Chapter 42

Chapter Summary: [Judging by the time, this should be after Jin Guangyao became the Immortal Supervisor. Xue Yang's current disheveled state must mean he just underwent Jin Guangyao's "cleanup." He narrowly escaped death...]

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Judging by the timeline, this should be after Jin Guangyao became the Chief Cultivator. Xue Yang's current sorry state must be due to his recent "cleanup" by Jin Guangyao. He escaped death, only to be rescued by his old nemesis, Xiao Xingchen. Jin Guangyao, not having killed him, was naturally too embarrassed to announce it, or perhaps believing he couldn't survive, so he publicly declared him gone. Poor Xiao Xingchen wouldn't touch this man's face, and even if he did, he couldn't make out his features, inadvertently saving the enemy who had brought him to this state. Although A-Qing can see, she is not a member of the cultivation world, doesn't recognize Xue Yang, and is unaware of the deep-seated hatred between them; she doesn't even know the Daoist's name…

It couldn't be more unlucky. It was as if all the bad luck in the world had been absorbed by Xiao Xingchen alone.

At this moment, Xue Yang frowned. Xiao Xingchen was examining and bandaging his wounds, and said, "Don't move."

Xue Yang, having committed countless evil deeds, naturally possessed extraordinary vigilance. Upon hearing the voice, he abruptly opened his eyes, immediately sat up, rolled to the corner of the wall, and stared warily at Xiao Xingchen, his eyes gleaming with malice. His gaze was like that of a trapped beast, making no attempt to conceal its cruelty and malice, sending chills down A-Qing's spine, a feeling that also reached Wei Wuxian's scalp.

He cried out in his heart, "Speak! As soon as I speak, Xiao Xingchen will recognize me. He definitely won't forget Xue Yang's voice!"

As everyone followed Ah Qing, their scalps began to tingle. Now, looking at this little hooligan, who seemed so nonchalant and not particularly fierce, how could he be so terrifying when he got angry?

Xue Yang glanced at Wei Wuxian sideways: "Senior Wei, why do I feel like you're watching the show from the sidelines, and even encouraging us to fight?"

Wei Wuxian adjusted his posture with a relaxed air: "You just realized that? With your skill level and your sharp tongue, you would never have been able to beat my junior uncle!"

Xue Yang: ...

Xue Yang said, "You..."

As soon as he opened his mouth, Wei Wuxian knew, "Oh no, this is it. Xiao Xingchen won't even notice."

Xue Yang's throat was injured at this point; after coughing up a lot of blood, his voice was hoarse, and he was completely unrecognizable as the same person!

Xue Yang glanced at Wei Wuxian again: "How about it? The show's over, isn't it?"

Wei Wuxian ignored him completely, but turned to Jin Guangyao and said, "Lianfang-zun shows absolutely no mercy."

Jin Guangyao: ...What does your bickering have to do with me?

Even if he was speechless inside, he still had to smile and maintain a certain composure: "Young Master Wei is too kind."

Wei Wuxian admired Jin Guangyao's shamelessness: Was I praising you?

Xiao Xingchen sat by the bed and said, "I told you not to move, or your wound will reopen. Don't worry, I saved you, so I won't harm you."

Xue Yang reacted quickly, immediately guessing that Xiao Xingchen most likely hadn't recognized him. His eyes darted around, and he tentatively asked, "Who are you?"

Aqing interjected, "Can't you see for yourself? He's just a wandering Taoist priest. He went through all that trouble to carry you back and give you elixirs, and you're still being so fierce!"

Xue Yang's gaze immediately shifted to her, and he said coldly, "Blind?"

Wei Wuxian felt a sense of foreboding.

This little rascal was sharp, cunning, and extremely vigilant; in the blink of an eye, he caught him red-handed. Just now, Xue Yang only uttered four words, and based solely on the tone of those four words, it was difficult to determine whether he was truly fierce or not, unless one saw his expression and eyes. Therefore, even though A-Qing had white pupils, he didn't take it lightly, nor did he let any suspicion slip by.

Fortunately, Ah Qing had been lying since she was a child, and immediately said, "You look down on blind people? Wasn't it the blind man who saved you? Otherwise, you would have been stinking on the roadside and no one would have cared! The first thing you said when you woke up was not to thank the Taoist priest, how rude! And you even called me blind, boohoo... So what if he's blind..."

Xue Yang glanced at A-Qing: "Little liar."

Ah Qing raised the bamboo pole in her hand again: "You big liar! You were so mean to me... Waaaaah..."

To be honest, the little girl is quite good at faking tears. Even though he knew A-Qing was acting, Xue Yang still attracted a few unfriendly glances: Xiao Xingchen, Song Lan, seven or eight juniors, and also his newly appointed master Wen Qing.

Xue Yang: ...Good job, you little liar.

She successfully changed the subject and shifted the focus, looking both indignant and aggrieved. Xiao Xingchen quickly went to comfort her. Xue Yang, leaning against the wall, rolled his eyes. Xiao Xingchen then turned to him and said, "Don't lean against the wall. Your leg wound isn't bandaged yet. Come here."

Xue Yang remained indifferent, still deep in thought. Xiao Xingchen added, "If you delay treatment any longer, your leg might be crippled."

Upon hearing this, Xue Yang made a decisive choice.

Wei Wuxian could guess what he was thinking: he was seriously injured and unable to move easily, and it was absolutely necessary for him to be treated. Since Xiao Xingchen was foolish enough to offer himself up as a sucker, why not accept it?

Then, his expression changed abruptly, and he said with a smile, "Then I'll trouble you, Daoist Master."

Seeing this, Wen Qing snorted coldly: "They do value their lives."

Xue Yang wasn't annoyed; on the contrary, he quite agreed: "Of course you have to cherish your life. If you lose your life, you lose everything." As long as you're alive, you can change everything.

Having witnessed Xue Yang's ability to turn ruthless and then smile sweetly again, Wei Wuxian couldn't help but feel worried for the two blind men in the room, one real and one fake.

Especially Ah Qing, who was pretending to be blind. She could see everything, and if Xue Yang discovered this fact, she would surely die to prevent the secret from being leaked. Although he knew that Ah Qing would most likely be killed by Xue Yang in the end, he was still terrified of going through that process.

Suddenly, he noticed that Xue Yang was subtly avoiding letting Xiao Xingchen touch his left hand. Upon closer inspection, he realized that Xue Yang's left hand was missing a little finger. The cut was old, not a fresh injury; Xiao Xingchen must have known from the beginning that Xue Yang had nine fingers. No wonder Xue Yang wore a black glove on his left hand when he was pretending to be an imposter.

Xue Yang started being irreverent again: "Senior Wei, why are you so worried about that little swindler? Why aren't you worried about me getting chopped up by the Taoist priest?"

Wei Wuxian: "Why should I worry about you? This is clearly two little lambs saving a big bad wolf. Would it be crazy for me to worry about the big bad wolf?"

Xue Yang: ...

Xiao Xingchen was dedicated to healing and helping people. After applying medicine and bandaging Xue Yang beautifully, he said, "It's alright. But you'd better not move."

Xue Yang was now certain that Xiao Xingchen was indeed foolish enough not to recognize him. Although he was covered in blood, that lazy, smug smile reappeared on his face as he asked, "Daozhang, aren't you going to ask who I am? And why am I so badly injured?"

At times like this, most people would try to conceal any trace of their identity, but he deliberately did the opposite, bringing it up on his own initiative. Xiao Xingchen said, "If you don't want to tell me, why should I ask? We met by chance, and I only offered my help. Once you recover, we'll go our separate ways. If it were me, there are many things I wouldn't want others to ask about."

Wei Wuxian thought to himself, "Even if you ask, this little rascal will definitely come up with a flawless story to fool you completely."

Everyone has a complicated past, and Xiao Xingchen didn't pry too much, originally out of respect. Little did he know, Xue Yang would take advantage of that respect. He not only wanted Xiao Xingchen to heal his injuries, but also vowed that once he was fully recovered, he would absolutely not obediently "go his separate ways"!

Wei Wuxian sighed, "Junior Uncle is just too kind; he always gives people face."

But then he thought again: That's not right. Even if he asked, that hooligan would just make up some nonsense.

Ultimately, it's because Junior Uncle is too easily fooled.

Just as Wei Wuxian was getting a little angry, Xue Yang was fanning the flames: "It seems Senior Wei knows me very well."

Wei Wuxian: ...This little rascal is too much.

Xue Yang rested in the quarters of the manor keeper, while Xiao Xingchen went to the main hall of the mortuary, opened an empty coffin, picked up a lot of straw from the ground, and laid it at the bottom of the coffin. He said to A-Qing, "The person inside is injured, so you'll have to sleep here. With the straw laid out, it shouldn't be cold."

Ah Qing, who had been a wanderer since childhood and had slept in all kinds of places, said nonchalantly, "What's wrong with that? It's good enough that I have a place to sleep. It's not cold, so don't take off your coat and give it to me again."

Xiao Xingchen patted her head, put his whisk in place, slung his sword over his shoulder, and stepped out the door. For safety reasons, he never took A-Qing with him when he went night hunting. She lay in the coffin for a while, when she suddenly heard Xue Yang calling her from next door: "Little blind girl, come here."

Ah Qing poked her head out: "What?"

Xue Yang said, "Here's some candy for you."

Ah Qing's tongue felt sour for a moment, as if she really wanted some candy, but she refused, saying, "No. I won't have any!"

Xue Yang threatened sweetly, "Are you really not going to eat? Are you afraid to come? But do you think that just because you don't come, I'm really unable to move and can't come to you?"

Ah Qing shuddered at his eerie tone. The thought of that malevolent smile suddenly appearing above the coffin was terrifying. After a moment's hesitation, she picked up a bamboo pole and began tapping and shuffling towards the door of the quarters. Before she could speak, a tiny object flew towards her.

Wei Wuxian instinctively wanted to dodge, worried it might be some kind of hidden weapon, though of course he couldn't control this body. Then he thought, "Xue Yang is testing A-Qing. If she's just an ordinary blind person, she wouldn't be able to dodge this!"

Ah Qing, true to her reputation for feigning blindness, was quick-witted. Seeing something flying towards her, she neither dodged nor evaded, letting it hit her chest without blinking. Only after being hit did she jump back, angrily shouting, "What did you throw at me!"

Xue Yang tried once but failed, then said, "Here's some candy. I forgot you're blind and can't catch it; it's right at your feet."

Everyone: ...This is clearly a scene with undercurrents, so why do we find it funny?

That little rascal was too cruel to the girl. He threw away a single piece of candy with such force; it must have hurt terribly.

Lan Jingyi, fearless as ever, secretly gave A-Qing a thumbs-up, and A-Qing returned a smug look.

However, A-Qing also had white pupils at this moment, so Lan Jingyi trembled uncontrollably the instant he turned his head.

Ugh, that's creepy.

Ah Qing snorted, squatted down, and realistically groped around for a while before finding a candy. She had never eaten anything like it before, so she wiped it clean and put it in her mouth, crunching happily. Xue Yang lay on his side on the bed, propping his cheek up with one hand, and said, "Is it good, little blind girl?"

Aqing said, "I have a name, I'm not called Little Blind Man."

Xue Yang said, "Since you won't tell me your name, I can only call you this."

A-Qing only tells the people who are good to her her name, but she doesn't like Xue Yang calling her that, so she has to sign up and says, "You're really strange. You're covered in blood and have such serious injuries, yet you still have candy on you."

Xue Yang chuckled and said, "When I was little, I loved eating candy, but I could never get any. I would just watch others eat it and my mouth would water. So I always thought that if I ever became successful, I would carry around an endless supply of candy with me every day."

After finishing her meal, A-Qing licked her lips. The longing in her heart outweighed her dislike for this person, and she asked, "Do you have any more?"

Xue Yang's eyes gleamed with a sly light as he smiled, "Of course I have some. Come here, and I'll give it to you."

Aqing: "You big liar, who are you calling a little blind girl!"

Xue Yang looked completely innocent: "You didn't tell me your name yourself."

Ah Qing turned her head away: "I'll tell you if you're good to me? That's so unprincipled! Don't you know that young girls need to protect themselves when they're out in the world!"

Xue Yang: ...

Xiao Xingchen looked at the two of them helplessly.

Wei Wuxian covered his mouth and chuckled: He hadn't expected that A-Qing, a little girl, could handle Xue Yang.

A-Qing stood up and walked towards him, tapping her bamboo pole. Unexpectedly, halfway there, Xue Yang suddenly and silently drew a long, sharp sword from his sleeve.

Disaster strikes.

He pointed the sword tip at A-Qing; if she took just a few more steps forward, Jiangzai would pierce her through. But if A-Qing hesitated even slightly, the fact that she wasn't blind would be revealed!

Everyone: ...!!!

I felt a chill in my stomach and my scalp tingled.

Nie Huaisang involuntarily moved back a few centimeters, but he couldn't escape the feeling: "This Xue Yang is indeed ruthless."

Wei Wuxian, being connected to A-Qing through all five senses, also felt the tingling sensation coming from the back of her head. Bold and composed, she continued forward. Sure enough, just before the sword tip touched her lower abdomen, Xue Yang withdrew his hand, putting the sword back into his sleeve and replacing it with two candies. He gave one to A-Qing and popped the other into his own mouth.

He asked, "Aqing, where did your Taoist priest go in the middle of the night?"

Ah Qing licked the candy with a crunching sound and said, "It seems they went hunting."

Xue Yang scoffed, "What hunting? It's night hunting, isn't it?"

Ah Qing said, "Really? I don't remember clearly. It was about helping people fight ghosts and monsters, and not charging any money."

Wei Wuxian thought to himself, "This little girl is too shrewd."

A-Qing didn't forget at all; she remembered Xiao Xingchen's words better than anyone else. She deliberately misused the word "night hunt," and Xue Yang correcting her was tantamount to admitting that she was also a member of the cultivation sect. Xue Yang's test failed, but she tested him instead. So young, yet so cunning.

The group of juniors, who had just been terrified, couldn't help but marvel at the confrontation between the two. They were amazed that such a young girl was so intelligent; if it were them, Xue Yang would have seen right through them.

Xue Yang's expression was one of disdain, but his tone was one of doubt: "He's blind, how can he still night hunt?"

A-Qing retorted angrily, "Here we go again. So what if he's blind? Even if the Taoist priest is blind, he's still incredibly skilled. That sword strike was so fast, so incredibly fast!" As she was gesturing wildly, Xue Yang suddenly said, "You can't even see, how do you know his sword strikes are fast?"

The attack was swift, but the counter-attack was even faster. A-Qing immediately retorted arrogantly, "I said it's fast, so it's fast! The Daoist's sword is definitely fast! Even if I can't see it, can't I hear it? What do you mean by this? Are you looking down on blind people like us?" She sounded like a spoiled young girl praising someone she admired, which was perfectly natural.

Having failed to probe three times, Xue Yang's expression finally softened; he should believe that A-Qing was truly blind.

Xue Yang sighed deeply: "Sigh! Senior Wei is really overthinking things. I was just chatting with a little blind man for a bit. What you're calling a test is really hurtful."

Wei Wuxian rolled his eyes: "Even if you were testing someone, you've never actually played around with that girl before."

Xue Yang: ...

However, A-Qing became extremely wary of Xue Yang. The next day, Xiao Xingchen returned with some wood, thatch, and tiles to repair the roof. As soon as he entered, she quietly pulled him aside and whispered for a long time about how suspicious he was, how he was hiding everywhere despite being with Xiao Xingchen, and how he was definitely not a good person. Unfortunately, she probably thought the severed little finger was unimportant and didn't mention this most fatal feature. Xiao Xingchen comforted her, saying, "You've already accepted his candy, so don't chase him away anymore. He'll leave when he's healed. Nobody wants to stay in this mortuary with us."

That's true. This run-down place only has one bed. At least it hasn't been windy or rainy, otherwise the roof would be unbearable; nobody would want to stay here. A-Qing was about to speak ill of Xue Yang when that voice suddenly came from behind: "Are you talking about me?"

He actually got out of bed again. A-Qing wasn't guilty at all, saying, "Who said anything about you? Show-off!" She picked up a bamboo pole and knocked all the way into the room, then stealthily hid under the window to continue eavesdropping.

Xue Yang: "Little blind man, it's not good to keep doing these petty thefts."

Aqing: "Pah! Who are you calling a little blind man! If I had known your left hand was a distinctive feature, I would have had the Taoist priest skin you alive long ago!"

Xue Yang opened his mouth as if to retort, but when he caught sight of Xiao Xingchen out of the corner of his eye, he seemed to remember something, his expression darkened, and he didn't continue speaking.

It's not honorable to talk someone to death, especially since it was him...