Chapter 99 (1/2)

Chapter 99

Words can hurt . But sometimes, silence hurts even more .

”Yundong…”

That was the 17th time Su Chan had called his name without receiving a response . Or was it the 19th? She wasn't sure . She'd lost count some time during their car ride home .

Su Chan rose from the couch and padded over towards the sliding door, where Yundong stood with his back to her . He was staring out into the city, seemingly lost in thought .

”Yundong…” Su Chan tugged the hem of his s.h.i.+rt . ”W- Why aren't you speaking to me?” You know why, Chan'er, she added silently .

He'd seen her powers now . He must think I'm a monster… Just like everyone else does…

After what felt like hours, Yundong released a sigh . ”Chan'er…” His eyes remained fixed on something beyond the balcony .

Su Chan's grip on the hem of his s.h.i.+rt tightened . ”Y- Yes?”

”Tell me,” he said, his voice flat and emotionless . ”Tell me everything . ”

Su Chan froze . Everything? Including the fact that she was a fox spirit?

Su Chan let go of the hem of his s.h.i.+rt and took a step back .

She bit down on her lip and stared at the floor . Could she do it? Could she reveal everything to him now? Seconds later, she shook her head . He would probably hate her guts the moment he found out who (or what) she was . He would be revolted by the mere sight of her . He wouldn't want her around anymore .

Demons . Fiends . Foul creatures . Sp.a.w.ns of evil . The depraved . Evil spirits .

Those were just a few names a.s.sociated with her kind .

For decades, fox spirits were regarded as the embodiment of everything that Cultivators hated, all thanks to the Mystical Silver Fox, whose actions had besmirched the good name of the Fox Zen School . There wasn't a single Cultivator alive today who didn't loathe the Fox Zen School and anyone a.s.sociated with it .

Could Yundong really see past decades' worth of hatred and accept her for who she was? Could Yundong overcome the stigma surrounding her kind? What if the idea of having a fox spirit as a lover disgusted him so much that he got rid of her for good?

And if she was no longer around…

Who else would be there to watch over his training and help him pa.s.s the Zhuji phase?

Who else would be there to watch his back and protect him from those hunting for the Renyuan Jindan?

And speaking of the Renyuan Jindan…

Yesterday, Yundong had already agreed to let her tell him about the Jindan in her own time . But it seemed like today's incident had triggered his need for answers again .

Oh Tao… What was she supposed to do now? Well, she supposed she could just tell him about the Jindan but leave out the bit about her being a fox spirit? But what if Yundong accidentally let slip that he had consumed the Jindan…

Just thinking about that made Su Chan sick to her stomach .

Those Cultivators would never let him live . They would absorb the Jindan and then destroy his body until there was nothing left of him . Oh G.o.d… Before Yundong reached the Shentong—or at least the Zhuji—phase, he didn't stand a chance . Su Chan raised her head and stared at Yundong's back . At the end of the day, it all boiled down to one thing: could she trust Yundong to be discreet?

”Yundong… Hehe…” Su Chan said, injecting a faux cheeriness into her tone . ”You've probably pa.s.sed the 4th dan of the Ningshen phase by now . And if you work hard, it shouldn't be long before you complete the Zhuji phase as well… so… maybe until then…”

Yundong turned away from the sliding door until he was facing her .

”And how much longer would that take? Months?” He snorted . ”Years?”

Su Chan shuffled forward a step, then reached out to take his hand . When he flinched away from her touch, it felt as though someone had stabbed a knife through her heart . Su Chan swallowed . The lump in her throat was now impossible to ignore . She cleared her throat . ”I told you yesterday, didn't I? I'll tell you everything when the time is right…”

Yundong huffed and stormed past her . ”Why? So I can keep walking around like an ignorant fool?”

No! So you don't accidentally give yourself away and end up dead!

Su Chan followed him into the living room . ”I told you it's for your own safety—”

Yundong turned around abruptly, his eyes flas.h.i.+ng in anger . ”Seriously, princess? Safety? After everything that happened just now, you're here talking to me about safety?”

”But that's different! That was just Lin Youfa looking to regain the honor of his school after you defeated his disciple . That's not the kind of safety I was referring—”

”Oh, you have got to be s.h.i.+tting me . ” Yundong threw his hands in the air and plopped down on the couch . He sat there with his elbows resting on his thighs and his face buried in his palms .

Su Chan walked over to the couch and kneeled down in front of him .

”Yundong… These people are dangerous . They have ways to—”

”Oh, come on! Don't you get it yet?!” Yundong growled into his palms .

”Get what? I think you're the one who doesn’t understand how serious this is!”

Yundong's head suddenly shot up .

”The game is up, princess!”

The sharpness in Yundong's tone drew a gasp out of her . She stared into Yundong's eyes . The anger in them had been replaced with a pleading look .

”This whole charade is over,” Yundong said . ”It won't work anymore . It's not going to fool anybody . Not after what happened today . ”

Yundong broke their eye contact and rubbed a hand across his face . Weariness settled into his countenance . He sighed . ”Whether we like it or not, our cover is blown . ”

Su Chan s.h.i.+fted around until she was sitting cross-legged on the floor .

”C'mon princess . Limos spinning in the air? Some dude generating shockwaves with a punch?” Yundong snorted . ”Before we know it, we're on f*cking national TV . ”

Su Chan sniffed and swiped away a stray tear . This was all her fault . Yundong got into danger because of her . He'd been so nice to her, and yet all she brought him was trouble .

Su Chan sniffed again . ”W- Would we really end up inside the talking box?”

Seconds pa.s.sed in silence . And then Yundong laughed . A genuine and full-blown laugh . What a beautiful sound . And Su Chan had never felt more relieved in her entire life .

Su Chan sniffed again . ”W- What?”

Her cheeks were so warm that her tears would probably just evaporate from its surface .

Yundong stopped laughing right then and lifted her chin up . ”I don't know, but I think it's likely . ”

Su Chan turned her head left and stared at the TV for a moment . ”B- But… How do we get in there?” She pointed at the TV . ”There aren't any doors . ”

”Pfft… Hahaha . ”

Su Chan lowered her hand and stared down at her lap .

Yundong cleared his throat . ”Well, that's not how it works . I'll explain it to you next time . ”

The fact that there would be a next time eased a tight knot inside Su Chan's chest .

”Look, the point is…” Yundong said . ”There's a good chance that everyone in the city—h.e.l.l, everyone in the country—will know about today's incident within the next few days . ”

Su Chan fiddled with her sleeve . ”Does… Does everyone have one of those boxes in their homes?”

<hr>

”Yeah . That's pretty much true nowadays . ” Yundong sighed . ”G.o.d . I can even imagine the front page t.i.tle already . The Hero of Tiannan University fights Shapes.h.i.+fting Old Man . And those nosy students might even be posting about it on Weibo already… Sooner or later, everyone's gonna know, including the people who are after us . ”

Another stretch of silence pa.s.sed .

”Lin Youfa could be one of them,” Yundong said moments later .

Su Chan's gaze snapped up . ”What?”

Yundong sighed and shook his head . ”He kept insisting that there's something special about me . ”

Fear speared through Su Chan's chest, taking away her ability to breath . Oh no…

”A- And what did you tell him?”

”I denied it, of course,” Yundong said with a snort . ”Told him I'm just a university student . ”

Su Chan sighed in relief .

Yundong looked into her eyes . ”He didn't believe me though . Crazy b.a.s.t.a.r.d kept twisting my wrist around trying to force me to tell him . ”

Su Chan regarded Yundong carefully . So he didn't yield under pressure . Maybe he can keep secrets after all…

”Did he…?” Su Chan cleared her throat . d.a.m.n, she really needed a gla.s.s of water . ”Did he give you any indication that… that he knows?”

Yundong considered her question for a moment, then held her gaze again .

”No . He kept saying that he thinks there's something special about me, just that he didn't know what it is . He thinks it has something to do with the way I train . ”

So the possibility that Yundong had consumed the Renyuan Jindan never occurred to Lin Youfa? That was a little odd . But admittedly, it was also a huge relief to hear . Su Chan hadn't thought Lin Youfa was one of the people hunting for the Renyuan Jindan . What Yundong had told her just confirmed her suspicions .

”Chan'er…”

Su Chan shook herself out of her reverie . Only Master called her Chan'er . But she had to admit that she liked it better when Yundong called her that . The previous time when he called her Chan'er, they were…

She hoped she hadn't started bleeding from her cheeks . And was it a little hot in here?

”I know I've promised to stop pus.h.i.+ng you for answers . And I know you're just trying to protect me . You want me to become stronger first, I get all that,” Yundong said . ”But don't you think it would be better for me to know exactly what I'm capable of so I don't end up doing things that would risk exposure?”

Su Chan froze . She'd never thought of it that way .

Yundong shook his head . ”And not just what I'm capable of . I also need to know what you are capable of . Earlier, I removed you from the fight because—”

”You mean you tossed me,” Su Chan snapped . ”You tossed me away . Literally . ”

Yundong sighed . ”I know . I'm sorry . But that's exactly the point . I didn't know what you're capable of . I didn't know you could do all that”—Yundong did a couple of weird gestures with his hand—”bada.s.s Cultivation stuff or whatever you call it . I was just trying to keep you safe . That guy was so dangerous and I didn't know if I could beat him . I panicked! And…” Yundong lowered his head . ”I guess I wasn't sure if I could protect you . ” Yundong lifted his head and gazed right into her eyes . ”I don't know what I'd do if I lose you, Chan'er . I… I can't live without you . ”

Tears stung Su Chan's eyes as warmth flourished inside her chest . However, that mushy feeling was short-lived as fear and disappointment soon crept in . Will you still say that once you find out that I'm a fox spirit? That I'm a demon? Su Chan decided that she didn't even want to go there . It hurt too much .

Yundong took a breath . ”And of course, there's also the fact that our cover is blown . I need to be ready . I need to know who or what I'm up against . Otherwise I'll just end up having my a.s.s kicked like today…”

Su Chan sighed . He's right . . . I've been so blind .

”Chan'er…” Yundong cupped her cheeks . ”I think it's time you tell me . ”

Su Chan nodded .

”Okay . ”

***

They sat on the floor across from each other . Two pads and pens lay on the coffee table between them .

Su Chan broke the silence first . ”Um… How much do you know?” she asked, pulling one of the pads towards her .

Yundong took a pen and started fiddling with it . After a moment, he stopped fiddling and sighed .

”I didn't use to belief in magic and all that woo-woo stuff… But now…” Yundong shook his head . ”Now I think I do . I mean, after everything I've seen and experienced… It's just…”

Oh, Yundong… You've barely scratched the surface…

Yundong uncapped his pen and opened his pad to a blank page . He stared at her for a few seconds without writing anything down . Su Chan felt like squirming under his intense scrutiny . What was he going to ask first? Her past? Had he already begun to suspect that she was a demon? Moments later, Yundong scribbled down a few words and showed her the pad: Fly for me .

”What?”

He wrote something down again: Fly . I want to see you fly . Like… Like what you did earlier .

Oh . That .

Learning how to fly was the requirement to pa.s.s the fourth dan of the Shentong (fifth) phase of Cultivation .

Yundong scribbled: Please? I just need to see it for myself .

”O- Okay…” Su Chan stood up, then backed away a few steps from the coffee table . Their gazes locked, and Yundong gave her a nod . Su Chan closed her eyes and took a deep breath . A moment later, her feet left the floor .

”Holy f*cking s.h.i.+t…”

Su Chan's eyes shot open and her feet dropped back to the floor with a thud .

Yundong's hands were now gripping his hair . ”Son of a f*ck!”

Defensiveness crept in . ”Just because we have abilities doesn't mean that we're evil or that we're monsters—”

Yundong released his hair and shook his head, his eyes widening in alarm . ”No, no… That's not what I meant… I was just surprised that's all . I didn't mean to imply that . I'm sorry . ”

”Oh . ”

Yundong sighed and waved her over .

Su Chan walked back towards the coffee table and sat down .

”Listen, I really didn't mean anything by my reaction . I was just surprised . ” Yundong shook his head, then held her gaze again . ”I meant what I told you at the restaurant . ”

Well, he'd told her a lot of things at the restaurant . He might need to be more specific .

”A lot of things in this world aren't inherently bad . They are just tools . Their value depends on their user,” Yundong said, looking straight at her . ”I won't think of you as an evil monster just for having special abilities . Like money, it all depends on how you use them . ”

Su Chan suppressed an eye roll . Tell that to the rest of the Cultivation world who wanted nothing more than to wipe out fox spirits from the face of the earth .

Yundong chuckled . ”d.a.m.n . Now I'm positive that we'll be on TV tomorrow . There were so many people watching the fight just now and you just…” Yundong paused and drew an arc in the air connecting one spot on the table to another . ”Like, right in front of everyone . ”

Su Chan uncapped her pen and wrote: Made it look like jump .

”Right, I'm sure that's enough to convince everyone,” Yundong deadpanned .

Was he being sarcastic? Yep . He was . The teasing glint in his eyes said so .

Su Chan's cheeks grew warm . ”What? It really did look like a jump . ” Mortals could jump pretty high too, couldn't they? Or do those stunts she saw on TV not count?

Yundong chuckled . ”If that's what you call jumping, then you just broke the Olympic record for high jump . ”

What?

”Old limp pig? But how could a pig jump if it was already limping?”

”No . It's Olym—” Yundong dissolved into laughter .

Had her cheeks combusted? Su Chan looked down and stared at a spot on the table top . ”If… If it doesn't work, then y- you could just… tell them that… that there are springs in my shoes?”

Yundong laughed even harder . ”Springs in your—” He started slapping his thighs . ”My G.o.d you really are a national treasure…”

Well . At least he was laughing .

Yundong recovered himself a while later and took his pad again: This drug I took . Magical?

Su Chan nodded, then wrote something down on her own pad: Magical pill . Renyuan Jindan .

”What does it do? How does it work?” Yundong whispered .

Ugh . Where to even begin?

Su Chan pondered his question for a moment . In the end, she decided to go with the shorter version . She wrote: Long story short? Reformed your body . Make your body stronger .

She didn't want to bore him with details . Besides, a lot of the Cultivation stuff would sound foreign to him .

Yundong suddenly reached up to touch his face, then wrote: That's why I not fat?

Su Chan stared at him for a moment . Hmm… Technically, he lost body fat after his meridians were forcibly activated when he went into Zouhuo Rumo state . But the effects wouldn't be this p.r.o.nounced without the Jindan…

Su Chan scribbled: It did play a role . There was a process .

There was a contemplative look on Yundong's face . Moments later, his eyes widened . ”Holy s.h.i.+t…”

”What?” Su Chan shot him a questioning look .

Yundong grabbed his pen: Three days . I slept for three days .

Su Chan bobbed her head up and down .

”Are you tired?” Yundong said . ”Um… Because I… I have a lot of questions . Oh, wait . ” A worried look flitted across his face . ”Were you hurt during the fight?”

Not exactly . Except maybe for her pride, since he, you know, tossed her away and everything . It would probably take her a while to get over that .

Su Chan shook her head . ”What about you?”

Yundong grinned . ”I was . But then my best girl fixed me . ”

b.u.t.terflies fluttered in her stomach .

Yundong began scribbling again: Run me through?

”The process?”

Yundong nodded .

Su Chan grabbed her pad: Renyuan Jindan's function = enhance whatever that is already there .

Su Chan stared at Yundong for a moment to make sure he was following . Then she wrote again: Everything enhanced . Bones . Muscles . Qi . Everything .

Yundong paused in thought, then wrote: Punch machine . Punch guys into air . Climb up walls . All that .