Xie Shuci gave him a disapproving look.
He thought to himself, "You're scared, yet I still sleep with you. What's wrong with letting you hold me now?"
Thinking this, he felt that Xie An was somewhat ungrateful, so he grabbed Xie An's wrist and placed it heavily on his neck, while leaning back a bit and using his back to brace against Xie An's arm.
Xie An tried to pull his hand back, but Xie Shuci lightly patted the back of his hand, signaling him not to move.
Li Song, who had taken in everything, was speechless.
His lips twitched twice, and he said with a dark face, "Do you really have to stick to him all the time?"
Xie Shuci exclaimed, "I just can't bear it. Don't you think it's pitiful for him to sit here all alone while we're talking?"
Li Song pouted and glanced at Xie An, who had no expression, "You and him..."
Xie Shuci frowned and said, "Why do you keep asking about my relationship with Xie An? Let me tell you, he's still young, so don't get any funny ideas."
Li Song's expression was like he'd eaten stale food: "What nonsense are you spouting? I'm not like you, I..."
"Alright," Xie Shuci waved his hand, relaxed his body and leaned against Xie An. This time Xie An did not move, letting him lean on him. "So what if the monster has intelligence?"
Li Song glanced at him and snorted coldly.
After exchanging a few words with Xie Shuci, his drowsiness dissipated considerably, but a lingering gloom settled on his face when the topic of demons came up.
Li Song did not speak immediately. He took a sip of lukewarm tea, remained silent for a moment, and then sighed, "It left a few words on the ground with its claws: 'Having avenged its great grudge, it will leave on its own.'"
Xie Shuci exclaimed in shock, "It can write?"
"Hmm. It's not surprising that it can read after living for more than two hundred years. If it cultivates for another one or two hundred years, it should be able to transform into a human."
Hearing this, Xie Shuci was a little puzzled: "I seem to remember somewhere that it is very difficult for demons to cultivate. They need to accumulate a lot of good karma and cannot kill living beings at will. If it kills a human, can it still achieve enlightenment in the end?"
Li Song slowly shook his head, looking somewhat confused. "No. It cultivated for two hundred years to become a spirit beast, but in order to take revenge, it was willing to let its two hundred years of cultivation go to waste. Even if it continued to cultivate, it would definitely be struck dead by heavenly lightning before it could take human form."
Xie Shuci frowned. "What revenge is it seeking?"
Li Song sighed again, a hint of struggle in his eyes, and said, "Two months ago, it led its kind to migrate to the desolate mountains near the town. It was a place rarely visited by humans. Zhang Quan, the son of Aunt Zhang, who died last night, happened to pass by and found a dying wolfhound. He took it home and shared it with his family. They probably thought it tasted good, so they had evil intentions and led a few warriors from the town to go hunting, killing two wolfhounds every other day. By the time that monster arrived at the desolate mountains with its second group of kind, all of its dogs had already been killed and eaten."
Xie Shuci got goosebumps as he listened, and he couldn't help but move closer to Xie An, his right hand unconsciously grabbing Xie An's belt.
Xie An lowered his eyes, pulled his hand off his belt, and held it firmly in his hand. Xie Shuci did not react, seemingly attracted by Li Song's words and unaware of what was happening.
"Is it avenging its own clan dog?" Xie Shuci's feelings were somewhat complicated.
"Yes. My uncle said that the first batch of dogs that migrated with it had the intelligence of a four or five-year-old child and had no malice toward humans, which is why they were easily preyed upon."
Xie Shuci was lost in thought. To avenge his clan dog, he had given up his two hundred years of cultivation. Xie Shuci didn't know whether to call him loyal or stupid.
Xie Shuci asked, "What do you plan to do with it after you catch it?"
Xie Shuci's thinking was too naive. He knew he couldn't let it continue killing people, but he didn't think it was extremely heinous. Rather, he felt that it was giving up the opportunity to cultivate into a human for the sake of its clan dogs, which made Xie Shuci sigh.
Li Song clenched his fist, "Kill her and then remove her core."
Xie Shuci frowned and said, "It didn't deserve this. Zhang Quan killed its clan dog first, so it's not wrong for it to avenge its clan dog."
"Do you know how precious the inner core of a spirit beast is? Especially a great demon that has cultivated for two hundred years. Not only can it prolong life, but it can also help increase cultivation. It can even repair spiritual veins and replace the golden core. Someone like you with no talent can rebuild your spiritual root by consuming its inner core. Don't you want it?" Li Song was indignant, but Xie Shuci could not see a trace of joy or greed on his face.
Xie Shuci shook her head. "I don't want it, and you don't want it either. Li Song, you also think it's not wrong, right?"
“I…” Li Song clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and lowered his head slowly with a look of shame and indignation on his face. “I want it! Do you know how many people want its inner core? As long as we get its inner core, the Li family can rise to a higher level and participate in the Immortal Sect Selection. Even if it doesn’t kill anyone, I will still get the inner core. Our purpose in coming here is to kill it and take its inner core!”
Xie Shuci stared at him blankly. For some reason, Li Song spoke so resolutely, yet Xie Shuci saw a hint of struggle on his face.
"Do you really want to kill it?" Xie Shuci asked suspiciously.
Xie Shuci's eyes were clear and straightforward. Under such a gaze, Li Song felt that he had nowhere to hide. It was as if there was a scale in his heart, and he stood in the middle of the scale, not knowing which side to tilt to.
"None of your business!" Li Song suddenly stood up, glaring fiercely at Xie Shuci. "You don't want his inner core because you're stupid!"
After saying that, he grabbed the sword on the table and left the hall.
Xie Shuci rolled her eyes as she watched his retreating figure. "Are you crazy? You got angry just because I said a few words to you?"
Xie Shuci sat up straight, only then realizing that his hand was still being held in Xie An's palm.
Xie An's hands were usually cool, but they were warm now, probably because they were touching Xie Shuci's skin.
Xie Shuci struggled slightly, and Xie An released his grip.
Xie An asked, "What did you talk about?"
Xie Shuci wrote in his palm: "It's nothing."
After a moment, he seemed to remember something and continued writing: "Can the inner core of a demon with two hundred years of cultivation help you restore your cultivation?"
Xie An fell silent and nodded.
Xie Shuci's heart tightened, and he asked hesitantly, "If I had one, would you want it?"
Xie Shuci stared intently at Xie An's face, not wanting to miss a single emotion, his heart filled with unease. Actually, Li Song was right; no one would refuse an inner core that could increase cultivation, but for some reason, he didn't want the little blind boy to be like everyone else.
There's no reason, I just don't want to.
Under his earnest gaze, Xie An remained silent for a long time, so long that Xie Shuci's heart clenched painfully.
Finally, after a long silence, Xie An spoke: "I don't want to."
Xie Shuci immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
He failed to notice that Xie An said "I don't want to," not "I don't want to."
The day passed peacefully. Before going to sleep, Xie Shuci, having learned his lesson, laid out the bedding next to Xie An's bed and specifically told Xie An not to get out of bed after waking up in the morning, but to wait for him to come and wake him.
The next morning, Xie Shuci opened his eyes and saw Xie An leaning against the headboard with his eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. He dressed and shook him awake. After washing up, the two of them took A Dong to the clinic.
Since Zhang Quan died that night, the shopkeeper has rarely shown his face, and A Dong has almost always been by their side.
Upon arriving at the clinic, the young doctor opened a small door and welcomed the three inside.
Although it wasn't the first time accompanying Xie An for acupuncture, Xie Shuci felt a headache coming on when he saw the slender silver needles piercing Xie An's skin. He quickly covered A Dong's eyes and turned his head to the side.
"Brother Xiaoci, I'm not afraid," Adong muttered.
"You're scared."
"I'm not afraid."
"You're scared!"
Ah Dong sighed helplessly, "Fine, I'm scared."
The old doctor chuckled, and the young apprentice also teased him with a few playful remarks.
Half an hour later, the old doctor put away the silver needles and said to Xie Shuci, "You don't need to bring him for acupuncture anymore. His hearing should recover in less than three days."
"Really? That's wonderful!" Xie Shuci exclaimed happily.
The old doctor nodded slightly. Although he was an old man with one foot in the grave, his hands were very steady. He carefully put the hair-thin silver needle back in.
Before leaving, the young doctor said with a worried look, "Young Master Xie, I heard from those young Taoist priests from the Li family that the monster is going to kill someone today. Please be careful on your way back."
Before Xie Shuci could speak, Adong grabbed his robe and said proudly, "Brother Xiaoci is also a cultivator. No monster can beat him."
Xie Shuci pinched his chubby cheek, grabbed Xie An with his other hand, and sighed to the young doctor, "Thank you, we'll be going now."
That monster has a sense of justice; it probably only wants revenge and won't harm the innocent.
Looking around, the long street was deserted, and a gentle breeze blew slowly from the street, adding to the sense of loneliness.
"The doctor said you'll be able to hear again in a few days," Xie Shuci said, pulling Xie An aside.
Xie An nodded, his expression neither sad nor happy.
As they passed through a dark alley, Xie An suddenly stopped and blocked Xie Shuci's path with one hand.
"There's a bloody smell." Xie An's lips moved slightly.
Xie Shuci's gaze sharpened, and he bent down to pick up A Dong.
Ah Dong leaned on Xie Shuci's shoulder, his clear black and white eyes curiously looking around.
As soon as Xie An finished speaking, several hurried and disorderly footsteps came from the dark alley.
"Baiyi! Li Baiyi, hang in there!"
"Quick, there's a clinic up ahead, take him there first!"
"No, the wound is too deep. Only a Soul-Returning Pill can save his life."
"A Soul-Returning Pill? How could there possibly be a Soul-Returning Pill here?"
Before long, seven or eight young cultivators in blue brocade robes ran out, with Li Song leading the way.
He looked up and unexpectedly met Xie Shuci's gaze. After a moment of stunned silence, he angrily asked, "Why are you here?"
Xie Shuci was also stunned for a moment. He saw that the young cultivator who had drawn his sword at him yesterday had several cuts on his chest. The wounds were so deep that the bone was visible, and blood had spread all over his body. His face was completely bloodless, making him look particularly gruesome.
Xie Shuci covered A Dong's eyes, his own face paling. He took a half step back and leaned against Xie An, who raised his hand to support his waist, an almost reflexive action.
"What happened to you..." Xie Shuci's voice trembled slightly as he dared not look at the injured young cultivator.
Li Song gripped his sword tightly, met Xie Shuci's gaze for a fleeting moment, then quickly looked away, gritting his teeth as he said, "This has nothing to do with you. Take them back to the inn and don't let them come out."
At the same time, a junior cultivator glanced at Xie Shuci and whispered, "Young Master, he is also a cultivator. Why don't we let him lend us a hand? The more people there are, the better our chances of winning."
"Shut up!" Li Song said sternly. "That demon's cultivation is far above ours. Adding one more person would just be a pointless death! Besides, Xie Shuci has already been expelled from the sect. There's no need for him to risk his life."
Xie Shuci glanced at him and said, "You don't have to risk your life. It just wants revenge and won't harm the innocent. It's you who are worried about its life."
The group of cultivators were stunned. They stared at Xie Shuci in astonishment, as if they had heard the most ridiculous joke imaginable.
Li Song's eyes darkened, and his gaze toward Xie Shuci became unusually complex.
Just then, Xie An suddenly tugged at Xie Shuci.
Xie Shuci turned around in confusion and saw Xie An's lips move slightly: "Leaving here is dangerous."
Xie Shuci was taken aback when he suddenly heard several barks from afar.
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