Dark Night's Difficult Choice

"You happened to open your Yin Aperture by chance in those days, creating the Dark Night King you are today. But a lone yin cannot endure; yin poison will forever remain. While you are in the Peering into Humanity Realm, you can still suppress it. But once you truly break through into the Peeking Void Realm, the power of your Yin Aperture will increase tenfold. You will inevitably suffer Qi Deviation, with absolutely no chance of escape."

Dark Night's body trembled violently. By a stroke of chance, she had opened her Yin Aperture as a child. Her cultivation had soared afterward, making her an unparalleled genius. She had always regarded it as a tremendous blessing, never as the noose of fate around her neck. Now she understood—it was a double-edged sword...

"There is only one way for you: find someone who has opened the Yang Aperture, and let yin and yang nourish one another. Only then can you preserve your life... In The Whole World, there are only three people I know of who have opened the Yang Aperture. One is Great General Ling Xiangtian of the Ancient Tiannan Kingdom, the second is the eminent monk Hong E of the Southwest Buddhist Kingdom, and the third is Taohua Luo, the Great Corner's Flower Thief."

Dark Night's heart turned to ashes.

She knew all three of them.

Great General of the Ancient Tiannan Kingdom—he bedded ten women each night, and not one in ten survived. While marching, if there were no women, he would even mount the warhorses.

The eminent monk Hong E of the Southwest Buddhist Kingdom might be called an eminent monk, but scarcely a single nun in the surrounding area had escaped his vile hands.

As for that Flower Thief, there was even less need to say anything. He was a genuine piece of human trash.

She actually had to engage in such sordid acts with one of those three scum?

"All things under heaven are two sides of the same coin. The pinnacle of martial arts is likewise paved with bones. I advise you to seek out the Flower Thief Taohua Luo and... afterward, kill him. No one will know of your loss of chastity, and it will not hinder your ascent to the summit."

"Adoptive Father, don't say any more. Even if I die, I..."

Suddenly, Dark Night's voice stopped. Her face turned snow-white in an instant, save for the crisscrossing Black Lines still etched across it...

She had suddenly thought of something terrifying.

She had just instructed Lin Su on the Yin Aperture!

What if he cultivated it too? Wouldn't she be harming him?

She could die, but he could not!

How could I harm him?

Absolutely not!

Without a sound, Dark Night left Haining Tower and arrived at Lin Manor. Inwardly, she cried out, Don't cultivate it! Whatever you do, don't cultivate it! Saints above, please bless him and keep him from cultivating it.

If it were anyone else, she would not have worried. Even if they tried to cultivate it, there was no way they could succeed so quickly.

But she did not trust him, because she knew just how terrifyingly fast he had broken through the Nine Profound Pass.

If he had cultivated it, she would never forgive herself for the rest of her life.

Lin Su's entire body shook. For a brief moment, he completely lost the ability to think.

He did not know where he was. He could not even remember who he was. He could not even feel his own body, yet he could sense everything around him. He seemed to still be amid the mortal world, yet also seemed to have transcended it.

Slowly, his awareness returned.

The Lin Family, the small courtyard, the utter freedom flowing through every inch of his body...

A faint wind rose. He clearly caught a figure within that wind. The figure took shape—it was Dark Night. Boundless urgency filled her eyes. "Lin Su, whatever you do, don't cultivate the Yin Aperture I told you about..."

"I cultivated it!"

Dark Night's heart instantly plunged to the bottom.

"Also, I want to tell you a secret. I found the Yang Aperture too, and opened it. I think I'm a genius..."

What? Dark Night raised a finger and pressed it against his lower abdomen. She froze like stone...

Two utterly different streams of true qi coiled and circulated within his body, changing without end...

There was no trace of yin poison. Instead, there was an aura that made her feel extraordinarily comfortable the moment she touched it—the unique yang qi brought by the Yang Aperture...

She had been one step too late. He had opened the Yin Aperture after all!

But he had opened the Yang Aperture at the same time!

My heavens...

At close range, Lin Su saw her eyes—and smelled her fragrance as well. In an instant, that hot current from the Black Flood Dragon Demon Core showed signs of stirring again...

"Dark Night, you smell so good..."

Dark Night sprang back sharply. Her finger withdrew, and she had already vanished without a trace.

"What's gotten into her now? Could she stop acting like a hedgehog? I didn't even say anything. She runs off at the drop of a hat..."

Dark Night did not hear This Sentence. She had already left the Lin Family, reached the edge of South Lake, and sunk beneath its surface.

Her Peeking Void Realm was Within reach; she simply could not suppress it.

Her original choice had been to find someone who had opened the Yang Aperture within a month and let yin and yang nourish one another.

In the present world, there had only been three people who had opened the Yang Aperture, each more revolting than the last—just like the Nine Profound Pass, the yin and yang apertures had to be opened in the Martial Ancestor Realm. Once one passed the Martial Ancestor Realm, they would forever lose all opportunity. Yet those in the Martial Ancestor Realm could not even locate the yin and yang apertures, much less open them.

Thus, every person in The Whole World who had opened those apertures had done so only by chance.

But now, there was one more person who had opened the Yang Aperture: him!

She did not need to roam the world. She only needed to...

To let yin and yang nourish one another with someone else was, to her, a difficult choice even harder than death.

But with him...

Dark Night felt heat spread through her entire body, her mind restless and her heart racing. She even needed the ice-cold lake water to calm herself down...

Ding Hai came over, signed the agreement, and left brimming with joy.

When the Lin Family learned that the secret formula had been altered, they were initially devastated. But Lin Su gave them a firm answer: Don't worry. The Lin Family Wine Factory would remain open, and Ting Rice from the riverbank would continue to be purchased. The wine they brewed themselves could be drunk, given away, sold on the streets, or sold directly to Haining Tavern, which would still buy it at the original price.

The only change was this: Haining Tower had been added as another establishment allowed to brew Baiyunbian Wine. Were they worried he would devour all the business and leave them with nothing to do? The world was vast, and the market boundless. Let alone just the two of them—even with another ten or twenty added, they still could not possibly fill the gap in the market.

For a time, everyone was happy again.

Madam Lin nodded. "San Lang, this is an excellent decision! A common man is innocent, but possessing jade makes him guilty. Secret formulas are good things, but if you refuse to hand them over, they can easily invite disaster. Just like your father—if he had not commanded a hundred thousand elite troops, how could he have drawn the civil officials' suspicion?"

Lin Su was dumbfounded. Mom, you've seen the light.

You could even grasp a supreme principle like "a common man is innocent, but possessing jade makes him guilty"?

You had truly brought great honor to women of the inner chambers.

But he did not like what Madam Lin said next. "San Lang, there are only ninety days left until the metropolitan examination. You must devote yourself to diligent study..."

The moment he heard this sort of forcing-people-to-study talk, Lin Su could not sit still. Fortunately, Old He sent word from outside that someone had come to visit...

"Who is it?"

The instant Lin Su spoke, Madam Lin shook her head. This San Lang—she had told him yesterday already. He was now the top provincial graduate; he needed to learn the proper manner of speaking. Look at those officials—which one of them spoke like him?

"Who is it?" That was how the waiter next door talked.

The proper way for a top provincial graduate to open should be: "Which esteemed person might this be?"

"Top Provincial Graduate, the prefectural governor intends to hold the Deer Cry Banquet tomorrow and hopes that you will attend on time."

Lin Su paused slightly. The Deer Cry Banquet.

He truly had not expected this.

Everywhere else had held it today; only Haining had delayed it until tomorrow. The key reason was simple: Haining's situation was exceptionally unusual. Of the Ten People qualified to attend the Deer Cry Banquet, two had been lost.

One was Zhang Haoyue. His Literary Altar had shattered—what little deer was he supposed to be now? The deer's cry had nothing to do with him. A frog-croaking banquet might suit him better.

The other was called Li Su. Yesterday, this man had run naked around the entire city three times. It was said that even today, he still refused to put on clothes. When his parents brought clothes into his room, he leapt up and shouted, "I'm trash!"

How could a Deer Cry Banquet with ten reserved seats be held with only eight people?

The prefectural governor was at his wits' end as well. In the end, he decided to add the next two in line to make up the number of ten and hold a downgraded Deer Cry Banquet. Every prefecture held a Deer Cry Banquet; this tradition had lasted for hundreds of years. They could not simply forgo it, could they?

"Please report back to the prefectural governor that this humble one has caught a chill and is unwell, lying in bed utterly unable to move. I shall not attend." Lin Su answered loudly.

Madam Lin's eyes flew wide open.

Xiao Xue and Xiao Yue, who attended her, were equally stunned.

Young Master, you said such a barefaced lie with your chest puffed out and your head held high. Were you really not ashamed?

The messenger's eyes bulged as well...

Lin Su waved a hand. "Just repeat my exact words to the prefectural governor, and that will be that. I guarantee he won't blame you. He might even praise you for handling things well."

The messenger was full of doubt. After hesitating for a long while, he gave a slight bow and left.

Madam Lin came down the steps. "San Lang, the Deer Cry Banquet is a grand occasion in the literary path. Every Young Man in The Whole World dreams of attending it. Are you truly not going?"

"Mom, the Deer Cry Banquet is essentially about leaving a good impression on officials and getting along with the scholars. Do You Think I can get along with them?"

Madam Lin stared up at the sky, dazed for a long while.

That was true. With what her son had done yesterday, he had offended half of Quzhou's Literary Altar, as well as most of officialdom. How could he possibly leave a good impression? Of the ten people attending the Deer Cry Banquet, nine probably wanted nothing more than to gnaw his flesh.

If he really attended, it would already be a blessing if no fight broke out.

"San Lang, this literary path... ah, it is difficult! I have been wondering whether it was truly right for you to set foot upon this path."

Lin Su was utterly surprised. Mom, you'd seen the light again? Now you were actually beginning to question whether setting foot upon the literary path was right or wrong?

Wasn't this change far too abrupt?

"Mom, don't worry!" Lin Su said. "The literary path is not something that dog emperor can control. He cannot block my path at all. As for those dogshit officials, there is even less reason to give a damn about them."

Madam Lin was startled. "Do not speak nonsense!"

Her gaze Cast Towards Xiao Xue and Xiao Yue behind her. "Third Young Master said nothing today, understood?"

The two women bowed at the same time. "Third Young Master caught a chill and is unwell. He has remained in the west courtyard all day and has not come out..."

Lin Su was dumbfounded. Girls, you had both seen the light too...

He turned and entered the west courtyard to go catch a chill...