The Scum Shou’s Survival Guide

Mu Yuanqing’s eyes were red.
This devil…he was actually Zong Jun!

Shixiong was so proud and lofty, like a heavenly immortal, yet he was perfectly willing to become cultivation partners with him.
And for him, he didn’t hesitate to go after the spirit jade, resulting in his spirit scattering completely. 

But this person? Not only had he not died, he joined the demonic path and put his shixiong through every imaginable humiliation and torture.
How in the world could he possibly deserve his shixiong’s love?!

The envy, rancor, and hatred in Mu Yuanqing made his eyes go frenzied.
He didn’t notice at all that he was already showing signs of a qi deviation.
He’d only just been set free after being tortured for so long.
Now the restrictions on him were released.
Without paying any mind to his own poor health, he opened his mouth and spat out the spiritual sword stored in his dantian, and then thrust it at Zong Jun!

 

 

He was going to kill this man for shixiong!

Zong Jun’s gaze was vacant.
His mind was blank except for one thought. 

So it turned out that three thousand years ago, Ye Ming died in order to save him…

 

He only died because of him…

He felt a sharp coldness in his chest.
Stupefied, he looked down and saw Mu Yuanqing’s sword running through his torso, but still he was unable to react.

Instead, Zong Jun saw Ye Ming’s face reappear in front of him.

 

In the past, he, too, ran his sword through Zong Jun’s chest in this way, but his expression wasn’t this angry…rather, it was very tranquil and apathetic, as if he were doing something insignificant.

His eminent, unsullied countenance was like the bright moon up in the sky.
His apathetic gaze was like the dense mist above the ocean.
The fingers wrapped around the sword were long and slender.
The silver clouds embroidered on his white sleeves fluttered like ripples in water.
Even when doing something so callous…his graceful bearing suffered no damage.
He was neither sad nor happy.

Zong Jun loved him and hated him.
Bitterness and hatred pushed him to return from hell and turn into a devil.

But…after doing something so cruel, how can you tell me that you didn’t actually want to do it and that you love me? And a blink of an eye later, throw away your life for me? 

So was I completely in the wrong?

Are the heavens simply making a fool out of me? Testing me?

[Ding, Zong Jun’s blackening value -20, current blackening value 20]

Ye Ming was unable to stop Mu Yuanqing in time.
He didn’t expect him to recklessly raise his sword to Zong Jun, and that Zong Jun would not dodge.
He undoubtedly could’ve dodged, but he didn’t… 

Ye Ming rushed over and wrapped his hands around Mu Yuanqing’s.
Between the tremors in his voice was a steeliness.
“Stop!”

Mu Yuanqing’s eyes were still burning with hatred.
He looked at Ye Ming with indignation and confusion.
“Shixiong, do you still love him? If he was still alive, why didn’t he come back to look for you? Why didn’t he come back…?”

Suddenly, Mu Yuanqing choked up.
His voice was hoarse, and the rims of his eyes were red.
“If he came back, you wouldn’t have gone after the spirit jade, and you wouldn’t have…”

You wouldn’t have died.
None of this would’ve happened. 

Ye Ming’s expression changed slightly.
He seemed to be remembering events from long ago.
He lowered his voice.
“It’s not like that…”

Mu Yuanqing laughed bitterly.
“Then what? Did you not go after the spirit jade for him?”

 

Ye Ming paused.
It was true that that was why he went, but…that was his responsibility.
It had nothing to do with Zong Jun.
What happened back then had always remained the most painful scar in his heart.
He didn’t want to speak of it again to anyone, but he didn’t want Mu Yuanqing to wrongly blame Zong Jun anymore.

Ye Ming was silent for a long time, before he finally said, “That was what I owed him.” 

Mu Yuanqing didn’t understand.
Zong Jun was very good to Ye Ming, so it was understandable that Ye Ming would be good to him too.
But now, after Zong Jun tormented and humiliated him like that, no matter how good he’d been to him, it all cancelled out.

Ye Ming could tell what Mu Yuanqing was thinking.
He sighed, and with a look of sorrow in his eyes, he slowly said, “I killed him myself.”

Mu Yuanqing’s eyes widened.
For a split second, he thought he’d misheard.
This was even more unbelievable to him than the realization that the Demonic Lord was Zong Jun.

Ye Ming’s gaze was sad and helpless.
Slowly, he said, “Leave.
Don’t worry about me anymore. Shifu has been very worried about you…” 

But Mu Yuanqing was frozen in place, unable to budge.

Ye Ming surmised that he wouldn’t attack Zong Jun again.
At present, there was no time to say much else to Mu Yuanqing.
He quickly supported Zong Jun’s body and pulled Mu Yuanqing’s sword out.
He immediately pressed down on the wound and summoned his spiritual power to heal it.

As he surveyed Zong Jun’s state, Ye Ming felt endlessly worried.
But he was already very weak himself—how could he attend to Zong Jun? He could only call the demonic cultivators on guard outside, who immediately came in.

When they saw Zong Jun’s wounds, they all turned pale with fright and then glared angrily at Mu Yuanqing. 

But Mu Yuanqing didn’t react at all.
From start to finish, he was rooted to his spot, motionless.
The truth shouldn’t have been like this…How could it be this way…

Zong Jun’s eyes were unfocused.
He felt like he was in some other space.
The things that the people next to him were saying and doing seemed to be happening through some barrier…He could hear them, yet he also couldn’t…

He seemed to see Ye Ming anxiously obstructing Mu Yuanqing and then worriedly healing his wound, holding him up, protecting him…

But he thought it might not be so bad to die like this. 

Right when he was about to give up, he seemed to hear Ye Ming saying something next to him with worry in his eyes.
His mouth opened and closed…but he couldn’t hold on anymore and finally closed his eyes and collapsed.

Ye Ming’s slow fall to the ground was like a switch being flipped.
It finally pulled Zong Jun back to cruel reality.

He remembered.
Ye Ming was injured, badly…badly…

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection.
If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Ibcu Aec nlbifcais mbeutfv eq yibbv.
Lf uijcmfv ja atf jcugs vfwbclm meialnjabgr jgbecv tlw, jcv ribkis tlr ujhf kfca yjmx ab yflcu vluclolfv jcv ecoffilcu.
“Ofa Ze Tejcdlcu ifjnf.
Rb bcf lr jiibkfv ab abemt tlw.” 

He was Ye Ming’s most treasured shidi.
If he died here, Ye Ming would be sad…

Sjmt bo atf vfwbclm meialnjabgr uijgfv ja Ze Tejcdlcu klat tbralilas.
Ktlr glutafber meialnjabg vjgfv lcpegf atf fraffwfv Obgv lc atf Gfnli’r Ujijmf! Qtja j tewliljalbc ab atfw! Ktfs tjafv atja atfs mbeivc’a fja tlw jilnf jcv obgmf tlw ab fzqfglfcmf atf qjlc bo tjnlcu tlr rbei yflcu obgmlyis abgc jkjs jcv gfolcfv, yea rlcmf atf Obgv vlvc’a jiibk la, atfs tjv cb mtblmf yea ab tbiv atfwrfinfr yjmx.

 

After giving out the order, Zong Jun picked up the unconscious Ye Ming and brought him back to his bedchamber, ensuring that he was totally safe.
Finally, the last of his strength ran out, and he, too, closed his eyes and collapsed.

……………… 

Some time later, Zong Jun slowly woke up.

He was absent-minded for a long time, before he finally remembered everything.
He turned and saw a lofty white-clothed man sleeping quietly next to him.
His appearance was exactly the same as it used to be, his expression peaceful.

But Zong Jun couldn’t even lie to himself.

Because the jade in between Ye Ming’s brows reminded him that the man he loved had already died once.
His current body was only a cage that he personally created for him based on his memory of him. 

The green jade that used to be so beautiful was now gray and dusky.
A prominent crack split down the middle of it, reminding him of the irreversible mistake he’d made.

Zong Jun felt his eyes burn, but in the end, no wetness flowed out, because he was already used to staying strong and cold.
He was used to fighting in the perilous demonic domain; in order to survive and get stronger, he abandoned his conscience.
He would rather die than bow his head…And now, after so long, he no longer knew what it meant to be weak.

He slowly reached out and gathered Ye Ming into his arms.
He dipped his head and pressed his cold lips to that cracked jade.

The kiss was very, very light.
Gentle and restrained.
Ye Ming didn’t react.
He was still in a deep sleep. 

But Zong Jun’s heart went cold.
He hurt so badly his blood felt like it was going to freeze…

Not only did I not know about this, I snatched it away and turned it into a cage that imprisoned you, bound your soul, cut off your foundation, and destroyed your immortal path.
I trapped you inside of a mere jade disk to suffer a life worse than death.

You wanted to use it to save me, yet I turned it into the source of infinite suffering for you…

Zong Jun closed his eyes.
His physical injuries didn’t hurt even a fraction as much as his heart did.
What kind of trick had fate played on him for things to stand as they did today? 

If I hadn’t brought you to those ruins, would none of this have happened?

Would we still be loving cultivation partners…? 

Slowly, Zong Jun drew his arms to his chest, as if he wanted to use up everything he had to feel the warmth of the person in his embrace.
But Ye Ming’s body was cold.
The damage to the spirit jade had devastated his cultivation, and his body was slowly deteriorating…But how am I supposed to save you this time?

He held him like this in the quiet hall, like an ancient sculpture, the two of them becoming one. 

Suddenly, Ye Ming twitched.

Zong Jun looked down to see Ye Ming’s eyelashes fluttering.
Slowly, he opened his eyes, but his eyes were only listless and pained.
His thin lips parted to let out hurt wimpers.
He shifted slightly closer to Zong Jun and tilted his head up to kiss him.

 

Zong Jun was motionless.
His eyes were a landscape of deathly stillness.
This kiss felt frenetic, hurried, driven by pain, mindless…

This is the evil that I brought about.
Even though you’re already injured and dying, even when you’re deep asleep…you’ll still be spurred on by instinct and woken up by the pain.
Even if your body is the only thing that remains, it can never, ever be freed…  

This is what I’ve done…

My most beloved, you say that whenever there’s a cause, there’s an effect.
Then I should be the one to bear the evil effects that I caused.

Aside from intercourse, there’s another way I can relieve your pain.

And that is my heart’s blood. 

Zong Jun lowered his head and gently kissed Ye Ming’s lips.
His gaze was tender and loving.

[Ding, Zong Jun’s blackening value -10, current blackening value 10]

………………

Mu Yuanqing stood outside of the dungeons of the Devil’s Palace.
He hadn’t even changed his clothes; he just stood there pitifully, as if he’d lost his soul. 

All around him, demonic cultivators watched him vigilantly.
Though they all wished they could kill this damned righteous cultivator that didn’t even know what was good for himself, the Lord had specifically instructed them not to touch him.
Thus, they didn’t dare act recklessly.
If they defied their Lord, he would flay them alive.

Mu Yuanqing stood for a day and a night.
Finally, he lifted his head and walked toward the exit, but not even a few steps later, he stopped.

The demonic cultivator watching over him coldly said, “The Lord has said that you can leave.
The way out is that way.
No one will touch you, so hurry and beat it.”

But Mu Yuanqing didn’t move; instead, he asked impassively, “Where’s the Demonic Lord?” 

Impatient, the demonic cultivator snapped, “What does that have to do with you? Beat it, beat it!”

Mu Yuanqing stared at him coldly.
“I asked you where the Demonic Lord was.
I want to see him! And I won’t leave!”

The demonic cultivator was startled.
He didn’t expect that not only would Mu Yuanqing not leave, he would also be so unbridled.
Immediately, his gaze grew colder.
“What, you plan on staying? Do you really think we’re afraid of touching you? Laozi has long since found you hypocrites to be an eyesore.”

At present, Mu Yuanqing was no match for these demonic cultivators, but he wasn’t afraid in the slightest.
He seemed to have already stopped caring about life or death.
He repeated, “I want to see the Demonic Lord.” 

All the demonic cultivators were speechless.

Coldly, Mu Yuanqing said, “He said I could leave, but he never said I couldn’t stay.
I’m his guest right now.
Obstructing me like this, not even willing to pass him a message—aren’t you worried he’ll punish you when he comes back out?”

 

Fuck, he seemed to have a point…The Lord only said he could leave and that they weren’t allowed to hurt him, but he didn’t say anything else.
If they acted on their own initiatives, what would they do if the Lord came out and was displeased?

The demonic cultivators glanced at each other and decided to ask Zong Jun for instructions to avoid making a mistake. 

And so Mu Yuanqing was brought before Zong Jun’s bedchamber.

The demonic cultivator hesitated for a long moment.
Finally, he cautiously called out toward the inside of the bedchamber, thinking that if the Lord wouldn’t grant him an audience, he would definitely make this righteous cultivator regret it before tossing him out.
But Zong Jun answered very quickly, letting Mu Yuanqing go in to see him.

The demonic cultivator let out a sigh.
Good thing he hadn’t been impulsive earlier.
He didn’t dare act rudely toward Mu Yuanqing anymore and impassively sent him inside.

There was not a soul in sight in the bedchamber, and there were typically no servants there.
It was empty…and only housed Zong Jun and Ye Ming.
So on his way in, Mu Yuanqing didn’t run into anyone.
He passed through the spacious chamber hall, made his way along the black jade floors, and finally reached the innermost room. 

The door wasn’t closed, and it opened up with a gentle push.

Mu Yuanqing looked up and suddenly stopped in his steps.

In the center of the room, in the middle of the winding gauze curtains, a grave man in black robes sat with a lofty white-robed man in his arms, staring at him tenderly and lovingly.
The light from outside spilled onto them and seemed to cast a shining halo around them.

One in black, one in white.
One cold, one warm.
Yet they formed a harmonious whole.
It seemed as if there couldn’t have existed a more fitting pair than the two of them. 

This should’ve been a beautiful scene, but Mu Yuanqing felt a boundless grief and helplessness contained in it.
Like a queen of the night nearing the end of its brief bloom, it made spectators gasp at its beauty and sigh in woe.

It made outsiders unable to set foot among them.

Originally, Mu Yuanqing was filled with hatred, but if Zong Jun’s death had really happened the way shixiong said…

Then who was right and who was wrong? Who was to say? 

At the very least, he wasn’t entitled to say.

Mu Yuanqing stood rooted in place.
He didn’t know why he was set on seeing Zong Jun and shixiong, nor did he know what he could do at this point…Finally, he saw Zong Jun slowly turn toward him.

That solemn face was not like the former Zong Jun’s, but the warmth in his deep blue eyes made Mu Yuanqing feel like he was looking at the former Zong Jun again.

That perpetually quiet and reliable man that always stood guard next to Ye Ming. 

In that split second, Mu Yuanqing felt like Zong Jun had returned.
Indeed, he wouldn’t hurt Ye Ming anymore.
But he also felt that the price was perhaps disastrous.

Zong Jun’s gaze was gloomy and unfathomable as he looked at Mu Yuanqing and slowly asked, “Why didn’t you leave?”

 

Mu Yuanqing opened his mouth.
A long moment later, he rasped, “I…was worried about shixiong…”

“Oh.” Zong Jun nodded, his expression calm and genial, his voice low and heavy.
“Since you’re worried, you can stay here if you’d like.
You can come and go whenever you want.” 

Mu Yuanqing pursed his lips and hesitated for a moment.
He said, “I want to stay.”

Zong Jun stopped paying attention to Mu Yuanqing.
He looked down at the person in his arms.
He’d already looked at this face for thousands of years, but somehow, he never seemed to get enough of it, never seemed to get tired of it.
He just wanted to keep looking at it forever and ever…

Mu Yuanqing suddenly felt choked up.
He clenched his fists, turned around, and left.

……………… 

When Ye Ming woke up, two days had already passed.

[Ye Ming: Ge, did the blackening value go down by a lot?]

[888: It went down.
There are only 10 points left.]

[Ye Ming: Perfect! I just knew this trick would work!] 

[888: …] He didn’t even have the strength to curse at this spicy chicken anymore.
He was seriously too lazy to pay attention to him.

[Ye Ming: But it’s so weird, why hasn’t my body experienced an attack? It’s already been so many days.
Zongzong should have replenished me with the energy of love by now.]

[888: He already has.]

[Ye Ming: What Σ(°△°|||)︴I couldn’t feel it at all! I slept that deeply?] 

[888: Don’t overthink it, because he used an even better method to replenish your energy.
Guaranteed no pain or sensation.
Aside from papapa, Zong Jun’s heart’s blood works even better and lasts longer.
He gave you spiritual blood from his heart, so naturally you wouldn’t have another attack.]

[Ye Ming: …]

[Ye Ming’s voice grew feeble: An alternative like that existed?]

[888: Yes.
Are you pleasantly surprised?] 

[Ye Ming: …]

[888: So don’t worry, he’ll help solve your problem.
Cold.jpg]

 

[Ye Ming: …]

[Ye Ming: 5555 I don’t like drinking blood, I don’t like this method.] 

[888: If you don’t like to drink blood, then what do you like to “drink”?]

[Ye Ming: …How could I say it out loud?]

[888: …] mmp

Ye Ming thought papapa was better than Zong Jun taking out his own heart’s spiritual blood.
It was green and eco-friendly, had no side effects, and was a renewable resource, and it didn’t hurt anyone to use it often… 

Drinking the blood upset his conscience a little bit.

Distressed, Ye Ming opened his eyes, and found that he was, to his surprise, alone in the room.

He propped himself up from the bed and padded outside, barefoot, where he just so happened to see Zong Jun heading in.
Both of them froze, standing in place.

They were separated for only one night, yet it felt like it was a lifetime ago. 

A long moment later, Zong Jun was the first to take another step, walking toward Ye Ming.
His dark eyes were warm.
If you didn’t look too closely, you wouldn’t notice that grief and helplessness hidden inside.
He said, “You’re awake.
Are you hungry?”

Ye Ming’s lips moved.
His memories were still stuck on the moment before he passed out when Mu Yuanqing’s sword stabbed Zong Jun.
Looking worried, he said, “Your injury…”

Zong Jun smiling, shaking his head.
“I’m fine.
Mu Yuanqing’s strike didn’t have any spiritual force behind it.
It didn’t hurt me.”

This was the truth.
Mu Yuanqing’s strike didn’t manage to hurt Zong Jun’s cultivation.
It was equivalent to an ordinary person’s sword strike and wasn’t even as bad as the damage he sustained when his blood flowed in reverse from shock.
The true injury came from him taking out his heart’s blood. That hurt his cultivation…but Ye Ming didn’t need to know that. 

Ye Ming lowered his eyes.
He found that he didn’t quite know what to say.
Now, their misunderstandings were smoothed out, and Zong Jun no longer hated him, but…could they still be like they were before?

Probably not…

Zong Jun understood that Ye Ming found it hard to face him, but he was the same.
It was just that no matter how difficult and painful this path was, one couldn’t give up on it so easily.

Maybe nothing he did could make up for the damage done to Ye Ming, but he wanted him to live on… 

He would do whatever he could to let him live on…

Zong Jun swallowed down his despair and powerlessness and told Ye Ming, “Mu Yuanqing wouldn’t leave.
He said he wanted to stay here with you, and I agreed.
He’s free to come and go as he pleases.”

 

For a moment Ye Ming was stunned.
Then he nodded.

As long as Mu Yuanqing was safe, Ye Ming had no right to interfere with his freedom.
He just felt sorry for dragging Mu Yuanqing into the middle of his own grudges. 

Zong Jun smiled and gazed at Ye Ming warmly.
“Is there anything else you want to know?”

Ye Ming shook his head.

Zong Jun took Ye Ming out to eat.
The delicacies of the demonic domain were no worse than the outside world’s.
Furthermore, the various rare plants and minerals in Zong Jun’s possession were of the highest quality, as he was the Demonic Lord.
As they ate, Mu Yuanqing joined them.

Mu Yuanqing seemed to still harbor ill feelings toward Zong Jun.
His attitude toward him was estranged, though he didn’t do anything excessive again.
Rather, he ignored Zong Jun and spoke only to Ye Ming.
As he did so, his tone and bearing were intimate, just the way they used to be. 

Days like these…really made it feel like they were in a dream.

A few days passed in this manner.
One time, after a meal, Zong Jun placed a cup of medicinal tea in front of Ye Ming.
He was wearing an expression of slight unease, and his gaze was pained.
Heavily, he said, “This is medicinal tea I brewed for you.
You won’t suffer any attacks if you drink it.”

Ye Ming gazed down at the tea.
It was a clear amber color and suffused with a thick fragrance.
It seemed to be very precious.

Ye Ming, however, didn’t drink it immediately.
Instead he said to Zong Jun, “You don’t actually have to go to so much trouble for me.” 

Finally, Ye Ming gingerly held the teacup up to his nose and took a gentle sniff.
Suddenly he sighed.
“I won’t drink this cup of tea.”

Zong Jun abruptly stood up with his fists clenched.
He was like a trapped beast, his tone pained and dispirited.
“Why won’t you drink it? Do you want to…” To endure the pain of not having control over your own body?!

With a faint smile, Ye Ming asked, “What kind of tea is this?”

Zong Jun answered, “It’s herbal tea I brewed for you.” 

Ye Ming stared at him for a long moment.
Suddenly, he let go.
The teacup fell to the ground, and the tea spilled all across the floor…He looked up, fixing his eyes on Zong Jun.
His gaze seemed to contain endless sorrow.
“Do you think I’m that easily fooled?”

Zong Jun’s expression immediately froze on his face.