To Raise a Soul 50.2

As countless stories would point out, love turns people stupid.

However, Yu Zhen, who was never the most intelligent to begin with, suddenly experienced a sharp increase in his level of stupidity after he fell in love. 

“Will I bother you if I tag along to your meeting?”

Yu Zhen sat in the front passenger seat dressed in his lovingly made cultivator’s shirt. He was restless and couldn’t remain idle for long.

Yin Yan turned the steering wheel to round a corner before replying, “You’re also a member of the project team. Your attendance is expected.” Which was to say, there should be no question of whether or not he would be a burden.

Yu Zhen blushed and replied, “Oh, right. Look at how bad my memory is.” 

Five minutes later, Yu Zhen leaned in towards Yin Yan and said, “Xiao Le is about to do the GaoKao. Should we go back and stay at home more often? To accompany him.”

Yin Yan drove past a set of traffic lights and replied, “He boards at school and is only home on weekends.”

“Oh, right. He’s already boarding at school. Staying at school is good. He can concentrate on his studies.”

Silence fell in the car once again.

Yu Zhen turned his head slightly to look out of the window, but his eyes unconsciously remained on Yin Yan.

Joy flowed from him, and sensing it, the corners of Yin Yan’s lips turned upwards. Yin Yan drove into the company’s parking lot, then undid his seat belt before leaning closer to Yu Zhen. 

Yu Zhen stared for a moment before he shyly moved closer to Yin Yan.

“Pay attention to your Taoist heart.”

Yu Zhen was fed a pill which made his loving mood evaporate. The immortal remained proper and honorable. 

Yu Zhen numbly watched Yin Yan leave the car. After a few seconds of silence, he unbuckled his seat belt and dejectedly followed after Yin Yan.

Once in the elevator, Yu Zhen bitterly eyed the distance between him and Yin Yan. There was at least a one-step gap. 

We’ve only just confirmed our relationship, but we aren’t even holding hands like we usually do… Maybe I’ve misunderstood?  Although Yin Yan kissed me yesterday, he didn’t say that he wanted to be with me. In society nowadays, a kiss doesn’t mean much anymore…

Ding. The elevator door opened. Yu Zhen had one foot out of the elevator when he was yanked back by an arm. A familiar energy enveloped him and a warmth met his lips. 

They parted after a fleeting moment.

With his hands on Yu Zhen’s face, Yin Yan looked out of the elevator and nodded at the stiff-faced Cao Xingdong. Then took one of Yu Zhen’s hands into his own and rapped Yu Zhen’s forehead with the other hand. Finally, he led Yu Zhen out and said, “Snap out of it, I’ll take you out for something tasty after the meeting.”

Yu Zhen touched a hand to his forehead and looked at Yin Yan with shining eyes. His dejection was completely swept away and he couldn’t think about anything else. He nodded and replied, “Ok, let’s eat something good. How about a fish dish? You like fish right?”

Eat fish*…

^{*Friendly reminder that ‘fish’ in Chinese is pronounced ‘yu’ >:3}

Cao Xingdong watched the two walk away, hand-in-hand. He clutched the documents in his hands tightly and then entered the elevator and pressed the button to go down to the 16th floor. 

Yu Zhen must really like Yin Yan. He likes him so much that he can see no one but Yin Yan. He didn’t even notice me, someone standing right in front of him.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by his phone. When he saw the name of the caller, he froze. After hesitating briefly, he callously rejected the call. The elevator doors opened up and he strode through them.

The meeting went smoothly. Afterward, their plans were unexpectedly interrupted by Yin Hexiang calling and inviting them for lunch.

“I didn’t expect Old Feng would call me. He’d heard that we were working on a project which would be beneficial to students, so he’s representing a few friends and giving us calligraphy and antique books. He wants the students to be able to see the beauty of ancient Chinese culture.”

On the way there, Yin Hexiang appeared happy as he lamented, “I think Old Feng is right. It’s a pity that traditional culture is disappearing these days. We can have a traditional cultural area in our leisure center. It’ll give students access to good relics left by our ancestors.”

Yin Yan nodded and replied, “I’ll let Department Head Liu arrange for it.”

As a result, Yin Hexiang’s mood soared higher and he continued to talk about traditional Chinese culture. 

Yu Zhen rarely saw Yin Hexiang this excited and talkative. It made him curious about the man who had caused the sudden excitement with a mere lunch meeting.

Their meeting location was chosen by Old Feng. The quaint restaurant was quite far from the city, but it was in a peaceful area.

With the guidance of the waiter, they made their way to a private room on the second floor. Before they entered the room, Yin Yan tapped on Yu Zhen’s shoulder and passed his energy throughout Yu Zhen’s body. 

Yu Zhen looked up at him questioningly.

[There are cultivators inside.]

Cultivators?

Yu Zhen’s heartbeat immediately sped up. He leaned towards Yin Yan and his expression stiffened up.

After he had entered the Way, he had only met two kinds of cultivators: ghost cultivators and evil cultivators. Both were opponents that he’d had to eliminate. Yin Yan gave me a warning in advance and covered me with his spiritual energy. Is there something wrong with the cultivators in here?

“Old Feng! Long time no see!”

Yin Hexiang greeted the man enthusiastically as soon as he entered the room. There were three other people in the room besides Old Feng. Though surprised, Yin Hexiang greeted them all. 

“Boss Yin, you’re still so energetic. Have a seat, have a seat.”

The grizzled old man appeared strong and healthy. He returned the greeting with a smile and courteously but enthusiastically invited Yin Hexiang to take his seat.

Yu Zhen relaxed at the sight of the old man. Surprise was plastered on his face, Yu Zhen blurted, “The old man with a bad heart?”

All eyes in the room turned to him. Old Feng looked at him carefully before recognition dawned on him. “What a coincidence. Who would have thought we would meet here?”

Puzzled, Yin Hexiang asked, “Xiao Zhen, you know Old Feng?”

Yu Zhen nodded and summarized their meeting. “A while ago my car was accidentally scratched by someone. This old- this Grandpa Feng helped me out.” And he secretly touched my palm to read his fortunes. He even wanted to take me as his disciple.

“I see. Thank you Old Feng for taking care of my family’s child. We’ve caused you some trouble.”

Yu Zhen also hurried to give his thanks again. All the while, a smile had crept onto his face without his notice.

He had quite a good impression of the old man. Yin Yan had also said that this old man carried merits within him. He’s a good person, just like Grandpa. I can be at ease at today’s meal. 

“What trouble? There wasn’t any trouble. Our meeting was fated.” Old Feng waved his hand, motioning for everyone to be seated.

After sitting down, everyone exchanged greetings and introductions.

The person sitting on Old Feng’s left side was Bo Xiu, a middle-aged man with a refined, scholarly temperament. He dealt with antiques. On Old Feng’s right was a young man with delicate features. He had a lively temperament and his facial features were similar to that of the old man’s. He was the old man’s grandson, Feng Lin. 

And two places to Old Feng’s left…

A handsome, honest-looking man in a light gray shirt nodded to Yin Yan. “Hello, we meet again.” It was Shi Qingyuan.

“Nice to meet you.”

Yin Yan responded politely, but his attitude was not friendly.

Shi Qingyuan didn’t mind it. He looked over at Yu Zhen, then smiled and nodded. “Hello, I’m Shi Qingyuan. You can call me Qingyuan.”

Qingyuan?

Isn’t that a bit too familiar for our first meeting?

Yu Zhen glanced at Yin Yan and then politely replied, “Hello Mr. Shi. I’m Yu Zhen, Yin Yan’s… partner.”

Yin Yan inclined his head and glanced sideways at him. 

Yu Zhen acted as if nothing had happened.

“You’re both well-matched.” Shi Qingyuan still smiled warmly. His gaze swept over the red string and pagoda tower on the couple’s wrists before moving to the golden pattern on Yu Zhen’s sleeves and the pearl buttons on his shirt. “Your clothes are quite nice.”

Yu Zhen’s heart thumped loudly for a beat. He couldn’t tell if Shi Qingyuan noticed something and made that comment on purpose, or if it was a casual, thoughtless remark. Yu Zhen didn’t respond.

Shi Qingyuan continued to smile and added, “The pearls are also not bad.”

That statement was obvious, making it impossible to misunderstand the meaning behind it. Seems like this person can see that there’s something different about this shirt.

Yu Zhen finally looked at him carefully. Although Shi Qingyuan didn’t seem to have the extraordinary energy about him like Feng Yuan* or Bo Xiu, the energy around his body was quite mellow, like that of a cultivator.

^{*Feng Yuan = Old Feng}

But he’s very young?

I’m surprised. Since I started cultivating, I’ve only met old cultivators, so I subconsciously began to assume that all cultivators would be old.

Shi Qingyuan moved the prayer beads on his wrist and continued, “In my childhood, I had encountered a calamity. Luckily, a wandering monk named Qing Xu Zi was passing by and helped me, bringing me out of danger. I will never be able to forget that benefactor for saving my life.”

Qing Xu Zi? Who? It’s similar to Grandpa’s Taoist name, but there’s a one-word difference.

And Grandpa has never left H Province. So it probably wasn’t him.

Yu Zhen was puzzled, but he nodded to show that he was listening carefully.

Shi Qingyuan saw that the confusion on his face was genuine, as if what he had just said was unrelated to Yu Zhen. He stared blankly and then turned to look at Feng Yuan.

Although Feng Yuan had been talking to Yin Hexiang, he had kept an eye on the others. Seeing Shi Qingyuan look at him, Feng Yuan shook his head at the man. Then he continued discussing the leisure center with Yin Hexiang. 

“The soup here is not bad.” Yin Yan gave Yu Zhen a bowl of soup that he had ladled up. 

Attention drawn away, Yu Zhen nodded and drank the soup.

Shi Qingyuan didn’t say anything else after that, causing his presence to drop to an insignificant level. The only ones who continued conversing were the three elders at the table.

The donation of the calligraphy works was soon settled, and the host and guests enjoyed their meal.

Before parting, Shi Qingyuan finally spoke up again to ask for Yin Yan and Yu Zhen’s contact information. Then he left by himself.

With a very friendly attitude, Old Feng also asked for Yu Zhen’s contact details. 

Affected by their enthusiasm, Yu Zhen was also quite happy. 

It was the first time he had met friendly cultivators and he had met several in one go. It boosted his faith in the modern world’s cultivators.  

Yin Hexiang had other things to do, so he didn’t return to the company with Yin Yan and Yu Zhen. 

When they were finally alone on their way back, Yu Zhen asked, “Yin Yan, Shi Qingyuan had a strange-looking aura about him. Can you tell anything about his cultivation?”

“He’s a Buddhist cultivator. His cultivation is higher than Bo Xiu’s but lower than Feng Yuan’s. But there are signs that he could advance further.” Yin Yan glanced at Yu Zhen and added, “Keep some distance away from him.”

Surprised, Yu Zhen asked, “Why?”

“He has a body naturally suited for Buddhist practices, so he can see things that ordinary cultivators can’t see. We’re both incomplete souls, so our way of cultivation is different than that of this world’s cultivators.” Yin Yan watched as Yu Zhen frowned and looked uneasy. He continued, “But don’t worry about it too much. They can’t do anything to you or me.”

Yu Zhen finally calmed down from the excitement of being in love and meeting nice cultivators. Still frowning, he asked, “Can they see that you’ve reincarnated into someone else’s body? Will they act against you?”

In a rare moment of surprise, the energy around Yin Yan softened into something more gentle.

“That’s all you’re worried about?”

Yu Zhen became even more nervous. “Do we have other secrets that they could see? Is it Xu Wu? Or your mustard space?”

… He’s still so silly.

“No, with their level of cultivation, they won’t be able to see my actual situation.” Yin Yan reached out a hand and rubbed Yu Zhen’s hair. “Don’t be afraid.”

Yu Zhen touched a hand to his chest and watched the corners of Yin Yan’s mouth lift.

Yin Yan seems very happy. But why? Because of Shi Qingyuan?