Chapter 35 Half-concealed, half-revealed, half-obscure. Time flowed quietly by...

Time passed quietly. Ming Shu looked at the misty night and felt very melancholy. This place was unfamiliar... or rather, it wasn't unfamiliar, because he felt that the smell here was somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember when he had been here before. He wasn't nervous at all; instead, a strange sense of calm and peace, like returning to his hometown, rose in his heart.

Ming Shu's heart skipped a beat. He thought, "Still in Peach Blossom Valley? His hometown is Peach Blossom Valley! But..." He looked around and thought with distress, "This place is nothing like the Peach Blossom Valley in my memory."

In his memory, Peach Blossom Valley was a desolate wasteland, a barren wasteland stretching for miles, devoid of human habitation, with even birds and beasts scarce. When Ming Shu was still a little fox, he would stand alone in the ancestral hall, gazing up at the moon. In truth, the moonlight was very faint, a thin halo, like soft, fluffy white clouds. It wasn't until he went to the netherworld that he realized the moonlight could be bright enough to illuminate the way home.

The puppy will howl pitifully under the moonlight, hoping someone will come and pick him up. When he curls up and feels cold, he wants someone to hold him.

He was born in accordance with the will of Heaven, born to suppress the resentment left by the tragic deaths in Peach Blossom Valley during the war between immortals and demons. He had no parents, no relatives, only the indifferent clay statue in the ancestral hall, which witnessed his birth and growth, until one day he met Qin Wenxue.

As Ming Shu recalled this, he felt a strange sense of melancholy. Time had passed too quickly, so quickly that everything had changed, and even his memories had faded. Nine hundred years had passed, and everything in Peach Blossom Valley was now just a distant dream.

"What year is this Peach Blossom Valley from?"

There's also Peach Blossom Valley, teeming with life and fresh air. The desert is vast, and the sun sets over Peach Blossom Valley.

The wild grass under his hands was prickly, with only its sharp tips sticking out.

Ming Shu gently rubbed it with his palm, as if he had found a very fun toy, and was in a good mood.

Speaking of which, he is almost a thousand years old. It takes a nine-tailed fox a hundred years to cultivate one tail, but he already has nine tails. When he turns a thousand, he will be able to cultivate to perfection and become the first fox immortal in the Zhaoyao Continent.

Ming Shu felt a little excited at this thought, and a smile appeared on his lips. If he could become a fox spirit, he could live longer and accompany the Venerable for a longer time. Maybe when his magic power was high enough, he could even help the Venerable get rid of the cold poison. Even if he couldn't get rid of it, he could at least take the brunt of it for him.

This time, the cold poison came with great force, and all three of them almost perished in this wretched place.

"Where the hell is this place?!" Ming Shu rubbed his forehead and looked up at the sky, looking both fierce and angry, almost like a pufferfish.

The desert wind howled in the night. There was no moon or light, and it was pitch black. Ming Shu wrapped his clothes tighter around himself, curled up, and lay down next to Qin Wenxue. He felt that Shi Wenzhe was a bit domineering. He was lying down, but he was taking up most of Qin Wenxue's space and not leaving him any room at all.

"His Majesty's cool fragrance smells the best." He muttered, kicked Shi Wenzhe's foot, then snuggled closer to Qin Wenxue, lifted a corner of his shawl and covered his stomach, patting it gently. The little fox squeezed his fingers and whispered, "Sleep, sleep. When you wake up tomorrow morning, His Majesty will be awake."

His neck was a little itchy. He opened his eyes and blinked, somewhat confused. There didn't seem to be any insects during the day, so it couldn't be insects crawling on him, could it?

Ming Shu was startled and felt a chill run down his spine. He reached out and rubbed his neck with trembling hands, then looked at his empty palm and breathed a sigh of relief.

"What are you looking at?" A familiar, weak voice sounded in my ear.

Ming Shu stiffened and turned his head to look over.

"Your Excellency..." He smiled awkwardly, then shrank further into his shawl, intending to hide. Unfortunately, he forgot that he was no longer a puppy, but an adult.

No matter how wide the shawl was, he would rummage it into a messy ball, draped haphazardly over his ever-wrinkled waist and abdomen.

Qin Wenxue's eyes still held a deep weariness, and even his eyebrows and eyes were not as sharp and indifferent as usual. His hair and clothes were disheveled, so he looked like he was living a life, soft and casual.

He shook his head, still looking dizzy, then pinched the corner of his eye, focused his mind, and looked at Ming Shu with some concern: "Are you feeling better?"

"Okay...okay..." Ming Shu answered subconsciously, but his mind was still slow. When he came to his senses, he realized that Qin Wenxue had already woken up. He immediately sat up and was about to pounce on Qin Wenxue. He hugged Qin Wenxue tightly and said happily, "Your Excellency! Your Excellency! You're finally awake!"

"I'm so happy."

"Hmm." Qin Wenxue patted his back and broke free from Ming Shu's embrace, but the little dog was quite strong, and he was shaken so badly that he could only glare at him as a silent warning.

Ming Shu: "..."

He reluctantly withdrew his arms and huddled beside Qin Wenxue, not daring to move again.

Qin Wenxue picked Shi Wenzhe up from his arms. His wooden ring flashed, and a blanket appeared in his hand. After placing Shi Wenzhe down, he looked around.

The wind and sand were silent, the night was dark, and a cool breeze blew with a chill. Qin Wenxue stood up, supporting herself with her hands, and pulled out the jade hairpin from her hair. The jade hairpin slowly floated to the top of her head, attracting Ming Shu's attention. He watched as the jade hairpin emitted a shimmering white light, forming a barrier around them.

In an instant, the wind and clouds stilled, the howling sound faded away, and only the soft breathing of a few people remained within the barrier. Warmth gradually rose, and Ming Shu blew away a strand of bangs that was covering his eyes, looked brightly at the jade hairpin, and grinned foolishly at Qin Wenxue.

"Qingming is amazing." He exclaimed. This jade hairpin was made of white jade coral from the bottom of the Wuwang Sea. That coral had cultivated itself into a spirit, a three-hundred-year-old demon, hiding 108,000 miles away in the sea, and few people in the world knew about it.

Qin Wenxue was obtained by chance during the great battle with Chang Yun, the sect leader of Yichixue, in the Wuwang Sea.

That hairpin contained a wisp of the coral demon's soul, capable of purifying the world's turbid air and calming the mind. For Qin Wenxue, it was an invaluable treasure. Moreover, it was highly spiritual and could continue to cultivate alongside Qin Wenxue. It was the only one of its kind in heaven and earth.

Qin Wenxue said it could be as clear as jade, so he named it Qingming. Mingshu also thought it was very good. When he was little, he loved to lie on Qin Wenxue's head, hug the white jade hairpin and sleep, hoping that it would quickly grow into human form and play with him.

But year after year passed, and the hairpin remained unchanged. Yunjin said it must be hibernating, but he remained skeptical.

Qin Wenxue picked up the shawl and handed it to Ming Shu: "Put it on." The shawl was formed from his demonic power and was part of his body. Without the shawl, it was like a piece of clothing missing a corner, letting in the wind.

Qin Wenxue supported Shi Wenzhe's head and placed it on her lap, then covered her with a blanket and pulled down her folded sleeves to cover Shi Wenzhe's back. Shi Wenzhe huddled inside Qin Wenxue's body, and Ming Shu could only see a little bit of her messy hair peeking out from under the blanket.

Qin Wenxue released spiritual energy in her hands, gently patting Shi Wen's bent back. He lowered his head, relaxed, and quietly looked at the person in his arms. Strands of long hair slid down his cheeks, half-concealing his features, making him look hazy and intoxicating.

He seemed to be deep in thought, staring at Shi Wenzhe for a long time without even blinking. The cold touch beside him brought him back to his senses. He looked over and found that there was still some blood on his fingertips, dripping onto the clothes of the person in his arms, disturbing the sleeping person.

Qin Wenxue touched his cheek and found it smooth. The sticky bloodstains on his face had disappeared, so he guessed that Ming Shu had wiped it off for him.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the blood off his fingertips, touched the tear stains at the corners of Shi Wenzhe's eyes, and finally looked at the other's blood-soaked wrist in silence.

"Your Excellency?" Ming Shu spoke cautiously. He had a feeling that Qin Wenxue was not in a good mood. She wasn't like this when she first woke up. She suddenly became depressed. Was she angry? He couldn't say. Was it self-blame?

Ming Shu's mind tightened. His intuition told him that this was the right thing to do, but the Venerable One would never blame himself. This person always kept his word and accepted whatever the consequences might be. This was the first time Ming Shu had seen Qin Wenxue's emotions so openly displayed.

His heart was churning with emotions, and he could hardly breathe. This astonishing discovery filled him with excitement and exhilaration.

Emotions...emotions!

“That’s wonderful.” Ming Shu thought, “Since the passing of Xianhua Xinzun, finally someone has been able to touch Qin Wenxue’s closed-off heart.”

Shi Wenzhe is a nice guy, but also a bit of a jerk. Does His Majesty like people like that? He didn't know, but after thinking about himself, he realized that anything was possible, because His Majesty does like jerks.

He gave a mysterious smile, secretly eager to share the news with Yun Jin.

However, Peach Blossom Valley was fraught with danger, and Yun Jin lost contact with them, not knowing which time of Peach Blossom Valley she had been transported to.

He felt somewhat disappointed and couldn't help but worry.

Qin Wenxue patted his head and asked softly, "What's wrong?" He used his magic to examine him and found that although the demonic power in the other's demon core was scarce, it circulated freely and could recover on its own. He breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Does it hurt?"

He knew Qin Wenxue was asking about what happened when he was unconscious, so he shook his head and replied, "It didn't hurt."

Qin Wenxue's violent aura was rampant, continuously absorbing the demonic power within his body. In fact, he was fully aware of this. His demon core and meridians seemed on the verge of rupturing at that time, but the Heart Protection Mantra was protecting him, and he could feel it.

"Um."

"I'm fine, Your Majesty." Ming Shu gave a silly smile, his brow furrowing as he rubbed Qin Wenxue's hand, quite pleased with himself. He then pointed at Shi Wenzhe and reminded her, "She seems to be in trouble."

"Yes, I'm injured," he replied. Shi Wenzhe's injuries hadn't healed since entering Peach Blossom Valley; in fact, they were getting worse, which was his fault.

He examined Shi Wenzhe's pulse and found that he had no demonic power left in his body, a symptom of overexertion. His body was covered in severe injuries, with hardly any unscathed areas. Those wounds had turned into thorns, piercing his heart and causing his breathing to become disordered for a moment.

Qin Wenxue took out a pill from her bosom and put it into her mouth.

"Oh." Ming Shu tilted his head: "Made with wildflower honey?"

"Um."

It does indeed have the effect of restoring demonic power, especially since Shi Wenzhe still has many small white flowers, which can replenish the power of flowers.

Ming Shu asked, "When will she wake up?"

Qin Wenxue shook her head and said in a deep voice, "Let her get some sleep."