Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

A Blow to the Head

Within Wenren È's room, Yin Hanjiang's emotions were hidden behind his mask.

His finger ran under the four words, "This Venerable is alive," many times, and gradually, a wild joy rose within him.

His memories were still chaotic, difficult to distinguish from fantasy, but what he had seen last night told Yin Hanjiang that Wenren È was still alive, and Shi Congxin said he'd seen him, and even this book which he took as truth told him his Venerable still walked the earth.

This was more important than anything else, a thousand times more important than whether or not his Venerable returned his love.

He wanted to see his Venerable immediately. Even though such fierce emotions made the blood roil in his veins and strengthened his inner demons, he didn't care.

Yin Hanjiang picked up the note. Right, his Venerable said he was at Zhongli Qian's place. Clutching it in his hand, he flew to the meeting room in the Main Hall, finding Zhongli Qian working on his own. Surrounding him were four or five Wenren È's, each holding the divine blood.

Seeing such a scene, Yin Hanjiang stopped in his tracks. Why were things like this? He knew his Venerable was alive, but the inner demons would hardly vanish so easily. He was now unable to tell which was the real Wenren È.

Sensing Yin Hanjiang's arrival, Zhongli Qian calmly left the meeting room, giving the two their space.

His departure made Yin Hanjiang more anxious, though. Without anyone around to help, he couldn't distinguish the illusions.

At this point, one Wenren È spoke up. "This Venerable will be solid when holding the divine blood."

Yin Hanjiang rushed forward, gently clasping that man's hand, and found it could be touched.

"Venerable!" He got to one knee, his voice choked. "You're still alive. I..."

For a moment, Yin Hanjiang was unable to speak. Blood welled up in the back of his throat, but, not wanting his Venerable to notice, he swallowed it back down.

He had neglected propriety last night. He absolutely could not let his Venerable see him in such a state today.

Wenren È pulled him to his feet, saying solemnly, "Yin Hanjiang, I don't like to see you kneel."

He slowly took off Yin Hanjiang's mask. With a soft smile, he said, "Did you see my words?"

"Yes—" Yin Hanjiang only got out one word before blood poured from his mouth. He pressed a hand over it, but it dripped between his fingers.

"Yin Hanjiang!" Wenren È hadn't expected their next meeting to go like this. He assumed they could at least have contact normally, but Yin Hanjiang was too good at repressing, and he nearly hadn't noticed his pain.

He put a hand to Yin Hanjiang's chest, pouring chaos energy into his body, finding that his spiritual essence was a mess. He had treated him last night, but their meeting today had hurt Yin Hanjiang further.

"Venerable, your subordinate is fine," Yin Hanjiang said. "Your subordinate is just happy, I..."

Seeing how he pushed himself, Wenren È quickly placed the mask back on his face. With that barrier, Yin Hanjiang relaxed a bit.

He berated himself inside. It should be a joyful reunion, yet he...

"Don't force yourself." Wenren È placed a hand over Yin Hanjiang's eyes, so he no longer needed to look at him.

In the darkness, Yin Hanjiang heard Wenren È speak. "I was hasty yesterday and damaged your foundation. If your mind is disrupted, it will aggravate your inner demons. In this realm, you don't have immortal essence to sustain yourself, so if your inner demons are not resolved, your recovery will be difficult."