sword before. He didn’t hide it at that time.”

Feng Qi was stunned, and then smiled lightly. “It seems to really belong to the academy.”

Ji Chaoyun nodded. “At that time, he was not obstructing me but you.”

”Then do you still remember what that sword looks like?”

Ji Chaoyun lowered his eyes and shook his head.

The memory of the previous life before death was very fragmented. He only vaguely remembered the shape of the sword, and even he himself was not sure if he could recognize the sword if he saw it again.

Feng Qi said yet again, “But I still don’t understand, what does this have to do with the Dragon Clan, and what does it have to do with your bastard third brother?”

Ji Chaoyun was strangely silent for a moment. “Lingyuan Sea is located tens of thousands of miles away. If my third brother wanted to do something to me, he could only find a spy in the academy to act on his behalf. The spy found that we went to the Sea Market, so first silencing the half-demon, then made the attendant become a scapegoat.”

“Is it that simple?”

Ji Chaoyun: “What do you want to say?”

Feng Qi said with a smile, “We found out that the poison was in Jun Ruzhuo’s wound medicine last night, but you didn’t let me tell Jiang Cheng about it. Are you afraid to let Jiang Cheng know? Or, what are you not wanting the academy to know?”

Ji Chaoyun said calmly, “I’m just afraid of having more problems cropping up.”

“No, it’s not so simple.” Feng Qi’s tone was slow, as if he was clarifying a simple matter. “Whether it’s the black clothed man, Wen Yi, or you, they tried their best to make us think that the origin of Blood Lotus is actually that half-demon. But ever since you knew that the wound medicine was poisoned, you knew that the source of this Blood Lotus came not from the Sea Market, but from the Dragon Clan.”

“…Three hundred years ago, after you separated from Feng Xiao, you still tried your best to return to Lingyuan Sea after losing the Dragon Pearl. Are you trying to confirm whether the Dragon Clan really rebelled, whether they really colluded with the Demon Realm ?”

Ji Chaoyun’s always calm eyes finally had some ripples.

He stood there without moving, and there was hardly any abnormality visible from the outside, but his hands hidden in his sleeves were trembling slightly.

Feng Qi was calm. He patted the seat beside him. “Come and sit down.”

“…What?”

Feng Qi looked at him with a smile, his voice soft. ” Did you forget what you promised me before? That you will tell me everything? I’m ready. You sit here and tell me slowly. ”