To Raise A Soul Chapter 21

Boundary

At the supermarket, Yin Yan obediently bought some daily necessities for Yu Zhen.

As a man whose understanding of the world was inherited from someone else's memories, his shopping habits mirrored that of the body's original owner. However, as a former sect master, he was even more excessive than the original Yin Yan. Everything he purchased had to be the best and most expensive goods. Second best items were never considered. 

In the villa's upscale neighborhood, of course, even the supermarket was unlike regular, affordable chain supermarkets. It was filled with a wide range of expensive, imported goods. When Yin Yan reached out to pick up a bottle of expensive shampoo, Yu Zhen could no longer bear it. He firmly pulled back Yin Yan's arm and anxiously said, "We don't need to buy this one. Mom only said those things because she was angry. How could we lack these products at home? Don't pick up anything else."

Yin Yan looked at him and asked, "We're not buying these?"

"We're not buying these. Did you eat enough? Let's go eat."

Yu Zhen remembered Yin Yan had only eaten half of his meal. 

Yin Yan withdrew his hand and looked to Yu Zhen for a few seconds before he said, "I want to eat something you make."

Yu Zhen: "???"

Food that I make? How would I make it? Could this fancy supermarket also include a kitchen? We can't be going home to cook, can we? Yin Yan would most likely get another round of scolding from his still angry Mom. 

Half an hour later, Yin Yan pulled into the parking lot of a high-end apartment complex and brought Yu Zhen upstairs along with the heap of ingredients bought from the supermarket. 

The elevator took them up to the penthouse. After the pa.s.sword was entered and the door opened, a well-decorated duplex apartment appeared before Yu Zhen's eyes.

“The kitchen is over there. The kitchenware is cleaned by the cleaning staff. They do it regularly, so everything should be ready to be used.”

Yin Yan pointed in the direction of the kitchen, took off his coat, and made his way to the couch. Leaning comfortably on the sofa, he looked expectantly at Yu Zhen but didn't speak further.

“…Wait a minute. “

With careful observation, the traces of a renovation could be seen on the corners of the decorations.The utensils in the kitchen were also very new. It was obvious that they'd never been used.     

This is a new house. No one's lived here.

Yu Zhen took back his measured gaze and proceeded to place the groceries on the kitchen counter. For a moment, he considered the utensils in the kitchen. Then, he set a kettle of water to boil and began dealing with the food.

It was an awkward time of day, as it was neither early nor late. Both men had only eaten half their earlier meal so they were not quite hungry. With that in mind, Yu Zhen made a simple noodle dish and an accompanying dish of stir-fried prawns. This couldn't be considered too much food, so they wouldn't be overly full for the dinner.

The simple dishes were quick to prepare and it was not long before Yu Zhen brought them out and placed them on the coffee table in front of Yin Yan. Yu Zhen then set the table with plates and chopsticks and stated, "Let's make do with this. Don't eat too much or you might not be able to eat at dinner."

Yin Yan was still in the same position as before. At Yu Zhen's words, he nodded and sat down on the single-seater couch beside him. He picked up his chopsticks, but didn't start eating. Instead, he called out, "Xu Wu."*

*The kitten's name. We'll be using the Chinese version from now on.

A white, furry ball materialized on the coffee table and slowly unfurled its body. After it stood up, it stretched languidly and walked over to Yu Zhen. With a turn of its body and a swish of its tail, it produced a wooden box decorated with flower carvings. 

The box contains lotus seeds harvested from a cultivation cave. They have a spiritual effect. If you would like to continue raising flowers, you can use them as fertilizer and they will produce twice the results in half the time."

Xu Wu meowed at Yu Zhen and swished its tail again. A slightly larger wooden box appeared on the table beside the first box. 

"This box contains Sacred Soil[1]. It can grow any type of plant and it is inexhaustible."

Xu Wu jumped onto the carved wooden box and continuously swung its tail. 

“The 'Boundless Water' will make plants grow well.”

“The 'Heaven and Earth Flower Pot'. It's a first-cla.s.s artifact. Its inner s.p.a.ce is about one mu*. You can leave it here. I bought this house with the pearls so you can rest a.s.sured that no outsiders will come.”

*one mu = 667m^2 =one fifteenth of a hectare.

One by one, the boxes appeared, accompanied by the short introductions. It was only after Yin Yan stopped speaking that he picked up a prawn with his chopsticks. "These items will be my exchange for this meal."

Xu Wu nimbly jumped down from the box, meowing and softly walking over to the dishes. It picked up a prawn that was almost as big as its head and ate it with satisfaction.

Yu Zhen stared in surprise at the wooden boxes and the master with his pampered kitten. His jaw dropped open, but he didn't know what to say.

One meal for these impressive items? No matter how you slice it, this cannot be considered a fair exchange at all. Yin Yan probably said this so I don't feel pressured, but…

"The noodles will turn cold." Yin Yan interrupted his thoughts and brought a prawn he picked up to Yu Zhen's lips. "Open up."

Reflex had Yu Zhen opening his mouth and the prawn naturally entered. His tongue made contact with the chopsticks and tasted a delicious flavor. 

"I cannot restore my soul on my own. I can only rely on your cultivation. In other words, the merits you earn from cultivation will automatically be divided into two, and one half will enter my body. I'm sorry, I've become your burden."

Yin Yan took back his chopsticks with downcast eyes. His expression remained tranquil, but the atmosphere around him became gloomy.

"You're not a burden." Yu Zhen hurriedly swallowed down the prawn and awkwardly continued, "You're amazing. If it wasn't for you, I would have died long ago."

"If it wasn't for you, my soul would have scattered long ago." Yin Yan looked at him again and pointed at the wooden boxes, then gestured at his wedding ring and said, "Our fates are connected. Yours or mine, there's no difference."

Yours or mine, there's no difference.

Yu Zhen returned his gaze. His heart arrived at an unfamiliar feeling and the uneasiness in his heart faded away.  

Yours or mine, there's no difference…Yu Zhen repeated this line in his mind and picked up his chopsticks.

That's right. In this world, he's the only one that I share a mutual dependence with. 

After finis.h.i.+ng their noodles, Yu Zhen forced out a small amount of merit under Yin Yan's instruction. He bound the glow of the merits together with the Heaven and Earth Flower Pot and scattered Sacred Soil into it. After that was done, a square crop field, which only he could see, appeared before his eyes.   

"We need to buy some tools and some things to adjust the temperature. The lotus seeds can be grown first."

When it came to his field of expertise, Yu Zhen's tone became confident and lively, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

Yin Yan looked at his side profile and quietly replied, “En. Buy them tomorrow.”

“Let's cultivate in the time we have left today,” Yu Zhen suggested. He turned to look at Yin Yan as he spoke. 

Although Yin Yan was slightly stunned, his usual lack of expression meant that Yu Zhen did not notice it. He only felt that the reply was slower than usual.

“You want to cultivate?”

“En.” Yu Zhen nodded. He suppressed the instinctive fear of ghosts which rose within him. He tried to stay calm and said, “You're always helping me, so of course I want to help you too!”

The words he said were slightly strange so he added, “Of course, it's also to help myself.”

Yin Yan looked at him blankly. Then he slowly backed away, turned around and left.

“…”

The smile on Yu Zhen's face disappeared. He looked at Yin Yan and numbly asked, “What are you doing?”

“Was.h.i.+ng the dishes.”

“…” But the dishes are clearly in the dishwasher!

~ Next to a small lake in a corner of the park…~

“W-well then, I'm going.” The trembling in Yu Zhen's voice was clear. His face was a wretched pale color and he had the sad look of 'a hero going to meet his death'.

Yin Yan sat on the bench by the lakeside and said, “Go ahead, I'll watch over you from here.”

I made the suggestion. Even if I'm scared, I have to put on a bold face and do this! 

Yu Zhen took in a deep breath. He turned around and, with a frown, marched towards the grove of trees beside the lake. As expected, he saw many ropes hanging among bare branches. At the end of each rope hung a pale corpse. At that sight, Yu Zhen feared his heart would stop.

It-it's worthy of the name 'Suicide Forest'. There are 'corpses' everywhere.

As if sensing the arrival of new companions, the corpses raised their heads in unison. With eerie laughs, they cackled, "Oh~ So it's a half-ghost! His body holds merits and spiritual influence. Eating him will definitely be good for us." 

The branches swayed as a spine-chilling wind blew through and the shrill, twisted laughter of the ghosts rang out. Yu Zhen's alarmed cry was stuck in his throat. He shut his eyes and inwardly chanted the words Yin Yan had taught him. 

"Pitiful guy, let me eat you – Ah!" 

The sinister wind blew in from all directions, and the temperature of Yu Zhen's body rapidly slipped away until a piercing cry sounded out. Suddenly, the unnatural wind settled down and the rustling of the frantically swaying branches quieted.

Kah.

What cracked?

Yu Zhen clenched his cold hands and tentatively opened his eyes. Seeing the tree branches empty of the white corpses, he relaxed. His legs turned to jelly and he almost sank to the ground. 

These ghosts that live on the city's dragon veins – they really can't be compared to the little ghosts from H Province.

The glowing merits which he had acc.u.mulated were all released and Yin Yan was not there to warm his hands. With coldness filling him again, Yu Zhen trembled and rubbed his hands on his arms. Without turning around, he stepped forward and began to look at his surroundings.

The grove in this park was a famous suicide forest. Every year, people would come to hang themselves. The yin energy in the area had slowly acc.u.mulated to a highly concentrated amount. The grove of trees was also close to a lake, so it became a boundary region that attracted and reaped souls. 

If the place had continued to be ignored, it would have eventually led to a major incident.

Yin Yan brought him there knowing it had become a place of attraction and that breaking the attraction would gain them great rewards.

“Where is it, where is it…”

The boundary of attraction is as small as a pea and as red as blood. It can't be seen until it is broken. Then it will attract animals to eat it …Yin Yan's words repeated in Yu Zhen's mind. He muttered to himself to prevent his mind from stopping because of the cold. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a squirrel leap down from a tree and rush towards a stone. He turned around to chase it away. 

“Don't eat it! If you eat it, you'll die!”

Startled, the squirrel ran away. Yu Zhen squatted down and, as he expected, found a blood-red pea behind the stone. He picked up the pea with his cold hands and walked with large strides towards the bench by the lake. 

It's so cold. Feels like my internal organs are going to freeze.

By the lakeside, there were a few more people than before, but Yu Zhen didn't pay them any attention. His sole focus was on Yin Yan who stood beside the bench. 

Hearing his footsteps, Yin Yan turned from the person he was speaking with to look at Yu Zhen. As Yu Zhen broke into a run in his direction, he naturally spread open his arms in an invitation. 

Yu Zhen jumped into the open arms.

Thud.

They collided with a m.u.f.fled sound. Yu Zhen quickly nestled himself into Yin Yan's embrace and held him in a tight grip. He buried his head against the other man's shoulder.

The people standing around the bench looked on in surprise. Seeing their “touching” gesture, the polite man who had been speaking with Yin Yan touched his gla.s.ses in a moment of awkwardness. He gave a low cough and asked, “Um, Yin Yan, this is…?”

Yin Yan placatingly patted Yu Zhen's hair. Looking at the refined man, he said, “My husband, Yu Zhen. Sorry, he is a little clingy.”

Yu Zhen was speechless. The coldness had just faded from him and he emerged from the embrace.

Clingy? Who?

Translator(s): Epsea
Editor(s): Miiya
Proofer(s): Avalie

Author:

Hope the little angels can continue to support me and love you all =3=

Epsea:

Yu Zhen is too cute~
Also, it's nearly Christmas!! ヾ(^^ゞ)（〜^.^)〜  Happy holidays everyone!

Miiya:

Yin Yan is probably super happy inside and not showing it on his face again.

Happy holidays everyone!

Avalie:

I agree. He is 100% thrilled inside! Happy Holidays~

Footnotes:息壤. (Xirang) The translation, Sacred Soil, isn't quite right but it works well enough. Xirang is a divine 'item' from legend/folklore. It is capable of 'growing' itself. For example, if it was used to build a levee and the river levels rise, the xirang can 'grow' in height too. Hence, it's inexhaustible.