58 Ancient City (Thirteen)
◎I feel bad◎
Pale moonlight slashed through the window pane like a thin blade, illuminating every speck of dust in the cracks between the bricks. The darkness in the boy's eyes faded completely in an instant. He walked inside without looking around, half of his body gradually immersing in the darkness.
"Thank you, Master, for coming so quickly." Qi He narrowed his eyes, and with a flick of his wrist, he gently pulled the person closer. As if no one was around, he said softly, "Tang'er, it's a bit cold here. How about you come with me to where I live?"
Of course Li Jintang didn't want to go. She struggled with her wrist, but the other party just eased up and refused to let go.
"No need, I'll go back right away..." Before she could finish her words, she suddenly noticed someone's gaze on the bottle of antidote. She paused and stammered, "I...I'll go with you."
Xie Changyan hadn't glanced at them once since entering. He sneered, "City Lord Qi, did you trick me here just to see you two reminisce?"
Qi He seemed very satisfied with this statement. He raised his hand slightly and said, "Si Yun, treat Mr. Xie well. It's best not to let anyone leave before I return."
A person stepped out from the darkness. Si Yun bowed and accepted the order: "Yes." She extended her hand in a gesture of "invitation" and said: "Young Master, please follow me."
The young man remained indifferent, with a hint of sarcasm at the corner of his mouth. It was not until the girl staggered away with the others and her back faded from his sight that his dark pupils moved slightly, and he raised his foot and brushed past Si Yun's outstretched hand.
*
The lights in the corridor lit up one by one. Li Jintang slowed down and followed behind, always keeping a distance from him.
She looked back at the way she came, secretly wondering if if she ran out now, she could run back to the inn to find Brother Qu and the others before being caught by him.
The person in front suddenly stopped, and she stepped back in panic, afraid that he would see that she wanted to escape.
Qi He pushed open a door, stepped aside to make way for her, turned around and looked at her with a smile: "Tang'er, do you feel familiar?"
here it is……
The ground was covered with light yellow osmanthus flowers, and the faint fragrance of the flowers gently surrounded her. Li Jintang was stunned for a moment, staring blankly at the scene in front of her.
Isn’t this the foot of the mountain where my old home used to be?
She raised her eyes nervously, fear in her eyes: "You...how do you know..."
"This is what I saw when I was little. I loved going out to play with my junior sister, and this is the scene." Qi He smiled slightly, his eyes never leaving her. "Miss, since you look so much like my junior sister, you can come here anytime you want in the future."
Although she couldn't guess the identity of the person in front of her, she had to admit that this was the first time she felt familiar with this place after coming here for so long.
There's a strange... sense of warmth.
"How can I be so embarrassed?" Li Jintang hurriedly retreated, stammering, "I am already so grateful that you gave me the antidote so easily. How can I still..."
This one is made for you...
Qi He didn't say this out loud, but just looked at her silently for a long time, and finally smiled softly: "It's okay, if you like it, go in and take a look."
It was clearly an invitation, but the tone contained a strong sense of pleading.
"I..." Li Jintang opened his mouth, unable to think of a way to refuse, so he lowered his head to avoid his gaze, "They are still waiting for the antidote."
He suddenly raised his hand without saying a word, and then two people walked out from the darkness, standing beside him with their heads bowed respectfully.
"Just let them do it," Qi He held her hand and took the bottle of antidote very naturally. "Just this once, just think of it as... you accompanying me, okay?"
That look was too passionate and too pitiful, and she felt she couldn't refuse.
Li Jintang was guided to sit on the swing. A force lifted her up gently, and a cool breeze blew in her face. She felt dizzy for a moment.
I also have a swing like this in my yard, and even the color is very similar.
When she was eating, besides her elder sister, there seemed to be someone else who was gently pushing her like this...
But why couldn't she remember? There was only a very hazy figure in her mind, but she couldn't see the person's face clearly no matter how hard she tried.
"What is Tang'er thinking about?"
A light voice came into her ears, interrupting her thoughts, and the figure that suddenly appeared in her mind was shattered.
Qi He didn't know what she was thinking, so he just smiled and reminded her: "Hold on tight."
Don't fall off the swing again like you did before.
But today, there was no way he would just watch her fall.
Li Jintang jumped down, her face flushed slightly from the wind. Suddenly, she didn't want to go back so early. Pointing at the shimmering river not far away, her eyes welled with tears. "Can we release the water lanterns?"
Of course he wouldn't refuse. He smiled with his lips pulled back, and was in a very good mood.
The girl, skirt lifted, ran to the river. A few unlit paper lanterns floated on the water, gleaming brightly in the moonlight. She squatted down, gently stroking the water with her fingertips. Ripples spread, and the reflected moonlight shattered into fine silver.
Qi He stood behind her and watched her quietly. He snapped his fingers and sparks suddenly lit up on the river surface. Several paper lanterns floated down the river from upstream. The plain white lampshades reflected the warm yellow candlelight, and a hazy halo was spread among the waves.
At an inopportune moment, she recalled what had just happened and quickly stood up, saying, "Is Xie An still waiting? Go quickly and don't keep him waiting any longer."
He moved his fingers, and after a moment, turned around as he was told.
"Wait a minute," Li Jintang came forward, "I'll go with you."
Xie An was still injured. If Qi He wanted to harm him right now, it would be easy for him to even kill him.
"Tang'er, it's not that I don't want to, but I'm afraid Master Xie doesn't want you to hear what I'm going to say later."
He always smiled when he spoke. Li Jintang tilted his head, unable to figure out what he meant.
In the end, she didn't go with them. After all, Xie An was the protagonist, so nothing should happen to him.
*
"Thank you, Master. I hope you are well."
The young man leaned against the carved pillars. He didn't even blink when he heard footsteps. His voice was as cold as ice. "Congratulations! I never thought that after being expelled from the sect, you not only survived but also became the lord of a city."
Qi He smiled and continued, "What you should congratulate me most is that today, thanks to all of you, I was able to find my junior sister."
Xie Changyan's eyelashes trembled when he heard this, and his knuckles tapped on the corridor pillars with a dull sound. The moonlight outlined a cold contour on his face.
Seeing that he had no intention of answering, Qi He's smile froze on his lips, and he was very dissatisfied with the other party's behavior.
"Thank you, Master. You've been traveling with my junior sister for a long time. Thank you so much for taking such good care of her along the way." Qi He ignored his expression and continued, "My junior sister has been very close to me since we were young. She once said that she would marry no one but me. If it weren't for that incident, we would have already..."
"Are you done?" The young man raised his eyes coldly, then immediately returned to his usual expression. He said nonchalantly, "I'm not interested in your past. If your next sentence doesn't get to the point, I'm sorry I can't keep you company."
"What's the hurry? Master Xie, I'm afraid you don't have a sweetheart yet, right? When you find someone you love in the future, it will probably be even more beautiful than me..." Seeing the other person's face getting more serious, he finally stopped talking, turned around and walked up the stairs, "Follow me."
On the top floor of the tower stood a statue, different from the one I had seen in the inn that day. Beneath its slender eyebrows, a pair of eyes were carved with piercing spirit. Although the face was blurry, it was clear that it was a woman...
Xie Changyan stared at it silently for a moment, then his pupils trembled slightly. He immediately turned his face away, his brows slightly furrowed, as if he had seen something extremely disgusting.
Even looking at him for a second made him feel irritated.
Qi He deliberately ignored his reaction, gently stroking the statue with his fingers. He sighed, "It's said that if the statue at the center of the formation is made to resemble someone you're in love with, your power will be greatly enhanced. My power has indeed improved a lot over the years. Do you think this means that Junior Sister also has feelings for me?"
"I'm not good at mind reading," Xie Changyan's lips curled up slowly, but that smile only made the coldness in his eyes even more intense. "You might as well ask it yourself."
Qi He gave him a forced smile, then dropped it and said coldly, "I'm guessing you don't want your identity to be discovered, right? After all, you haven't achieved your goal yet, and I'm probably the only one here who knows your identity."
"Right, Sect Master?" Qi He said this, then covered his mouth with his sleeve in feigned surprise, saying, "Oh no, it should be the former Sect Master." He deliberately emphasized the word "former" and put on an expression of deep regret. "I heard that the current Sect Master is your former loyal subordinate. What a pity..."
"So much nonsense."
Xie Changyan glanced at him impatiently. Just as he walked out the door, he heard the man's cold voice behind him: "The reason you stayed here is because of Xuanyu, right?"
"I do." Seeing him stop, Qi He spread his hands and said, "You want to regain the position of sect leader and avenge your grievances, while I just want to expose the true faces of those hypocrites in the immortal world. Then you can return to the demon world, and I will kill the enemy for my junior sister, and then we can leave the world and live in seclusion. Isn't that killing two birds with one stone?"
The young man listened disjointedly, and finally, when he heard the phrase "living in seclusion," his expression changed slightly. He stood in silence for a moment, then sneered, "Why should I believe you?"
"You came here, do you have any other purpose besides seeking cooperation with me?" Qi He's face suddenly flashed with a hint of ridicule, "It's definitely not for my junior sister..."
"Give me the Xuanyu," Xie Changyan interrupted him bluntly, "It's useless for you to hold on to it. If you want to kill those people in the Immortal Realm, you'd better do as I say."
"Master Xie, your attitude when asking for help is truly terrible," Qi He sighed, shaking his head. "But I'm in a great mood today because I'm reunited with my junior sister. I have no use for this thing, so I'll give it to you."
The black jade drew an arc in mid-air. Qi He smiled and said, "As a cultivator, black jade is indeed useless to me. As for other things... I have to keep a backup plan for myself."
Xie Changyan raised his hand to take the fragment, and seemed to sense it with the one on his waist.
His eyes darkened, and he held the third fragment he had found after searching for a long time in his palm.
*
The inn was silent. Li Jintang walked in quietly, raised his hand and knocked on the door a few times, but no one answered.
...Brother Qu clearly said that we would leave in the middle of the night, so why did we fall asleep together?
She put the medicine bottle in her arms, and when she passed by Xie An's room, she was surprised to find that the light was still on inside.
He... is back? Didn't Qi He give him any trouble just now?
Li Jintang hesitated at the door for a long time. When he finally raised his hand to knock on the door, the door was opened from the inside.
The young man looked at her with his eyes downcast, his face seemed even more haggard than during the day.
"How did you know I was here?" She was startled and asked cautiously, "Is your injury getting worse?"
He looked around for a moment, then suddenly chuckled, "You've been lingering in front of my door for a while now. If I don't open it, are you going to stand there until dawn?"
Before she could reply, the man suddenly loosened his grip on the door, glanced away, and asked casually, "Miss Li, are you having fun? I see he's treating you very gently."
In just half an hour, he kept talking about "Junior Sister".
【Author’s words】
Xiao Xie: I'm so jealous but I won't say it [Let me talk about it]
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