Zanxing (Retranslated)

Extra 16 - Flower Forest (3) — Bu Jiang x Shaoyang

He could try to slit his own throat, but the power of the Love Flower prevented him from resisting any of the actions of the person before him, leaving him only to comply.

“Now, either your body or your heart will belong to me. Since you can’t decide for yourself, I’ll choose for you.” Her gaze lingered on Shaoyang Zhenren’s face with a smile, though her hands never stopped moving. “Taking your heart is pointless, so keep that to yourself. I’ll just take your body.”

The flower-filled cave was in full bloom, shining brilliantly.

With a gentle push, Shaoyang Zhenren fell into the bed of flowers on the ground.

All his life, he had remained calm and self-possessed, his emotions never betraying him, indifferent to everything except cultivation. Yet now, in this hidden cave, surrounded by flourishing blossoms, he witnessed the unfolding of a peculiar flower.

This flower was unlike any in the mortal world—black, deep, and exuding a mesmerizing fragrance that seemed ready to claim lives. And yet, those who saw it would willingly succumb to its allure.

It felt as though something inside his chest was about to grow, soft tendrils wrapping around him. In the depths of his pain, he found an unfamiliar pleasure. The Love Flower unfurled its petals from within him, its swaying blossoms adorned with dewdrops that dripped like tears, one by one.

He sensed the flower growing, reaching the pinnacle of its radiance before slowly wilting and withering away until it dissolved into the soil. An empty void suddenly formed in his heart, and black blood oozed from the opening.

He was wrapped in a blanket of luxurious petals, like silken fabric.

Suddenly, the surroundings fell silent.

All was still.

When Shaoyang Zhenren awoke, daylight was already filtering through from outside.

He didn’t know how long he had been under the spell of the Love Flower and indulging in this madness. His clothes were neat, as if nothing had happened—except for the ambiguous red marks on his neck.

Not far away, a woman was bending down, admiring a flower on the stone wall. Hearing movement, she turned her head.

A sword was aimed at her heart.

Shaoyang Zhenren held the sword, staring at her with cold eyes.

Bu Jiang didn’t flinch. Those black bracelets encircled her slender, pale wrists, barely concealing the faint marks on them.

Her skin was so soft, like fragile silk, that it would easily bear marks when touched. Shaoyang Zhenren suddenly realized his thoughts were wandering and quickly snapped back to reality.

The woman before him even had the leisure to smile lazily at him and said, “Why are you pointing your sword at me, you rigid Immortal Master? Hasn’t the poison of the Love Flower already been lifted?”

The blooming black flower was no longer in his heart. When he looked at the woman before him, the fatal, uncontrollable sense of submission was also gone.

Bu Jiang smiled at him. “Speaking of which, I am your savior. For you to act like this,” she said, extending her finger to gently move the sword tip pointed at her heart, “is rather ungrateful.”

Shaoyang Zhenren did not speak. He, who was never easily troubled by anything, now felt a sense of helplessness.

He didn’t know what to do.

“You, being such a proud person, would think that preserving your integrity is more important than being my servant. Besides,” her tone turned ambiguous, “weren’t you quite pleased at the time?”

Shaoyang Zhenren’s body stiffened.

“Not to mention, using human terms, I am a woman, and I’m the one who lost out. Since you’ve gained from it, there’s no need to act all virtuous.”

After a moment, he spoke calmly, “Are you called Bu Jiang?”

The woman looked at him in surprise. “You’re not trying to find out my name and talk about taking responsibility, are you?” She regarded Shaoyang with an expression of disbelief, as though he were some kind of beast. Bu Jiang said, “You’re human, I’m a demon. Humans value eternal commitment, while demons only seek momentary pleasure. Yesterday, I simply couldn’t bear to see you harm yourself, so I intervened.”

“You’re quite handsome. I, for one, am particularly fond of beautiful things. I enjoyed our night together. You don’t need to feel burdened, nor do you need to seek me out. In the vast sea of people, it’s unlikely we’ll meet again.”

Shaoyang Zhenren pursed his lips in silence, feeling a strange sensation rise within him, as if he were a fool who had been toyed with and discarded, while the perpetrator was using excuses to mask her own guilt.

His gaze toward Bu Jiang involuntarily carried a hint of reproach.

Feeling somewhat uneasy under Shaoyang Zhenren’s gaze, Bu Jiang cleared her throat and pulled out a scroll from her sleeve. In her haste, a silver lock also fell to the ground, but she did not bother to pick it up, treating it as a trivial matter. She tossed the scroll to Shaoyang Zhenren, her lips curling into a more genuine smile. “This is the formula for the Heart-Extinguishing Needle, which can seal a person’s memories. After all, it’s hard for an ordinary man to forget an affair with someone as beautiful as me.”

“If you can’t forget me and carry this obsession throughout your life, it will be difficult to rid yourself of it. If it’s really unavoidable, then use this needle to forget me.”

Bu Jiang waved her hand, and a palm-sized porcelain jar fell into Shaoyang’s hand, inside which was a golden toad.

“Here’s the Moon-Watching Golden Toad for you. I’m always generous with my former lovers,” she said with a sigh. After saying this, she turned and left the flower cave without looking back at Shaoyang.

As if they were mere strangers passing by.

Shaoyang Zhenren remained silent, holding both the scroll and the golden toad. He walked toward the cave entrance, then suddenly halted.

He bent down and picked up the silver lock.

Upon returning to Taiyan Sect, after handing the golden toad to Daoist Yueguang, the first thing he did was annul his engagement with the leader of Xiang Ling Sect, Rong Shuang.

The woman stormed into Gufeng Mountain, demanding an explanation.

Shaoyang Zhenren’s engagement with Rong Shuang had been arranged by their families long ago. Over the years, they had barely seen each other. Their relationship had never been affectionate, merely a formality, and neither had cared much about it.

However, Shaoyang Zhenren’s unilateral decision to cancel the engagement was indeed somewhat unreasonable.

Rong Shuang stood before him, her voice cold. “Why cancel the engagement?”

For the first time, he found himself at a loss for words, unsure of how to explain to Rong Shuang.

After a long pause, he said, “I have someone I wish to marry.”

Indeed, he had considered marrying Bu Jiang, given that they had been intimate. As a mortal, it seemed natural for them to be together. Although the demoness appeared unwilling, and he wasn’t even sure if her true name was Bu Jiang.

Rong Shuang looked at him for a long time, then sneered and walked away.

Subsequently, the relationship between Xiang Ling Sect and Taiyan Sect became strained. Many disciples speculated that Shaoyang Zhenren had developed feelings for someone else and tried to find clues about his beloved. Bu Jiang did not appear again, and the matter gradually became a mystery.

Later, during the battle between humans and demons, because of the Xiao Yuan Pearl and Gui Yansheng, he saw the woman once more on the battlefield.

The demon race remained eternally youthful, and she, being one who cherished beauty, still wore her black robe as if it had blossomed like the flower from that night. Her eyes retained their lazy smile, and when she glanced at him, it was as if she was seeing any other passerby.

She didn’t even recognize him.

Shaoyang Zhenren, however, showed mercy.

Gui Yansheng was driven into a corner in the Golden Gate Ruins, and Bu Jiang led the remaining demons back to Heishi City. Rong Shuang’s gaze was filled with knowing sarcasm as she said, “You broke off the engagement with me for her, didn’t you?”

Shaoyang Zhenren did not answer.

She angrily retorted, “You actually fell in love with a demon!”

Shaoyang Zhenren did not deny it.

Rong Shuang coldly said, “You will regret this,” and turned away.

The Jinhua Hall was resplendent. He sat slowly on a long bench.

He had once preferred simplicity and coldness, like other cultivators in his sect, with attire that was always bland. But after learning that demons favored vibrant colors, the Jinhua Hall became lively with colors.

Disciples often whispered that Shaoyang Zhenren, growing older, had developed a taste for bright colors. He also took up gardening, and the courtyard of Jinhua Hall was filled with various flowers, reminiscent of those in the Stone Flower Cave of years past.

He had also learned to use the Heart-Extinguishing Needle, though he had never used it on himself. Sealing a person’s memories and severing their emotions was something only the weak would resort to.

Yes, emotions.

Shaoyang Zhenren lowered his eyes to the silver lock in his palm.

The lock, silver and smooth, was cold to the touch. He had kept it close ever since, never letting it leave his side.

Years ago, when he returned to Gufeng Mountain, he had searched through all the texts on the Love Flower. He later learned that the Love Flower was an incredibly potent poison, a hundred times more lethal than the Wuya Grass that Daoist Yueguang had been afflicted with. Even someone with extraordinary cultivation would succumb to this poison and face certain death.

Yet he survived.

Bu Jiang had deceived him. From the beginning, he had no other option. The Love Flower had no antidote unless the other person loved him in return; otherwise, he would perish from this love.

But this demoness saved his life. She reciprocated his affection, even if only for a brief moment or just a fleeting instant.

Demons were known for their lies, half-truths, and deceptions. He could not discern whether her feelings were genuine or mere pretense.

Sometimes, Shaoyang Zhenren didn’t understand why, despite the Love Flower no longer being present in his heart, he still felt an emptiness, as if a part of him were missing. Even though the poison was cured, he would often recall her face in the empty halls.

Her smile, filled with ambiguous meaning, had been slightly malicious when she asked him, “I’m curious, will you give me your heart, or will you give me your body?”

She chose to take his body, but in the end, he ended up giving her both his heart and body.

Perhaps, she was the true deadly Love Flower.