Chapter 67 The pain isn't from the wounds, but from the heart.
The small pharmacy was completely silent.
Hua Xun looked at the hand that was holding her with surprise; it was jade-white and slender.
Looking up from that hand, she saw the deep, focused eyes of the man in the white robe.
"Ah Xun," he called her, his voice exceptionally pleasant, the last syllable soft and filled with indescribable tenderness.
Hua Xun's heart trembled, and she was slightly stunned. Recalling her previous ninety-odd years, she was certain that she had never seen such a stunning person.
"Young master, do you know me?" Hua Xun asked hesitantly.
The moment she asked the question, she clearly saw a hint of surprise appear on the originally calm and gentle face of the man in white, and a few clear golden spiritual energies flickered around him.
No, that's not spiritual power.
It looked purer than spiritual energy, and felt strangely familiar.
Hua Xun frowned, increasingly feeling that she had missed something.
The next instant, the man in white raised his hand, his fingertips reaching for her brow.
But just as they were about to touch, a pale, thin hand gripped his wrist tightly: "Young master, this is probably inappropriate," Baili Sheng said in a hoarse voice.
Shenjun Jiuqing raised his eyes, a hint of unease appearing on his usually unchanging emotions, and said indifferently, "Let go."
Baili Sheng stared at him: "Absolutely not."
The moment the words were spoken, golden light instantly filled the palm of the Divine Lord's hand.
For the first time, he couldn't control his emotions and took the initiative.
At the same time, demonic energy surged forth from Baili Sheng's hands.
Golden light and crimson light collided at the entrance of the small medicine hall, and powerful divine and demonic energies clashed fiercely in the undercurrents.
Hua Xun looked at the man in white with a puzzled expression, then at Baili Sheng.
She knew that Baili Sheng's magical power was unfathomable, and that he was hard to match even among both the human and immortal races. She felt a strange sense of unease about the man in white.
Hua Xun didn't have time to ponder the source of her worries; she had already grabbed the wrists of the two of them.
In an instant, the power of gods and demons suddenly stopped.
“It was just a touch on the forehead, and besides, this young master didn’t even touch it,” Hua Xun frowned and pulled Baili Sheng’s hand down first. “Baili Sheng, I’m fine.”
After saying that, Hua Xun pulled the white-clad man's hand down again: "Young master, although I feel particularly close to you, you have probably mistaken me for someone else. I'm sorry."
Hua Xun didn't know why she had to apologize. But when she said "mistaken identity," her emotions sank into an endless swamp.
A faint glimmer appeared in Baili Sheng's eyes, and he gripped Hua Xun's hand tightly in return: "Let's go home."
Hua Xun paused, nodded slightly, hesitated for a moment, and finally let go of the hand holding the man in white.
The moment she let go, the man in the white clothes twitched his fingers, as if trying to pull her back again.
Hua Xun raised her head, squinted her eyes, and forced a smile: "I'm going home."
Baili Sheng almost immediately pulled her outside.
Hua Xun took a few steps, then inexplicably stopped and turned back to look at the entrance of the pharmacy.
The man in the white coat remained standing at the doorway, gazing at her silently.
Hua Xun's breathing became slightly sluggish. She only turned around after Baili Sheng pulled her forward. However, she stopped again after walking a short distance.
The pure golden spiritual energy surrounding the man in white seemed to vanish, leaving him standing alone as if abandoned.
A strange, inexplicable pain welled up in Hua Xun's chest. She wanted to tell him, "Stop looking, you should go home too," but her throat felt blocked.
As she reached the street corner, Hua Xun couldn't help but turn back one last time.
This time, she saw a hint of youthful bewilderment in the eyes of the man in white.
"Ah Xun," Baili Sheng called her in a hoarse voice.
Hua Xun suddenly snapped back to reality, responded softly, and looked away, but her heart felt empty, as if she had lost something important.
Hua Xun blankly obeyed Baili Sheng's pull and walked forward along the street. The further she walked, the stronger the feeling of loss became, and her eyes inexplicably became hot and red.
What's wrong with her?
Shouldn't she be hoping that Baili Sheng would fulfill his promise? Why would she have such strong feelings for a strange man who suddenly appeared on the street?
Could it be that she, like the fickle scholar in the storybooks, is prone to infidelity and changing her mind constantly...?
"What is Ah Xun thinking about?" Baili Sheng asked anxiously.
Hua Xun's lips moved. In that instant, she actually wanted to say: Let's not pay attention to that promise anymore, okay?
But the words caught in her throat, and she swallowed them back, gently shaking her head: "It's nothing."
Baili Sheng's expression stiffened slightly, but she quickly smiled gently: "There's a dessert shop just ahead, shall I go and buy some for you?"
Looking ahead, Hua Xun saw that the chimney above the dessert shop was still emitting smoke and a sweet aroma.
She nodded hastily.
Baili Sheng held her hand until they reached the shop entrance before letting go.
Hua Xun stood quietly at the door, but the image of the man in white from before resurfaced in her mind.
Unconsciously, she reached into her purse and took out a pastry.
Until she tasted the pastry, a strange, sweet aroma wafted over her, yet it evoked a feeling of profound familiarity.
Hua Xun was taken aback and looked down at the pastry in her hand.
These aren't the ones Baili Sheng bought at the market earlier, but... peach blossom cakes that aren't available in Wufang Town.
"This time when you go to worship the God, you must not do it half-heartedly. You must pray sincerely. The God even appeared in my dream a while ago and said that you will be a top scholar in the future."
"Mother, that was just your dream..."
A mother and son walked past Hua Xun.
Hua Xun's gaze followed the two people, and by the time she realized what was happening, she was already standing in front of the mother.
The woman was clearly startled, but when she saw the pretty young woman in front of her, she patted her chest and asked, "Miss, is something wrong?"
Hua Xun hesitated for a moment, then asked softly, "You just said you were going to worship the God?"
“Yes, the temple of the God is right there.” The woman pointed ahead.
Hua Xun looked in the direction she was pointing.
She knew where the Temple of the Divine Lord was, but for a fleeting moment, something flashed through her mind: "The Divine Lord is..."
The woman was puzzled, but still answered enthusiastically, "It is the Divine Lord Yisheng Zhaohui!"
Yisheng Zhaohui... Divine Lord.
Hua Xun murmured the name in her heart, when a sudden sharp pain shot through her temple.
The mother and son gave her a strange look and hurried away.
Hua Xun remained standing there, her face growing paler.
A few breaths later, she suddenly turned around, and this time she did not restrain her magic power, flying towards the direction of the Divine Lord Temple at top speed.
In the blink of an eye, she appeared outside the temple of the God.
Hua Xun did not go inside, but stood outside, gazing at the tall golden statue of the deity in the temple.
The majestic deity lowered his eyes, looking down upon all living beings; his compassionate eyes seemed to be filled with sorrow at this moment.
Hua Xun stared blankly, and a tear inexplicably rolled down her right eye.
She raised her hand to touch her cheek, staring at the water droplets on her fingertips, unable to come back to her senses for a long time.
After an unknown amount of time, Hua Xun slowly walked back the way she came. She hadn't gone far when she ran into Baili Sheng, who looked extremely anxious.
He was frantically searching for two bamboo tubes of sweet soup, which were protected by an invisible magic, and not a drop was spilled.
Upon seeing her, Baili Sheng abruptly stopped, a look of relief and joy appearing on his face.
"Ah Xun, where did you go?"
Hua Xun looked up at him calmly, and only after he asked again did she say, "I saw that it was very lively here, so I came to take a look."
Baili Sheng breathed a sigh of relief and looked into the distance. When he saw the Divine Lord Temple clearly, his expression tightened.
He looked at the girl's pale face, and a faint crimson light flashed at his fingertips.
"Baili Sheng," Hua Xun suddenly called his name, "would you lie to me?"
Baili Sheng's fingers suddenly froze: "...What?"
"Would you lie to me?" Hua Xun asked again.
Baili Sheng remained silent.
He lied to her.
He lied to her, saying he would "never betray her," but he was also the one who couldn't bear the consequences of the deception.
The crimson light at Baili Sheng's fingertips finally faded. He silently gathered the bamboo tube in one hand, and with the other hand, he reached out to take her hand.
Hua Xun's fingertips twitched slightly, but she didn't say anything in the end, letting him pull her along as they walked step by step towards Dahe Village.
When we returned to Dahe Village, it was nearly evening.
Hua Xun gazed quietly at the familiar yet unfamiliar courtyard, her eyes momentarily lost in thought.
"Are you hungry?" Baili Sheng asked softly, taking out a moon-white mustard seed bag from her waist. "I bought a lot of food at the market today, so we can have a more substantial dinner."
Hua Xun snapped out of her daze and looked at Baili Sheng's retreating figure as he walked into the woodshed.
He didn't use any magic; instead, as she always did, he struck the flint repeatedly until a faint flame appeared, igniting the firewood.
Wisps of smoke rose from the chimney.
Hua Xun gazed at the wisp of smoke, walked to the door of the woodshed, and looked at the figure with its back to him.
After looking around for an unknown amount of time, Hua Xun withdrew her gaze, turned and walked into the house. Looking at the house, which was almost exactly the same as before, she sat on the wooden stool at the door.
When Baili Sheng carried out the bowl of white porridge that smelled of firewood, he saw the girl sitting quietly at the door. He paused briefly, then his expression softened, and he stepped forward: "Dinner is ready."
Just like she always laid out the dinner table, only this time the person doing these things was Baili Sheng.
Hua Xun stared at the dinner in front of her, neither speaking nor moving.
Baili Sheng seemed oblivious to her unusual behavior and placed the bamboo shoots into her bowl, saying, "I remember you like bamboo shoots."
Hua Xun lowered her eyes, looked for a while, picked up the bamboo chopsticks beside her, and quietly took a bite.
A faint light flashed in Baili Sheng's eyes, followed by many more.
Hua Xun gazed at the crisp and sweet green bamboo shoots, put down her chopsticks, and didn't take another bite.
Baili Sheng paused slightly, then smiled after a long while: "I've never made these before, I'm afraid they won't taste good."
"You'll get better with more practice in the future."
Hua Xun pursed her lips tightly and remained silent.
“Oh right,” Baili Sheng remembered something, “I just bought some flower seeds, so I’ll plant them now.” He raised his hand, and a packet of seeds appeared out of thin air.
He stood up and was about to walk into the courtyard.
The next instant, a longsword formed from a dark blue light pierced his left shoulder, and rampant demonic energy and drops of crimson blood surged out in an instant.
Baili Sheng stood frozen in place for a long time, then slowly walked forward as if nothing had happened.
His body gradually detached from the lightsaber, leaving trails of blood, yet he still walked step by step into the courtyard and squatted down in front of a patch of flowers and grass swaying in the wind.
Without using any magic, he quietly dug small holes in the soil with his fingers and scattered the seeds into them.
The blood droplet from the innate demonic body dripped onto the soil of the mortal realm, and before long, the newly planted seed sprouted and grew pitch-black leaves.
The flowers and plants in the distance also seemed to be affected by the demonic energy, gradually becoming gloomy.
Baili Sheng looked up at the girl standing not far in front of him: "You've stained your flowers."
Hua Xun looked at the flowers that were gradually turning gray: "My flowers died in that great fire long ago."
Baili Sheng's hands, covered in mud and blood, trembled violently. After a long silence, he said in a hoarse voice, "This is no longer an illusion..."
“I know,” Hua Xun said quietly, “but this is no longer my home.”
Baili Sheng suddenly fell silent.
Hua Xun remained silent for a long time before calmly saying, "I gave you a sword, you lied to me, so we're even."
Neither of them owes the other anything.
“Hua Xun,” Baili Sheng called to her, “do you know why I didn’t seal your memories away again by the Temple of the Divine Lord?”
Hua Xun stared at him, neither moving nor responding.
Baili Sheng coughed softly and laughed: "Because I've discovered that I'm not so happy keeping you here by deceiving you."
He had received her pure affection before, so he was better able to discern her displeasure at this moment.
Even if it takes him more than half a year to gradually restore the entire village.
Even if he wore the white clothes he loathed.
Even if he erases his demonic nature and disguises himself as a gentle person.
He was afraid to look into her eyes. He was afraid that even if she only remembered him, even if he tried his best to pretend to be the way she liked him, she would still no longer like him.
He refused to admit that she no longer genuinely liked him as a person.
But……
"If..." He heard his own voice lowering itself, a humility he hadn't felt in nearly ten thousand years, "If I don't mind that you have someone else in your heart, could you..."
Hua Xun's pupils suddenly dilated as she stared at him in disbelief.
“Bai Lisheng,” she called his name, “do you still remember how you looked down on my identity as a crow?”
Baili Sheng's long eyelashes trembled slightly.
Hua Xun said calmly, "A crow has only one mate in its entire life."
After saying that, she turned and walked towards the door.
The color drained from Baili Sheng's face, leaving it as pale as paper.
She had said long ago that crows are monogamous and only have one mate for life.
She had already told him what the correct answer was.
He embarked on the wrong path from the very beginning, through deception and exploitation.
Baili Sheng coughed and spat out a mouthful of blood.
He stared blankly at the pool of blood on the ground, vaguely recalling how she had hurriedly and anxiously wiped his blood with a handkerchief when he coughed up blood.
Baili Sheng chuckled softly, but the smile faded the next moment.
It hurts a lot.
It's not a wound, it's the heart.
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Author's Note: One more chapter, and the main story will be finished!
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