Chu Huaixu lowered his eyes, his eyes filled with undisguised sarcasm: "Brother Xiang must have heard about those things, right? He should be in a high position and enjoying wealth and honor by now."
"I wonder if he'll be woken up by nightmares in the middle of the night after he gets what he wants. Probably not, after all, he's a heartless person, and how could a heartless person be afraid?"
Song Ting felt as if his heart was being crushed. The immense pain assaulted him, making his meridians seem to be flowing backward, and a sweet taste rose in his throat.
"Brother Xiang." But Chu Huaixu took the initiative to grab his arm at this moment, looking at him with cold sweat dripping down his face.
He didn't seem to really want any answers from Xiang Qing, because after asking that question, he changed the subject, and the sarcasm in his eyes turned into expectation:
"We agreed that once I could stand up, you would take off your mask and meet me. Does that still stand?"
His hair was soaked with cold sweat, clinging wetly to his face. He looked like a flower ravaged by wind and snow, both fragile and beautiful, making Song Ting's heart flutter and ache.
He opened his mouth and uttered two words with difficulty: "It's arithmetic."
"Okay." Chu Huaixu's chest heaved as he smiled at him.
This smile was different from any other. Song Ting hadn't seen him smile like this in a long time since the Duan Prince's Mansion was destroyed.
His usual smiles were forced out so as not to worry "Xiang Qing," and they weren't genuine at all.
The smile at this moment felt familiar to Song Ting. If it weren't for his terrible complexion, Song Ting would have suspected that everything before was just a nightmare, and that the Prince's mansion hadn't actually been destroyed and everyone was safe and sound.
Huai Xu, on the other hand, did not suffer much hardship. He remained the carefree and happy little nobleman, pampered and indulged by everyone.
The truth is quite the opposite.
Song Ting was heartbroken beyond words. She pursed her lips tightly and, under Chu Huaixu's expectant gaze, tapped her fingers on the black mask and slowly removed it.
As he had said before, his face was severely burned by the fire, and there was almost no good skin left on his face, making it unrecognizable.
It does look rather terrifying and grotesque.
Chu Huaixu raised his arm, his fingertips gently stroking the pitted scars, his beautiful eyes trembling violently.
Song Ting's heart pounded. Chu Huaixu's fingertips were like the most potent aphrodisiac in the world to him. As soon as they touched his face, the skin that had been touched felt like it was on fire, burning hot.
But it also made him feel somewhat embarrassed.
"Did I scare you?" He turned his head away, not daring to meet Chu Huaixu's gaze again. "Don't look, it's ugly."
"No." Chu Huaixu's voice was choked with emotion, his fingertips trembling. "Does it hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt," Song heard.
The spark that had been igniting was instantly extinguished by Huai Xu's words of concern. Song Ting suddenly realized that the person Chu Huai Xu cared about and felt sorry for at this moment was this "Hero Xiang" or "Brother Xiang" who had appeared out of nowhere, not Song Qingxiang or Song Xiaogou.
Using a fake name and a fake appearance, he sought Chu Huaixu's concern.
But the real Song Ting could no longer win Huai Xu's heartache; Huai Xu only felt hatred and resentment towards him.
This made Song Ting feel sad. She became jealous of herself.
The more excited he was just moments ago, the more heartbroken and disappointed he felt now. He disliked Huaixu showing concern for others, even if that "other person" was actually himself.
He only hoped that this person's gaze would be fixed on Song Qingxiang.
"It's not ugly." Chu Huaixu added, "I wasn't scared either. Brother Xiang won't have to wear a mask anymore, okay?"
"Oh no," Song Ting thought to himself, "I don't want Chu Huaixu to see me looking like this."
But Chu Huaixu had spoken, and he couldn't refuse, so he could only nod and say, "Okay."
Two days later, Chu Huaixu began practicing walking. Although his tendons and veins had been reconnected, after such a severe injury, it was almost impossible for him to stand up and walk immediately; he would have to endure a lot of hardship.
Every day for two hours, Chu Huaixu had to walk around the thatched hut. At first, he could barely walk a few steps, his legs were still weak and he couldn't muster any strength. Gradually, he got better and was able to walk a few steps.
But like the mermaids in mythology, the price he paid for learning to walk was having his fish tail split in two. Every step he took was like walking on a bed of nails, causing excruciating pain.
At one point, Chu Huaixu felt he was about to give up.
Xiang Qing came up with a solution: he made a small figure out of straw and wrote the character "Song" on its chest to represent Song Ting.
He placed the straw figure in front of him, encouraging Chu Huaixu to walk forward. Once he reached the straw figure, Chu Huaixu could plunge the dagger into Song Ting's heart.
“Young master, walk forward, come over here, kill him, kill him with your own hands.” Xiang Qing encouraged him again and again.
Intense hatred sustained Chu Huaixu as he continued on, gritting his teeth and pushing forward.
After half a month, his legs had finally recovered to almost their full extent. Song Ting discussed it with him and they decided to bid farewell to their fellow disciples and leave Lao Jun Mountain.
Yan Qingshan couldn't wait for them to leave, but Shi Luoxuan was very reluctant to see them go, and asked Chu Huaixu, "Are you really not planning to stay a few more days?"
Chu Huaixu actually quite liked this place and also liked the two fellow disciples, but because of his status, he didn't want to cause trouble for them.
Anyway… he glanced at the man in black chopping wood in the yard. He was going to leave sooner or later anyway, and no matter what he did, this man couldn’t stay here for long.
"Yes," Chu Huaixu said. "Thank you both for taking care of me during this time. I will meet you again someday if fate allows. I will remember your great kindness and will repay you by serving you as my servant in my next life."
Shi Luoxuan was originally filled with sorrow because of parting, but when he saw Chu Huaixu's serious expression, he immediately laughed: "It's not that exaggerated, it's just a small favor."
Chu Huaixu laughed along with him.
"Alright, then let my senior brother go down the mountain to buy some good wine and food to give you a farewell feast."
Chu Huaixu nodded: "Thank you."
Yan Qingshan was very obedient to his junior brother. No matter how unwilling he was, he went down the mountain to do what Shi Luoxuan ordered. Not only that, Shi Luoxuan also personally prepared several dishes.
That evening, the four of them sat in the courtyard, drinking and eating under the gentle moonlight. Yan Qingshan even insisted on playing rock-paper-scissors with Song Ting, with the loser having to drink a cup of wine.
But he was unlucky; he lost nine out of ten times. Towards the end, he was almost out of his mind and started talking nonsense.
One moment she's cursing the Medicine Sect leader for being pedantic, the next she's clinging to Shi Luoxuan's arm, saying how much she likes him, and then she's threatening to fight Song Ting, vowing to throw him off Mount Laojun...
Shi Luoxuan was exasperated by his antics: "I'll get this drunkard inside first."
Chu Huaixu smiled and said, "Yes."
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