Chapter 64 The Age When Copying Books Was at Its Peak

(64)

The less evil thoughts Shang Xinglan reveals, the more evil thoughts he suppresses.

Eeron has existed since his birth and knows all his dark, unspeakable thoughts, those private emotions he hides in his heart and never reveals to others, which are the nourishment that sustains Eeron.

For example, on the day he fell off the cliff, Shang Xinglan was at his most vulnerable, which was also when Erlong was at his strongest. Erlong could even tempt him to choose to become a demon in order to survive.

His hatred for Chu Li was a thousand times more intense than the resentment and anger he felt when the Shang family head severely punished him.

The evil thoughts of each previous ascendant were mostly related to saving the world or painful past events. The Heavenly Yin Maiden was not as important to them as Chu Li was to Shang Xinglan. She was so important that in their evil thoughts, nothing else was worth mentioning except for her.

If Chu Li is allowed to delay until three days later and "die" in the realm of divine consciousness, then Shang Xinglan's evil intentions will completely disappear without a trace. We must not let her succeed.

"Alright, I'll take you to find the real Shang Xinglan."

He stared intently at Chu Li, seemingly having another idea in mind, then turned and walked down the mountain. "If you lose me, I won't care."

Chu Li watched him leave warily. After a long while, she decided to follow him. Mainly, she had no other choice at the moment. She couldn't really die in Shang Xinglan's spiritual domain. She had just made it up on the spot. She was just trying to provoke Erlong. She wouldn't abandon Yinyin.

Suddenly, the view opened up before her. She followed closely behind Erlong, eager to know what tricks he was up to. He was sure he planned to use evil magic to create another fake Shang Xinglan to deceive her.

Do you really think she's easy to fool?

Having been married to Shang Xinglan for seven years, Chu Li now knows Shang Xinglan inside and out, even his hidden thoughts in his spiritual realm.

She wanted to see what other tricks the dragon had up its sleeve.

Before long, passing through the thick mountain fog, Chu Li found himself in the Shang family's territory.

The merchant and Xiaofushan are located in the North and South respectively, separated by a vast distance. It is likely that it was the evil magic of the dragon that brought her here.

Standing in front of the shop, Chu Li noticed something strange. The faces of the people on the long street were all very blurry, as if the mountain mist had not yet dissipated, making them difficult to see clearly.

After a pause, Chu Li realized that Erlong had actually disappeared.

Her heart skipped a beat. She looked around, but apart from those whose faces she couldn't make out, there was no sign of Erlong.

That cunning evil creature!

Chu Li cursed under her breath, then braced herself and pushed open the shop's door. She walked cautiously through the corridor to the east courtyard. All the servants along the way had their heads down and were doing their own things, as if they couldn't see her at all.

As soon as she stepped into the East Courtyard, the surrounding mist seemed to instantly dissipate, and a ray of warm sunlight shone on her. In the blink of an eye, it turned from night to day. The sound of cicadas chirping filled her ears, the bamboo forest was secluded, and a warm summer breeze occasionally blew in.

Chu Li was momentarily dazed, then slowly pushed open the door, and a light, ethereal sandalwood scent wafted towards her.

She even thought that a five-year-old Shang Xinglan would suddenly appear in front of her, after all, something like that had just happened not long ago, except that it was because of the Sky-Piercing Stone.

However, when Chu Li saw everything inside, she was suddenly stunned.

She saw herself in the mirror.

Chu Li, sixteen years old.

Chu Li stared blankly for a moment, looking at her own skinny self with a bewildered expression.

Didn't Erlong say he was going to bring her to see Shang Xinglan? What's going on?

The teenage girl was so thin she was almost unrecognizable. Her hair was dry, frizzy, and unnaturally yellow. Her hands had many shocking frostbite scars, which Shang Xinglan later treated with extremely expensive ointment for a long time before healing. She was clearly a child from a poor family, yet she was wearing a flowing cloud gauze dress with gold thread, which looked extremely incongruous.

Chu Li's breathing hitched slightly as she tentatively touched her face. She hadn't seen herself like this in a long time; she had looked really ugly back then.

There was no one else in the room. Chu Li looked around and her gaze fell on the desk by the window, where someone seemed to have written something.

She glanced at it and saw it was a Yunzhuan text that Shang Xinglan had taught her. She wrote it terribly. Shang Xinglan was very strict in teaching her to read, and would punish her by making her rewrite it if she didn't write well.

Is this like going back to seven years ago?

Chu Li sat at her desk, puzzled, resting her chin on her hand and gazing out the window.

She was so familiar with it; she used to sit at the table copying books like this, often getting distracted halfway through, either sneaking out the window or drawing while writing.

Chu Li flipped open the papers, paused for a moment, then burst out laughing. Sure enough, there was a drawing of two skinny little figures, one of whom was standing on the other’s head, as if venting his anger.

It really was her, the real deal, and there was no way it could be Erlong in disguise. The little figure being stepped on must be Shang Xinglan.

She did have some resentment towards Shang Xinglan in private at that time, because he always made her do things she didn't like.

She found all this talk of reading, etiquette, and the ways of the world irritating. But because she was living under someone else's roof, she had to pretend to be a studious person in front of Shang Xinglan.

Chu Li chuckled softly, and found herself starting to miss that time.

Although I was often on tenterhooks and walking on thin ice, afraid that people would discover that my identity was fake, it was still very interesting overall. Acting with Shang Xinglan was especially fun. I would laugh every time he praised me for being ambitious and studious.

Looking back now, Shang Xinglan probably praised her for being ambitious and studious because she couldn't find a way to praise her for her talent and intelligence.

She was lost in her memories when she suddenly heard the door creak softly.

Chu Li instantly gripped the dagger at his waist and looked up to see Shang Xinglan strolling over. He was dressed in a straight pine-smoked robe, looking neat and noble. He also looked to be in his teens, only two years older than Chu Li at the time.

Back then, Shang Xinglan was truly young, handsome, and full of vigor. Even seven years later, Chu Li would still feel a little timid from the bottom of her heart when she saw him.

Chu Li subconsciously wanted to stand up and talk to the other person, but was interrupted first, "Ah Chu, are you done copying?"

When the voice rang out, Chu Li realized that he had thought she was copying a book.

"No." The voice was low, sounding somewhat guilty.

Shang Xinglan stared at her for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Sit."

It's terrifying that even after all these years, she still gets nervous when she sees Shang Xinglan with this expression.

Chu Li had no choice but to sit down, her gaze still fixed on Shang Xinglan.

Was it actually Erlong in disguise?

If this is an act, the acting is significantly better than before.

Shang Xinglan leaned down, put one hand on her shoulder, and picked up the paper on the table with the other.

Chu Li paused slightly. She remembered... that Shang Xinglan had never been so intimate with her back then.

The person behind him was silent for a moment, then said calmly, "In three days, A-Chu only copied one page?"

Chu Li awkwardly looked away, thinking to herself, "I should be content with copying just one page; I don't have the time for that." Although she wasn't busy at all, she just wanted to go out and have some fun.

"I write slowly, and I'm not familiar with the characters yet."

Hearing her explanation, Shang Xinglan did not intend to criticize her, but simply sat down next to her.

His eyelashes drooped, obscuring the expression in his eyes, and his voice was very soft, "I'll teach you. Once you've copied this, you won't need to copy it again."

"Really?" Chu Li began to feel something was wrong; Erlong had indeed given himself away.

Shang Xinglan disliked giving up halfway, especially when it came to something as serious as copying books.

Shang Xinglan picked up the purple hairpin from the table and handed it to her palm.

Chu Li didn't rush to expose him. Instead, she took the pen and quietly copied the words.

So this is the one. She remembers it very clearly; she spent several days copying it back then.

Shang Xinglan had high expectations for her; the characters had to be accurate in form and meaning, and if she didn't copy them well, she had to rewrite them. Unfortunately, there was a character "羲" in this article, and she had been stuck on that character for a long time. To this day, Chu Li still hasn't been able to write it well.

Upon hearing this, Shang Xinglan's eyes darkened slightly, and he suddenly reached out and grasped her wrist.

Chu Li's expression suddenly froze, and she remained motionless, feeling his body temperature gradually approaching.

"Firm fingers, hollow palms, upright posture."

A hand gently rested on her waist, and warm breath brushed against her ear, causing her heart to race.

Chu Li opened her eyes and instinctively tried to dodge his hand.

No, this isn't a memory. This never happened. Shang Xinglan never treated her like that. When she was copying this article, Shang Xinglan simply sat beside her, gently guiding her, without touching a single hair on her head!

"Don't hide."

Hearing the deep voice from the other party, Chu Li panicked even more. Forgetting all about playing along, she said angrily, "Erlong, you still dare to pretend!"

Shang Xinglan frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "What 'Erlong'? You can't even remember what your husband looks like?"

Chu Li was stunned for a moment, then heard him calmly say, "If you don't want to learn, fine, I won't teach you anymore."

She opened her mouth, then stared at him speechlessly.

Even the most superb acting skills could not possibly be so similar.

This is Shang Xinglan at eighteen; he doesn't like her that much, and he certainly won't indulge her unconditionally.

After a long pause, Chu Li pursed her lips and whispered, "I didn't say I wouldn't learn."

She was puzzled as to why Shang Xinglan had suddenly become close to her. It was all Erlong's fault for making her so easily frightened, always suspecting that the person behind Shang Xinglan's face was a fake.

Upon hearing this, Shang Xinglan paused for a moment, her tone softening slightly, "Who is Erlong? Is he someone you know outside?"

Chu Li lowered her eyes and softly replied, "Mm."

She often goes out and wanders around, and her excuses are always easy to come up with.

"Why would you admit your mistake? He taught you to write like that too."

"……Um."

Shang Xinglan didn't say anything more, but Chu Li suddenly felt a chill beside her.

She glanced up discreetly and saw Shang Xinglan with a cold expression, his brows furrowed as he flipped through a book, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

When he turned to the page he wanted to copy, he looked down at Chu Li and said calmly, "Copy it."

Chu Li picked up her pen, intending to copy a few words to appease him, but as soon as she started writing, her waist was grabbed by that hand again. She looked at Shang Xinglan in surprise, and he said calmly, "Read your book, don't look at me."

A breath brushed against her neck, causing a slight itch. Chu Li's mind was in turmoil. She didn't know why Shang Xinglan would act so differently from how she remembered him. This was so unlike him.

Back then, didn't you keep saying that out of courtesy, you should slowly cultivate feelings for her?

Chu Li couldn't help but sneak a peek at him again, only to be met with the unfathomable depths of his eyes.

"Didn't I say I was going to read a book?"

"Achu, you are really not well-behaved."

The hand slowly moved up to her waist, its movements slow yet incredibly firm. Chu Li tried to break free but couldn't. She looked at him in astonishment, her voice trembling slightly, "Shang Xinglan..."

Before she could finish speaking, her words were silenced by a pair of thin, cool lips, and her frail body was trapped in his arms like a prison.

“I taught you to call him husband.” The hand suddenly tightened, as if punishing her for not concentrating, but the voice was indifferent, “Continue copying, not a single word can be omitted today.”

As he kneaded her without any restraint, Chu Li gasped in pain, her face gradually flushing a burning red.

She knew it! How could an eighteen-year-old like Shang Xinglan be without desires? She was clearly...

They're at their prime.