Chapter 22

Such a beautiful Jiaoren, now completely destroyed.

Gu Tingshuang nonchalantly held Ning Shiting's veil in his mouth, seeing the shocked expressions around him, he felt somewhat displeased for reasons he couldn't quite grasp.

It was right for this Jiaoren to cover his face with a veil. Who knew what troubles merely revealing his face would cause?

A calamity was a calamity. He should be kept locked up in the palace and not allowed to meet anyone, or anyone who sees his face should have their eyes gouged out to prevent future problems.

The black-faced Rakshasa continued to stare intensely at Ning Shiting, his gaze complex, not sharing the same surprise as the others at his appearance.

It was more like confirming what Gu Tingshuang had heard under the window—that this black-faced Rakshasa knew Ning Shiting from before, and this time he had come specifically for him.

He asked again in a deep voice, "Please... Enlightened Ning Gongzi, does Ning Gongzi have any insights on this incense?"

Ning Shiting looked at the incense in the black-clad youth's hand, asked a question, and then picked it up to smell it.

His movements were very light and slow, causing everyone to hold their breath as if any slight movement would disturb him.

After Ning Shiting looked and smelled, the black-faced Rakshasa asked again, "Gongzi, what do you think?"

Su Yue also joked on the side, "I knew that Ning Gongzi was quite knowledgeable about incense. There's no need to keep us in suspense now."

The people of the Immortal Palace were clear-minded.

Ning Shiting clearly hadn't recovered from his illness.

He still had mortal roots. Although he was of divine descent, if he didn't cultivate, he wasn't much different from an invalid. When a mortal body was ill, the five and six senses would be dulled along with it.

Through his spiritual sense, Gu Tingshuang could also see the sickness on Ning Shiting's body, consuming his vitality and vigour.

In this condition, let alone discerning the art of making incense, he remembered when he arrived earlier, Ning Shiting and Ting Shu joked that he couldn't even taste what flavour the dumplings were this morning.

Gu Tingshuang thought to himself, this Jiaoren is pitiful too.

Married at seventeen, his bridegroom didn't come on the wedding night, and he didn't even possess a formal status. Externally, it he was only called "benefactor". Ning Shiting dragged his sick body around, still having to obey his father's commands.

If successful, he was fulfilling the task; if he failed, he would disgrace the Qing Wang Mansion, and he would inevitably be held accountable in the future.

Because of bending down to smell the incense, Ning Shiting's hand loosened, and Gu Tingshuang jumped out of his arms.

The black-clad youth instinctively stepped back three feet, his expression taut.

Gu Tingshuang just approached the box of Soul Returning Incense and circled around it a few times, thinking that this incense would greatly benefit his spiritual power technique. Perhaps he could use the keen nose of the little wolf to sniff it, and then hand it over to the pack of wolves to help produce the Soul Returning Incense.

However, in that moment, he noticed something was amiss.

From what he saw, the "revived" cicada still in the room did not reignite the extinguished spiritual fire like the Soul Returning Incense. Instead, there was an entirely different spiritual fire that replaced and suppressed the cicada's own spiritual fire.

Such a situation could only be achieved through techniques like possession, puppetry, or substitution. However, the spirit lamp on the table showed no reaction, which meant there were no traces of immortal techniques being used.

Furthermore, such actions like possession only happen with the human body since the cicada body is too small to contain three souls and seven spirits.

Feeling puzzled, Gu Tingshuang leapt upwards using the body of the ancient white wolf and slapped the cicada back down from the top of the room beam with a paw!

The onlookers were shocked. Seeing the small silver wolf playing around, they were shocked when they saw the newly revived cicada that was slapped dead once again. In the meantime, they had no idea what to say as they could only give a few sighs.

The young man in black was upset, "Gongzi, your pet wolf is too unruly! How could you just allow it to smash it like that!”

Ning Shiting also hadn't expected this little wolf, who had been well-behaved all morning, to suddenly get playful and cause trouble at this moment.

He softly called, "Little wolf, come here." 

But Gu Tingshuang didn't move. He had keenly noticed something abnormal: within the shattered cicada shell, the newly ignited spirit fire suddenly dispersed like a swarm of dense flying insects. What remained now was still the original nearly dying vitality and spirit.

This incense had no effect of bringing the dead back to life or regrowing flesh on bones. Instead, it seemed like some secret technique had been used to control an unknown substance to occupy the cicada shell.

The atmosphere turned a bit awkward.

Gu Tingshuang had destroyed the cicada shell, yet Ning Shiting remained motionless, concentrating on smelling.

Gradually, the way others looked at him shifted from expectation to a bit of doubt—this Jiaoren, with not a trace of immortal skills, could he really discern the intricacies of this situation?

Gu Tingshuang ignored the gazes of others.

He was currently using his spiritual sense to occupy the little wolf's body, unable to speak. Seeing the Jiaoren still pondering hard, he directly leapt over.

Letting him fall ill was on him. He had brought him the "Ninefold Spirit Mastery," and he would repay this favour in the future.

Gu Tingshuang jumped back to the table, beside Ning Shiting, and spread his paw towards him.

"Little wolf?"

At first, Ning Shiting's eyes showed some confusion, but he quickly understood Gu Tingshuang's intention.

Through his gloves, he took the little wolf's furry paw and saw a bit of dark red, very fine residue on the pink pads.

This incense didn’t turn into water after burning, which was unlike Soul Returning incense. It didn’t even turn into oil, making it different from ordinary incense as well.

The Rakshasa King also noticed this and leaned closer to examine it, asking, "What is this?"

The black-clad youth's expression became somewhat unnatural. "It’s a bit of Luofu Red I added while making the incense. It probably didn’t burn completely."

Ning Shiting asked gently, "Could you pass me your incense again?"

He had looked at it earlier without drawing any conclusions.

Everyone in the room focused on Ning Shiting, including Gu Tingshuang.

The Jiaoren lowered his head, opened the incense box, and pinched a bit of the incense powder with his fingertips.

Then he did something that no one expected: he opened his mouth and lightly extended his tongue to taste the reddish-brown incense.

Traditionally, incense is evaluated by smelling, burning, submerging in water, grinding, and boiling—never by tasting. Unlike medicinal herbs, the strong scent of incense can overpower the taste, making it easier to make mistakes when identifying it.

Ning Shiting’s lips were rosy, and his soft tongue was the same shade. With a solemn and proper expression, he gently licked the incense, revealing neat, white teeth.

His eyes lowered slightly, dark light hidden within them.

Gu Tingshuang, being close to him, noticed the scent of Ning Shiting’s breath mixed with the incense’s pungent aroma.

Ancient poets spoke of breath as fragrant as orchids, and today, Gu Tingshuang understood that saying.

But vaguely, watching Ning Shiting lick the incense, Gu Tingshuang felt a jolt down his spine. It was as if that tongue touched not the reddish incense, but a red mole on his heart.

He suddenly tightened his paw, pressing down the sudden thirst in his throat, and looked away.

Yet, even after looking away, Ning Shiting’s image remained in his mind.

So elegant and gentle, so warm and proper, so... enticing.

The black-clad youth was shocked. "How can this be tasted? Gongzi, you—"

He stumbled forward, trying to make Ning Shiting spit it out, his face full of fear.

The Black-Faced Rakshasa reached out to restrain his movement and calmly asked, "It's just a lick, after all. When incense is burned, it is meant to be inhaled into the body. Any perfumer would understand that good incense is non-toxic. Why is this Gongzi so alarmed?"

Ning Shiting made a gesture and turned to face the crowd.

His lips were pressed together, and he remained silent, but his eyes held a faint smile. When everyone’s attention was focused on him, he opened his mouth again and exhaled... a red smoke that seemed alive!

It was as if a drug addict had inhaled deep red opium; the dark red smoke poured out of his mouth and spread wider and wider.

Although it was smoke, it lingered for a long time, almost as if it had a will of its own, desperately trying to escape in the opposite direction from Ning Shiting.

Someone with sharp eyes quickly noticed that the tiny particles forming the smoke were growing larger—they were becoming deep red Gu worms!

"It's the Qihao Gu!"(1)

The entire audience was shocked, and everyone’s expressions changed as they stood up and cast protective barriers.

Qihao Gu were extremely tiny, like the tip of an autumn hair.

When still, they were like lifeless stones; when moving, they were like a marching army.

They move in swarms and instinctively attach to empty shells, often hiding in the corpses of divine beasts, using the power of the swarm to move the giant carcasses.

These Gu worms were extremely toxic; contact would cause injury, and the wounds even had a deadly attribute, inevitably festering and becoming incurable. The areas crawled over by Qihao Gu were as good as being directly ruined with a sword.

The crowd, realising this, suddenly understood why the young man had been so anxious to stop Ning Shiting—

He had directly put the Qihao Gu worms into his mouth. Was he trying to throw his life away?

Even if he only tasted it with the tip of his tongue, his tongue and mouth would most likely be ruined!

Such a beautiful Jiaoren, now completely destroyed.

Gu Tingshuang also realised what had happened; he had heard of the toxicity of these Gu worms.

The little wolf on the table suddenly turned around, staring at Ning Shiting.

But Ning Shiting remained calm and composed.

It was instead the smoke-like Gu worms that were reacting—

The crowd was astonished to see that these Gu worms, which were said to be finer than autumn hair, were slowly swelling and engorging as if they had encountered something extraordinary. They were already highly toxic creatures, but at this moment, they seemed to have become poisoned themselves. Rapidly swelling many times their original size, their nearly invisible wings could no longer support their bloated bodies, cracking and breaking with a series of kǎcā, kǎcā, before collapsing to the ground.

From a distance, it looked as though red sand had been scattered all over the floor.

The room fell silent immediately.

After what seemed like an eternity, a cultivator in the corner broke the silence by cursing,

"Despicable!"

No wonder the incense had such a pungent and unpleasant smell—the young man had used the strongest fragrance to mask the scent of the Gu worms!

Su Yue's face instantly turned pale.

The steward, seizing the opportunity, shouted, "Arrest them all! This man dared to falsely claim he had mastered the method to make Soul Returning Incense and deceive our Immortal Chief’s Mansion. Such audacity is truly detestable!"

In an instant, the blame was entirely shifted away.

"And what about him? What kind of monster is he?"

In the silence, a young cultivator, with a fearful gaze, looked at Ning Shiting and asked, "How can someone swallow Qihao Gu worms and remain unscathed, even turning the poison back on the Gu worms themselves? Who are you?"

"North of the North Sea, there are medicinal Jiaoren, immune to all poisons, able to poison all living things."

Ning Shiting smiled faintly, "You are all well-read and knowledgeable. Haven't you heard of this? The Immortal Chief’s Mansion and this Rakshasa King invited me here to concoct this Soul Returning Incense precisely in order to show everyone that I am a Poisonous Jiaoren."

Everyone was left gaping, their faces full of shock.

Gu Tingshuang was also dumbfounded.

He hadn't expected Ning Shiting to know!

This Jiaoren, who seemed like he could be bullied to death, had actually been clear-headed all along!

"In that case, I shall accept your invitation without reservation. I have only one thing to say: although a Poisonous Jiaoren like him is toxic, he has principles in dealing with others. He does not harm innocent people nor engage in treacherous deeds. Right and wrong, I trust the esteemed cultivators present can discern for themselves in their own hearts."

As Ning Shiting spoke, he walked slowly towards the fragrance table, leisurely picking up the incense burner and spoon, and began arranging various ingredients.

No one could discern the order in which he selected the ingredients. It seemed as if he was just passing by, casually picking a few types of incense and then dividing them into several small piles with the same nonchalance.

He chose one pile to soak in water, another to smoke, and finally rolled them into a clay ball, which he placed into a pot of prepared fragrant water to simmer.

He instructed Ting Shu to release Phoenix Fire, and then, lowering his head, he drew a small section of his sword and pressed his finger onto it!

At that moment, his skin split, and bright red blood began to drip.

Ning Shiting let the blood fall into the fragrant water, then softly instructed Ting Shu to retract the spell. He poured the contents of the pot onto Immortal paper, filtering out the liquid so that particles of incense slowly condensed on the paper.

The particles were identical to the Soul Returning Incense that the Rakshasa King had brought.

Everyone held their breath, the sight shocking them even more than when they had seen the Qihao Gu worms.

Ning Shiting's blood continued to drip, sliding from the base of his thumb into his sleeve and down his fair wrist.

He took some of the newly formed particles and lit them. At that instant, the room was filled with the same soul-cleansing fragrance, confirming that what he had made was indeed Soul Returning Incense!

Even the cicada shell that Gu Tingshuang had just crushed on the ground was slowly coming back to life.

The Immortal cicada, which was not easily killed, sensed the rekindling of the spirit fire and opened its wings in response to the fragrance. The recently revived Teng Cypress also began to grow more vigorously, sprouting and reaching new heights, becoming lush and green before everyone's eyes.

Ning Shiting smiled and said, "It was just a hypothesis. For years, I struggled to find the key missing ingredient between the Soul Returning Incense and the Death-Repelling Incense. Today, thanks to the repeated overt and covert hints from the Immortal Chief and the Rakshasa King, I finally encountered the real Soul Returning Incense and detected the scent of blood within it. This led to my realisation. As it happens, the only thing I can think of with naturally fragrant blood is myself. Thank you for the reminder."

His words were polite, but everyone understood the underlying meaning.

It seemed as though the Rakshasa King and the Immortal Chief had collaborated, using the Soul Returning Incense as bait to trap him!

Someone among them must have known his identity. They first used the military edict to lure him out, then forced him into a difficult situation under the guise of the incense conference, ultimately revealing his unique blood of the poison jiaoren.

The real intent was not to guess the incense but to probe his true nature.

A poison jiaoren is inherently a dangerous and unseemly entity, much more feared than even the plague gods.

This revelation of his identity directly implicated Qing Wang.

Having a poison jiaoren like Ning Shiting by his side was akin to holding a deadly trump card. How would the Immortal Emperor react?

People in the Immortal Realm had always loathed poisons, and the legendary poison jiaoren was something they shunned even more.

However, at this moment, those who initially rejected Ning Shiting's identity were moved by his candour, and their gazes toward Su Yue subtly changed.

Su Yue's expression grew even more awkward. Just as he was about to say something in his defence, the Rakshasa King spoke up, "Are you really a poison jiaoren?"

Ning Shiting turned to look at him without speaking, signalling Ting Shu to take away the three boxes of Soul Returning Incense from the table.

His gaze seemed to be asking, "What, are you planning to go back on your word?"

"Are you really that person? Then let me ask you, do you remember what happened in Dongzhou Village when you were fifteen?"

This sudden shift in topic was particularly jarring.

"Ning Shiting, your comrades and the immortal civilians who cared for you all died. You alone survived. Why?"

The Rakshasa King's eyes were bloodshot, and he almost lunged at Ning Shiting, but Ting Shu swiftly blocked him: "What are you doing? What are you saying?"

The little immortal child, sensing something amiss, quickly conjured a soundproof barrier, enclosing himself, Ning Shiting, the little wolf, and the Rakshasa King within it.

Ning Shiting paused for a moment, then looked up and smiled slightly: "I have never met the Rakshasa King before. Perhaps you have mistaken me for someone else?"

The Rakshasa King suddenly tore off his black jade mask, revealing a weathered yet handsome face: "You don't recognise me? When you were fifteen, you created the Death-Repelling Incense. At that time... at that time, my own brother was your comrade! He died there, the whole city... the whole city perished, and you were the only survivor! When I returned home, they were all gone, the door was desolate. You gave me the Death-Repelling Incense, telling me to use it to seek a livelihood and gain immense wealth... You said the Death-Repelling Incense wasn't what you wanted... Do you remember?"

Ning Shiting remained calm as he spoke, "Your esteemed self has mistaken me for someone else."

"It was you; there's no mistake. What really happened that winter? Tell me!"

Ning Shiting: "Your esteemed self has mistaken me for someone else."

The anger in the Rakshasa King's eyes burned brighter, and his expression grew more twisted. "Ning Shiting, the Qing Wang picked you up from the Jiaoren coast, but after following him for so long, your heart has blackened too! So many people died in one night, and you alone survived. When you sleep at night, don't you have nightmares? Don't your xiongdi, your comrades, haunt your dreams?"

Ting Shu couldn't stand it any longer and shouted angrily, "What's wrong with you! Are you saying our Gongzi should have died too? I've been with Gongzi for two years, and we've been through battles together, but I've never heard of an entire city dying. If you're sick, go get treated instead of troubling our Gongzi!"

The little immortal child's temper flared, unwilling to see Ning Shiting slandered. He immediately took Ning Shiting by the arm, saying, "Let's go, Gongzi. There's no point in arguing with such a person."

He turned back to warn the black-faced Rakshasa King, "If you dare trouble Gongzi again, I'll show you the might of the Icefield Mayfly clan!"

Before Gu Tingshuang could react, Ting Shu picked him up and placed him in Ning Shiting's arms, saying, "Good little wolf, protect Gongzi."

Gu Tingshuang: "..."

He lay against Ning Shiting's chest, momentarily stunned.

The heavy heartbeat thumped through Ning Shiting's ribcage, reaching his keen ears.

Ning Shiting's heart was racing, and his fingertips were trembling slightly.

Gu Tingshuang used his spiritual sight to probe, and perhaps because of the proximity, Ning Shiting's feelings instantly transmitted to his mind.

Just like how he had read the little wolf's memories, in that brief moment, he accessed Ning Shiting's memories, Ning Shiting's nightmares.

They were fragmented scenes and voices, faces and smiles, deeply buried in the recesses of his heart.

"Here, I brought you a rabbit. The xiongdi saved it for you and didn’t eat it themselves."

"Will we get poisoned if we soak in a pool with a poison Jiaoren? Well, who cares, come with us. We found a nice ice spring."

"Little Gongzi, see you after the New Year! Next time, it’ll be my wedding. You must come to drink wine."

"Why follow the Qing Wang? Stay with us, the snow mountains are much more fun, ah."

He saw a younger, more naive Ning Shiting lower his head shyly and softly say, "I still..."

"Want to follow the Qing Wang? Hahaha, look at your achievements!"

...

There was nostalgia, pain, and confusion, overwhelming and suffocating.

In that memory, he felt the surge of tenderness and warmth, unmistakably clear—

This was Ning Shiting's most vivid and bright memory.

At the same time, he knew that this memory had been completely buried on a silent snowy night, filled with helpless despair.

Then, Gu Tingshuang saw nothing more.

Ning Shiting and Ting Shu left the Immortal Chief's residence.

Seeing Ning Shiting's poor complexion, Ting Shu said sorrowfully, "Gongzi, let's not return to the residence for now. Let's find a place to rest nearby. You don’t look well enough to travel. I'm worried about you."

Ning Shiting, seemingly exhausted, did not object.

They found a nearby immortal inn to stay for the night, planning to return to the residence the next day.

After bathing early, Ning Shiting was attended by Ting Shu.

Gu Tingshuang was also taken out by Ting Shu. "Gongzi is bathing, what are you looking at? Don’t think that just because you're a silver-furred beast Gongzi will tolerate you peeking at his bath. Gongzi still loves me the most."

Gu Tingshuang had never liked this brat. He opened his mouth to bite, but Ting Shu dodged.

After bathing, Ning Shiting instructed Ting Shu, "Bring the little wolf in. I want to sleep holding the little wolf."

Gu Tingshuang, unwillingly, was wrapped in a blanket and handed over, like a commoner being summoned by the emperor. 

Ning Shiting held him lovingly. 

As the room's candles were extinguished, Ning Shiting turned over, and his fragrant breath brushed against Gu Tingshuang's face. 

He wasn’t asleep. 

The Jiaoren's eyes still gleamed in the dark, shimmering as if he had cried, but upon closer inspection, there were no tears.

"Little wolf."

Ning Shiting whispered. 

Gu Tingshuang, too lazy to move and not wanting to respond, was tightly wrapped in the blanket and held close. 

This Jiaoren knew that a wolf couldn’t talk, so why speak to him? 

But Ning Shiting’s voice reached him, and he couldn’t avoid it. 

Lying on the bed, eyes closed, Ning Shiting softly said, "I want to kill someone."

Gu Tingshuang opened his eyes, ears perking up. 

Who? 

But Ning Shiting said nothing more. 

After a long while, so long that Gu Tingshuang thought he might fall asleep and Ning Shiting had also fallen asleep, Ning Shiting's elegant voice sounded again.

"The Qing Wang, I want to kill him."

In his drowsiness, Gu Tingshuang was struck by a huge shock, thinking he must have misheard. 

He looked at Ning Shiting intently, but this time Ning Shiting was truly asleep, breathing evenly, exuding a faint fragrance.

Foot Notes

1. 秋毫 (qiūháo) or “Autumn Hair” is a fine, downy, new hair or feather. It is also a way to say something is extremely small.