To Raise A Soul Chapter 28 Part1

Entering the way

Deep within his meditative state, Yu Zhen felt as if he had become a seed that was suspended in midair by a hazy fog, with no idea where he was floating off to. 

He wanted to be beside that person.

That vague thought surfaced in his mind as he drifted with the fog. As the fog became denser, his consciousness became cloudier.

At the bottom of an abyss full of poisonous insects and dark energy, a thin and injured man laid face-down in a corner with his rotting injuries. The spiritual energy on his body slowly disappeared as dark energy surrounded him like a menacing demon.

In this h.e.l.lish landscape that all cultivators avoided, a gale of wind blew through and a second person appeared. 

Hearing movement, the thin man raised his head, not without difficulty. His dantian had shattered. His cultivation was lost. His remaining time was limited. Despite those facts, his eyes held an honest and honorable light. With a gaze fixed on the one approaching him, his lips parted to begin speaking. Having not spoken for a long time, his words came out a little hoa.r.s.e and unpleasant. "Who are you?" 

The visitor was a tall and slim man dressed in white.

Limited by his angle of vision, the thin man was unable to see the other man's face clearly. He could only see fluttering robes as the other man came closer. 

“And who are you?”

The visitor didn't answer his question but asked one instead. The sound of the calm and cool voice lingered and was slow to fade away. In the h.e.l.lish landscape, the dark energies lightened slightly.    

The act of raising his head had used up the last of the thin man's strength. He lowered his head and gently closed his eyes. With a self-mocking smile, he said, "As you can see…I'm merely a man waiting at death's door."

Warm spiritual energy gently enveloped him. The man in white drew closer as he released the spiritual energy. With a calm voice, he spoke words that ignited the thin man's hidden desire to survive and his unwillingness to die.

"Our encounter is the result of karma. I can grant you one request. What is your wish?"

His body suddenly filled with strength, the thin man raised his head again. He could finally see the other man's face. He moved a bloodstained hand and clutched at the man's rune-embroidered robes. The other man's expression contained neither joy nor sadness, but a merciful look was visible through his eyes. "Live! I want…to live!"  

The man in white looked at the strong negative energy that was suddenly emitted from the wretched body. Lowering his eyes, he restrained all emotions and said, "Okay…I'll fulfill your wish."

It's fine if you become an immortal. It's also fine if you become a demon. As long as you wish to survive, I'll always support you.

[Xiao Zhen, live. Live well.]

[Your destiny and mine are connected. We'll live together and die together. Yu Zhen, Keep living. Don't give up on yourself].

[Xiao Zhen…Life is quite long.]

“He has clearly reincarnated so why has this negative energy…”

“Meow.”

The thick fog dispersed, revealing a brilliant field of flowers. A seed, suspended in midair, gently floated its way down to the ground before it sank itself into the earth.

With the sun's rays on his face, Yu Zhen comfortably rubbed against the warm body in front of him. He opened his eyes in a dazed state.  

"Good morning. Congratulations on entering the Way."

Early morning. Handsome man. Four entangled limbs… And no clothes.

Yu Zhen's eyes snapped open. Like a startled rabbit, he shot across to the other side of the bed while somehow remembering to bring the blankets with him. As he did so though, he accidentally loosened Yin Yan's pajamas, revealing a captivating body. 

"You – I…We…" 

He pointed a trembling finger at Yin Yan as his ears turned red and his mind turned to mush. "Last week, you suddenly entered a meditative state. After forty-nine days in the paG.o.da tower, you've successfully entered the Way. The filth cleansed from your body had dirtied your clothes, so I removed them for you."

Yin Yan explained calmly, speaking neither too quickly nor too slowly. Without hurrying, he pulled his pajamas back into place, slipped off the bed and put on his slippers. Turning to look at Yu Zhen, he added, "The process of entering the Way was completed within Xu Wu's body, but the flow of time there is different from that of the outside world. As Xu Wu is still weak, forty-nine days in the tower is equivalent to one week outside of it. Get up and wash up. We should go home to let everyone know we're safe and sound."

Entering the Way? Forty-nine days? Within Xu Wu's body? Inside the tower? Outside the tower? What is this craziness?

Yu Zhen was at a loss. I had only fallen asleep. He felt unable to make sense of the world.

One hour later, the two were seated in the living room of the Yin family's home, guiltily accepting Qiu Feiqian and Yin Hexiang's lectures. 

"Why didn't you tell us you'd changed your phone? We couldn't call you and no one answered the door when we went to visit you. I was so worried I almost called the police!" Qiu Feiqian appeared a little haggard. It was obvious she'd had very little rest in recent days. "Tell me, when you went out to play, how could you leave without letting us know? You two are just…"

"Sorry, we've made you worry." Yu Zhen guiltily lowered his head and admitted his mistake.

The main culprit for the loss of contact was me. If I didn't suddenly enter the meditative state, Yin Yan wouldn't have immediately taken me into the paG.o.da tower. He was so rushed he didn't even consider leaving a message for the family.

"It's outrageous!" Yin Hexiang scolded. 

Yu Zhen's head lowered further when he heard those words. He contritely repeated, "Sorry."

Qiu Feiqian restrained her anger. Momentarily switching targets, she turned to her husband, swatted him and grumbled, "You're a grown adult! Why are you scaring the kids?"

"I meant Yin Yan's behavior is outrageous!" Yin Hexiang quickly explained. Looking at Yin Yan, he felt compelled to continue scolding. But, noticing Yu Zhen's apologetic state from the corner of his eye, he decided to hold back his criticism. Standing up, he said, "Follow me to the study!" 

Yu Zhen stood up and was about to follow but Yin Yan pulled him back down. 

"He wasn't talking about you." After standing up, he turned to Qiu Feiqian and said, “Mom, I'm going to talk with Dad in the study. Yu Zhen hasn't had breakfast yet. Could you ask Hu Ma to make something for him?”

“You little rascal…” Annoyed by Yin Yan's unrepentant and righteous att.i.tude, Qiu Feiqian was tempted to pitch in a few more words about his inappropriate behavior. However, when her gaze landed on Yu Zhen again, she swallowed down her words. Glaring at Yin Yan, she said, "Got it! Quickly go upstairs! Don't let your dad wait."

Soon it was only Yu Zhen and Qui Feiqian in the living room. Yu Zhen was about to apologize again but Qiu Feiqian dismissed it with a wave of her hand. With a helpless sigh, she moved closer to pull him up and said, "This child. Why are you so honest and sincere…? Nevermind. It's fine as long as nothing happened. Let's go and have breakfast."

As their 'loss of contact' was a very big offense, Yin Hexiang gave his son a stern lecture and immediately ended Yin Yan's holiday. He handed the themed shop project in West City to Yin Yan and ordered him to report to the head office next week. 

"If you can't make the project a success, don't even think about entering the company. You'll have to start back up on your own – make your own business from scratch and rely on yourself.” 

After throwing down harsh words, Yin Hexiang left for work with an air of righteous authority. Immediately afterward, Qiu Feiqian left with Yu Zhen to buy goods for the upcoming Lunar New Year.

Yin Yan waited beside the door, so when Qiu Feiqian shut it as she left, a blast of cold air blew into his face and he froze on the spot. 

With impeccable timing, Yin Le appeared from around a corner and asked, "Da Ge*, why didn't you leave with them?"

*Big brother 1

Yin Yan looked at him calmly but silently.

“…”

Yin Le felt a cold chill on his neck and thus quickly slipped away.

When they arrived at the supermarket, Yu Zhen finally witnessed what Yin Le meant by 'once she starts shopping, she can't be stopped'. With a dumbstruck expression on his face the whole time, he obediently trailed behind with the shopping cart, 

It's completely different from how other families shop for New Year goods. From start to end, Qiu Feiqian only looked at food and tonics. Although she didn't even spare a glance on other items, the cart was filled to the brim.

"Let's take these for now. Xiao Zhang and Old He, take these to the car. We won't need you two to follow us anymore. Leave one car. I want to take Xiao Zhen to the shopping mall," Qiu Feiqian instructed. The two chauffeurs took away the cart of purchases and left her a set of car keys as requested. 

Until then, Yu Zhen had no idea that when they had left the house, another car had followed along. He finally understood why Qiu Feiqian specifically called the chauffeurs over and instructed them to start up the cars.

"Mom, you still want to go to a mall?" Yu Zhen trembled as he asked the question. He had a bad premonition.

Qiu Feiqian gave him a look which said 'of course'. "A new year brings new winds. We can't wear old clothes. And you also look like you've grown a bit taller. Your old clothes probably don't fit very well so Mom will buy you a few new ones."

Grown taller?

Surprised, Yu Zhen looked down at himself and found that he really did grow taller. But only by a little bit since his trousers were just a tad shorter than expected. 

I'm surprised that it was noticed.

"Xiao Le just happened to have grown taller, and Xiao Yan has filled out a little and is closer to how he was… We need to buy quite a lot of things. So we have to make the most of our time." As Qiu Feiqian spoke, she realized Yu Zhen was dumbly staring at himself. Smiling, she poked at his forehead and asked, "What's wrong? Are you scared? You don't want to go shopping with Mom?"

"That's not it." Yu Zhen snapped back to reality, feeling slightly embarra.s.sed. Feeling a warmth in his heart, he smiled and replied, "Of course not… Mom. I'll drive, you can rest."

After entering the Way, not only did Yu Zhen grow taller but, because his body was cleansed by the spiritual energy and merits, his skin had also become much better and even his eyes seemed brighter and more focused. The atmosphere around him became gentle and his youthfulness was replaced by a more mature and refined appearance.   

Qiu Feiqian was completely dazzled by his smile. When she returned to her senses, her mood abruptly improved. Looking at Yu Zhen's neat and good looking appearance, she handed him the keys, "Here. Mom will listen to you and rest a little." 

The two continued shopping until the sky had turned dark. 

As soon as the door was opened, Yin Yan was there to help bring things in. After his gaze swept past Yu Zhen's rosy face, which was filled with happiness and a smile, he insipidly asked, "You had a good time?"

"En. There was an event at the mall today. It was very lively," Yu Zhen replied while removing his scarf. As he finished speaking, he noticed a stifled feeling in his heart. Puzzled, he placed a hand over his heart. When he looked up, Yin Yan had already disappeared. After a moment's pause, he became even more puzzled. 

Where is he? Why did he disappear? 

"Seriously, this child. He runs away after taking half the stuff," Qiu Feiqian muttered as she took off her shoes. 

When Hu Ma heard those words, she chuckled quietly. Looking back at the living room, she whispered, "Madam, I think the Elder Young Master is angry. This morning, after you and Young Master Yu left, Elder Young Master sat in the living room for a long time. He had a tablet with him, but he was just blankly staring at it. I think he was waiting for you two. As soon as you got home, he dumped the tablet on the sofa."

Qiu Feiqian looked in the direction of Hu Ma's pointing finger. There was indeed a lone tablet on the sofa. She found it both sweet and funny. 

"He wanted to go out with us but didn't say a word. It's not like we would be unwilling to take him. When did he grow to be so clingy and childish?" She looked at Yu Zhen then patted him. Poking fun at the situation, she continued, "Quickly, go coax your childish husband."

Translator(s): Epsea
Editor(s): Miiya
Proofer(s): Avalie

Footnotes:

哥(ge) = Older brother. Can be used for any brother who is older.
哥哥(ge ge)= A more formal version of 哥. Can be used for any brother who is older.
大哥 (da ge)= Oldest brother. Not just for any brother – it's only for the very oldest brother. 

'Brother' isn't restricted to blood relatives. It can be used for other brotherly relations.h.i.+ps too. Yin Le tends to use 'ge' and 'da ge'. 

If there are other older brothers, they can be referred to as:
二哥 (er ge) = Second oldest brother.
三哥 (san ge) = Third oldest brother.
四哥 (si ge) = Fourth oldest brother.
Where 二三四 are the numbers two, three and four…I'm sure you can spot the pattern.

Examples of usage of the terms with some excellent 哥哥s:
大哥 : Bing-ge
二哥 : Lan er-gege
三哥 : San Lang (no official 'ge' in his 'name', but we have the 'san' and we know the implications.)

If you're interested in finding out how to p.r.o.nounce ‘ge', there's a handy video below. I'm pretty sure that if I didn't know Mandarin, I'd think of it as 'gee' as in ‘The Bee Gees'. Which is…very different from reality XD.