WPCID 23: The Shared Fate Curse Will Lead Me to You

Shen Zhou’s ears didn’t stay down for long. Discovering it really didn’t hurt, they soon perked up again.

He squinted his eyes in comfort, turned his head to peck at Lu Buzhuo’s wrist, and toyed with a lock of his long, drooping hair. After a moment, he asked in a small voice, “Lu Buzhuo, you… Mmph, are you tired?”

Lu Buzhuo: “.”

Lu Buzhuo pushed aside his chaotic thoughts, flicked a wolf ear, and continued his efforts.

…

The two were entangled for a long time before taking a very hasty bath together.

The lovemaking was as gentle as a cup of light wine—mellow on the palate, intoxicatingly mellow. Steamed by the hot water vapor, it was hard to tell if the flush on their skin was the lingering afterglow of passion or a blush brought on by the heat.

Shen Zhou was still not satisfied. He fidgeted restlessly in the bathtub, rubbing his wolf ears against Lu Buzhuo’s chin off and on.

The other man had absolutely no reaction.

Shen Zhou: “?”

So he scooped up some hair floating on the water’s surface and gave it a tug.

His arm was still a bit weak, and he didn’t control his strength well, pulling too hard.

Lu Buzhuo was multitasking, cleaning Shen Zhou while lost in his own thoughts. Caught off guard by the sudden pull, he nearly drowned in the bathtub.

Shen Zhou: “!”

From the very first day he woke up, Shen Zhou had been keenly aware that his cultivation partner must not be submerged in water. He quickly fished the man out, dried him off, brought him back, and even covered him with two thick quilts.

Then he was pulled under the thick quilts himself.

That pleasant bamboo scent became intoxicatingly strong again, followed by a low sigh from above his head. 

“Shen Zhou.”

Shen Zhou didn’t know what the bamboo scent was sighing about, only that it sounded stuffy and melancholic. He adjusted his position and offered up his wolf ears.

He didn’t have much of anything to offer, only these wolf ears which had received some meager affection and could be used to cheer someone up.

But the man didn’t rub his ears. He lowered his head and brushed a fleeting, dragonfly-like kiss against his lips. 

“You have so many scars.”

Layer upon layer, they felt rough and wrinkled to the touch.

“…You don’t like them?” Shen Zhou asked.

His wolf ears drooped, covering the notched part.

“No,” Lu Buzhuo kissed him again. 

“I like all of you.”

When he said this, a bright light glinted in his eyes, as if his affection encompassed the person from head to toe.

Shen Zhou looked at him, mulled it over for a while, then looked up at him again. The more he mulled, the quieter he became.

After a long while, he suddenly asked in a small voice, “Will you leave again?”

…

He waited a long time but received no answer. Shen Zhou nudged him with his elbow.

Lu Buzhuo finally spoke, his voice very low. 

“I don’t know.”

Shen Zhou fell silent again.

Actually, upon careful thought, the reappearance of this Lu Buzhuo after time reversed was strange in itself. It felt as if everything that had happened since that day was a dream.

He fumbled around for a few moments and found the chain lock on the other’s wrist, pulling out a length of it to grasp in his hand.

“I’ll know if you’re here or not.” Shen Zhou lifted a corner of the quilt, letting the light in to illuminate half of the dim bed, reflecting everything in his stark black-and-white eyes. 

“If you disappear, I’ll kill you.”

Lu Buzhuo was taken aback by his gaze and let out a laugh.

“But the Shared Fate Curse isn’t broken…”

“I’ll kill you anyway.” Shen Zhou took out the pendant and dangled it, saying seriously, “The Shared Fate Curse will lead me to you. You can’t escape.”

This time, Lu Buzhuo was truly stunned.

He looked at the length of chain clutched in Shen Zhou’s hand. It was as if the wind had suddenly stopped. The kite with the broken string had fallen to the ground, stranded, waiting for a rain to soak it into ruined paper.

Suddenly, someone came over holding the kite string, picked it up, patted off the dirt, tied the string back on, and claimed it like a bandit, tucking it into their robes and taking it home.

The scent of magnolia flowers filled the lining of the clothes, and body heat warmed the kite until it was slightly hot, a heat that reached the heart.

After a long silence, he said softly, “Okay.”

The shadow had been very busy these past two days. Before it could even rest, it was dragged out again, kicked and rolled out of the seal like a worn-out ball.

At first, it calmly smoothed its messy hair. 

“What, changed your mind? Want to make a deal with me…”

It looked up and fell silent.

Angry waves surged to the heavens, and the wind howled like a ghost. Lu Buzhuo looked down at him with a cold gaze.

Then he raised his wrist, and with a flick of his finger, the remnant of the demonic energy restraint on his right wrist vanished into thin air.

The shadow: “…”

What happened to make him this angry?

“Shen Zhou is still in the Foundation Building stage; he has not formed his core.” Lu Buzhuo began, his voice not loud, but as if holding a piece of ice that sent a shiver down one’s spine. 

“Why do I have memories of him forming his core?”

The shadow pondered for a moment, cautious. 

“What’s in it for me if I tell you? …Surely you’re not thinking of killing me? Let me tell you…”

Lu Buzhuo interrupted, “You are a part of my soul. As long as I do not die, you cannot die. But since we share the same root, it’s not impossible to refine you back into myself.”

“You can’t refine me either,” the shadow said hurriedly, afraid he had forgotten this as well. 

“I have long since merged with the demonic energy. You cast me out in the first place because you were unwilling for your soul to be tainted by it.”

Lu Buzhuo showed a trace of surprise and glanced around.

Speaking of which, he had truly never once considered drawing the surging demonic energy in his spiritual altar into his sea of qi for cultivation. Not even for a fleeting moment. He had simply allowed this filth to erode his body and spiritual altar, as if it were a deeply ingrained habit.

Though filled with demonic energy, he was not a demonic cultivator in the true sense.

But this shadow was different. It was already thoroughly steeped in demonic energy, and all the demonic energy within this vessel was at its disposal. No wonder he had been no match for it back then.

Thinking of this, Lu Buzhuo’s mood worsened.

“You can’t die, which means I can do anything I want to you,” he said flatly. 

“Would you like to know what it feels like to be chopped into pieces and then put back together?”

The shadow: “??”

The shadow blurted out, “That half-demon likes to chop people up too. Did you teach him??”

Lu Buzhuo froze, then began to laugh. He unhurriedly lowered his head and toyed with his right wrist, as if he were wearing something very precious there.

“So the memory from the city tower was real.” He flicked his robes and crouched down, pinching the shadow’s chin and forcing it to look at him directly. The same action, yet performed with infinitely more grace than the shadow. 

“All those things I’ve remembered, and those I haven’t yet, they haven’t happened, have they?”

“…”

“Since they haven’t happened, where did these memories come from?” Lu Buzhuo lowered his eyelashes, then raised them again.

“These memories appeared on the day my cultivation base reversed, surged into my spiritual altar, and sealed you away. Which is to say, the day I woke up and found I had forgotten my past. Is that right?”

“…”

“There must be a reason for all this within that portion of memories, and you spied on my memories before you were sealed.” Lu Buzhuo stood up, opened his five fingers, and made a grasping motion. The seawater surged into the air, coalescing into a sharp blade of ice. He looked down at him. 

“Speak. My patience is limited, especially with you.”

The shadow sensed the killing intent from him and frowned. 

“Are you insane? We share the same root. If I get hurt, you’ll feel pain too. Having your soul torn to pieces is not something an ordinary person can endure.”

“Is that so?” Lu Buzhuo turned the blade and, quick as lightning, sliced off half of the shadow’s palm. He furrowed his brow very slightly, then relaxed, sighing with a hint of helplessness. 

“You’re right. Then I’ll just have to experience being chopped into pieces along with you.”

The shadow hadn’t expected him to strike just like that. It let out a bloodcurdling scream, clutching its half-hand and trembling for a long time before looking up in disbelief. 

“Are you really insane?!”

“Probably?” Lu Buzhuo guessed, glancing around again. 

“Someone who could turn their own spiritual altar into this state wasn’t a normal person to begin with. Done trembling? Can we continue?”

The shadow: “…￥#%@#！@…”

Shen Zhou woke from a short nap, feeling refreshed and energetic. He went to the medical hall again.

But he didn’t go in when he got to the entrance. Instead, he wandered around the area a couple of times, as if looking for someone.

Xie Xianqing was sitting in a private room of a teahouse on the next street, chattering away while drinking tea. He was going on and on about “Sect Master” this and “Sect Master” that, annoying the Sect Master opposite him so much that he looked like he wanted to run him through with his sword.

He was smiling when his peripheral vision caught sight of the dazed, wandering half-demon. He paused.

“Wait for me a moment.”

Chu Xuan followed his gaze. 

“What do you want with that half-demon? A hostage?”

“Could you not be so crude?” Xie Xianqing put on his mask and took out the “Cures All Ailments” banner. 

“This morning I gave him a packet of soybean powder as an aphrodisiac. I didn’t expect you to fail, turning it into a joke. I’m not sure what the situation is now, so I’ll go ask.”

With that, he vaulted out of the window.

The moment he landed, his sleeve was grabbed. He looked up and met a pair of sparkling bright eyes.

Xie Xianqing: “…?”

“Miracle Doctor,” he heard the half-demon say sincerely, “your medicine worked.”

Xie Xianqing: “???”

It worked? What effect?? What effect could soybean powder possibly have???

In his several hundred years of practicing medicine, he had never encountered anything so bizarre. Fortunately, he was experienced and quickly regained his composure. Adopting a profound air, he said, “The medicine I provide naturally works. In that case, what are you seeking me out for again?”

“He has a fever,” Shen Zhou asked, a little worried. 

“He got a fever right after we dual cultivated. His forehead is very hot. I gave him water and medicinal pills, but they didn’t work…”

Clang!

The Sect Master of the world’s number one sect, a mighty Tribulation stage sword cultivator who had followed him out, missed his step and fell into the next street over.