To Raise a Soul 35.2

Brilliant but unrecognizable flowers covered the landscape as far as the eye could see. Yu Zhen stood at the edge of the flower field. When he looked behind him, he saw the black, majestic structure towering over him like a protective beast that would watch his back. He then looked forwards again at the flower field which extended into the distance. There were butterflies fluttering around, and the mountain range rolled across the horizon, with clouds which swirled about the peaks. A glimpse of a palace could be seen atop one of those distant mountains. To his right was a lake, reflecting lights that flickered across its rippling surface. An exquisite wooden bridge led to a small building located on the lone island at the center of the lake. Light muslin drapings on the upper level of the building swayed in the breeze, revealing the refined interior decorations. To his left was a bamboo forest with a bamboo building. A winding path snaked into the forest, inviting visitors to explore its depths. 

Yu Zhen stared with eyes wide with awe. He gave himself a hard pinch. The pain made him even more confused.  

“Where is this? D-Did I transmigrate?” He looked at the period drama-like scenes before him and, in a trance, guessed that he must have gone crazy.

The black tower faded away and a white cat appeared in its place, swishing its tail and running towards Yu Zhen. It climbed with practiced skill up Yu Zhen’s trousers and shirt until it was on his shoulder. Then it rubbed its head against Yu Zhen and meowed. The scene before them changed, replaced by a spacious, historical-looking room.

The room had very cozy decorations; with soft carpets but no bed. Before him was a low table and a copper mirror laid flat atop it.

Xu Wu jumped onto the bronze mirror. It gently tread on the mirror and meowed at Yu Zhen. 

“You want me to take it?” Seeing a familiar figure in the unfamiliar place, Yu Zhen subconsciously relied on it. As he asked, Yu Zhen picked up the cat with one hand and the bronze mirror with the other.

When he picked up the mirror, he noticed that it reflected his silly expression back at him. Then the mirror flashed and the reflection changed to the familiar sight of high-rise buildings lined up beside a road. Yin Yan’s black car flashed across the center of the scene. He unconsciously reacted and called out, “Yin Yan!”

The image on the mirror changed again and showed the inside of the car. Yin Yan parked his car and got out. An all too familiar woman then entered the image. 

“Han Ya?”

Yu Zhen raised his voice without realizing, suddenly feeling stifled.

What’s going on? I appeared in this place, was guided by Xu Wu into picking up this mirror, and this is what I see? Why is Yin Yan meeting Han Ya?

What’s going on?

Yin Yan, who had just left the car, abruptly stopped and covered his ear. A corner of his lips hooked upwards. He ignored the approaching Han Ya and then returned to the roadside and said to a man, “Apologies, I need to leave for a while. My spouse is coming. He’s at a shopping center close by so I’ll be picking him up.”

Surprised by those words, the man glanced at Han Ya. He was confused about who the mentioned spouse could be, but he nodded and said, “Okay. That’s fine. We’ll wait for you in the cafe.”

While continuing to ignore Han Ya, Yin Yan returned his nod and gave his apologies again. Then he turned around and left. 

The man frowned and asked, “Xiao Ya, what’s going on with Yin Yan? You and him…”

Pale-faced, Han Ya smiled grimly and replied, “Nothing much… He’s married. He married a man he had only met twice. We had a misunderstanding… It was my fault. I shouldn’t have caused the car accident. Thanks for putting us in contact, but I’m guessing he’ll never forgive me.”

Angered, the man said, “He married a man he’d only met twice? Did Yin Yan go crazy? Even though you helped him and cared for him when you were abroad? How could he treat you like this? He’s a grown man but his attitude just now – he’s really lost his manners.”

“Don’t blame him. It was me…” Han Ya left her sentence unfinished. She turned her head and blinked, resisting tears. Then she turned back and forced a smile. “Yin Yan doesn’t want to meet me anymore. I won’t join in this student reunion. You all have fun without me. I’ll leave first.”

“Wait.” The man hurriedly stopped her. After his initial burst of anger, he hesitated as he thought about Yin Yan’s character and his former undying enthusiasm towards Han Ya. “Wait for a while. Ai Rui will be here soon. It’s been too long since we’ve seen each other. Meet the others before leaving.”

Han Ya appeared hesitant before finally nodding and following him into the cafe.

In the men’s room within the mall, Yin Yan released Yu Zhen from his previous location. He deliberately made Yu Zhen reappear slightly unbalanced. He then reached out his hands to steady Yu Zhen and brought him into his arms.

Yu Zhen had blankly watched Yin Yan enter the men’s room from the mirror. Then his vision had turned blurry and he suddenly appeared in the men’s room. To be more accurate, he fell into Yin Yan’s embrace.

There usually wasn’t any contact between them so, at that moment, he felt somewhat embarrassed. Then he got angry, pushed Yin Yan away, and frowned. “What’s going on with Han Ya? And there was also that other man.”

“The man is Fu Wenhua. He’s ‘my’ classmate from the university and he really took care of me. He had been out of the country these last few years. He had just recently decided to return and so he arranged a meeting with other close classmates. Han Ya used to get along with him quite well.”

Although he had been pushed away, Yin Yan continued to hold Yu Zhen’s hand while his power circulated between their connected hands.

Yu Zhen instinctively absorbed the power. Then he paused and jerked his hand away. I forgot to stay angry! Yu Zhen looked at his hand in shock. 

What happened? He just…

“Your appetite’s not bad. It’s healthy.” Yin Yan picked up his hand again and passed a bit of power over. Then he held Yu Zhen’s hand and pulled him along. “But you have to control how much external power you absorb. Absorbing too much is just as bad as not having enough. After absorbing power, you have to digest it and make it into your own power.”

What do you mean by ‘Your appetite’s not bad. It’s healthy’. Am I being fed like a pig?

Yu Zhen followed Yin Yan expressionlessly. He felt the foreign power in disarray within him. It was only after a while that he realized something wasn’t right. “Where are you taking me?”

Yin Yan looked back at Yu Zhen and then gave him a once over, up and down. “To buy clothes. Don’t tell me you want to wear this to my student reunion?”

Yu Zhen followed his line of sight and looked downward. Pajamas, slippers and Yin Yan’s jacket over everything. Yu Zhen turned red and quickly hid behind Yin Yan. “W-why am I dressed like this?”

After wandering around the men’s section within the mall, Yu Zhen changed his clothes and finally found out about what had happened.

After returning from the Qiu residence, he’d suffered a shock to his mental state, which affected his Taoist heart. Immediately afterward, his soul had left his body and he fell unconscious. The next day, he entered a meditation state.

Yin Yan had placed him in the tower and transferred him and the tower into the mustard space in his sea of consciousness. He stayed there for a week until his meditation bore fruit and he was let out by Yin Yan.

For those days he was in the meditation state, Yin Yan had used a magic item to make a puppet ‘Yu Zhen’ for sake of appeasing the Yin family. Then, afraid that the Yin family would see through the ruse, Yin Yan moved the puppet ‘Yu Zhen’ to his apartment. To do so, he used the excuse that there would be many visitors during the New Year which wouldn’t be ideal for recovering from being sick. Every day, he would video call Qiu Feiqian to report that they were safe and well. 

It was the eighth day of the New Year and most workers’ holidays would have ended. Yin Hexiang and Qiu Feiqian had already begun working at their companies again and had started urging the couple to return. Coincidentally, Yin Yan’s former classmate, Fu Wenhua, had invited him out, so Yin Yan used the excuse of taking Yu Zhen to the student reunion to delay for another day. 

Then, just in time, Yu Zhen woke up. If he hadn’t come back, Yin Yan wouldn’t have been able to drag things out any further.

“Looks like you’re a little taller again.” Yin Yan wrapped a scarf around Yu Zhen, comparing their heights, and then tugged at Yu Zhen’s hair. “Your hair has also grown longer.”

Yu Zhen didn’t have many feelings towards his actions. He was more concerned about making Yin Yan’s friends wait for too long and urged him to hurry up.

By the time the two of them arrived at the cafe, half an hour had passed.

Everyone that Fu Wenhua had invited had arrived and was waiting for them.

Five people were seated at a window table, three men and two women.

Through the window, Yu Zhen could see Fu Wenhua was tall with a medium build and a refined appearance. Yu Zhen also knew Han Ya, but the others were unfamiliar faces.  

“Wow, I thought Yin Yan was going to pick up a pretty and delicate young woman. Who would’ve thought he’d return with a grown-ass man instead. Half an hour. It can’t be that, after a few years away from B City, the mall has turned into a different kind of place?”

The curly-haired woman beside Han Ya blurted out her thoughts when she caught sight of Yin Yan approaching with Yu Zhen. Her tone made her hostility towards Yu Zhen very obvious.

Han Ya patted the curly-haired woman beside her as if to soothe her, but in return, she received a pat and an expression of bitterness. The woman’s hostile glare at Yu Zhen intensified.

Yu Zhen pretended to not recognize the malice hidden in her words. After all, they were in the wrong for being late. “Sorry, I delayed Yin Yan. I’ve made you wait a long time.”

The men quickly assured him that it was alright and had them take a seat. However, their glances occasionally switched between Han Ya and Yin Yan.

The atmosphere was weird. 

Yin Yan also apologized before helping to pull out a seat for Yu Zhen. Once Yu Zhen was seated, he then sat down and removed Yu Zhen’s scarf while introducing the people around the table. “This is my husband, Yu Zhen. These are my university classmates. Fu Wenhua, my roommate. Shi Yanhao, my senior. Xiao Shiyang, my classmate. Ai Rui, Xiao Shiyang’s girlfriend.”

He introduced everyone but left Han Ya out. Immediately, Han Ya felt embarrassed.

The curly-haired Ai Rui’s eyes widened into an angry stare. She reprimanded, “Yin Yan, you’re being too much. We’ve all been good friends for so many years but you introduced me as Shiyang’s girlfriend? What? Am I not good enough to be your friend? And Han Ya is right here, can you not see her?”

“Ai Rui.” Xiao Shiyang, a tall and strong man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, held out a hand to stop her, hinting that she should say less.

Ai Rui swatted his hand away. She continued scolding, “Don’t hold me back. None of you guys are any good. In those years when you were being looked after, she was a goddess, a moral support, ‘the only warmth in a foreign land’. We’ve only been back in the country for a few years and your heart has changed so quickly. It’s not like an ex is some sort of untouchable poison to be ignored.”

Her ugly words made Xiao Shiyang feel embarrassed. He pulled Ai Rui back and said to Yin Yan, “Sorry. You know Ai Rui’s personality. She’s very frank. Don’t mind it too much.”

The atmosphere had dropped to freezing temperatures. Fu Wenhua regretted organizing the student reunion. If I knew this was going to happen, I would have checked out the situation first.

 “Being frank is no excuse for being rude. And, we aren’t exes. Han Ya’s ex is Wu Xuan. I didn’t start anything with her.”

Yin Yan picked up the scarf that had been removed not long ago and wrapped it around Yu Zhen again. Then he held Yu Zhen’s hand and pulled him up. He looked down at Ai Rui and added, “Before saying something, it’s better to be clear on the situation. Don’t let yourself be used by someone else.”

He then looked at Han Ya and advised, “Don’t mislead others. And don’t smear Yu Zhen’s name. My relationship with Yu Zhen started after we were completely through. We’re both very aware of this point. Don’t challenge my bottom line again.”

After he finished speaking, he nodded at Fu Wenhua in apology and then led Yu Zhen away. 

The table full of people didn’t expect him to suddenly explode like that. They were stumped by the amount of information in his words.

Used? Misled? Smeared? And who’s Wu Xuan? What does he mean by ‘didn’t start anything with her’?

They looked at each other for a few seconds. Fu Wenhua looked at Han Ya thoughtfully. He also gave an apology before chasing after Yin Yan who had just left. 

After Fu Wenhua left, Ai Rui finally felt that something was off. She frowned and looked at Han Ya. “What’s going on? You weren’t with Yin Yan before? Who’s this Wu Xuan?”

Han Ya hadn’t expected that Yin Yan would bring Yu Zhen to the student reunion. What was even less expected was that Yin Yan would be so merciless and that Ai Rui would act so thoughtlessly, easily exploding and criticizing. Angry and panicked, she didn’t know how to respond.