151 Reciprocated Love

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Ja Sun was only gracious to Tang Hao on the first day. He wasn't completely healed and needed appropriate rest and stay and protection inside the dangerous Star Dou Great Forest for which he had pay now. Even Tang Yuehua was helpless for this matter. Ja Sun has had his lapses in judgment where he would seldom provide freebies, for instance, giving his first creation to Oscar without anything in return but these moments are as rare as getting caught with Ah Yin.

Two days had gone by with Tang Hao settled with the group and in total four days had passed. Ja Sun had gotten a good look at Death Spider Emperor which hadn't left its territory and had completed another mission. Ja Sun planned to absorb the reward— the mandibles of the Death Spider Emperor— or more precisely, its poison slowly and gradually. This item was useful in strengthening his blood and in turn, his entire body.

Presently, Ja Sun had yet to form a complete plan regarding the other group of Spirit Beasts he had accidentally encountered. There was no immediate benefit in going after the Titan Giant Ape. The other male Spirit Beast that would emerge from the lake would keep a human appearance while talking with the beast turned human Spirit Douluo among them. There was also a Soft-Boned Rabbit that Ja Sun assumed to be the woman's offspring just that Ja Sun had yet to confirm if they were biologically related or the woman was calling a rabbit her daughter due to a mental disease.

Either way, it would be a stretch to suppose that any of their Spirit Rings were truly compatible with him. Andy spirit master would jump at the chance of absorbing a Spirit Ring or Spirit Bone of such a quality but Ja Sun had grown to want more. And following his example, his group had become the same.

Then, Ja Sun began to find what other things of value this small group could provide. Information? Unlikely. Ja Sun didn't have the confidence to hold proper negotiations but that didn't mean he couldn't use other underhanded methods to get what he wants. But he didn't know what to ask the beasts aside from their cultivation path and the mystery of spirit bone— Its formation and drop rate.

There was a possibility of recruiting them, especially the mother who was already a human. But it was simply a thought of gaining benefit. Ja Sun had yet to think what he could truly achieve by gaining another Spirit Beast turned into Human as an ally. He already knew one and she had half of his assets now. Relationships are a scam, Ja Sun now realized... but again, it worked for him.

It was their 4th night in the woods and Ja Sun looked at his teammates.

"Are there any changes on your side?" He looked at Yuehua who shook her head with a sigh.

"There is progress but at this point, it is getting harder and harder to convey complicated thoughts. Clear Phoenix now understands many things quickly aside from the concept of breaking through the limits and capacity at the expense of possible injuries."

"Well, keep on trying. If it isn't on this trip, I will accompany you on more trips once you pass this hurdle. The competition between the teams of Spirit Hall still isn't until a few weeks," Ja Sun smiled and Yuehua nodded.

This was already the last leg of preparations for the group. It wasn't even worth calling preparations. Just the final touches. In a few remaining weeks, only Xie Xan had the chance to get a Spirit Ring since he is on the verge of becoming a Spirit Emperor, fully realizing his innate talents being resurged after absorbing the Immortal Herb of the highest quality: The Yearning Heartbroken Red.

The group then retreated inside their own tent. However, Yuehua couldn't truly meditate today. Her mind was constantly distracted and it was evident on her face, too. She would fidget while trying to focus on the connection between her and the Clear Phoenix.

"What's going on?" Ja Sun inquired as he stood up and beckoned her out of the tent, not willing to disturb others when they were cultivating, too.

Following Ja Sun out with a sigh, Yuehua remained slightly reluctant to explain the matter.

"Um... I think this is just a bad day. It's like how you simply cannot meditate and it frustrates you to no end."

"Children have that condition," Ja Sun smiled, "You don't. So what is bothering you? Is it something from within?"

Ja Sun referred to her enlightened martial soul.

"It's... Dai Mu..." Yuehua's shoulders slumped before she shook her head, "No, let's forget it, Brother Ka-ul. I don't want to talk about it."

"Alright, but it is proven that talking about your troubles eases them most of the time," He chuckled before turning around.

"Wait-" Yuehua spoke up and then looked towards Tang Hao's tent a little further away.

"I... don't want to talk about it here."

With that, Yuehua led Ja Sun into a thicket fully knowing that a spirit beast wouldn't be able to harm them.

"It's... an extremely strange and possibly vile secret that I haven't shared with anyone but... I think you're the one person who will not judge me for it," Yuehua mumbled with a deep sigh, "In fact, it is related to that game we played with your Immortal Flower. The one that Brother Xie won."

"You like Tang Hao, is that what this is about?" Ja Sun inquired. His words almost shocked and gave Yuehua a panic attack as she inquired with a quick and hushed tone.

"How did you know?"

"I knew it from the beginning when we met at the Star Luo Palace," Ja Sun shrugged. He even knew that Bibi Dong and Liu Erlong had a crush on him. But what about it. He had one plant to quench and didn't want to distract himself from the task easily. Even if this world had polygamy, relationships can be a risky factor in a team and he and Ah Yin got so super partly because of how impressed Ja Sun was by her act of 'touching' his heart and well partly... she's one of the only individuals who would insult back instead of going all spartan. In a layman's term, Ah Yin was the Monica to Ja Sun's Chandler. Now Ja Sun just had to learn and teach dirty talk, too.

"Then... ehm, you don't... feel it's wrong?" Yuehua seemed sad and looked down. But Ja Sun was quite clear on the matter only because Tang Hao wasn't part of the team.

"You just have to go for it. If the ship crashes, you have the chance to swim up and have a fresh start but... you may just cause a rift between yourself and your brother. Anyway, I thought it was something more important troubling you."

Ja Sun's words made Yuehua groan.

"Brother Ka-ul, this is important... but Brother Hao is with Sister Dai Mu..."

"You want me to kill her?" Ja Sun inquired.

"What? Why would I?" Yuehua hurriedly shook her head.

"Yuehua... you're the older one among the two of us but strangely, I do have a viable option. But then again, my only relationship currently successful is with Ah Yin so take it with a grain of salt. A Spirit Master only thrives in cultivation if he or she is free of desires, or have all of their desires they work towards eventually met.

If you want to try gaining something, equally think of the things you will end up losing. I assume that in this case, if you do manage to gain Tang Hao's... well, you know what, then you might end up losing a brother and most probably a clan that might not agree to this relationship. Is this scenario possible?"

Yuehua nodded with a pale expression.

"Well, there you have it. If the risk itself is worth the rewards and losses, do it. Who's to stop you? But then again, you could just realize the things you like about Tang Hao and find someone with similar qualities who isn't related to you by blood."

Ja Sun's words pulled a frown from Yuehua as she questioned, "What do you mean?"

"Say, a guy likes a woman with sizeable assets but she is his sister or mother... he could just find someone else's mother or sister with similar qualities and vice-versa."

Yuehua blushed, her lips twitching at Ja Sun's coarse remark but Yuehua felt that Ja Sun had a point. Of course, Ja Sun's words would have infuriated the actual professionals of counseling in his previous world but that didn't matter to him. He was just happy to help (play around) once he realized what was troubling Yuehua.

"Anyway, try not to let this affect your cultivation too much, alright?" Ja Sun patted Yuehua's shoulder encouragingly and returned with her. Instead of meditating after returning, Yuehua lied down and closed her eyes. Her thoughts unknown to anyone but herself.

The next day marked the group's fifth morning of the seven-day break they had requested in the guise of finding themselves spirit rings and their guests were ready to leave now.

Tang Hao's impatience had cost him his eighth ring for the time being since trying to break through while recovering from his injury was clearly not the smartest idea even for him. The only reason he stayed after being able to walk was to understand Tang Yuehua's journey as much as she could explain. There were many things that Yuehua simply cannot divulge to others even in her own clan because she had accepted to become Bibi Dong's teammate.

But there was one thing that even Yuehua was curious about. This was something Qian Daoliu had stated before leaving.

"Brother Hao, do you think that the disappearance of the giants in the Mountain is because of Grandpa?"

Only Tang Xiao and Tang Hao had ever met the legendary Clear Sky Douluo of the clan— Tang Chen, their grandfather.

"Who gave you that idea?" Tang Hao frowned and Yuehua shook her head, "No, I was just pondering on our history to keep myself occupied."

Tang Hao nodded.

"Brother Hao, we should leave," Dai Mu spoke up, packing away their tent and shooting a glare at Ja Sun who had a bowl of berries in his arms while sitting under the shade of a tree, all too occupied by the taste of it.

Others were practicing on their own with his only sparring partner, Liu Erlong, sleeping with her snores echoing quite a bit.

'What did I do now you presumptuous bitch?' Ja Sun rolled his eyes, not having anything nice to say for Dai Mu either.

Before Tang Hao could move, Yuehua suddenly jumped in, embracing her brother tightly. "I missed you so much, Brother... I love you."

She whispered fully knowing what would come her way as Tang Hao laughed loudly, hugging Yuehua.

"Practice well, Yuehua! Brother Xiao, me, Dad, and everyone else misses and love you, too."

Ja Sun closed his eyes. It was brutal but Yuehua was the one who asked for it so he couldn't even sympathize with her properly.

Nodding, her emotions bubbling, Yuehua used the suppressive effect of her domain on herself.

Tang Hao and Dai Mu had a quick farewell and didn't linger around leaving Yuehua silently standing in the middle of the clearing before she slowly walked over to Ja Sun and slumped beside him.

"Berries?" Ja Sun offered politely as tears soon began to silently stream across her cheeks. With a shuddering breath, Yuehua requested, "Brother Ka-ul *sniff*... please use some method to keep me from being seen as crying."

"Are you sure?" He inquired and Yuehua nodded.

Shrugging, Ja Sun used his True Yin-Yang Illusion to hide the materialization of his Skull Bone and Yuehua's image respectively. To others, Yuehua seemed to be meditating but why besides Ja Sun they didn't know. However, Ja Sun only felt a little flustered as Yuehua held her knees, constantly sniveling and crying softly. Ja Sun had to purposely let out loud yawns or munch on the berries rather savagely to keep the voice from fleeing ahead.

This again made the group question.

How could Yuehua even meditate beside the boor?

---

Their week-long vacation came to an uneventful end. For a particular reason, Yuehua was regathering her calm instead of blindly cultivating. She wasn't a young girl and knew how to process her emotions maybe better than anyone in the team aside from the fact that she had a crush on her brother. Still, it wouldn't take long for her to focus on cultivation with a reinvigorated sense of desire to compensate for the void that was left in her as of this moment.

With their return came the paperwork. In loads.

It was clear that the trip was simply the delay of the inevitable since the trio left behind wasn't willing to not leave a bit of 'experience' for the remainder of the team.

The Spirit City was quite calm but after Ja Sun's observations, Ah Yin was clearly more cautious of her surroundings even when accompanying her teammates. With no Blue Silver Grass around, there was no evident display of Ah Yin's domain but she kept it activated for most of the time.

Ja Sun and Ah Yin, despite being involved, for the moment enjoyed their privacy mainly for cultivating without being disturbed. After all, the two knew better than to get hot and heavy in a location that might possibly be a fatal destination for them.

And with the impending breakthrough, Ja Sun absorbed the 80000-year-old Hell White Tiger Left Arm Bone, reaching the peak of rank 58. This had the same effects as the time when Ja Sun absorbed its darker counterpart. The left Vajra Gauntlet had its played crystal in some areas turn lighter in the shape of tiger stripes. One dark and one light, Ja Sun's Vajra Gauntlets now looked quite unique and would give away his identity if used without disguising them. Not only that, Ja Sun could now properly estimate the spirit bone skill formed by the combination of the two arm spirit bones and he was satisfied with it.

His breakthrough served to elicit a few congratulatory sentences from the group but overall everyone was focused on themselves and the life they wanted. Xie Xan and Hu Lana were clearly ahead in this matter. In fact, Xie Xan and Hu Lana wanted to utilize their developed wealth prominently during their aggressive assassination in the Dragon Rising City to have better assets to their names.

Jun'er's and Oscar's engagement also earned Xie Xan a rough night but the result was to be expected. The couple who were happily waiting for a bastard decided to get engaged themselves.

With nobody breaking through in the coming week, Ja Sun could only apply for a leave two weeks later once...

"Why is it just the two of us?" Xie Xan grumbled and Ja Sun looked at him with a cold expression.

"Bitch, be happy that you won't be mauled by Lana this week. Enjoy."

The duo glared at each other, their destination the Great Forest once again for Xie Xan's sixth spirit ring.

"Calling me a bitch? You're the one still a Spirit King," Xie Xan crossed his arms, sneering.

"Untalented wretch, it's only because of my Heartbroken Red," Ja Sun scoffed.

"I earned it. You couldn't have even gotten its recognition!"

"Just because you're a slut for Hu Lana!"

"Who did you call a Slut?"

"You, ungrateful slut!"

They left in a fury, forgetting someone extremely important in their annoyance.

Speechless, Ah Yin looked at the two of them walking at a quick pace while constantly throwing insults at each other. Ah Yin and Ja Sun were simply the best breakthrough package and wanting great results from Xie Xan, Bibi Dong would want the couple to assist him in his breakthrough again.