They only care about this life, not the next.
Perhaps in Xie An's view, Xie Shuci in the next life would no longer be Xie Shuci.
He didn't remember anything that happened between the two of them, nothing that resembled this life. To each other, they were just ordinary people who had never met.
Xie Shuci understood and comprehended that someone like Xie An would go to great lengths to find someone he didn't even know. He wouldn't.
As it turns out, he really didn't.
Xie Shuci suppressed a sob in her throat, not allowing herself to make a sound in the silent room, in front of the silent Xiao Xun. In front of him, Xie Shuci didn't want to appear so pathetic, but it seemed that ever since she met him, Xie Shuci had been just that pathetic.
"Aww..."
Father wouldn't let him get close, and the king sobbed sadly, resting his chin on Xie Shuci's hand, his watery eyes looking at Xie Shuci with worry.
Xie Shuci's tear was still on Xiao Xun's face. He lowered his long eyelashes and looked at Xie Shuci, who was curled up in the quilt with his back to him. His heart was filled with an unprecedented pain.
He slowly lay down next to Xie Shuci, gently resting his forehead on Xie Shuci's back and wrapping his arms around Xie Shuci's waist. Unfortunately, his arms were not as long as Xie An's, so he could not fully embrace Xie Shuci. He looked more like a child who longed for affection.
"Xie Shuci, I'm sorry," he murmured softly, his throat dry.
He wanted to comfort Xie Shuci, but besides apologizing, he didn't know what else he could do.
He hated Xie Shuci's tears, and he was also afraid of Xie Shuci's tears.
"If Xie An makes you angry, I'll apologize on his behalf, okay?" Xiao Xun muttered softly.
Xie Shuci felt as if his heart was being ripped out of his chest by a hand. He clenched his teeth, hoping to stop the tears from flowing.
"Xiao Xun".
A moment later, Xie Shuci's low, hoarse voice came from under the covers.
"Hmm?" Xiao Xun raised his head, his eyes slightly red.
Xie Shuci took a deep breath and tried to calm her voice. "I don't want to see Xie An during this time. Can you please not let him wake up?"
Xiao Xun tightened his grip on Xie Shuci's waist and said, "Okay, I promise you."
Xie Shuci breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."
Xie Shuci didn't want Xie An to know about his pathetic tears today, nor did he want Xie An to stop him from going to the Immortal Sect Selection.
Xie Shuci was incompetent, unable to change anything, and afraid of death, but he never lacked the courage to go and die.
Knowing he couldn't escape this calamity, he didn't want to waste time or have any regrets.
If, if, at the Immortal Sect Assembly, it wasn't him who died, but Xie An?
Xie Shuci dared not gamble, nor could he gamble.
Even if Xie An doesn't go looking for his reincarnation, it doesn't matter. At least they can still live together.
Xie Shuci stopped crying, quietly curled up on the bed, until she gradually drifted off to sleep.
Before long, they heard Xie Shuci's even breathing coming from under the covers, and the King and Xiao Xun both breathed a sigh of relief.
The king climbed off Xie Shuci's hand and crawled into the quilt without saying a word.
It wondered why its father had become so downcast after seeing its mother. Turns out, its mother had made him angry and even made him cry! Humph, it was going to ignore its mother again, how awful!
It arched its backside and crawled into the blankets, then a hand lifted the blankets, grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, and threw it off the bed.
"Agh!" The king glared fiercely at his little mother.
"Let him get some rest."
"Ouch!" The baby wants to rest with Daddy.
Xiao Xun ignored him, took Xie Shuci's shoulder, straightened his body, looked at his tear-streaked face, frowned slightly, carefully wiped away the tears on his face, took off his outer clothes and shoes, covered him with a quilt, set up a barrier around the bed, and then carried the king from the bedside to the table.
He reached out and touched the king's forehead, and the little puppy in his hand turned into a four- or five-year-old boy with a particularly noticeable tuft of red hair on his forehead.
"What happened?" Xiao Xun threw it to the ground. The king habitually lay down on the ground, its big, dark eyes glancing at him timidly.
"I don't know," the king said guiltily.
He genuinely had no idea what was happening inside the barrier after his mother woke up.
Xiao Xun narrowed his eyes and glanced at him. "Get up."
"oh."
Now that his father is asleep and there is no one to protect him in front of his mother, the king is extremely timid. He doesn't even dare to breathe loudly. He scrambles up from the ground and obediently stands next to Xiao Xun with his head down.
Xiao Xun pondered for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, and remained silent, not daring to disturb him.
After a long while, Xiao Xun looked up at him, and the king's body immediately tensed up. "I... I really don't know. Mother set up a barrier, and I don't know what they did."
"Mm," Xiao Xun replied.
His eyes swept over the king, who was covered in dirt and looked like a little lump of coal. Xie Shuci always carried such a dirty thing in his arms.
The king, unaware of what he was looking at, gave him a shameless smile, his face still bearing dried tear stains.
“Useless,” Xiao Xun said abruptly.
The king's expression darkened.
Suddenly, Xiao Xun seemed to remember something, his expression stiffened, and he asked, "What's your name, Xie An?"
The king looked completely innocent. "Mother!"
Xiao Xun's face darkened.
The king said, "If I call my father 'father,' then of course I should call my mother 'mother.'"
Xiao Xun clenched his teeth.
"But Father wants me to call him brother, but I think Mother is better..."
Seemingly annoyed by the king's nagging and having not obtained any useful information, he simply waved his hand, and the king immediately transformed back into a little puppy.
Xie Shuci slept fitfully, having several dreams in a row. In the last dream, a strange man's voice lingered in his ear, softly calling Xie Shuci's name, as if he were saying something to Xie Shuci in the dream.
But he didn't hear a single word clearly.
He slept soundly, his limbs felt heavy, and his mind was still a little foggy.
I opened my eyes to find the room dark except for a sliver of moonlight shining in through the window, quietly illuminating the pitch-black room.
"Xiao Xun?" Xie Shuci propped himself up, rubbing his throbbing forehead, and looked around. It seemed that he was the only one in the room.
"Your Majesty? Where are they?"
They won't abandon me, will they?
Xie Shuci lifted the covers and sat on the edge of the bed. Suddenly, she remembered that she had cried her eyes out in front of them and felt a little embarrassed.
Damn, why are you crying? What's there to cry about?
If he doesn't want to look for me, then so be it. Anyway, we won't know each other by then, and if he doesn't come looking for me, I won't care anyway.
“Book of words”.
Suddenly, the voice of the strange man that had appeared in his dream rang in his mind again. Xie Shuci was stunned for a moment, and looked around in confusion. He did not sense anyone else. Was he still asleep and had he misheard? Strange.
That was the voice just now, it seemed to have said something to him in his dream, but Xie Shuci couldn't hear a single word except for his own name.
"Aww!"
Just then, Xie Shuci heard the king's voice coming from outside the door, along with what sounded like the very light footsteps of another person.
Xie Shuci shuddered, and without thinking, buried his head in the blankets, pretending that he hadn't woken up yet.
A moment later, the door was pushed open from the outside, and Xiao Xun and the King walked in, then turned around and closed the door.
Xie Shuci lay on the bed, his body tense, not daring to move.
Xiao Xun carried a tray, placed the items on the table, and then walked over to Xie Shuci.
The king ran to the bedside early in the morning, jumped onto the footstool, and wanted to check on Xie Shuci's condition.
Xie Shuci felt a little embarrassed and mentally berated herself: "Xie Xiaoci, how pretentious are you? Crying like a dog in front of two little brats!"
Xiao Xun walked slowly to the bedside, staring at Xie Shuci, who had tucked his body into the blanket with only a few strands of hair sticking out. His eyes were deep. "I know you're awake. Get up and eat something."
Xie Shuci froze, not moving.
"Aww!"
The baby knows that Daddy is awake.
Xiao Xun didn't pull him up directly, but said, "I cooked something for you."
Xie Shuci was taken aback. There was a rustling sound coming from the bed. After a while, a pair of eyes, red and obviously from crying, peeked out from under the covers.
"You cooked this?" Xie Shuci looked at him timidly, but also found it really novel.
Xiao Xun looked down at him and nodded, "Yes, get up."
After saying that, he walked to the table and sat down as if nothing had happened, appearing completely normal.
"Awooooo!"
The king stood on the footstool and wagged its tail vigorously at Xie Shuci twice, looking smug and eager to claim credit.
The baby helped start the fire too!
Xie Shuci, still wrapped in the blanket, hesitantly sat up in bed, peeking out with her round head. She glanced curiously at the table and asked, "What is it?"
"Come here, eat it while it's hot," Xiao Xun said.
"Oh." Xie Shuci glanced at him, pulled the blanket off her body, slowly put on her shoes, and walked to the bedside.
The king circled around Xie Shuci's feet, and when Xie Shuci sat down, he tried to jump onto the table, but was glared at by Xiao Xun and fell down.
Xie Shuci stared at the bland noodles in front of him, momentarily speechless.
"This...you made this?"
Xiao Xun nodded, "It's for starting the fire, I did it."
"Awooo!"
The king called out twice at his feet to attract Xie Shuci's attention.
Seeing Xie Shuci looking at it, it immediately turned around and showed Xie Shuci its rear end, which had a burn mark on it.
Xie Shuci couldn't help but reach out and rub it. "Thank you."
Xiao Xun stared intently at him. "Try it and see how it tastes."
Um... well... how should I put it?
But judging from its appearance, it was not appetizing at all, and it was clear that this was definitely his first time cooking.
"Okay." Xie Shuci nodded, lowered his head, picked up his chopsticks, took a few strands of noodles, put them in his mouth, and chewed slowly. Just as he had imagined, they were so bland that they were hard to swallow.
"How is it?" "Aww!"
But faced with the expectant expressions of the two men who wanted praise, Xie Shuci forced a nod and said, "Hmm, not bad, there's room for improvement."
The man and the dog breathed a sigh of relief without anyone noticing.
"Xie Shuci, no matter what I did, please don't be angry with me anymore, okay?" Xiao Xun suddenly said.
Xie Shuci's expression froze. He lowered his head, took a bite of something, and said, "I'm not angry with you, but I don't want to see Xie An for the time being."
Xiao Xun stared at him intently, while Xie Shuci kept his head down, avoiding eye contact.
"Yes, I promised you that if you don't want to see him, I won't let him wake up."
"Hmm. What about you guys? Aren't you going to eat something?"
Xiao Xun said, "I don't need it..."
He glanced at the king on the ground and said, "It doesn't seem to like eating this."
Xie Shuci: "..."
To be honest, I don't really like eating it.
Xie Shuci still prefers strong flavors, and he suspects that Xiao Xun didn't put any seasoning in the noodles at all, and just scooped them out and came back.
Just then, a presence suddenly came from outside the door, followed by a knock on the door and the question: "Is Young Master Deng Si here?"
Xie Shuci paused for a moment, then said, "Ah. I'm here."
He put down his chopsticks and went to open the door.
Xiao Xun followed him to the door, his expression subtly displeased.
Xie Shuci opened the door and found that the soldiers of Songjiu Camp were standing outside.
Xie Shuci asked in confusion, "Is there something wrong?"
The man said, "Today is a welcome banquet for our Songjiu Camp. The chief sent me to invite you over."
"Invite me?" Xie Shuci pointed to himself, surprised.
The visitor nodded, "It is indeed you."
After saying that, he glanced behind Xie Shuci again.
Seeing Xiao Xun's expressionless face behind him, the soldier felt a little scared for some reason and said with an awkward smile, "So this young master knows you. I was just saying that you are the only guest in the inn. How could he not know Young Master Deng?"
Xie Shuci asked curiously, "Have you met before?"
The visitor said, "I've seen him before, he's downstairs. I wanted to ask him about you, but as soon as I mentioned your name, he said 'I don't know' and then left."
Xie Shuci touched the tip of his nose. Of course, he didn't know that he hadn't had a chance to tell Xiao Xun that he was using the alias Deng Si.
"Young Master Deng, our boss invites you to join us for drinks, what do you think..."
Before Xie Shuci could answer, Xiao Xun interjected, "He's not going."
"Have you all not eaten yet? Why don't we go over together?"
"He eats..."
Xiao Xun was about to say something when Xie Shuci quietly tugged at his sleeve. "Well, you go down first, we're coming." "Okay!"
After everyone left, Xie Shuci closed the door and turned around to find Xiao Xun with a tense face and a displeased expression.
"You don't like my cooking?"
Xie Shuci: "..."
"I like it, I really like it."
I mainly like you as a person, so I love everything about you because of you.
"So you're still going to have dinner with other people?"
Xie Shuci leaned on his shoulder and said, "Anyway, we're just going to freeload a meal, so why not? Besides, the leader of Songjiu Camp saw through my disguise as a cultivator, and I only avoided arousing his suspicion by pretending to be a disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect. How can we refuse his invitation to dinner?"
Xiao Xun frowned and said, "So what if my identity is exposed?"
"You really are fearless, aren't you?"
Xiao Xun stared at him intently, thinking to himself, "He also has things he's afraid of."
"Alright, alright." Taking advantage of Xiao Xun's momentary daze, Xie Shuci turned around and pushed him out the door. She straightened her hair and clothes, grabbed the king who was poised to pounce on the ground, and said, "Let's go, let's go. It's rare to have some fun like this, let's go."
Xiao Xun was reluctantly pushed forward by him, while the king echoed Xie Shuci, howling and yelling.
Stepping out of the room, Xie Shuci heard a commotion inside the inn. It seemed that Xiao Xun had set up a barrier at the door before leaving to block out the noise from outside and avoid disturbing Xie Shuci's sleep.
Xie Shuci couldn't help but feel melancholy.
He didn't doubt how much Xie An liked him, but he still couldn't help feeling abandoned when he heard Xie An's words.
Forget it, why think so much?
Xie Shuci shook his head, trying to shake off the image of Xie An's expression when he said those words; he didn't want to recall it.
Xie Shuci could not doubt the truthfulness of Xie An's words.
"Huh?" The king nestled in his arms and touched Xie Shuci's arm with his paw in confusion.
Father isn't angry anymore, is he?
Xie Shuci pressed its paw down, "Come on, I'll take you to eat something delicious."
"Aww!"
Upon entering the main hall, he saw several leaders of Songjiu Camp and some soldiers sitting inside, drinking and eating heartily. His gaze swept across the crowd and he saw Fang Xunxue sitting alone at a table by the window. Unlike the boisterous laughter around him, he seemed like a sheep that had strayed into a wolf's den, yet he appeared so calm and composed.
Xiao Xun frowned deeply upon seeing this scene, his expression growing increasingly displeased as he stood beside Xie Shuci.
Fang Xunxue seemed to have seen Xie Shuci. She looked up, a hint of a smile appearing in her empty eyes, and waved to Xie Shuci.
Xie Shuci led the King and Xiao Xun to the table.
"Sit down," Fang Xunxue said.
Xie Shuci nodded and sat down opposite him.
Fang Xunxue stared at the king in his arms, and gently beckoned with her finger. The king, that spineless little sycophant, immediately jumped out of Xie Shuci's arms and hopped into Fang Xunxue's arms.
Fang Xunxue teased the king, picking up a piece of beef and placing it in front of him. The king's eyes lit up, and he opened his mouth to bite it, but then, as if remembering something, he suddenly stopped. Even though he was drooling over the meat in front of him, he didn't eat it immediately.
It nudged Fang Xunxue with its paw, then pointed outside the inn, "Awooo!"
Have you eaten yet, senior?
Fang Xunxue seemed to understand what it meant and shook her head, "Xing Tie hasn't eaten yet."
"Awooo!" The king grabbed the beef from the table, jumped off him, and ran off happily.
Baby wants to give meat to the elders!
Fang Xunxue's eyes were smiling, like the dew of early spring, and her face had become more gentle, like a girl's. If Xie Shuci didn't already know his identity, he would find it hard to associate him with the various burly men in Songjiu Camp.
Fang Xunxue rested her elbow on the edge of the table, leaning her body slightly to the side as if boneless. She looked up and saw Xie Shuci's worried eyes, and said, "Young Master, there is no need to worry. More contact with Xing Tie is a good thing for it."
Perhaps it was the lighting, but Fang Xunxue's features appeared softer under the dim candlelight, and his often empty eyes reflected faint light spots. Compared to his sickly appearance during the day, he now possessed a captivating charm that was hard to resist.
Even if you put him in front of Luo Xianyu now, he probably wouldn't be much less impressive.
Luo Xianyu was beautiful, untouched by the mortal world, but Fang Xunxue in front of her had a kind of beauty that was both elegant and vulgar. He was clearly a man, but not only did he dress like a woman, but his demeanor was also no different from that of a woman.
But Xie Shuci found it strange. He had seen many cross-dressers online before, some of whom looked and acted more like women than him, but they gave off a completely different vibe.
He possesses the innocence and charm of a woman, while also retaining the heroic spirit of a man. No matter what actions he makes or how much he resembles a woman, it is impossible to ignore his masculine characteristics. In fact, looking at any part of him, he does not resemble a man at all.
The collision of these two extreme characteristics in him creates a stunning and unconventional beauty.
Driven by an appreciation for beauty, Xie Shuci couldn't help but glance at his face a little longer.
"Thank you for your letter."
A deep voice suddenly rang in my ears.
Xie Shuci snapped out of her daze and noticed that Xiao Xun's face was somewhat gloomy. She quickly looked away and dared not look again. She felt a little resentful. Anyway, you don't care about me when I die, so what's wrong with me taking another look at a beauty?
Fang Xunxue rested her chin on her hand, her eyes becoming vacant again. "Eat something."
"Oh, okay."
Although Xie Shuci felt resentful, he didn't dare to do anything reckless. He obediently lowered his head and didn't look at the other side again, burying himself in his food.
"And who is this?" Fang Xunxue turned her gaze to Xiao Xun.
"Ah!" Xie Shuci raised her head abruptly, worried that if Xiao Xun simply said, "I am Xiao Xun," they would be finished.
"Him? Didn't I tell you during the day that I have someone I'm in love with? He's that person's...brother." Xie Shuci paused at the end.
Xiao Xun glanced at Xie Shuci, and was reasonably satisfied with his answer.
Fang Xunxue nodded, "I see. That person must be quite handsome."
Xie Shuci was a little happy. "Yes, the two brothers look very alike."
Fang Xunxue's gaze towards Xiao Xun became focused, and she smiled and said, "If he weren't so young, I might even want to get to know him."
Xiao Xun's eyes flashed, and he almost raised his hand to draw the wooden sword from his body, but Xie Shuci quickly grabbed his hand, signaling him not to make any rash moves.
Xiao Xun gritted his teeth with a cold expression and turned his head to one side.
Fang Xunxue saw Xiao Xun's reaction but didn't seem to care. She said, "Actually, none of us have ever seen a cultivator."
Xie Shuci breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Perhaps they have seen them, but they haven't revealed their identities."
Fang Xunxue lowered her eyes and smiled, then raised them again to look at Xie Shuci, her eyes gleaming. "Hmm. I've heard that spiritual power is a very beautiful thing, like the ethereal mist surrounding a person."
At this point, Fang Xunxue paused for a moment and asked Xie Shuci, "Do you know why I led Songjiuzhai to submit to the imperial court back then?"
Xie Shuci shook his head in confusion and said, "I only heard that the Emperor himself came forward to persuade you to surrender."
Fang Xunxue said, "Yes and no."
Why is that?
Fang Xunxue smiled and said, "Perhaps you don't believe it, but me and them—"
He glanced at the others in the hall and continued, “I’ve always hoped to become a cultivator, but unfortunately we are born unable to form a golden core and cannot use spiritual power. They think that cultivating the Dao will make them stronger, but I think it’s something beautiful. The Emperor promised me that if we surrendered, he would give me a painting of a fairy flying to heaven, which is said to be a portrait of a princess in the royal family who cultivates the Dao. I agreed.”
He gently stroked his hair, a faint smile appearing on his lightly made-up face. He parted his lips slightly and said, "I like beautiful things. Is that strange? I am clearly a man."
Xie Shuci shook his head and said sincerely, "It's not surprising. I also like beautiful things. To be honest, the reason I fell for that person in the first place was because he was very good-looking."
Fang Xunxue looked at him, her almond-shaped eyes filled with a soft, flowing light.
"Young Master, you are truly captivating." Fang Xunxue stared intently at Xie Shuci, her emotions undisguised.
Her appearance is captivating. Her lively, sincere, and clear-eyed charm is also captivating.
Xie Shuci was stunned for a moment, not expecting him to suddenly say such a thing. Such straightforward words made Xie Shuci's ears burn. Afraid that Xiao Xun would do something reckless, he kept pressing on the back of his hand and said with a smile, "Don't fall in love with me, or I will make you sad."
Xiao Xun didn't react much after hearing this.
Fang Xunxue picked up her wine glass, her slender fingers gently tracing the rim, and said, "Well, I don't have time to like you anymore."
Xie Shuci laughed and said, "Yes, you've 'liked' so many people on your way here!"
Fang Xunxue smiled faintly, offering no explanation.
He tilted his head back, held the wine glass to his lips, and drank it down.
He slowly sipped the wine, his long eyelashes trembling like cicada wings. He looked up at Xie Shuci again and asked, "May I... see your spiritual power?"
His eyes were filled with anticipation and caution.
Xie Shuci realized that he wasn't joking; he genuinely thought spiritual power was a beautiful thing.
If it were somewhere deserted, maybe...
Xie Shuci was about to answer when the person opposite him quickly shook his head, lowered his eyes, and said:
"No, forget it, I don't want to watch it anymore."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
