Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

The Moon Behind the Clouds

Yin Hanjiang awoke in Wenren È's bedroom. He still felt lingering pain in his body from his spiritual energy running wild, but it had mostly healed.

His emotions were strangely calm. It was as if he'd had a long dream, in which his Venerable had returned. His joy and pain warring with each other, he'd had a qi deviation and nearly died, but at least, upon waking, he could remember two things. His Venerable was alive, and very few things on this earth could overcome him.

Yin Hanjiang was at peace just knowing that Wenren È was alive. As for everything else, he didn't want to remember right now.

There were three books placed by the bed, the first being Abusive Romance.

Yin Hanjiang didn't touch any of them. He grabbed for each of the inner demons before him, and only after finding they each were formless illusions did his heart settle. He didn't feel like he could face these inner demons right now. When he thought that his real Venerable could be hiding among them, he felt uncomfortable all over.

In his years of following Wenren È, enduring had long become a habit. He had cut loose excessively over the past few days and didn't know how much his Venerable had seen. Thinking about it, Yin Hanjiang tasted blood in the back of his throat.

No, there were times in the dream when his Venerable could not be touched. He couldn't tell the real one apart from the inner demons by touching them. Panicked, Yin Hanjiang looked at the illusions, who all looked back with focused and tender gazes. Under all their eyes, Yin Hanjiang felt like he had nowhere to hide, wishing he could vanish on the spot.

He grabbed his arms, clawing lines of blood across his skin, managing to calm himself. He thought back to the events of last night.

Actually, his thoughts were muddled, and he only remembered that he had lost control, and though his Venerable had said a lot to him, he didn't remember any of it. Aside from one sentence—"You read the wrong page, you have to look at the revision", which it seemed his Venerable had repeated by his ear many times. After he calmed down from last night, he had gradually grown to believe that Wenren È was alive. At the beginning, his emotions were too strong, aggravating his inner demons, but now that he had calmed down, he could face everything rationally. His grief had faded away, replaced by joy.

Yin Hanjiang did his best to force a calm and reserved expression and picked up Abusive Romance. A note fell out from within it: "I'm at Altar Master Zhongli's place, not among the inner demons."

It was signed, "From Wenren È"

Yin Hanjiang instantly relaxed, his posture becoming more casual. He leaned back on the bed with the book in his lap, and, thinking about how his Venerable was alive and had already returned, joy flooded his heart and he couldn't keep from smiling.

"Does this Venerable's return make you that happy?" said an inner demon, leaning against the bed.

Yin Hanjiang didn't look at it. He opened the book, beginning to read from the first page.

The story had already been revised as to be unrecognizable, and the original plot could only be gleaned from old comments, but Yin Hanjiang still managed to find out from years-old comments and the unrevised portion what the him in the book had done after his Venerable's death. He had really outdone his current self. When he thought that his Venerable had read this book over forty years ago, Yin Hanjiang felt like lighting himself on fire.

His qi roiled inside his body, and after only a bit he couldn't go on. He shut the book, reciting the Clear Mind Spell.

Fortunately, Wenren È wasn't here and Yin Hanjiang was able to maintain his composure. If it was like last night, he would probably lose his mind again.