Chapter 3.1 (1/2)
Chapter 3: Tactic Understanding (Part 1)
Beside his ears are the concentrated drumbeats akin to explosions,
as if a large iron hammer is pounding on his chest,
countless sky-reaching large trees fall along the path,
in the sky are fitful strange screeches like that from insects,
sounding like metal sc.r.a.ping across metal,
yet it seems to have the power to destroy everything.
The black clouds that rolled in block the moon; only a faint and murky blur of the moon is seen from behind the thick cloud cover. The wind causes the branches at the crown of the trees to sway; slow rustling sounds can be heard. As if what’s atop of the head is an ocean of trees like the desert, bringing out the silence of the night.
In the wind, you can feel the obviousness of the beginning of winter, small particles suspended in the air, are they dew or ice shards? No one can tell; they only know that when they come into contact with their skin, goose b.u.mps will arise.
Qi Ling’s eyes are wide open, his breath becoming murky due to his nervousness and haste, facing a nude Yin Chen with his back facing him, he is speechless.
In the dark, Yin Chen’s back, thighs, arm, nape……all over his body, aside from his face, his skin is paved with a golden network. Countless golden light move along this network akin to venation of leaves slowly, and they come together at the ‘Seal’ on his tailbone. As if a large river system with intersecting streams is spread all over Yin Chen’s body.
The ‘Seal’ is as if a strong heart, gurgling and beating, the golden liquid circulating continuously from it.
In the slowly rising and falling breath-like golden gleam, Yin Chen turns around, his features are shrouded in the golden light, his handsomeness stifling, he faces Qi Ling, “The nature of the art of the soul, is to store the potential of the soul powers in the body for application. Every single person has soul powers when they are born; the difference is how much they have. Those who learned how to apply their soul powers became soul masters; those that never understood how to, just like you before, remain an average citizen. There are thousands upon thousands of ways to apply your soul powers, and the way the seven ‘Lords’ are using the art of the soul, is the strongest seven applications in our country, they are also unique, hence they are different. The one I have bestowed in your body has the same return circuit as mine, you can easily imagine all the nerves, networks and blood vessels into a river system, and then picture your soul powers as water, flowing along the river-like circuit of soul powers, and in cooperation with external elements – water, wind, earth, fire, they will generate immense power.”
Qi Ling stares at Yin Chen whose body is filled with the thin, golden return circuit in the dark, forgetting how to speak completely, he can only hear Yin Chen’s low and magnetic voice, like a fist that’s punching his chest neither hard nor soft.
“And the way to control your soul beast is also through your surge of soul powers. When you release your soul beast during a battle, the strength of the soul beast is determined by two factors – one is the strength of the soul power of the soul beast itself, the other is your usage of your soul beast. Through constant impacts on our ‘Lord’s Seal’ from our soul powers, every single time there’s a surge, the strength of our soul beast and ourselves will increase, it’s like the ringing of a bell, your ‘Lord’s Seal’ is the bell, your soul power is the wooden beam, the higher the number of impact on the ‘Lord’s Seal’, the greater the power, the louder the sound of the bell.”
Qi Ling looks dumbstruck, his mouth moving slightly, n.o.body knows what he’s saying, he moves towards Yin Chen subconsciously, as if dazzled by the brilliance of the golden light in front of him……
“Let’s go slow, I’ll teach you everything anyway, also……” It’s as if Yin Chen suddenly thought of something as he stopped talking. He gets dressed slowly, draping his silvery white robe over his body before turning to address Qi Ling: “There’s also something I have to remind warn you of……”
“What is it……” Qi Ling’s eyes stare straight at Yin Chen’s, his breathing low and hurried.
“That is, people with the same soul’s return circuit, they will be……how should I put this, attracted to each other.” Yin Chen puts on his clothes properly before waving his hand in front of Yin Chen, a thin layer of frost settles on his face. Qi Ling senses awaken immediately from the sudden cold.
Qi Ling raises his eyebrows, “What did you say? Attracted to each other? Stop kidding, two men, how awkward is that……” Qi Ling says as he glances at Yin Chen, he thinks to himself: “Even if I am attracted, it’s because you’re too pretty, more pale than the girls of Fauser, if you have nothing better to do then do some farming or tanning!”
“That’s because, the people who usually have the same return circuits are usually that of a ‘n.o.ble Lord’ and ‘Disciple’. There is already an a.s.sailable loyalty and pledge of one’s life between the ‘n.o.ble Lord’ and ‘Disciple’. This relation is something like love for humans, to each other they are the only one, willing to sacrifice everything for the other.” Yin Chen sighs at the dumbfounded Qi Ling in front of him before continuing, “And just talking about the soul powers, soul masters will have grand desire to own the more powerful of the souls, to soul masters, to soul masters, the most strong of soul powers represent the highest grandeur of beauty, the deadliest attraction. And to someone who has identical return circuits of the soul, this deadly attraction is even stronger. This is akin to s.e.xual desire in humans……”
“Please kill me……”
“Don’t worry, this is only at the beginning. When you gradually get used to this emotion, this obsession with the soul powers that is identical to that in your return circuit, the feeling will diminish over time, and that feeling of s.e.xual desire or love, they will slowly transform into a real emotion deep in the soul. When that comes, you humans will be able to differentiate this emotion from s.e.xual desire, although they seem the same at first glance, but in actuality they are completely different……only at this stage, you humans confuse the two easily……”
“Okay okay, stop saying you humans you humans you humans……as if you’re not human yourself……” Qi Ling scratches his head, his expression revealing that he is unable to accept this.
“I was a human before……” Yin Chen smiles faintly, coupled with the soft white light of his face, he looks ethereal.
“You say you used to be human……” Qi Ling’s hair stands on its ends, he stumbles backwards, “Then what are you now?!”
“I also don’t know what we’re considered……like this. Some people think that we are deities; others think we are devils. Some people think that we don’t actually exist; others think we’re monsters……” Yin Chen looks at Qi Ling expressionlessly as he says lightly.
Qi Ling’s heart calms down, he stares at Yin Chen who stands before him, on his pa.s.sive but handsome face, there seems to be a faint shadow of sorrow. Can it be that even the G.o.d-like ‘Lord’ has something to worry about? Qi Ling shakes his head, unable to understand.
“Then next time, I won’t just like boys right? I don’t want that……My mom is still waiting for me to let her hold a fat grandson……” Qi Ling coughs slightly before adding on awkwardly and softly, “Although my mom is already dead……”
“You don’t like boys, you like me.” Yin Chen’s sharp brows furrow, in his mind he’s doubting the intelligence of this person before him, he’s a person with striking appearance, what if there’s something wrong with his brain?
“Isn’t that the same!” Qi Ling falls dramatically to his knees, raising his hand before yelling, “How have I sinned……”
“It’s not that you like me, I’m only using this emotions as an example for you!” Yin Chen raises his hand, Qi Ling’s yells disappear immediately, his mouth full of ice, yet he’s still using his large eyes to glare and express “what a tragedy!”
“The emotions between a ‘Lord’ and their ‘Disciple’ is complicated, it’s different from kins.h.i.+p, different from friends.h.i.+p, if you really want to put a label on it, to those who just became exposed to it, it’s something akin to love, it is an emotion that is possessive, destructive, separated only by death. This kind of emotions doesn’t exist in mankind, that’s why I can only use love and s.e.xual desire as an example for you……when it reaches the later stages, to be more precise, maybe it will be better to refer to this emotion as ‘tactic understanding’, understanding each other without words, understanding how each other feel.”
Yin Chen looks at Qi Ling whose mouth has been sealed shut by ice and can’t speak, but faced with the frowning Qi Ling, Yin Chen can only sigh before squatting, reaching out a hand to graze over his lips, the ice shards in Qi Ling’s mouth transforms into warm and soothing spring water, after Qi Ling swallows, the first sentence he says is: “Then will I have to marry you?!”
Expressionlessly, Yin Chen stands up. Rolling his eyes, he reaches out and waves a hand; Qi Ling’s mouth is then sealed with even more ice shards.
Yin Chen turns around and walks towards the root system of a towering tree, he finds a place where a thick layer of moss has grown around the root and lies down. The moss has withered in the early winter season, forming a pile that is dry and fluffy, under his body, it’s like a blanket, warm and comfortable.