Chapter 206 Epilogue - The New World Arc (Part 3)

Li Xiao took Yu Qingzhou with him while he was escaping.

It's all because Shen Yun lacks martial ethics and resorts to sneak attacks from behind.

At first, Li Xiao's reaction was instinctive, just like a person who has fallen into the water would instinctively grab onto anything they can hold onto.

Originally, his hand was on Yu Qingzhou's body, but he was startled by the sudden killing intent, and his mind went blank. In the process of dodging, he picked up the little devil.

By the time they realized something was wrong, they had already run several miles away.

Furthermore, with Shen Yun relentlessly pursuing him, there was no chance for him to let go.

I was worried that the other person would hold me back, but the little rascal stayed quietly inside the whole time, and was almost invisible.

It has some weight, but not much; compared to other children its age, it's still quite light.

Holding it in your arms, you can clearly feel the bones beneath the skin and flesh.

—Would it feel better if she were a little fatter?

A strange thought suddenly flashed through Li Xiao's mind. He didn't know if it was a sudden impulse or a result of his brain being congested with blood during the intense chase.

In short, as the child struggles to break free from his grasp and walks step by step in the opposite direction.

Li Xiao felt empty-handed and as if he had lost something.

The scent of the little devil still lingered in my nasal cavity, and surprisingly, it smelled quite pleasant.

Previously, Li Xiao hadn't noticed the chill in the snow cave where Shen Yun lived. Only now did he belatedly realize this strange discovery, but he couldn't confirm it further.

Because their master and senior brothers are waiting there.

Not only that, the little brat was heartless. After all, he had carried him for so long, and he just left without even looking back or saying thank you...

At this moment, Li Xiao had completely forgotten about how he had deliberately approached the child from behind, startled him, and then pinned him against a tree and pinched him.

I only felt indignant, and even a little wronged.

Thinking about how she had been passing by him all these days under various pretexts, rain or shine, and how she had watched him grow from a bean sprout into a little bun, yet he remained indifferent to her, Li Xiao felt extremely frustrated.

He had thought it all out.

If Yu Qingzhou were to approach me, how should I politely yet respectfully express my reluctance to become friends with her?

For this reason, Li Xiao even did something he disliked the most: reading.

As the saying goes, "There are houses of gold and beauties in books."

However, Li Xiao wasn't particularly interested in the Golden House or the Beauty, so he only read some storybooks that depicted beautiful emotions between people.

To be honest, my first impression after reading it was that it was a bit boring.

Moreover, for some reason, the protagonists in those stories were always a man and a woman, which Li Xiao found strange.

"...Why isn't there a suitable one?"

As Li Xiao searched, he muttered to himself, when he suddenly felt something was wrong. He turned around and was startled by Lao Chang standing behind him.

"Hey, at least say something! You're scaring people half to death, you know?"

Li Xiao complained somewhat discontentedly.

Seeing that Lao Chang was still staring at the rummaged-through book box, he simply asked the other party if there were any other types.

"What...other types?"

Old Chang's expression was subtle; his kind, chubby face was instantly filled with shock.

Unfortunately, Li Xiao couldn't see it, and without looking up, he added, "The kind where both are men."

"Two...two men?" Upon hearing this, Old Chang almost fainted.

Li Xiao didn't notice anything wrong. Although the bean sprout wasn't as manly as him, it was still a boy, after all.

Although she was a bit frail, she wasn't as delicate and fragile as the women in the book.

She would often collapse from exhaustion in various places—the study, the hall, the attic, any nook or cranny—and fall into that man's arms...

The most outrageous thing is that sometimes, even when a person is in the bedroom and only two or three steps away from the bed, they can easily fall back onto the bed by simply turning sideways.

Sigh, no, they just keep dragging things out endlessly.

What was originally a problem that could have been solved by just one person falling has turned into a situation where two people fall into the bed curtains together, and it seems that the matter is not over yet.

Upon reading this, Li Xiao thought the story was too stupid and offered no helpful advice, so he simply tossed it back into the pile of books.

"Old Chang, what kind of rubbish are these books of yours? How come there isn't a single normal person among them?"

Hearing Li Xiao's muttered complaints, and knowing that the other party had only skimmed through it and hadn't finished reading it, Lao Chang immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

These books are not suitable for someone of Li Xiao's age to read.

If the other party really develops evil thoughts or goes astray because of this, then he will truly be letting down his old friend and his own conscience.

—Isn't this a sin?

Thinking this, Lao Chang hurriedly closed the book box, made up a random excuse, and finally managed to push the person out the door. He was already drenched in sweat.

Li Xiao watched as the door slammed shut in front of him, thankfully it didn't hit the tip of his nose.

Tsk tsk, what's wrong with Lao Chang? Did he take the wrong medicine or something...?

Li Xiao couldn't help but mutter to himself. However, this little episode quickly passed through his mind, leaving almost no trace.

Li Xiao continued to eat and sleep as usual, and as usual, he strolled to the base of the wall, intentionally or unintentionally glancing into the courtyard with his beautiful blue-green eyes.

In the past, Li Xiao was reluctant to step into the courtyard.

It wasn't that he was afraid of Shen Yun.

The main reason was that it was too cold inside, and he wasn't very resistant to the cold. He also really disliked the bitter smell of plum blossoms.

Of course, if you really have to say something, Li Xiao really didn't want to have anything to do with Shen Yun.

Sigh, what else can you say but fate?

He happened to run into those two talkative disciples, who then brought up the matter of Shen Yun leaving the house in front of Li Xiao...

I just wanted to take a closer look.

As a result, I couldn't help but walk closer after looking at it for a while.

As you get closer, you can't help but reach out your hand.

By the time she realized what was happening, all that was left was emptiness in her arms, and even her heart felt empty for a moment.

The scent of the other person still seemed to linger in my nasal cavity, neither delicate nor soft, yet inexplicably comforting and nostalgic.

At that moment, Li Xiao seemed to understand why the men and women in those storybooks always huddled together and sniffed each other.

It must be said that having read books can be useful to some extent, at least for Li Xiao at this moment...

As soon as the thought popped into his mind, his body moved at the same time. He took two quick steps and hugged the child who was getting further and further away from him from behind.

He gave me a big hug.

Yes, that's the feeling of fulfillment.

An irrepressible surge of joy and elation welled up within me.

—It's as if this is the "right" thing that Li Xiao should have done a long time ago.

In fact, Li Xiao could sense that the child was resisting when he hugged him, but he couldn't resist because Li Xiao was taller and stronger.

"Don't go over there, there's a pervert," Li Xiao said to the other person, trying to keep his voice down.

What I really wanted to say was, "Stay, don't leave."

Of course, the guy opposite, with his hand outstretched and a creepy grin on his face, did look rather abnormal.

Not to mention, Shen Yun, who had been chasing him all the way, still had that expressionless face, but his hand was clearly on the hilt of his sword.

Li Xiao...

Li Xiaocai wasn't afraid at all.

The first rule of the Hidden Immortal Sect is that fellow disciples must not kill each other, which is why Shen Yun had to perform in the martial arts arena every time she punished someone.

In reality, they are using the guise of a competition to cover up the true nature of revenge.

Even if we take a step back and fight to the death, Shen Yun might not be able to escape unscathed; more likely, both sides will suffer heavy losses.

Li Xiao had already made up his mind; he wanted to bring that brat to his side.

—As for the reasons?

There's really no reason, because Li Xiao always does things entirely according to his heart; if he thinks something, he thinks it.

Prior to this, although everyone in the sect knew that Li Xiao was different from others, as a disciple, Li Xiao neither needed to attend classes with others nor was he subject to strict sect rules.

But he never actually wanted anything.

The reason why others perceive this indulgence is largely because Lao Chang has very low expectations for Li Xiao, the son of his old friend. As long as he lives well, everything else is secondary.

In fact, Li Xiao could clearly sense that Lao Chang did not want him to achieve anything as a disciple of the sect, but instead always planned his future according to the minimum standards of an ordinary person.

To have enough to eat and wear throughout one's life, and to have no worries about food and clothing... For the vast majority of ordinary people in the world, achieving these things is perhaps already a rare and precious thing.

For practitioners—

For those old folks who can live for hundreds or even thousands of years, these things are simply not worth mentioning.

Li Xiao did not blame anyone, including Lao Chang, for this.

Moreover, he could vaguely guess Lao Chang's intentions and knew that the reason for the other party's arrangement was largely due to a sense of unease.

Li Xiao is different from everyone else here, not only because of his normal eye and hair color, but also because he is not a complete human being.

His body was half-demon blood, which destined him to be unable to fully integrate into pure-blooded humans.

Because demon blood lacks stability, it is inherently extremely uncontrollable. This characteristic is amplified to the greatest extent when combined with bloodlines from other races.

Demons and humans...

Before celebrating the possibility of a great love, we must first realize that this unnatural pairing itself had already sown the seeds of instability at the very beginning of the story.

Actually, Li Xiao is not bad.

Because he was found shortly after birth, and appropriate measures were taken. Those old guys worked together to seal the demon core inside his body and used spiritual energy to cleanse the demonic energy in his bloodline.

As a result, apart from his eerie appearance, Li Xiao's physical constitution is now almost identical to that of an ordinary person.

However, with his demon core sealed, Li Xiao could neither cultivate like an ordinary demon nor, because he could not mobilize the spiritual energy input from the outside world, he could not cultivate normally like other disciples.

He may look glamorous on the surface, but he's actually a good-for-nothing who will never amount to anything.

Even so, an accident occurred a few years ago. The demonic power that should have been properly sealed suddenly went berserk.

Finally, the incident was brought to a close by the combined efforts of a group of people to suppress it.

Later, some people speculated that the reason why such an unexpected situation occurred was likely due to the overlap of Li Xiao's growth period.

Generally speaking, at every turning point, the instability of demon blood surges... like this time when it almost broke the seal.

After that, Li Xiao fell seriously ill and didn't wake up for several months.

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Old Chang, who was standing by my bedside with great concern.

Old Chang repeatedly asked about his physical condition, such as how he felt and if he had any discomfort. At that time, Li Xiao just shook his head.

I feel like I've been in a very long dream.

But when I think about it carefully, I can't remember anything.

After confirming that Li Xiao had no other issues besides the memory loss that occurred during the accident, Lao Chang seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Then, in a very tactful way, he mentioned to Li Xiao that in order to prevent a similar situation from happening again, the higher-ups had taken some measures, and after that, Li Xiao might feel that his body was different from before.

At that time, Li Xiao was still a bit dazed, and since he was naturally carefree, he didn't even think to ask any further questions.

I still eat, drink, and sleep as usual... but I can't sleep very well anymore, probably because I slept for too long before.

At first, Li Xiao didn't feel anything different and continued to be a carefree good-for-nothing, just as everyone around her expected.

But several years have passed.

Seeing that a cousin who was originally not much different from himself had gradually developed the features of a young man with his androgynous face and was growing taller and taller, Li Xiao stared at the still innocent and childlike face in the mirror and fell into silence.

He seems to have stopped growing.

To be precise, it stopped at the state it was in before the accident happened.

Recalling how hesitant and stammering Lao Chang was when he vaguely mentioned this matter to him, Li Xiao had complained that Lao Chang was rambling and didn't get to the point. Now, he realized that he was the one making a fool of himself.

So, will I always be like this?

Later, Li Xiao went to ask Lao Chang about this matter.

The other party remained silent upon hearing this, perhaps trying to find a more appropriate way to phrase it.

[When a more suitable method is found, perhaps...]

"So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, it will be as I said before, right?" Li Xiao interrupted Lao Chang abruptly.

The latter nodded, looking as if he was full of guilt.

After a moment of silence, Li Xiao was the first to laugh out loud.

Seeing Lao Chang's astonished expression, Li Xiao remained as carefree as ever: "Anyway, we're both useless now, so being a big useless person or a little useless person doesn't seem to make much difference, does it?"

He genuinely felt that way.

Unexpectedly, Lao Chang showed an even more ashamed expression, as if he had done something wrong to him.

Li Xiao almost laughed. He wanted to ask, "Are you my dad or my mom?" But then he thought about it and realized that wasn't quite the right way to put it, since even his own parents didn't want to take care of him.

Seeing that the old man seemed particularly guilty, Li Xiao finally held back and didn't break the strange, sad atmosphere.

From then on, Lao Chang looked at him with a hint of ingratiation.

She was always subtly inquiring about whether Li Xiao wanted anything. It seemed she wanted to make up for her failure to take good care of her old friend's son.

Li Xiao found this about the old man very annoying.

Life was already boring enough, but at least seeing the other person with a chubby face and a worried expression walking around in front of me was inexplicably depressing.

It was only after reading those storybooks that Li Xiao found a description that was at least extremely vivid in his eyes... a resentful woman in her boudoir.

Sometimes, Li Xiao would also like to make some casual requests, just to appease the other party's feelings of guilt.

But upon closer reflection, Li Xiao realized that he didn't really have anything he particularly wanted.

Because he is already trapped in the present.

The past is gone, and the future is uncertain... It may never happen.

His thoughts and ideas seemed to be trapped in place along with this body that never grew up, coming to a complete standstill.

What do I really want?

Li Xiao vaguely felt that there should be something, but when it came to the point of being on the tip of her tongue, she just couldn't bring herself to say it.

What he wanted, he wanted to possess, to have it completely and utterly his own.

It must be pieced together from a few scattered features... a comforting body temperature, a pleasant scent, a slightly clumsy but not unpleasant gesture of affection, and a pair of eyes that are not particularly lively but are focused and earnest enough.

Li Xiao always thought that it was just his imagination when he was bored, and even in his imagination, he did not think that he really liked this type.

However, when the person who had gathered all these elements actually appeared before him, Li Xiao hesitated.

He secretly observed again and again, still harboring doubts... until now, when he held her in his arms, feeling that familiar body temperature, and smelling the soft scent of her body, he was certain that this was what he wanted.

"I want him."

Li Xiao said to Lao Chang and his group who arrived late.

It is not a request, but a statement.