Xie An pursed his thin lips slightly, placed his right hand on Xie Shuci's shoulder, and unconsciously tapped twice with his index finger.

Xie Shuci snapped his fingers in front of the shopkeeper. "Snap out of it, brother. Even if my little blind girl is good-looking, you don't have to stare at her so much that your eyes popped out."

The shopkeeper: "..."

The innkeeper coughed lightly, not daring to look at Xie An again, and said to Xie Shuci, "In short, young master Xie, before the monster is caught, please stay in your room as much as possible and do not go out to avoid causing trouble."

"No, I still need to take Xie An to the clinic for acupuncture tomorrow. The old doctor said he'll be able to hear again soon," Xie Shuci said, frowning.

The shopkeeper frowned, glanced quickly at Xie An, and hesitated. He clenched his fist, opened his mouth as if to say something, but then stopped himself.

He instructed, "I heard from Young Master Li that the monster can control poultry. Be careful when you go out, and don't linger outside."

Ah Dong, that little rascal, pulled Xie Shuci's hand down, put his hands on his hips, and said arrogantly, "Dad, Brother Xiaoci is a cultivator. Monsters can't even withstand one move from him and will kneel down and beg for mercy. You don't need to worry about him."

"..." Xie Shuci sniffed, feeling a little guilty.

His story might fool kids under seven, but any normal person would know he's just bragging.

The shopkeeper couldn't help but chuckle, ruffled Ah Dong's hair, and said, "Then you'll stay with Brother Xiao Ci for the next few days. Dad has some things to do, so don't cause Brother Xiao Ci any trouble, understand?"

Ah Dong gave a crisp reply, and the shopkeeper left.

After having lunch in the lobby, Xie Shuci and his two companions asked Adong to bring out all of his toys. The two sat on the floor and played happily.

Xie Shuci is a king of children; he gets along exceptionally well with kids and can play games that ordinary people would consider childish with great enthusiasm.

You lost!

Xie Shuci, holding his wooden "Great General," defeated all the wooden figures in A Dong's camp and raised his hands in celebration.

"Waaah..." Ah Dong sobbed twice, tears welling up in his eyes. He slowly brought his red forehead closer and begged softly, "Brother Xiao Ci, be gentle."

Xie Shuci put his thumb against his middle finger, blew on it, and flicked A Dong's forehead.

"Ah! Brother Xiaoci! It hurts so much!" Adong was almost in tears from the pain, his chubby little hands covering his forehead, his face full of accusation.

Xie Shuci laughed loudly a few times, pointed at A Dong and said, "No crying allowed, a bet is a bet!"

A-Dong pouted, angrily pushed the little wooden figure over, turned his back to Xie Shuci, and said, "I'm not playing with you anymore."

"Oh, you're still angry?" Xie Shuci poked his arm.

"Hmph." A-Dong turned around and glared at him.

"Come on, it's just a few flicks on the forehead, what's the big deal? What's a real man getting angry about?"

Ah Dong stood up from the ground in one go, dusted himself off, and ran happily to Xie An's side.

Xie An was practicing calligraphy with a brush when suddenly someone grabbed his sleeve, causing ink to drip onto the rice paper and ruining a fine piece of calligraphy and painting.

Xie Shuci also stood up, dusted himself off, and walked over to the two of them.

He glanced down at the paper. The little blind boy had beautiful handwriting, messy yet bold, free and unrestrained. As for what he wrote, Xie Shuci couldn't quite make it out.

A Dong grabbed Xie An's hand and pressed it against his own face, completely unaware that Xie An's hand had a few drops of ink on it, which he then smeared all over his face.

Before he could even begin to complain, Xie Shuci was already laughing so hard he couldn't stand up straight, his arms around Xie An's shoulders.

"Hahaha... Little kitten." Xie Shuci pointed at A Dong, his laughter wild and infuriating.

Ah Dong's face immediately turned red. He smeared the ink stains on his face with his chubby little hands, but he didn't expect to make the ink stains even more even, making him look like Bao Zheng (a famous judge in Chinese history).

"Pfft, haha..." Xie Shuci completely lacked any sense of responsibility as an older brother, his face turning red with laughter.

Ah Dong curled his lips into a sneer, and tears streamed down his face.

Xie An roughly knew that Xie Shuci was laughing. These days, Xie Shuci had been making A Dong cry a lot. He didn't need to look to know what was going on, and he was used to it. But even though Xie Shuci was such a naughty older brother, A Dong still liked to stick to him.

Xie An's expression was gentle. He patted Xie Shuci's hand and asked, "Did you bully him again?"

Xie Shuci turned her head to the side, and following his posture, gently pressed her lips to the back of his hand, saying, "This is not bullying, I was just playing around with him."

Having angered enough people, Xie Shuci led Adong to the backyard to wash their faces. When they returned, there were already several more people in the main hall.

The men were dressed in matching blue brocade robes, with swords hanging at their waists. Each of them was tall and imposing, clearly not ordinary people.

Two of the disciples were standing around Xie An, talking all at once. They probably didn't know that the little blind man couldn't hear them and thought he was deliberately ignoring them.

Xie An also noticed that there were other people around him. He put down his pen and ink and sat down at the table with a cold expression.

"Young master, where is the shopkeeper?"

Why aren't you saying anything?

"Alright, Li Bai, stop indiscriminately judging men and women just because you see a beautiful woman."

The disciple, called Li Baiyi, rolled his eyes. "Mind your own business."

Xie Shuci frowned when he saw them sitting around the little blind boy. He led A Dong over and said, "Make way, this is my spot."

His voice attracted the attention of the others. Li Baiyi stared at him with wide eyes, then suddenly slammed his hand on the table, drew his sword and pointed it at Xie Shuci, cursing, "You, surnamed Xie, dare to show your face again?!"

Xie Shuci rolled her eyes. Just by looking at their clothes, she knew they were disciples of the Li Song family.

"Why wouldn't I dare to show up? Didn't your young master tell you that we've already put aside our past grievances?"

"Pah! Young Master wouldn't—Young Master, you're here? Xie Shuci is here too..."

Just then, Li Song walked in looking exhausted. Li Baiyi was about to complain, but Li Song glanced at Xie Shuci, his gaze momentarily unfocused, and they simply looked away.

"Don't make a loud noise, the monster is still hiding somewhere," Li Song said.

After saying that, he turned around and closed the door.

The shopkeeper came down from the attic, and Li Song explained, "The demon appeared nearby last night and probably hasn't left yet. My fellow disciples and I are just going to disturb you for now."

Upon hearing that the monster was still nearby, the shopkeeper's face turned pale.

Seeing that he looked pale, Li Song comforted him, "Don't worry, the demon is not very bloodthirsty. It just had a reason for what happened. It shouldn't attack anyone else today."

The shopkeeper could only nod and led some disciples into the room to rest.

Xie Shuci also sent A Dong back to his room and sat down next to Xie An with Li Song.

Xie Shuci greeted Xie An first. Xie An grasped his hand, quietly examined him for a moment, and after confirming that it was Xie Shuci, he breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Who are they?"

Li Song poured himself a cup of tea, his gaze lingering briefly on Xie Shuci and Xie An's clasped hands before quickly looking away.

"A few disciples from the immortal sects, did they scare you?" Xie Shuci wrote in his palm.

Xie An shook his head. "No."

Li Song had been chasing monsters all night and was already exhausted, but he didn't want to go back to rest now.

Li Song still vividly remembered Xie Shuci's appearance last night: his red eyes from crying, his aggrieved expression, his calves faintly visible under his clothes, and his intimate actions with the blind man. This gave Li Song a strange feeling.

"Is this how you usually communicate?" Li Song asked.

“Yes, there’s an even simpler one. I can read lips, and Xie An can distinguish sounds by the friction of his lips against his skin and the movement of the corners of his mouth.”

Lip reading...

Rub your skin with your lips...

Li Song's face flushed red at a visible speed. He held his breath for a long time before finally managing to utter two words: "Vulgar!"

Xie Shuci rolled her eyes at him. "Are you sick in the head?"

"You're the one who's sick!"

"Yes, I have a condition that makes me attracted to men. If you insult me ​​again, I'll pass the condition on to you!"

Li Song's cheeks were practically dripping blood. "You dare?!"

Xie An froze for a moment as he played with one of Xie Shuci's fingers.

Xie Shuci was talking nonsense about the King of Glory, and Li Song couldn't argue with him. Before long, Li Song got so angry that his nose crooked.

Seeing that he remained silent with a dark expression, Xie Shuci raised his chin triumphantly.

Li Song was still sulking when he saw Xie Shuci and Xie An writing in their palms, back and forth. Finally, he couldn't help but ask, "What exactly is your relationship with him?"

Xie Shuci had no real skills but loved to hold grudges. Remembering how Li Song had chased him all over the house, he wanted to annoy him, since the little blind man couldn't hear him anyway.

"He's my lover! How can you be so clueless? Can't you see that?" Xie Shuci grabbed Xie An's hand and deliberately waved it in front of Li Song. Seeing Li Song's face turn as if he had swallowed a fly, Xie Shuci felt extremely relieved.

Xie An obediently lowered his head, his expression inscrutable.

"Xie Shuci, have you no shame?"

Xie Shuci chuckled: "Are you jealous?"

Li Song laughed angrily: "Me, jealous of him?"

"You're silly. I said you're jealous of me. You have such a handsome lover, aren't you jealous?"

Li Song's face gradually turned green. He gripped the sword at his waist, really wanting to chop the thing in front of him in half with one stroke!

Xie Shuci was also worried that he might really anger him, so he decided to back down while he was ahead.

He released Xie An's hand, not wanting to provoke Li Song any further. "Alright, I was just joking with you. Even if I wanted you to be my lover, I wouldn't want him."

Xie An frowned slightly and pursed his lips.

"I heard from the shopkeeper that the monster kills someone every other day. Is that true?" Xie Shuci asked curiously.

When the conversation turned to serious matters, Li Song's expression immediately became solemn. "Really."

"Why?"

Li Song said, "That demon has been cultivating for two hundred years, has cultivated its inner core, and possesses intelligence."

Xie Shuci felt like he was listening to a ghost story. He was scared but also couldn't help being curious, so he moved a little closer to Xie An.

However, Xie An did not place his hand on Xie An's shoulder as he had before.

Xie Shuci took his hand and placed it on his shoulder. Just as he was about to ask another question, Xie An pulled his hand back.

Xie Shuci thought he had slipped and picked it up again, but he pulled it away again.