Chapter 5 – The Black Ring
When Gu Ruoqing arrived at “Where Spring Winds Seek,” the once vibrant brothel was now engulfed in roaring flames. The fire illuminated the night sky, and billowing smoke concealed the stars. The sound of burning wood crackled like fireworks, assaulting the eardrums.
People of all kinds swarmed around, trying to extinguish the fire. They ran and shouted, and desperate relatives cried outside, with a woman kneeling before a helpless doctor, begging him to save her husband.
Gu Ruoqing scanned the area but couldn’t find any trace of Yu Yang. He cursed silently.
Could it be that he hasn’t come out yet? With this blaze, he’ll be burnt alive sooner or later!
Gu Ruoqing suppressed his anxiety and unsheathed his sword, leaping onto the roof in a hurry and heading towards a section of the brothel where the fire was less intense.
He arrived just in time. Despite the intense blaze, the basic structure of the building had not started collapsing yet. There were pools of water splashed on the floor by people rushing in, and he endured the scorching heat as he began searching inside.
“Yu Yang!”
Covering his nose and mouth, he ran through the building, calling out. Gu Ruoqing’s voice, mingled with spiritual power, traveled far within the burning brothel.
“Yu Yang!” “Yu Yang!!”
He didn’t call out Le Lin’s name because he knew that Le Lin wouldn’t use her true name in the human world. He couldn’t even be sure if Yu Yang was using his real name now.
As the flames grew fiercer, suddenly, a burning beam of wood collapsed, and the entire second floor seemed on the verge of collapsing.
Gu Ruoqing swiftly evaded a piece of wood that almost crashed into his head. He searched through the ground floor’s main hall but, seeing the entire second floor about to collapse, he frowned deeply, stepped onto the burning staircase, and ascended.
Covering his mouth and nose, he pushed open door after door to look inside. Just as another burning beam nearly struck him, he pushed open a door and found a woman inside.
Alive.
The woman lifted her head upon hearing him.
She had an incredibly beautiful face, a breathtaking beauty that could be described as “a demon’s loveliness by the Xiang River.” Alluring, yet with a softness that pleased the eyes.
At this moment, the woman was sitting calmly in the center of the room, cradling a boy of about five in her arms. She gently stroked the boy’s hair, gazing peacefully at the roaring flames outside the window, as though she were appreciating the beauty of spring.
Gu Ruoqing was astonished for a moment at the door. He recognized the boy in her arms as Yu Yang.
In an instant, he knew who the woman was—Yu Yang’s mother, Le Lin.
A woman who had sacrificed herself for a Demon Lord, bringing devastation to the world.
The original work didn’t mention Le Lin much, and Gu Ruoqing’s strongest impression of her was that she was strangled to death by Yu Yang while completely controlled by a demonic influence.
At the time, Le Lin was completely possessed by a demonic nature, bloodthirsty and murderous. She laughed and cried as she told Yu Yang that he was the son of her and Yun Sifeng and even called Yu Yang a “mixed-breed,” instantly pushing Yu Yang into darkness.
So, Yu Yang strangled Le Lin to death, and to ensure she wouldn’t reincarnate, he personally crushed Le Lin’s demonic pearl, condemning her to never have another life.
In Gu Ruoqing’s view, Le Lin should have been a bewitching, mysterious, and dangerous demon, but he had never imagined that the real Le Lin would be so serene and graceful, as if she were the gentle sound of raindrops falling in a pond.
Le Lin also seemed to be scrutinizing the man who had suddenly entered.
She gazed at Gu Ruoqing, her beautiful eyes trembling uncontrollably.
After a long pause, she suddenly smiled and said, “It’s you.”
“Are you here to take him away?”
With that, she gazed tenderly at the boy sleeping in her arms.
This was his first time seeing Yu Yang’s face. Indeed, the antagonist was just that—a true antagonist, second only to the male lead. His appearance was remarkable.
Even as a child, his features were striking, and as he grew older, he became a charismatic and handsome man.
Gu Ruoqing couldn’t resist reaching out, as if to pinch Yu Yang’s cheek, but then he noticed a black iron earring on Yu Yang’s right ear. For some reason, he withdrew his hand.
In the original story, the black earring worn by Yu Yang had a teardrop-sized blood jade on it. There was a well-known folk rumor that, five hundred years after the Immortal-Demon War, a tyrannical Demon Lord would be born, adorned with a black earring, who would revive the demon race and wreak havoc upon the world, causing widespread suffering.
Even nursery rhymes sang of this fearsome Demon Lord: “Black earring worn, blood tears fall, heaven and earth in darkness, the Demon Lord descends.”
In an instant, Gu Ruoqing recalled the memory of Yu Yang being pierced by his sword at the God-Demon Abyss. At that moment, the blood jade on this black earring seemed to drip like tears, igniting endless hatred in Yu Yang’s eyes.
But now, the black earring was still there, but where was the blood jade?
As Gu Ruoqing pondered, an elderly woman, who had been protected within a barrier, ran towards him.
“Immortal! Immortal!” The elderly woman suddenly knelt on the ground and wept, saying, “Please, Immortal, save my child! He just turned five today! Please, Immortal, save him!”
Others also rushed over, kneeling around Gu Ruoqing, crying out desperately. One man even banged his head until it bled, and a young girl clung to his leg, begging.
Desolation surrounded him.
Gu Ruoqing watched this scene of universal sorrow, feeling a deep unease in his heart.
Throughout history, whether in the wars between immortals and demons, the turmoil of the imperial court, or the conflicts of the martial world, it was always the common people who suffered.
“Everyone, please…”
He was about to speak but was silenced again by a chorus of crying and pleas.
Gu Ruoqing, as a person, appeared aloof and cold, seemingly distant from human emotions. In reality, he was simply bad with words. He wouldn’t argue or defend himself when others scolded or accused him, he just listened and endured it, at most observing the spectacle like a detached observer.
However, when people turned to him for help, cried out to him, he struggled to find the right words to console them, and ultimately, he would act silently to lend assistance in any way he could.
In this regard, Gu Ruoqing, whether before or after his transmigration, whether as a kindergarten teacher or an immortal shizun, hadn’t improved a bit.
Just as he was about to ask everyone to stand up, he suddenly heard someone in the crowd pointing at Yu Yang in his arms in panic and shouting, “Black earring! That child has a black earring on his ear!”
T/N: Hey there! There is plenty more where that came from, so stay tuned! And stay healthy! Straighten your posture, so some stretches and drink some water before continuing hehe~
If you like my translations, feel free to donate to my ko-fi!
I really, really appreciate all the support from my readers <3 It goes a long way and motivates me lots!
Also, check out the other series we have on HoH!
If you like cats, check out Revenge of the Garfield
If you like dragons, check out I’m Pregnant with the Hope of the Entire Planet and The Dragon and the ‘Princess’
How about some mystery or showbiz? Check out Morbid Addiction & Perfection
What about the perfect, most non-toxic male lead ever? Laws of Love
How about MC nursing ML back to health? Forced into the Deep
Thank you for all your support <3 Leave a comment if you like 🙂 I love reading them!
hi, where can i find this for reading in chinese?
Hi, you can click the Alt.name in the novel page and it’ll send you to the raw page 🙂
Is it still going on?
Yes! Will be back soon~