Chapter 37 Egret Island... Could I be on top?

"Didn't you just say you weren't going to sleep?"

Shen Qinggui smiled at him. Jiang Yu was furious inside, but he still pretended to be calm and threw the paper figure in his hand aside. "I'm already here, what do I need a paper figure for?"

"Who knows if Young Master Jiang might suddenly run away?"

"How could that be?" Jiang Yu's hand reached for the buttons on Shen Qinggui's outer robe. "Since I've already said it, I will definitely keep my word."

"So, what are Young Master Jiang's plans for tonight?"

Shen Qinggui cooperated with his movements, leaning back slightly and playing with Jiang Yu's smooth long hair with one hand, "I will definitely keep you company."

Is this really true?

Jiang Yu kissed him on the corner of the mouth, "Then... can I be on top?"

Just once.

“Anyway, I won’t let you move, so it’s actually more comfortable this way, isn’t it?” Jiang Yu grabbed his collar and acted coquettishly. He seemed to have taken her words to heart, and after hesitating for a moment, he nodded.

This bed is not as big as the one in the Fuyou Palace, and it is quite old, making a creaking sound when it is moved.

Jiang Yu felt that he had overestimated himself and underestimated Shen Jiuxu. This person had no moral bottom line at all. After Jiang Yu discovered that he was a tree, he became unscrupulous.

"Don't touch there, it itches."

The budding flowers rubbed against his lower back, and Jiang Yu, who was already extremely sensitive, was now even more limp from the friction.

He simply couldn't take it anymore.

"Did you do this on purpose?"

Jiang Yu glared at Shen Jiuxu, who leaned back comfortably on the pillow, raising an eyebrow. "I'm very rule-abiding. You said you wanted to be on top, and now it's happened, isn't it?"

"That's not how it works."

Jiang Yu bit his shoulder hard, her anger rising. "You did this on purpose. You really can't compare to the previous Shen Jiuxu. He—"

"Yeah?"

It would have been better if he hadn't said those words. When the name Shen Jiuxu was mentioned at this moment, Jiang Yu clearly felt that the branches in the room seemed to grow even more luxuriantly.

He lay on his back on the bed, his hands and feet bound to the fabric by branches, unable to move, while the culprit calmly said, "Haven't I satisfied everything you asked for?"

Is this how you find satisfaction?

Jiang Yu said with embarrassment and anger that Shen Jiuxu used to at least consider the politeness and manners he put on when he first met him as a teenager, but now that he has lost his memory, he doesn't care about anything anymore.

"What changes does Young Master Jiang want me to make?"

Shen Qinggui remained calm and composed. Jiang Yu looked at his still-dry face and thought about his own sweat-covered body, and immediately dared not say anything more. If he were to provoke him again, he estimated that he would not see the sun for the next two days.

"...No need to change it, it's fine as it is."

Jiang Yu was very shrewd and carefully gave a flattering smile, "The people before weren't as good as you. I was just talking nonsense."

"Then Young Master Jiang, you just need to accept it."

The room was filled with an intense floral fragrance. Half of the messy bedding had fallen to the floor. Jiang Yu was so tired that he didn't want to move a single finger. In his dazed state, he heard a pattering sound outside and casually remarked, "It sounds like it's raining."

"Then we won't have to go out tomorrow."

Shen Qinggui said in a low voice, "Since this is the will of Heaven, we should not fail to live up to its good intentions."

Raindrops dripped from the sloping eaves onto the bluestone slabs below. The paper cranes had already run out the moment the sound rang out, huddled under the eaves with their heads down, covered their ears, and stared motionlessly at the trees outside.

"Even Lian Quesheng and the others will have doubts."

“Didn’t we get married properly?” Shen Qinggui retorted, “He’d love to be alone with Xichuang. The two of us around make him feel even worse.”

Jiang Yu considered himself quick-witted, but at this moment, he couldn't out-argue Shen Jiuxu. No matter what he said, the other party had a reason to refute it. In the end, he simply gave up, pulled the blanket over his head, and said, "Come on."

The tree branches outside were covered with a string of water droplets after being washed by the rain, and the weather didn't clear up until halfway through the next day.

After a day of suppressed emotions, the paper cranes suddenly flew up into the trees and joined the chattering crows.

"I want to drink water."

Jiang Yu's throat was dry and hoarse. He began to instruct Shen Jiuxu. The other party had received enough benefits and could be said to be accommodating to any request. He got off the bed with his upper body naked, poured half a glass of warm water, put his arm around Jiang Yu's waist, and fed him the water.

Would you like something to drink?

Jiang Yu suddenly asked out of curiosity, "You know, when you turned into a tree, I was thinking about whether I needed to bring a few buckets of water to water you, otherwise what if you dried up?"

The atmosphere in the room was strange. Shen Qinggui met his curious and inquisitive eyes, moved the water glass away, and then said, "I've already drunk it."

"ah?"

Jiang Yu, whose mind was still not fully clear, remembered that she hadn't seen him drink water. "When did he drink it? How come I didn't see him?"

"I've been drinking it."

Jiang Yu: ?

He didn't understand what it meant.

Shen Qinggui chuckled and kissed him on the ear. "Go to sleep. If I really turn back into a tree, Young Master Jiang will have to carry two buckets of water to save me."

"Okay—sob, I really want to sleep." He struggled to raise his arm to push Shen Qinggui away.

"Go to sleep." Shen Qinggui looked at the sky outside and, taking pity on him, let him go, tucking the blankets up for Jiang Yu. "Sweet dreams."

What's that noise outside?

Lian Quesheng said impatiently, taking a closer look, "How did Jiang Yu's paper crane end up here?"

"Perhaps it's inconvenient for Young Master Jiang and the others."

Xi Chuang thought for a moment, then pressed down on Lian Quesheng's restless hand. "Master is free now, so can you teach me swordsmanship? The paper crane is here; it'll be just like listening to a piece of music, isn't that nice?"

Lian Quesheng was persuaded by these soft words.

He immediately changed into a neat, apricot-red, narrow-sleeved robe and carefully selected the most beautiful sword from his bag of knives and swords. The bright yellow tassel on the sword swayed with the sword movements and was very eye-catching.

The Starry Sky Palace's usual magical weapon is the Star Staff. Although Lian Quesheng is the sect leader's first disciple, he is a real exception. Because he dislikes the magical weapon as being too ugly, he has never used it after learning it. However, Sect Leader Chu Jue dotes on this disciple and has chosen many beautiful swords and sabers from his own magical treasures to give to him.

"Raise your hand, the sword should be level."

"I can't move my legs."

Lian Quesheng solemnly instructed Xi Chuang on how to wield the sword, and instantly stopped finding the paper crane's chirping annoying. The afternoon passed, and he didn't even realize that he hadn't seen his two friends all day.

It wasn't until night, when he was dozing off, that Lian Quesheng realized something: Jiang Yu and the others hadn't secretly run away, had they? They'd done this before, and the thought made him angry. What if they didn't take him with them again—

Thinking of this, Lian Quesheng jumped out of bed, grabbed a robe and put it on, woke up Xi Chuang, grabbed his disheveled apprentice and ran out, rushing towards the room where Jiang Yu and the others were sleeping, shouting, "Jiang Yu, Shen Qinggui, are you still here?!"

"Jiang Yu—"

"Brother Qinggui, Brother Qinggui—"

"What are you yelling for?" Jiang Yu rolled her eyes. "The person isn't dead."

He leaned against the bed, with a thick cushion behind him made by Shen Qinggui using several pieces of clothing to wrap the pillow, but he still couldn't help but support his waist with his hand.

Indeed, one shouldn't be too stubborn or argumentative. Next time, he decided to beg for mercy at the appropriate time instead of pushing himself into this state.

It's too late to regret it!

"I thought you guys had run away without a word again."

When Lian Quesheng saw the people, he felt relieved and sat down on the stool with his legs crossed. "I was just worried because you two hadn't come out all day!"

"This room is so small, won't you feel suffocated staying here for a day and a night?" Lian Quesheng asked, puzzled. Seeing that the room fell silent again after he said this, he wisely refrained from asking further.

Just then, another paper crane flapped its wings and flew in through the window. Jiang Yu reached out and took the paper strip tied to the crane's leg.

After he came out of the Nine Netherworld yesterday, he sent a message to Dianxing, asking him to thoroughly investigate the matter of the old friend's manor.

Only now has news arrived from Dianxing.

"What did the letter say?" Shen Qinggui poured water for the two of them, acting like the head of the household, before turning to look at Jiang Yu, who had been silent for a long time after reading the letter.

Jiang Yu felt relieved, then stared at Lian Quesheng for a long while, making him feel uneasy. He tentatively asked, "It shouldn't have anything to do with me, right? I've never been to Guren Village before."

“Guren Manor, formerly known as Meiling, was managed by the immortal families of Bailuzhou,” Jiang Yu said, word by word. “It was only ten years ago that it was handed over to Shen Wuke’s disciples to manage.”

“Yesterday I went to the Nine Netherworld to look at the Book of Life and Death. Only the last villager of the old manor is still alive, named Huang Ning, who went to Bailuzhou when he was young.”

Now, all three people in the room stared at Lian Quesheng. Jiang Yu said solemnly, "If you want to find someone, you must go to Bailuzhou. And you, Lian Quesheng, grew up in Bailuzhou."

Egret Island is a small island in the sea, but it has strict rules. Ordinary people need to get a token or invitation to go there.

"Now you know to come to me when you encounter this difficult situation, right? Don't worry, I'll make sure you get in!"

Lian Quesheng's mother, Lian Chisu, was the head of Bailuzhou. She had only one child, but Lian Quesheng did not want to live a life of being fawned over by everyone on the island, so he ran away on his own and rarely returned afterward.

Knowing the inside story, Xi Chuang looked at him with some concern.

"My mother has long accepted that I am a disciple of Xingchenque. Don't worry, she won't come at me with a knife." Lian Quesheng waved his hand, but he was still a little flustered inside.

"The moment the guards see my face, they'll know who I am. I'll make sure they arrange the best inns and meals for them."

"Then thank you in advance, Young Master Lian," Jiang Yu flattered. Lian Quesheng took a deep breath, patted his chest, and said, "Leave it to me."

The ship rocked and swayed until it reached the vicinity of Egret Island. Several disciples guarding the city, dressed in blue robes, held their snow-white swords against the bow of the ship and shouted sternly, "Who goes there?"

"Lian Quesheng".

"I don't recognize him." The leading disciple shook his head. "Do you have a token? Only those with tokens can enter."

“It’s me, Lian Chisu is my mother, I am Lian Quesheng, don’t you recognize me?” Lian Quesheng’s face turned red, and he was so angry that his eyes were glazed over. “I am Lian Quesheng.”

"I don't care about whether you have children or not. Without a token, you are not allowed to enter. This is the rule of Egret Island. Young master, please leave."

Jiang Yu looked at him, recalling the man's earlier brimming confidence, and was speechless. "Then what should we do?"

Seeing that they had been lingering there, the guards called over several more people. The leader glanced at them a few times, seemed a little excited, and jogged over.

"See, they still recognize me."

Lian Quesheng lifted his robe, preparing to disembark, but the disciple walked past him, looking at Jiang Yu with a smile, "Young Master Jiang, are you Young Master Jiang?"

"Young Master Jiang, please come in. Our sect leader said that if it were you and Sect Master Shen, you wouldn't need a token." The disciple recognized Jiang Yu and Shen Jiuxu from their portraits and quickly let them in.

Shen Qinggui didn't say anything and followed Jiang Yu off the boat. Xi Chuang then took out a token from his waist and waved it in front of the man a few times.

"Young Master West Window, please come in."

Only Lian Quesheng remained, swaying in the wind. Several disciples stared at him for a while before saying, "No one may enter without a token."

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Author's Note: Lian Quesheng: That's clearly my home! My home!