Author: hoenimochi (Page 40 of 95)

       The school year officially started in September, and Song Jun could have applied for a postgraduate dormitory at the dormitory management centre by now if he wanted to. However, he hadn’t thought about it. Apart from being very close to the lab, he was very satisfied with all the conditions of this dormitory now, and it was cheaper than the school dormitory. He felt that there was really no need to move to the dormitory.

       And there was Senior Brother Xia across the hall. Of course, Senior Brother Bu was also very nice and took good care of him.

       Official enrollment meant that classes were about to begin. Most of his postgraduate courses were concentrated in the first year, with more challenging subjects such as molecular biology. It was said that the failure rate for that subject was quite high, so he had to buckle down and focus on attending classes and studying.

       The lab side had not relaxed at all. Zhou Yingchun was still waiting for his article to be published and his title to be evaluated. As Zhou Yingchun’s only disciple now, Song Jun was under a lot of pressure.

       The experiment ran into bottlenecks from time to time. Song Jun couldn’t laugh or cry when he heard a fellow doctoral student in the same lab claim that he was going to burn incense and pray to Bodhisattva to bless the results of the experiment.

       Fortunately, Song Jun had Xia Hongshen, who could help him.

       Song Jun heard from a fellow doctoral student in the lab that Xia Hongshen used to be very good at physical evidence¹In evidence law, physical evidence is any material object that plays some role in the matter that gave rise to the litigation, introduced as evidence in a judicial proceeding to prove a fact in issue based on the object’s physical characteristics.. In three years, he published four SCI²Science Citation Index, a database and indexing service that covers a wide range of academic disciplines. papers, and the head of the graduate school approached him early on, urging him to go straight to the doctorate. However, Dr Xia Hongshen, refused to continue studying physical evidence doctorate, stating that he wanted to pursue pathology.

       As a result, in order to keep him, the college even agreed to recommend him to be exempted from the examination, and he went to study in the pathology programme of the same college.

       With Xia Hongshen’s help, Song Jun felt that the experiment went much more smoothly. Every time the data came out, Xia Hongshen would help him analyse it and even help him adjust the experimental conditions, which was more effective than Zhou Yingchun’s suggestions.

       One afternoon, Xia Hongshen helped Song Jun configure a system. Then someone from the pathology teaching and research office down below asked for him, so he put down his things and went down first.

       Song Jun sat in front of the experimental table and continued to pack the system reagents. Suddenly, he heard a girl in the same grade next to him say, “Senior Brother Xia is treating you really well; my boyfriend isn’t even that good to me.”

       Song Jun was stunned for a moment when he heard this. He actually knew that Xia Hongshen was very good to him, but he had never thought about being compared to a lover by a girl.

       In fact, if he thought about it carefully, did Senior Brother Xia more or less like him? Song Jun thought maybe it was not the ordinary kind of love but the kind of love between lovers.

       Strange, wasn’t it? Both of them were men. Song Jun had lived for more than 20 years and had never had anything to do with anyone of the same or opposite sex, but he vaguely felt that Xia Hongshen probably liked him. Just like him, he also liked Xia Hongshen.

       Just like he also liked Xia Hongshen?!

       At that instant, Song Jun’s ears turned red. Luckily, he was lying on his back in front of the lab bench, so no one could see him.

       He was a little at a loss, but he felt that there was nothing surprising. It was true that he liked Xia Hongshen. He could feel it himself, otherwise, why would he care so much about Xia Hongshen’s identity and Xia Hongshen’s attitude towards him.

       Song Jun felt a little complicated as if he was a little happy and a little uneasy at the same time.

       He paused momentarily while holding the pipette in his hand, and he began to think that maybe it was a good thing that he was an orphan—no one would care whether he liked a man or a woman or whether he would get married and have children. However, what about Senior Brother Xia? But then, Senior Brother Xia was not a human at all; he was a deity. He was here looking for something, and maybe once he found it, he would leave. But then again, who knows? He wouldn’t age or die, and he may have a long life. It was possible that even when he grew old or passed away, Senior Brother Xia still hadn’t found what he was looking for.

       But there was nothing to be happy about. At that time, he would already be an old man, and Senior Brother Xia would still be the same Senior Brother Xia.

       Song Jun suddenly became sad and began to envy Feng Junyuan. Wasn’t Feng Junyuan Senior Brother Xia’s weapon? He would never grow old or die. He had been with Senior Brother Xia for a long time. The two of them would be together all the time…

       Just like that, an afternoon passed, and the results of Song Jun’s experiment came out.

       When Xia Hongshen came, she saw Song Jun sitting in front of the experimental table in a daze and asked, “What’s wrong?”

       Song Jun was immediately in a hurry and started to pack his things, “Nothing.”

       Xia Hongshen looked at the computer screen and said, “It will take another two hours for the results to come out.”

       Song Jun was a little embarrassed. It was all because he wasted time in the afternoon thinking about it. As a result, the experimental data was too late and still couldn’t be released. “Let’s go eat first,” he said.

       Xia Hongshen said, “Wait, let’s eat here.”

       Song Jun was stunned.

       Xia Hongshen had done this kind of thing before when he was studying for a master’s degree in the Physical Evidence Teaching and Research Office.  In the cabinet, he still keeps the small pot he used to cook dumplings back then. He heated it on the lab’s induction cooker, bought frozen dumplings, and used disposable bowls and chopsticks.

       The two of them were cooking dumplings in the lab.

       Song Jun found it very interesting. It was the first time for him to do such a thing.

       In fact, the frozen dumplings were not very delicious, and there was no vinegar or other seasonings to dip them in, but the fact that they were cooked and eaten in the lab seems to add a layer of deliciousness to the food. Moreover, he was eating with Xia Hongshen.

       Xia Hongshen was wearing a white lab coat, with one hand in his pocket and a chopstick in the other hand, gently stirring the pot.

       Song Jun leaned over and asked, “Is it ready?”

       “It’s almost ready,” Xia Hongshen said as he turned down the heat of the induction cooker.

       When the dumplings were cooked, he first gave them to Song Jun to eat, “Be careful, it’s hot.”

       Song Jun ate one, and it was indeed a little hot. He gasped for several breaths before he could swallow the dumpling.

       “Is it done?” Xia Hongshen asked him.

       Song Jun nodded, “It is, it’s delicious.”

       Xia Hongshen then used the same pair of chopsticks to pick one up and put it into his mouth, then nodded, “Okay.”

       Song Jun noticed his movements and couldn’t help but smile. This feeling made him feel very satisfied.

       That night, the two of them finished a bag of frozen dumplings in the lab. As a result, Song Jun was a little full after eating. He felt sick to his stomach while lying in bed at night. He tossed and turned for a long time before falling asleep.

       Before falling asleep, Song Jun was still thinking about how nice Senior Brother Xia was and that he liked him so much.

       On the last day of September, Song Jun had no classes that afternoon and took a nap before going directly to the lab. Downstairs at Forensic Medicine, he met the young detective Long Xing again.

       Probably because of a recent case, two police cars were parked below the Forensic Medicine building.

       Long Xing, wearing a T-shirt and jeans, was squatting on the roadside playing with his mobile phone. He looked a bit like a high school student.

       When Song Jun passed by, he took the initiative to greet Long Xing.

       Long Xing raised his head and squinted his eyes slightly under the noon sun. Then he recognised Song Jun, stood up with a smile and said, “Teacher Song.”

       These police officers often couldn’t tell whether they were teachers or students here, so they addressed them as ‘Teacher’ in general.

       But Song Jun felt a little embarrassed. He said to Long Xing, “Stop calling me Teacher, Officer Long. Call me Song Jun.”

       Long Xing immediately changed his words, “Song Jun. Then you can also call me Long Xing.”

       Knowing that Long Xing was younger than himself, Song Jun didn’t think there was anything wrong with calling him by his name. He asked, “You got another case?”

       Long Xing nodded, “I’m going to trouble Teacher Xia again.”

       “Senior Brother Xia?” Song Jun turned to look at the people coming in and out of the Forensic Medicine building door and asked, “Is he here?”

       Long Xing shook his head, “It seems that he hasn’t arrived yet. The body was brought here early in the morning. Now, in the autopsy room, two students seem to be there. They said they are waiting for Teacher Xia to come.”

       Song Jun said, “Okay. Then I’ll go up first.”

       Long Xing waved to him, “Bye.”

       Song Jun walked forward, and Long Xing squatted down to play his mobile game again.

       Suddenly, Song Jun heard Long Xing shout “Oh!”. He turned around and saw Xia Hongshen coming over. Xia Hongshen was holding a book in his hand. When he passed by Long Xing, he knocked on Long Xing’s head with the book.

       Long Xing was very happy to see Xia Hongshen and stood up immediately, “Teacher Xia, you are finally here.”

       The expression on Xia Hongshen’s face remained unchanged, and he glanced at the screen of his mobile phone, “You haven’t passed the level yet?”

       Long Xing looked a little distressed, “I haven’t beaten this level for a week, and if I can’t beat it, there’s no way to beat the next level.”

       Xia Hongshen stretched out her hand and said, “Give it to me.”

       Long Xing quickly handed him the phone, then took his book and got closer to watch Xia Hongshen play games.

       Xia Hongshen lowered his head and pressed his fingers on the screen of Long Xing’s mobile phone, but Long Xing had a nervous expression on his face.

       After a while, Song Jun saw Long Xing laughing happily and shouted, “Passed!”

       Xia Hongshen returned the phone to him.

       Long Xing stared at the screen of his mobile phone with a smile on his face, “Why can’t I do it? Teacher Xia is indeed better!”

       Xia Hongshen didn’t say anything, took his book back and walked towards the building.

       Song Jun turned around and left when he saw Xia Hongshen returning the phone to Long Xing. When Xia Hongshen came in, Song Jun had already entered the elevator.

       Long Xing was left alone outside, still immersed in the excitement of passing the game.

       After a while, Long Xing’s colleague came over and kicked him, “I asked you to explain the situation to the victim’s family. Did you do it?”

       Long Xing held the phone firmly and said, “They were crying very emotionally, and no one listened to me…”

       “Just because nobody listens to you, does that mean you don’t have to speak? Does that mean you won’t take your salary for this month as well?”

       Long Xing averted his gaze and pursed his lips.

       “Don’t go in yet! The autopsy has already begun!”

       Long Xing nodded, “I’m in.”

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       The guard led Xia Hongshen and Song Jun into the temple. Instead of entering the main hall, they went directly to the side hall on the right.

       Song Jun walked and looked at the City God’s Temple, feeling that it was not much different from the Taoist temples in the mortal realm. It was just that he had never tried to go to a temple late at night, so he had never seen this dark and empty temple scene.

       Next to him, Xia Hongshen did not glance sideways.

       When they arrived at a side hall on the right, there was still a furnace with burning incense and candles on the square in front of the hall. The palace behind the square was majestic. Although it was not as impressive as the main hall, it still looked quite impressive. There was a plaque hanging on the door of the palace, with big characters of ‘Yin and Yang Division’ flying in the air.

       There was a person standing in the square. Because his back was to them, Song Jun could only see that the person had long hair hanging down his waist. He was wearing a dark coloured Zhiduo¹a long straight robe usually seen in ancient settings, and was holding a lit incense stick in his hand. He was inserting his hand into the cauldron beside him.

       As if he knew someone was coming in, the man turned back and looked at Song Jun and the others.

       When Song Jun saw his face, he was startled and stopped for a moment.

       That man was not actually ugly. Not only was he not ugly, but he had delicate features and a handsome appearance. However, the person’s face was divided right down the middle, and the left and right sides were actually different colours. One side was pale, and the other side extremely dark, giving them a somewhat terrifying appearance.

       The guide, who was a general, bowed to the person and said, “Lord Magistrate, the guests have already been invited inside.”

       The man nodded, and the general took his leave first.

       Later, when Song Jun saw the man, he bowed politely and said, “The Lord Immortal Zhen²Zhenniao, often simply zhen, is a name given in many Chinese myths, annals, and poetry to poisonous birds that are said to have existed in what is now southern Chinahas graced us with his presence. I apologize for welcoming you from afar.”

       Xia Hongshen said, “Where did the term Lord Immortal come from? Don’t you mean a demon beast Zhen meeting Lord Magistrate of Yin and Yang Department?”

       His words sounded sarcastic, but his tone was calm.

       That man was the Lord Magistrate of the Yin and Yang Division, the first division under the City God. Hearing this, he bowed again and said, “The Lord Immortal must be joking. The Night Patrol God is a rude and reckless person when he is angry. So, Lord Immortal, please don’t take it to heart.”

       Xia Hongshen did not respond.

       Song Jun was embarrassed to respond coldly when others were being polite to him, and he suddenly felt that the atmosphere was a bit awkward.

       The Lord Magistrate of the Yin and Yang Division didn’t seem to care about Xia Hongshen’s attitude and said, “Is Lord Immortal here today for what happened on Ghost Festival?”

       Xia Hongshen said, “On that day, Fengliu disturbed the order of the Hundred Ghost Parade and harmed innocent spirits. I am here to compensate on his behalf.”

       “Oh?” The Lord Magistrate of the Yin and Yang Division slowly walked towards their direction.

       Xia Hongshen closed his fingers, and in his hand appeared a small porcelain bottle. He threw the porcelain vase to the Lord Magistrate of the Yin and Yang Division and said, “For stabilising the soul.”

       The Lord Magistrate of the Yin and Yang Division took it in his hand and sighed, “It’s a treasure from the Immortal realm. I’d like to thank Lord Immortal on behalf of that ghost.”

       After saying that, the Lord Magistrate of the Yin and Yang Division looked at Song Jun, and after a moment, he said strangely, “This gentleman is not a Gilded Phoenix Wing.”

       Song Jun felt a bit uneasy under his gaze and instinctively moved a bit closer in the direction of Xia Hongshen.

       Xia Hongshen said, “He is not.”

       The Lord Magistrate of the Yin and Yang Division sized at Song Jun for a moment, seemingly a little confused, and then said to Xia Hongshen, “Since Lord Immortal has already arrived, please wait for a moment. The Night Patrol God should offer you an apology for what happened that day.”

       Xia Hongshen did not respond but did not refuse.

       Soon, the Night Patrol God came to the side hall carrying his long blade. It was obvious that he had learned his lesson before. Although he had a dark face at this time, he still respectfully bowed to Xia Hongshen and said, “Lord Immortal, there were many misunderstandings before, and I have offended you.”

       Xia Hongshen originally didn’t care about the Night Patrol God’s attitude toward him. The reason why he came to the City God’s Temple was not only because Feng Junyuan got into trouble that day but also because he wanted to continue to stay in this place.

       He hadn’t found all his things yet, and he couldn’t leave the city yet. In the past, the more friction he had with the City God’s men, the more inconvenient it would be. Since the people here now show their intention of backing down, he, of course, took the opportunity to make his intentions known.

       Xia Hongshen said to Night Patrol God, “Now that the misunderstanding from before has been clarified let bygones be bygones. In the future, our actions need not concern each other.”

       The Night Patrol God was about to get angry when he heard this but was restrained by the Lord Magistrate of the Yin and Yang Division’s hand on his arm.

       Xia Hongshen continued, “I came to the mortal realm in search of the immortal treasure, the Thousand-Year Lamp, as per the decree of the Jade Emperor. While in the mortal realm, I will conduct myself with restraint and will not disrupt the order of the mortal world. Lord City God can rest assured.”

       The Lord Magistrate of the Yin and Yang Division smiled slightly and said, “Since the Immortal said this, I naturally believe that as long as we do not disrupt the order of the Yin and Yang realms, we will never interfere with the Immortal’s actions.”

       Xia Hongshen nodded, “Farewell.”

       The Yin and Yang Division said, “Lord Immortal, please take care on your journey.”

       Xia Hongshen took Song Jun away. From beginning to end, Song Jun didn’t say a word. He just listened to their conversation silently, but he was not as shocked as he was at first.

       Now, he could be sure that Xia Hongshen was indeed not a human being. According to the Lord Magistrate of the Yin and Yang Division, Xia Hongshen was a heavenly immortal. Song Jun glanced at Xia Hongshen secretly and felt that this was probably true. How could a mortal in the world be like this?

       When they left, no one escorted them out. However, since it was a place filled with immortals and supernatural beings, Song Jun thought that there must be someone secretly observing them. Therefore, he didn’t dare to move around recklessly.

       When walking out of the side hall, Song Jun suddenly heard the sound of a bell ringing in the temple. He raised his head and looked in the direction of the sound and found that behind the back hall, there was a pagoda towering into the clouds.

       Song Jun stopped unconsciously.

       Xia Hongshen beside him also stopped, followed his gaze towards the pagoda, and suddenly said, “That is the Soul Suppressing Pagoda of the City God’s Temple.”

       “Soul Suppressing Pagoda?” Song Jun muttered and repeated.

       Xia Hongshen said, “The Soul Suppressing Pagoda can suppress all kinds of ghosts. Once thrown into the tower, they cannot come out. Heibai Wuchang³Heibai Wuchang: two deities, one dressed in black and the other in white, responsible for escorting the spirits of the dead to the underworld retrieve souls from the mortal realm. Those meant for reincarnation go to the underworld, and those destined for hell are taken to the eighteen layers of hell. The remaining ones are confined in this tower, never to see the light of day.”

       Song Jun was stunned and asked, “They can’t transcend?”

       Xia Hongshen shook his head, “Saving the souls of the dead has always been the responsibility of humans, not the underworld.”

       When Song Jun heard this, he felt a little emotional for a moment.

       He used to think that there were no ghosts in this world, that when people died, their souls were destroyed, and everything returned to nothingness. But now his state of mind had undergone earth-shaking changes. Setting aside the harm caused by malevolent spirits, after meeting his grandma, Song Jun discovered the souls of the departed were still there. This realisation holds significant meaning for the living. He knew that his grandma was still there. She had been doing good things throughout her life, but she died. At this time, she was probably preparing to be reincarnated in the underworld. Song Jun hoped that in the next life, she would be born into a wealthy and happy family, experiencing a life of prosperity. Such thoughts allowed him to cope with the grief of his grandma’s passing. He felt that he might be able to see his reincarnated grandma again one day. Even if they didn’t recognise each other, knowing that she was happy would be enough.

       Song Jun was a kind-hearted person by nature. People always said that society was complicated and people were indifferent. He believed that there was nothing wrong with protecting oneself wisely. While others might choose not to do good, he urged them not to mock those who still had a compassionate heart. Otherwise, in the future, there might truly be nothing left but indifference.

       Xia Hongshen put his arm around Song Jun’s shoulders and said, “Let’s go.”

       Song Jun nodded and was about to turn around and leave when he suddenly felt a palpitation in his heart. The reaction was so strong that he even fell to his knees in an instant.

       Xia Hongshen grabbed him.

       Song Jun stretched out his hand to hold his chest. He almost thought he was having a heart attack, and his heart was beating faster and faster.

       Xia Hongshen asked, “What?”

       He shook his head and looked at the Soul-Suppressing Pagoda again. He always felt as if something was holding him back. He felt empty and uneasy in his heart.

       Xia Hongshen asked again, “Is everything alright?”

       Song Jun slowed down his heart palpitations, and Xia Hongshen helped him stand up. “It’s okay,” he said, “Let’s go.”

       Xia Hongshen held his hand and took a look at the Soul Suppressing Pagoda. He didn’t notice anything strange, so he said, “Let’s go.”

       After leaving the City God Temple, they boarded the awning boat by the river.

       While the boatman was rowing, Song Jun and Xia Hongshen stood on the side of the boat, looking at the reflections of street lights on both sides of the river.

       Song Jun originally had a question he wanted to ask, but upon seeing the boatman behind them, he hesitated and chose not to voice it. He waited until the two of them landed on the shore, and suddenly, the lively scene around them reverted to the bustling atmosphere they had initially encountered. Song Jun turned around to look, only to find no trace of the City God Temple on the opposite bank of the river. Instead, all he could see were tall and imposing modern buildings.

       The two of them walked towards the school, and Song Jun finally asked, “Are you a heavenly deity coming to earth to find something?”

       This was the only thing Song Jun heard from the content of their conversation.

       Xia Hongshen answered seemingly indifferently, saying, “Yeah.”

       Song Jun asked quickly, “What kind of deity are you?”

       Xia Hongshen glanced at him and said casually, “The Jade Emperor.”

       Song Jun was stunned and soon realised that Xia Hongshen was just talking nonsense, and suddenly felt a little sullen. He originally had many questions to ask, but when he realised that Xia Hongshen probably wouldn’t answer him directly, he lost interest for a while.

       But after a while, Song Jun couldn’t help but ask, “Have you found your stuff? Is it Feng Junyuan?”

       Xia Hongshen said to him this time, “Not entirely.”

       “Thousand-Years Lamp?” Song Jun asked again tentatively. This was what he had heard the man in the City God Temple say before, even though he had no idea what the Thousand-Years Lamp was.

       Xia Hongshen stopped and looked at him, “You’ll know eventually.”

       Song Jun didn’t understand why he would know or whether it was because the time hadn’t come yet and Xia Hongshen would tell him one day. But looking at Xia Hongshen’s current attitude, he felt that it was unnecessary for him to ask further.

       However, he wasn’t entirely happy, and he said, “Then what did you mean when you took me there tonight?”

       Xia Hongshen said to him, “Take you for a walk.”

       Song Jun fell silent for a moment. He had taken him for a walk, and it unexpectedly led them to the underworld.

       Xia Hongshen reached out and touched the top of his head, “Don’t be upset.”

       Song Jun looked up and saw Xia Hongshen saying such comforting words in his usual indifferent voice without expression, and suddenly felt that he had no reason to continue to be upset.

       Forget it, he smiled and said, “Senior brother, let’s go back.”

       Xia Hongshen nodded, “Want to eat something?”

       Song Jun said quickly, “No dried small fish!”

       “…oh.”

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       Song Jun had been in a bad mood all night until just before he went to bed when the little black cat suddenly barged in.

       Song Jun had never seen this little black cat since he saw the cat at his grandma’s place at that time. He almost thought that this black cat wandered outside and got lost and never could come back to campus, but he didn’t expect that tonight he would actually see the cat again.

       The cat food Song Jun bought for it was still in the room. Now he put it in a small bowl and put it in front of the little black cat.

       The black cat lowered its head and licked the cat food. It seemed to like this taste of cat food much more than ham sausage or the like.

       Song Jun was not in a good mood. After watching the cat finish the cat food, he thought it was almost time for him to leave.

       But he didn’t know what happened today. After the little black cat finished eating the cat food, he lay down and licked his paws but had no intention of leaving.

       It was already Song Jun’s usual time to go to bed. He thought that the window was open anyway, and the little cat could leave whenever it wanted, so he pointed the fan at the small bed and planned to go to bed.

       However, he didn’t expect that the little black cat would move very quickly and suddenly wanted to run towards his bed.

       Song Jun quickly reached out and grabbed it, lifted it up, and said in shock, “You can’t go up.”

       After all, this little cat was a stray cat. Although it looked clean and had smooth fur, Song Jun didn’t dare to let it jump on his bed. What if the cat got fleas?

       The little black cat was held by the back of his neck, turned its head, and ‘meowed’ in his face.

       Song Jun suddenly felt a little soft-hearted. He put the little black cat on the ground. Before he could say no, the cat ran towards his bed again.

       The cat was caught again, and Song Jun was forced and couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t bear to throw it out of the window. After hesitating, Song Jun decided to give it a bath.

       Having made up his mind, Song Jun carried the black cat in one hand and the kettle in the other and headed towards the water room.

       Even though it was summer, Song Jun still thoughtfully turned the water into warm water before throwing the little black cat into the basin.

       The little black cat was thrown into the water basin and immediately wanted to climb out. Song Jun grabbed it and pushed it down.

       The black cat, whose fur was soaked by water, looked smaller. Its eyes were round and bright, making it look a little pitiful. But Song Jun couldn’t help but laugh. He poured water on the little black cat’s head and watched it shake its head vigorously to shake the water. He found it very interesting. The bad mood of the night finally became a little better.

       Song Jun gave the little black cat a bath with his own shampoo, and Song Jun used a towel to dry it.

       The weather was hot in summer. After wiping the cat with a towel, the fur of the little black cat was half dry. Song Jun thought of the mat on his bed, so when he saw it jumping on the bed again, he ignored it.

       When he was sleeping, the little black cat came close to Song Jun.

       At first, Song Jun was sleeping on his side, so the cat put its head on Song Jun’s arm. Later, when Song Jun turned over and lay flat, he simply lay on Song Jun’s chest.

       Song Jun felt that he couldn’t breathe easily under the weight of the cat, so he stretched out his hand to lift it from his chest.

       After that, Song Jun felt it circling around him as if trying to find a comfortable position. The little black cat’s tail brushed against Song Jun’s belly from time to time. Song Jun was so disturbed that he couldn’t sleep, so he stretched out his arms to hug the cat to his side.

       The little black cat seemed to finally feel comfortable, resting his chin on Song Jun’s arm and stopped moving.

       Song Jun fell asleep without realising it.

       However, the little cat lying next to him never closed its eyes, staring at his sleeping face in the darkness.

       He slept until dawn, and when Song Jun woke up, the little black cat was gone. He was used to the kitten coming and going freely, so he didn’t pay much attention to it.

       But when he opened the door in the morning and saw Xia Hongshen’s closed door opposite, he still felt a little uncomfortable.

       Regardless of whether Xia Hongshen was a human or a demon, Song Jun dared to say that he was not afraid. What he cared about was probably Xia Hongshen’s attitude. He couldn’t say what was wrong with him, but he was very troubled. He felt very troubled when he thought about Xia Hongshen.

       So, for several days, Song Jun deliberately avoided Xia Hongshen.

       When he went out, he would open the door a crack and check to make sure the door on the other side was closed before going out. As long as he was in the dormitory, he would try to reduce the number of times he went out to avoid meeting Xia Hongshen.

       After almost a week, one night, when Song Jun went out, Xia Hongshen’s door was still closed, but as soon as he walked out, Xia Hongshen opened the door and stood at the door looking at him.

       “Senior Brother Xia,” Song Jun couldn’t help but feel nervous when he saw Xia Hongsheng, even though he hadn’t done anything wrong.

       Xia Hongshen asked him, “Where are you going?”

       Song Jun said in a low voice, “I’m going to go to the lab to surf the net for a while.” The lab had air conditioning and was cooler than the dormitory.

       Xia Hongshen said, “Don’t go.”

       His words were so plain and direct, and Song Jun suddenly felt an unknown fire in his heart. Just when he was about to yell, “Why?” he heard Xia Hongshen say again, “Follow me to a place.”

       “Huh?” Song Jun’s anger suddenly flew to the sky, “Where to?”

       Xia Hongshen said, “Come with me.”

       Song Jun followed Xia Hongshen out of the dormitory and walked into the school. Song Jun suddenly had an idea that they were like dating.

       In the hot summer, on the noisy campus, he walked slowly with Xia Hongshen. Although they didn’t talk, his mood gradually became better.

       Xia Hongshen never told Song Jun where they were going until they all walked out of the school gate and walked towards the river outside the north gate of the school.

       Song Jun thought that Xia Hongshen probably just wanted to take a walk with him.

       The riverside that night didn’t seem to be any different from that day in the Ghost Festival. In fact, every day in summer, there were many people walking by the riverside in the evening, especially the elderly and children.

       It was already dark when they arrived, but the number of people walking had not decreased.

       Xia Hongshen walked neither fast nor slowly. When he reached the river, he took Song Jun into the path along the river. The path was covered with willow trees, and Song Jun had to reach out from time to time to brush away the weeping willows blocking the road ahead.

       After walking for a while, there were steps next to the path that led down to the river.

       At this moment, Song Jun noticed an awning boat parked on the river bank.

       He was stunned for a moment. This river ran through the entire city, and it was located in the city centre. Except for the occasional engineering boat for salvage operations, there were no other boats, and there were no boats for sightseeing.

       This awning boat was small and looked very old. It didn’t look like a boat that should appear here.

       Song Jun subconsciously looked back and saw many people walking along the riverside path, but no one seemed to notice that there was an extra boat there.

       At this time, Xia Hongshen had already walked to the river. He leaned down slightly and knocked on the roof of the boat.

       Then, he saw a head peeking out from under the canopy of the boat. The man raised his wrinkled face and looked at them. Then he raised his hand and motioned for them to get on the boat.

       Xia Hongshen got on the boat first and extended a hand to Song Jun.

       Song Jun hesitated for a moment, then took Xia Hongshen’s hand and jumped on the boat.

       The boatman got out of the canopy, sat behind the boat and started paddling.

       Song Jun grabbed Xia Hongshen’s arm, and Xia Hongshen supported him and said, “Be careful.”

       Song Jun hummed and didn’t let go of Xia Hongshen’s hand.

       The boat went downstream, not too fast.

       Song Jun asked Xia Hongshen where they were going, but Xia Hongshen only said that he would know when they arrived.

       After a while, Song Jun saw a thick layer of mist on the river in front of him. The boat paddled into the mist, and the surrounding scenery suddenly became blurred. Only the lights on the distant shore were still bright.

       However, not long after, the boat rowed out of the fog, and as Song Jun’s vision cleared, he looked up and saw, to his surprise, a majestic and magnificent temple standing on the right bank in the distance, resplendent in gold and jade.

       If Song Jun remembered correctly, that place should have been the main square in the city centre.

       Song Jun looked confused. He just thought that this temple probably did not exist in the world or that it had always been standing there, but no one could see it.

       The boat swayed close to the right side of the river and docked.

       After Xia Hongshen got off the boat, he pulled Song Jun off the boat and then walked in front along a path onto the river embankment. In front of the river embankment was the square in front of the big temple, with an incense burner in the middle. The cauldron had incense candles burning inside.

       Song Jun heard the long bells ringing from the temple, and the surroundings were filled with the smell of burning incense. He raised his head and saw a plaque hanging on the temple door with the words ‘City God Temple’ written on it.

       He turned around in shock and saw the large temple next to the river. The entire square was empty, with no one in it.

       Also, how could there be anyone here? Song Jun had been living in this city since he entered university, and for several years, he had never known that there was such a well-preserved City God Temple in this place. This temple probably truly existed in another realm.

       The temple door opened, with a fierce statue of a deity on each side.

       When they walked to the temple gate, Song Jun saw the two statues suddenly turned into human forms, holding a spear in the hand and blocking them at the door, shouting, “Who are you?”

       Song Jun stopped and looked at Xia Hongshen. Xia Hongshen raised his hand, took out a piece of paper from somewhere and handed it to the guard.

       Song Jun didn’t know what was written on the paper, but after reading it, the gatekeeper’s expression obviously softened. He said to Xia Hongshen, “The City God is not currently in the temple; in charge is the official of the Yin and Yang Division.”

       Xia Hongshen said, “May I please see the one in charge?”

       The two guards looked at each other, and one of them said, “Please follow me.”

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       “I will take care of disciplining them when they make mistakes, no need to bother the City God,” Xia Hongshen said, slowly taking two steps in their direction.

       The next moment, Song Jun saw him standing in front of him and Feng Junyuan, but Song Jun didn’t even see how he moved.

       When Night Patrol God saw Xia Hongshen, he became even more angry. He pointed the long blade at Xia Hongshen and said, “What Immortal Lord? You’re just a mere demonic beast! Don’t think we are really afraid of you!”

       Song Jun was stunned when he heard Night Patrol God’s words.

       Xia Hongshen’s expression remained unchanged, but he said coldly, “Then what do you want?”

       The Night Patrol God pointed at Feng Junyuan and Song Jun and said, “Today is the day that the Ghost Gate is opened, and these two boys are here to disrupt the order of Yin and Yang. I will take them to the City God to hold them accountable. Do you dare to stop?”

       Xia Hongshen said, “I am going to stop it.”

       Night Patrol God’s expression changed, and without saying a word, he swung his long blade and struck down towards Xia Hongshen, shouting, “Let’s see if you can stop my blade first!”

       Xia Hongshen raised his hand. Song Jun and Feng Junyuan were immediately pushed away by a gentle wind. All of a sudden, Xia Hongshen’s figure swayed slightly, and he had already dodged the blade of Night Patrol God. With a flick of his slender fingertips, a deep and gentle spiritual power knocked the Night Patrol God’s blade away.

       Song Jun was a little dumbfounded. He didn’t know how things could develop to this point. Even though he had seen many demons and ghosts before, he had never seen such a battle before.

       The guy who wielded the long blade didn’t say anything, but Song Jun listened to his words and guessed that he might be a ghost messenger; but what exactly was Senior Brother Xia?

       Immortal Lord? Demons? Song Jun felt that he couldn’t understand it.

       However, Song Jun immediately became worried about Xia Hongshen. No matter whether Xia Hongshen was a human or a demon, Song Jun would always be on his side. Now, the opponent had a long sword in his hand, while all Xia Hongshen had was empty hands. Although it seemed that he was not at a disadvantage, Song Jun was always frightened every time the Night Patrol God’s long blade swung, bringing up gusts of wind.

       When Song Jun couldn’t contain his worry and took two steps forward, Feng Junyuan already jumped forward and wanted to rush over.

       Song Jun was shocked and stretched out his hand to stop Feng Junyuan, “Hey!”

       However, Feng Junyuan sensed the Yin energy coming from the Night Patrol God’s long blade and involuntarily took a few steps back. He looked somewhat anxious, and yet he couldn’t quite articulate why. He just felt that he couldn’t stand by and watch the two of them fight.

       When Feng Junyuan stepped forward again, he was forced back by the Yin energy of the Night Patrol God, and he looked a little frustrated.

       Unexpectedly, Xia Hongshen suddenly escaped from the fight with Night Patrol God. He stopped next to Feng Junyuan, stretched out a hand to Feng Junyuan and said, “Come here.”

       Feng Junyuan was momentarily stunned as if guided by some unseen force, he reached out and clasped Xia Hongshen’s hand.

       Song Jun didn’t have time to be surprised. The next moment, he saw a golden light appear on Feng Junyuan’s body. Even Feng Junyuan himself looked down at his body in surprise as the golden light turned into a long weapon in Xia Hongshen’s hands.

       The long weapon was shaped like a long fork, with a sharp blade in the middle and crescent-shaped curved edges on both sides, with golden light flowing.

       Song Jun didn’t recognise the name of this weapon, but the Night Patrol God who fought with Xia Hongshen did. He paused slightly and stared at the weapon in Xia Hongshen’s hand, saying, “Gilded Phoenix Wings?”

       Xia Hongshen didn’t say anything. He held the sharp weapon in his hand and stabbed Night Patrol God in the face.

       The Night Patrol God blocked with his long knife, only to feel a tingling numbness in both hands, instantly recalling the rumours he had heard from Bai Wuchang about the person in front of him. The Night Patrol God was originally a fierce deity, and he would definitely not be afraid of any ancient ferocious beast. However, as they clashed in combat at this moment, he suddenly felt that the person before him did indeed possess a certain frightening quality.

       Little did he know Xia Hongshen had not even transformed into his true form but still retained a considerable amount of strength.

       The two long weapons collided fiercely, with constant clanking sounds. The Night Patrol God was the god of the underworld, and the seventh month was the yin moon, where the yin energy was at its peak. All of a sudden, the nether winds are very strong.

The two long weapons clashed fiercely, the resounding clangs echoing incessantly. The Night Wandering God, being a deity from the underworld, coupled with the fact that it was the seventh month, associated with the peak of yin energy. All of a sudden chilling Yin wind suddenly swept through.

       Song Jun was almost unable to stand due to the strong wind and almost fell to the ground.

       Suddenly, he felt a gentle force wrap around him, and a golden halo suddenly appeared around him. It was not a surprised that Xia Hongshen would use his spiritual power to protect him while fighting the Night Patrol God.

       Song Jun’s eyes fell on Xia Hongshen.

       He was seen waving the Gilded Phoenix Wings; his posture was carefree and unrestrained, and his expression was calm and indifferent, but the person who was fighting with him gradually showed signs of decline and began to retreat slowly.

       The Night Patrol God could hardly withstand Xia Hongshen’s attack.

       The Gilded Phoenix Wings was worthy of being a divine weapon known as the Immortal Sword. The peak of its spiritual power was far beyond what the Yin energy of the long blade in the Night Patrol God’s hand could compete with. Perhaps others couldn’t see it, but Night Patrol God could clearly feel that Xia Hongshen was able to handle things with ease.

       He saw Xia Hongshen’s slender fingers twirl the Gilded Phoenix Wing’s long handle effortlessly, swinging it in a circle easily and slashing towards the top of his head. Instinctively, he raised his long knife to block, but in that instant, he felt regret, fearing that the long knife might be powerless against the spiritual energy of the Gilded Phoenix Wing weapon.

       However, the imagined attack did not land on top of his head. At the last moment, Xia Hongshen gently pushed the long handle with his finger, and the Gilded Phoenix Wings flew away from the Night Patrol God.

       Knowing that the other party was showing mercy, Night Patrol God felt a surge of anger in his chest. He wanted to yell to tell Xia Hongshen not to look down on him, but at the last moment, he chose to be patient. He escaped from the battle, pointed at Xia Hongshen and said, “Monster, please don’t be arrogant! The two realms of Yin and Yang have strict order, so we won’t allow you to act recklessly! Sooner or later, we will end our relationship with you after what happened today!”

       Xia Hongshen stood still and responded calmly, “I’ll be waiting for you.”

       Immediately, the Night Patrol God disappeared from the street with a big blade on his shoulder.

       Only Song Jun and Xia Hongshen were left, as well as the long soldiers in Xia Hongshen’s hands.

       However, Song Jun only saw Xia Hongshen’s weapon transforming into the appearance of Feng Junyuan. He stood there in a daze for a moment, then, with a mix of annoyance and anger, he glared at Xia Hongshen and turned to run away.

       Xia Hongshen showed no intention of stopping him but instead said to Song Jun, “Are you okay?”

       Song Jun was in a complicated mood at the moment and couldn’t say a word for a moment. He felt that if there was a tree next to him, he should hold on to the tree and say, “Let me slow down.”

       It was a pity that there was no tree, and he was too embarrassed to hold Xia Hongshen in front of him. The words ‘Are you a human or a monster?’ lingered on his lips, but he didn’t ask.

       Suddenly, Song Jun heard the sound of cicadas chirping on the tree next to him. It was so quiet just now that it was not like a human world. Now, somehow, the lively scene has returned. There were old people squatting by the side of the road to burn paper money, middle-aged people taking a walk, and small children running, jumping, and playing.

       The fog on the river had dispersed, and the big red lantern had disappeared.

       In an instant, Song Jun felt like he was back in the original world.

       He turned his head blankly and saw Zhou Yingchun and the group not far ahead.

       A senior sister turned around and saw him, and waved to him.

       Song Jun was a little dazed at that time. He replied, “Oh,” and then showed Xia Hongshen the cup he had been holding in his hand and said, “I will return the cup to Professor Zhou.”

       Xia Hongshen said, “Go ahead.”

       Song Jun then chased in the direction of the group of people. Returning the cup to Zhou Yingchun, everyone continued to talk and walk towards the school. Song Jun turned around and found that Xia Hongshen had disappeared.

       In that moment just now, it was as if time and space had frozen. Once Song Jun broke free from that place, there were no traces left of what had transpired.

       However, Song Jun had witnessed everything about Xia Hongshen and Feng Junyuan with his own eyes. His mind was a jumble of confusion. It wasn’t until he returned to the dormitory at night and was quiet that he could carefully contemplate all these events.

       Xia Hongshen was probably not a human being, at least not an ordinary person; maybe neither was Feng Junyuan. But Song Jun didn’t feel scared. He just felt a little confused. Since he came to this university to study, he had encountered many strange things that he had never encountered before, and he didn’t understand what happened. And now, even his close and trusted senior brother seemed to be no ordinary human being. Having received education about materialism¹Philosophical Materialism states that everything that truly exists is matter; everything is material, thus all phenomena we see are a result of material interactions since childhood, his cognition had been subverted overnight, which was really hard for him to accept.

       After struggling alone in the room for half an hour, Song Jun opened the door and walked to the opposite side, knocking on Xia Hongshen’s door.

       The door opened quickly. Xia Hongshen was standing in front of the door wearing a dark T-shirt, cotton trousers, and a pair of slippers as he looked at Song Jun.

       Song Jun glanced at him and suddenly became nervous, and then he heard Xia Hongshen ask him, “Do you want to eat small fish?”

       Song Jun didn’t know what happened, but he sat in Xia Hongshen’s room again and ate dried fish. He didn’t like eating dried fish at all, and he was not a cat.

       Xia Hongshen was sitting on a chair with one leg raised. Song Jun’s eyes were unconsciously attracted to his bare feet wearing slippers. Even Xia Hongshen’s feet were beautiful in shape and fair in complexion, and his toenails were round and smooth, just like him. It was perfect, flawless.

       Seemingly noticing that Song Jun was staring at his feet, Xia Hongshen raised them up to show him and asked him, “Does it taste good?”

       When Song Jun was asked, he remembered the purpose of his coming here. He put the dried fish aside and asked, “Senior Brother, are you a human?”

       Xia Hongshen did not answer.

       Song Jun asked tentatively, “Are you a demon?”

       Xia Hongshen still didn’t answer.

       Song Jun suddenly felt a little discouraged. He was not the kind of person who was used to being aggressive. On the contrary, he was actually a bit meek in character. He didn’t like to force others, and he didn’t like to fight for anything. He asked Xia Hongshen two questions in succession but did not get an answer from him. He suddenly lost the confidence to continue asking.

       When he thought of Xia Hongshen holding Feng Junyuan’s hand and Feng Junyuan transforming into Xia Hongshen’s weapon, Song Jun felt even more uncomfortable. He stood up and said, “I’m going back first.”

       Xia Hongshen didn’t ask to stay with him.

       When Song Jun went out, he said angrily, “The dried fish is not delicious at all!” Then he closed the door of Xia Hongshen’s room.

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Check out bean’s new ABO novel here!
and her original novel about a sly cute dragon here~
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And please buy me some kofi if you like the translation~

Also leave some ratings if you like this series ~