To Raise a Soul 42.2

“…Achoo!” Yu Zhen sneezed.

In the early spring, there was a big difference in the temperature during the day versus at night, not to mention the cold wind that blew across the higher altitude rooftop. Having been moved from the warm indoors to the chilly outdoors while in his pajamas, Yu Zhen gave the most natural reaction possible from humans.

“… Sorry. I’ll take you back and get you dressed.”

“No, it’s all right.” Yu Zhen quickly shook his head. He moved to Yin Yan’s side and held his hand. He turned to look at Yin Yan and smiled. “I just haven’t adjusted to it yet. Cultivators are afraid of the cold. Pass me some spiritual energy. I’ll warm up.”

Yin Yan covered Yu Zhen with spiritual energy. He held Yu Zhen’s hand until it had warmed up. Then he released Yu Zhen’s hand and looked around the roof. “From the seeds that you have obtained, take out ten seeds.”

Yu Zhen did as asked.

“In accordance with the secret method I taught you, add some merits and spiritual energy to them.”

Yu Zhen continued as he was instructed.

“Wait for me.” On Yu Zhen’s palms, the seeds had begun to emit a golden glow and the light of spiritual energy. Yin Yan picked up the seeds and called Xu Wu out to keep Yu Zhen company. Then, in a flash, he disappeared.

Yu Zhen patted the cat in his arms and sighed, “I’m still too weak.” 

If I were stronger, I could set up the array with Yin Yan.

Meow. Xu Wu swished its tail. He twisted his head and rubbed against Yu Zhen comfortingly. 

Smiling, Yu Zhen patted its small body.

Yin Yan worked quickly. Within two minutes, he had returned and brought Yu Zhen back into his arms to return to their apartment.

In Boli Building, Feng Yuan, who was meditating, suddenly opened his eyes, stood up, and walked briskly to the window. Looking out of the window, he immersed himself in making calculations on his fingers. His knitted brows loosened and he sighed in relief.

A scholarly, middle-aged man pushed the door open and quickly said, “Senior! The energy of the building has changed. Qing Xu may have come. Let’s go to the roo-”

“It’s not Qing Xu,” Feng Xuan interrupted, dismissing the idea with a wave of his hand. Looking out of the window again, he continued, “Bo Xiu, inform everyone. There’s no need to go to the rooftop. The powerful master has already left.”

Surprised, Bo Xiu asked, “It’s not Qing Xu? But apart from Qing Xu Zi, who could single-handedly break the formation of that ghost cultivator? And without any casualties…”

“It definitely isn’t him. The building’s energy has already changed, which means a new array has already been set up. Even if it was Qing Xu Zi, he wouldn’t be able to complete an array without our notice and quietly slip away. Bo Xiu, there are many others aside from us. Someone powerful has appeared in the world.”

Someone powerful has appeared?

Apprehensive about the news, Bo Xiu’s expression was tense and he hesitated before speaking. “Senior, the cultivation world has been stable for many years. Is the appearance of this powerful being related to that strange negative energy from before the new year?”

Feng Yuan’s expression also turned serious. He looked out into the night sky and fell into silence.

After returning to the apartment, Yu Zhen worried that he would lose control and end up dreaming about this and that at night. Without giving Yin Yan a chance to say anything, he decided to sleep in a separate room from Yin Yan and rushed to the guest bedroom, much like they had done when they had first started staying at the apartment.

After Yu Zhen had dashed into the guest room, Yin Yan quietly kept watch until Yu Zhen had fallen asleep. Then, he turned around and entered his own bedroom. 

The next morning, Yin Yan entered the kitchen and, to his surprise, found Yu Zhen in there with breakfast already prepared.

“You’re going to the construction site today. There’ll be no chance to eat when you’re there, so eat more for breakfast.” Yu Zhen brought out several dishes and a plate of steamed bean paste buns to the table. In addition to those, he also brought over a plate of appetizingly golden egg crepes.

“These are filling foods. There’s also porridge in the pot. The milk and soy milk are warm. Don’t drink coffee in the morning. It’s not good to drink it in the morning.”

As Yu Zhen spoke, he arranged the plates and chopsticks. Still wearing an apron, he had a domestic look about him. 

Yin Yan was dazzled by the sight. But he remained silent as he took an equally quiet step back. After stalling for a moment, he stepped forward and took a plate and a pair of chopsticks from Yu Zhen’s hands, helping to arrange them. “Are you not coming to the site with me?”

Yu Zhen shook his head. “I’m not going. Most of the garden work will be in the latter stages of the project. Before I start any work, I’ll have to first receive the official plans from Department Head Liu. In the next few days, I’ll be going to floral markets and plant nurseries. When the time comes for the plants to be sourced, it’ll be done through me. I’ll have to make the perfect plan for sourcing them so no one will suspect something is going on.” 

After pondering the issue the previous day, Yu Zhen concluded that he would deal with those matters since each merit plant would need to be cultivated using his own hands. The leisure center was the Yin family’s project. He would have to organize everything in a thorough manner so that he wouldn’t cause problems for the Yin family. 

Yin Yan set down his chopsticks and looked up at Yu Zhen. “I can deal with that issue.”

“I should try it first. If I run into any issues, I’ll have to trouble you.” Yu Zhen gave him a dazzling smile and threw in some flattery, “Your work is difficult and I’m not as smart as you. If you could let me help you with something, that would be great. Even if it’s a small thing that you could have solved with the flick of a finger.”

Badump. Badump…Badumpbadumpbadump.

Yu Zhen stared blankly and lowered his head with puzzlement.

Yin Yan stood up and strode towards the kitchen. “I’ll go get the milk.”

Yu Zhen: “???”

But the milk is on the table. Don’t you see it?

On his first day of working alone, Yu Zhen drove to the largest flower and plant marketplace in B City. He took a deep breath and then plunged into his task.

As a big country, China spanned many latitudes. B City was located further north compared to H Province. As a result, their climates were very different, causing the flower markets between the regions to also vary greatly. 

As soon as Yu Zhen entered work mode, he forgot about everything else. He looked at the plants all around and asked lots of questions. Occasionally, he bought seeds and seedlings from large family businesses. He completely forgot that he had decided to pursue Yin Yan just the previous day.

On the other hand, Yin Yan was restless throughout the day. Worried that Yu Zhen would bump into unsavory situations or be bullied, he summoned Xu Wu every so often and asked about Yu Zhen’s situation. 

They passed several days like this, parting ways in the morning, meeting again at night, and then having dinner together before sleeping in separate rooms.

Yu Zhen indulged himself in his activities, forgetting about home and duty. For whole days, he researched the flower markets and large plant nurseries of B City with a notebook in hand. With his passion for work running high, he then glued himself to a computer while making design plans for the leisure center.

Yin Yan ate the food that Yu Zhen made and listened to Yu Zhen’s occasional honeyed words of flattery. However, his mood swung wildly as he was also constantly given the cold shoulder by work-mode Yu Zhen. When it was finally the weekend but Yu Zhen once again prepared to leave for work, his patience ran out. Yin Yan cursed “evil disciple” in his heart, grabbed Yu Zhen, and bundled him into the car.

Looking for a dignified sounding excuse, Yin Yan explained, “Work is not allowed on weekends. There should be a balance between work and rest.”  

Yu Zhen nodded obediently. He then secured his seat belt and asked, “Where are we going? You must be tired after working for a week. I can give you a massage tonight?”

Massage? Wouldn’t that involve touching here and there?

Yin Yan’s heart beat violently. He took out the car key, opened the door, and got out of the car.

Yu Zhen: “???”

“This car needs to be sent for maintenance. We’ll need to switch cars. Let’s go home first. Mom, Dad, and Xiao Le will also be resting on the weekend.”

It seems that I haven’t been back to the villa for a long time.

Yu Zhen nodded and got out of the car. He continued to bootlick and commented, “You’re very thoughtful. You’re the best.”

Yin Yan turned his head away and breathed deeply. 

“What’s the matter?” Yu Zhen was puzzled, and his words contained concern.

Evil disciple!

Yin Yan looked back at him and asked, “What do you want?”

Yu Zhen paused then replied, “I want you to have a good time.”

“!!!”

Evil disciple! Evil disciple!

Yin Yan took out a jade bottle, poured out a pill, and ate it. Then he moved his hands and a pagoda tower appeared. After it transformed to a smaller form, he threw it to Yu Zhen from the other side of the car. “There are materials and rare books for refining basic tools. Take a look at them if you’re interested.”

Then he walked to a nearby car, pulled open the door, and said, “Get in. We should head home now.”

Yu Zhen touched the small pagoda tower in his hands, admiring the white jade that it was made from. With glittering eyes, he rushed over and excitedly asked, “Did you refine this one too? It’s beautiful, you’re really amazing.”

It was the nth “amazing” of the day, and Yu Zhen didn’t cover the worship in his eyes.

Yin Yan’s Adam’s apple trembled. He fished out a wooden box and tossed it to Yu Zhen. He looked away and said, “Quickly, get in. Mom and Dad are waiting for us.”

With that, Yin Yan got into the car.

The wooden box was cool to the touch. The box was heavy and exquisite, and its texture was unlike that of the other boxes.

Not wanting to cause a delay, Yu Zhen threw the box into the pagoda tower without much examination. Then he added the pagoda tower to the rope on his wrist. As he got into the car, he promised, “I’ll work hard at refining tools. Oh yeah, what did you just eat? Is your body feeling alright?”

“… It’s nothing.”

Yin Yan started the car. His lips were tightly sealed as he decided that, for the time being, he wouldn’t talk with Yu Zhen.

Seeing that he didn’t want to talk, Yu Zhen obediently fell into silence. As he played with the pagoda towers hanging from his wrist, he thought about the bare string on Yin Yan’s wrist. He glanced at Yin Yan secretly and brought out the abacus in his heart to do some calculating.

Maybe… for a beginner, a pagoda tower would be a good choice. 

To make matching items and a matching couple. 

The two were absorbed in their own thoughts until they arrived at the Qiu residence. When they entered the villa, Yu Zhen found that there was something not quite right about the atmosphere in their home.

“You’re back,” Yin Hexiang greeted from his spot on the living room’s sofa. His brows were furrowed, showing his obvious worry.

“What’s the matter?” Yin Yan asked. He looked around the room then asked, “Where’s Mom?”

“She’s getting something from upstairs. She’ll be down in a minute.” He stood up and waved a hand, indicating they shouldn’t remove their coats. “We won’t be eating at home tonight. Your grandfather is not well, so we’ll be visiting at the Qiu residence.”

Qiu Xiehua is unwell?

Yu Zhen froze and then looked at Yin Yan. He recalled that San’er was still by his birth mother’s side. 

The baby spirit affected feng shui, so with him gone it was reasonable to assume that the haunted man should enjoy a bout of good luck. If he was ill, shouldn’t his condition have made a turn for the better? 

So why is Qiu Xiehua suddenly unwell?

Yin Yan reached out a hand and helped Yu Zhen straighten out his coat before asking, “What’s the matter with Grandad? Did his condition worsen?”

“That’s not quite it. It should count as him getting better.” Yin Hexiang hesitated. His eyes held an uneasy look as he returned Yin Yan’s gaze. “Your grandad has been quite muddle-headed these past few years, right? Just now, your uncle called us and said that your grandad suddenly remembered some things. He was very lively and made a fuss about wanting to see us.”

Yu Zhen frowned.

Yin Le had once mentioned that Qiu Xiehua really didn’t like seeing Yin Yan. The first thing he does after regaining some memories is to call his eldest daughter back home. No matter how I think about it, it can’t be a good thing.

“In any case, he’s an elder, he’s old, and he’s not in good health. Being stirred up emotionally could affect his health. I heard he was put on oxygen before they called me. Let’s go have a look and we can set our minds at rest afterward.”

Yin Hexiang gave the well-meaning advice, but he remained frowning. In his heart, he didn’t want his son to go to the Qiu family just to bear the old man’s temper.

Qiu Feiqian descended the stairs with a bag in her hand. She had clearly heard what they were talking about. With a calm and collected appearance, she said, “Don’t worry about today’s visit. They had better not dream about bullying the two of you. The old man has been confused for many years. Throughout those years, I acted the way I should have as his daughter. I’d left the past issues in the past as it wasn’t so appropriate for me to speak about old problems. Now that he’s clear-headed, if he makes the mistake of acting like he used to, then we’ll have to settle some debts with him!”