My arch-nemesis, after losing his memory, insisted that we had dated for two years.

Fighting him wouldn't kill him; scolding him wasn't a long-term solution either—Jin He was arrogant and reckless every time he tried to argue, and in the end, he hurt both himself and his enemy a thousand times over. He angered his opponent to no end while also making his own heart clench with rage.

If things continue like this, Jin He has no doubt that although he and Xi Wang could not become sworn brothers or make any vows of eternal love, they are very likely to achieve the goal of "not seeking to be born on the same day, month, and year, but seeking to die on the same day, month, and year."

He was always full of tricks and schemes, and he would spend all day and night trying to get Xi Wang to submit.

As he turned over in the middle of the night, his forearm was poked by a storybook he had carelessly tossed on the bed—this thing was confiscated by Jin He from the next junior sister, the two girls who spent all their time engrossed in the stories in it instead of practicing their martial arts.

Jin He was still wondering what it was that was so attractive.

He was so curious that he couldn't resist flipping through it and glancing at it quickly.

"Smack!"

Jin He: "..." By the time I realized what I had read, it was too late.

He opened it again in disbelief, reading it word by word as if he couldn't believe it.

Damn it, he recognizes every single word here, so how come they're put together to form some kind of inhuman language?

It not only records the love between King Anli of Wei and Lord Longyang, but also uses beautiful language to describe in detail the feelings between Yu Xuanji and Cai Ping.

After watching, Jin He closed his eyes tightly, unable to recover for a long time.

"My worldview must have been shattered and rebuilt," Jin He thought to himself.

Before this, he had never been exposed to this kind of thing, and the worldly people had always taught him about love between men and women, so Jin He never thought he could accept it.

Huh?

Suddenly remembering something, Jin He sat up abruptly and slapped his thigh—if he couldn't accept it, then wouldn't Xi Wang also be unable to accept it?

That's the plan!

*

The world has truly changed.

Wei Laiyi and Zhong Chu stared in astonishment at Jin He and Xi Wang, who usually practically crammed a mountain between them. The former, for some unknown reason, was now fawning over Xi Wang, stuffing him with things—food, household items, toys, you name it.

Xi Wang hugged him tightly, utterly bewildered by the man's actions. "What... what's wrong with you now?"

"Oh, that's so awful to say. Actually, I've wanted to be good friends with you ever since I first met you." Jin He blinked and shamelessly leaned closer. "Look, since our senior brothers and sisters can put aside their 'blood feud' and become a couple, shouldn't we two also have a closer relationship..."

"Huh...?" Xi Wang was startled by these words, his bangs flying from his forehead. He thought to himself that this guy must have been struck by lightning. Just two days ago, they were fighting fiercely, standing face to face, each wanting to bite the other to death, and now this guy had suddenly changed his personality, saying he wanted to have a closer relationship with him?!

You're kidding me!

However, to the surprise of the other three people present, Jin He seemed determined to "become good friends" with Xi Wang.

In the past, whenever the two of them encountered Xi Wang, they would prepare a mask in advance—Jin He would sprinkle hemp powder or fumigation powder on him when he wasn't paying attention, which is why Xi Wang is now afraid of oil paper.

That day, Jin He openly pulled out a paper package from behind his back. Xi Wang gritted his teeth, about to curse him—he used to at least carry it behind someone's back, but now he doesn't even bother to pretend and just pulls it out in front of his senior brothers and sisters. What kind of person is he! —But the next second, the person opposite him slowly opened the paper package and took out some candied fruit. "Here you go."

"..." Xi Wang, who was still on guard, hadn't come to his senses yet. Jin He had no choice but to grab Xi Wang's hand, pry open his fingers one by one, put the candied fruit and its paper package inside, and then close it for him one by one.

Feeling a sudden weight in his hand, Xi Wang stared blankly at the sweet candied fruits, still somewhat suspicious, "...You didn't drug me, did you?"

Jin He shrugged indifferently and said, "If you're really worried, you can throw it away." But his lowered hand was secretly rubbing against something.

How should I put it?

Touching someone else's hand was a very novel experience for Jin He. He had held Xi Wang's hand before, and as a fellow martial artist, his hands must have calluses, but Jin He inexplicably felt a soft touch.

With his senior sister present, Xi Wang didn't know what to say and silently put the paper package away, wondering in his heart: Why did Jin He specifically choose this kind of thing for him?

Perhaps sensing Xi Wang's thoughts, Jin He said, "Last time when I went out with my senior brother and Miss Zhong, I saw you eating quite a lot of this, so..."

So that's how it is.

However, this made Xi Wang a little embarrassed. He really didn't expect that this carefree person in front of him would actually notice this. Even his fellow disciples rarely knew that he loved to eat this candied fruit.

"...Thank you."

"What?" Jin He pressed his ear closer, "I didn't hear you clearly, say it again."

I knew it...

Seeing his grinning face, Xi Wang's initial feeling of being touched vanished instantly.

This person is clearly doing it on purpose!

"I didn't say anything!"

Jin He: "I know, someone said I'm so incredibly kind, and that they're extremely grateful to me~"

"Pah! Stop flattering yourself. I only said thank you, there's no 'grateful thanks' involved. And—" Jin He raised his eyebrows smugly. Xi Wang belatedly realized that he had fallen for Jin He's trick again. The playful expression on Jin He's face turned red. He sneered and raised his Tang sword to slash at Jin Wang.

"stop!"

"Senior brother! Sister Chu! Save me!!!"

At that time, Wei Laiyi and Zhong Chu were leisurely enjoying tea and talking about the world of martial arts. Seeing the two of them so energetic made them feel very gratified.

*

"Greetings, Senior Brother Xi." A passing disciple greeted Xi Wang, who was returning from patrol. The latter nodded slightly, but the disciple lingered, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Xi Wang couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

"No, no." Finally realizing his gaze was too obvious, the disciple waved his hands repeatedly, trying to slip away, but Xi Wang clearly wasn't going to let him go until he spoke. The disciple had no choice but to ask, "Senior brother, are you in a relationship?"

Xi Wang's eyes widened visibly, and the disciple quickly shifted the blame, "It wasn't me who said it! It wasn't me who said it! It's just that a junior brother noticed that you've been bringing back candied fruit and handkerchiefs these past few days. Nobody thought anything of it, but... there was a letter tucked inside."

The fact that it could cause such a misunderstanding suggests that Xi Wang probably knew what kind of "letter" it was.

"Ha." Despite all the precautions, they managed to prevent the numbing powder and the dead rat's claws from taking the money bag, but they couldn't prevent Jin He from doing other things in that pile of stuff.

Xi Wang laughed in anger. Before the disciple could see clearly, he saw a murderous afterimage rushing towards Kaifeng City.

...

"Jin He, you come out here!"

The person whose name was called out had no sense of being annoying, and had a smug smile on his face. "This place is so close to the Nine Streams Sect's base. If our people see us here, it won't be good. We'll both get a scolding. Xi Wang, if you want to go into the Awakening Forest, don't drag me into it. I can't beat you."

"Bullshit!" Xi Wang was furious, his face red and his neck bulging. "What did you put in that pile of food? Tell me the truth!"

"...What did you put in?" Jin Wang narrowed his eyes slightly, tapping his forearm repeatedly with his arms crossed over his chest, racking his brains but unable to recall anything. But that didn't stop him from being sarcastic: "So, you've gotten a stomachache, so you're coming to me for an explanation? I told you before that if you really didn't trust it, you could throw it away."

"You—you!" What is this? Xi Wang's mind was in a daze, unable to tell whether this person was deliberately pretending to be stupid or stirring up trouble.

Wei Laiyi and Zhong Chu, drawn by the noise of the argument, quickly separated the two.

"What's wrong?"

"How should I know!" Jin He gasped for breath. "He came to me because he had an upset stomach. Tianquan, my foot! Tianquan wants to extort money from the Nine Streams Sect? The sect leader is right, they're a bunch of petty bastards!"

As they were talking, Zhong Chu walked over with a strange expression.

"Sister Zhong, don't take it to heart. I wasn't saying those things to you. I was just angry. Even if someone is really bad, I wouldn't poison food. Why does Xi Wang think it's my fault?"

“You guys…” Zhong Chu was confused. Xi Wang had clearly told her that Jin He had put something in the so-called “gift” that would embarrass him among his fellow disciples, but how could Jin He say that Xiao Wang misunderstood him and poisoned his food?

The two held their own versions of events, neither willing to back down, and refused to communicate.

After that, the relationship between the two junior brothers truly plummeted to its lowest point. Before, the two sects at least avoided each other, but from the time Jin He and Xi Wang started, they would fight whenever they met.

"Your sect is all about making things up! You blame everything on us! Do you have any humanity? Do you have any humanity at all?!"

"You're just spouting nonsense with your head on your shoulders. You've got no sense of who's who now that you're showing off! You act like a thief and then complain that people are suspicious of you!"

Wherever they went, they created a smog-filled atmosphere.

＊

The thought that he once had of wanting Xi Wang to fall and lose his memory resurfaced. Perhaps his resentment was too strong, for fate actually gave him a response—albeit in a rather absurd way.

That day, Jin He was dragged by Wei Laiyi to deliver the specially made calming incense he had obtained from Qingxi to Zhong Chu. On the way back, he happened to see Xi Wang sparring with someone in the martial arts arena outside Tianquan Hall. The sword flashed and his figure was agile, attracting many Tianquan disciples to watch and cheer.

Jin He habitually scoffed inwardly: all show and no substance.

Then, he saw Xi Wang do a beautiful somersault, but when he landed, he somehow slipped and fell backward, his head hitting the stone lock at the edge of the training ground with a "thud".

The scene fell silent instantly.

Jin He: "..."

Seriously? He was just thinking about it casually! Is his wish really that easy to come true?!

Watching the Tianquan disciples frantically rush forward, Jin He initially felt a strange, wish-fulfilled pleasure, but it was quickly overwhelmed by immense guilt. Although he disliked Xi Wang, he hadn't intended for him to be seriously injured! What if he'd been knocked senseless…

He moved closer as if possessed, and heard the Tianquan disciple calling out anxiously, "Senior Brother Xi! Senior Brother Xi, how are you? Do you still recognize me?"

Xi Wang clutched the back of his head, his brows furrowed, his eyes somewhat unfocused. After a long while, he slowly refocused, and then his gaze passed over his fellow disciples surrounding him, landing precisely on Jin He, who was on the outskirts of the crowd, looking guilty and ready to slip away.

Jin He paused, a sense of foreboding creeping over him.

His sixth sense proved to be correct.

One day, Jin He had just finished a business trip and was thinking of going back to rest when someone grabbed his wrist from behind. The force was so great that he couldn't break free, and he thought that an enemy had come looking for him.

The moment the dart rope was thrown, Jin He was dumbfounded—the person who came was none other than Xi Wang, with whom he had fought for a long time.

This person looked very aggrieved—

Why haven't you come to see me for so many days?

"...???" Jin He was immediately dumbfounded. Big brother, am I supposed to fight you every day?

He looked at Xi Wang and suddenly realized that something seemed off about this man...