The two men were muscular, and their eyes, hidden behind their masks, were like those of hawks, staring intently at Xie Shuci.
Whether it was psychological or not, Xie Shuci felt that they all walked with a menacing air.
Oh no, oh no, oh no! Is this revenge or treasure hunting? But he doesn't seem to have any enemies!
"Let's go, let's go!" Xie Shuci patted Chu Wenfeng beside him, hugged the things in his arms, and ran towards Xie An. Without saying a word, he pulled him and turned around to run back the way they came.
Stop looking! Run!
Xie Shuci turned around and saw that Chu Guiyi and the other person were still standing there motionless, so he hurriedly called out to them.
Chu Guiyi looked puzzled, while Chu Wenfeng scoffed at his hasty retreat.
Xie An, confused, was dragged along for a while. "What are you doing?"
"We're being watched!"
As soon as Xie Shuci finished speaking, two figures descended from the sky, blocking their path.
Damn! That's some serious speed!
Xie Shuci cursed inwardly. Seeing that these two people were up to no good, he immediately pulled Xie An behind him and looked at them warily, "Who are you people?"
Chu Guiyi and the other person followed. After seeing what the two were wearing, they looked at each other and a hint of surprise flashed in their eyes.
The two men avoided answering, instead asking, "Are you Xie Shuci?"
Xie Shuci hurriedly shook his head repeatedly, "No, no, who is Xie Shuci? I don't know him at all. We are just ordinary people passing by, we don't know any Xie Shuci."
The two looked at each other, "Really?"
Xie Shuci nodded firmly, "Absolutely true!"
One of them took out a portrait from his sleeve and studied Xie Shuci's face for a long time. "That can't be right. You look exactly like him."
Xie Shuci sensed that these two might not be very bright, so he pretended to be deep and said, "To be honest, I heard from my elders that I once had a twin brother, but unfortunately he was separated from his family when he was young. Could the person you two are looking for be my long-lost brother?!"
Xie An and the other two: "..."
Upon hearing this, the two were somewhat skeptical, glancing behind him again before saying, "It's said that Xie Shuci is accompanied by an exceptionally handsome young man..."
Xie Shuci immediately released Xie An's hand. "That's definitely not me. Since I separated from my parents, I've been wandering around, homeless, and all alone. I don't know any outstanding young men."
One of them said, "Then why are you dragging him along?"
Xie Shuci glanced back at Xie An, snatched the newly bought sugar figurine from his hand, took a big bite, and said with a smile, "To be honest, I just wanted to eat the sugar figurine in his hand. The two older brothers look so imposing and righteous. I thought some official was coming to arrest me, so I had to run away."
Xie Shuci's ramblings left the two of them completely bewildered.
"I never expected that such a young alchemist would have such a tragic past."
"Having been separated from their family since childhood, they probably don't even remember they have a twin brother. You two... really look so alike!"
The two of them sighed as if no one else was around.
Xie Shuci sensed something was off. He turned and shoved everything into the blind boy's hands, then looked back at them. "Wait, what do you two mean?"
The two were puzzled. "What do you mean by that?"
Xie Shuci asked, "What do you want from my...brother?"
"You're asking what we need to do with that wise, powerful, and incredibly intelligent alchemist, Xie Shuci?"
Wise and powerful? Exceptionally intelligent?
Xie Shuci chuckled to himself, “Yes, that’s right. Why are you looking for that wise, powerful, and exceptionally intelligent alchemist, Xie Shuci?”
The two exchanged a glance. "You're not Xie Shuci, what business is it of yours?"
"I..." Xie Shuci was truly speechless.
Just then, Chu Guiyi, who had watched the commotion to his heart's content, stepped forward and bowed to the two people in front of him, saying, "Are you two from the Meng family of Qizhou?"
The two turned their attention to him, and when they saw the disciple's robes on Chu Guiyi's body, they were immediately surprised and quickly clasped their hands and said, "So it's Young Master Chu. We've met you, Young Master Chu. I am indeed you."
The news of Chu Guiyi's recovery of his cultivation had already spread like wildfire throughout the cultivation world. As a promising young talent in the cultivation world, the Meng family had already extended an invitation to him, requesting that he personally attend this year's auction.
Xie Shuci looked completely bewildered. "Huh? What's that?"
Chu Wenfeng scoffed, "Xie Shuci's twin brother? How dare you say that? Shameless."
The two disciples of the Meng family were stunned for a moment. They had heard that the alchemist named Xie Shuci had a close personal relationship with the eldest disciple of the Chu family. Now, Chu Guiyi was standing with this person who claimed to be Xie Shuci's twin brother... and with the cold-faced, peerless young man behind them, the two suddenly realized what was going on and hurriedly bowed to Xie Shuci with clasped hands.
"My name is Meng Yin—"
"My name is Meng Yang—"
"Greetings, Young Master Xie."
Seeing Chu Guiyi's polite manner towards them, Xie Shuci felt relieved and stopped hiding anything, asking, "Do you need something from me?"
"Exactly."
"Can't you just talk things out nicely? Wearing masks and looking fierce, I thought you were here to steal treasure and seek revenge."
Meng Yin chuckled, and the two slowly removed their masks, revealing two innocent, doll-like faces that looked almost identical.
“If you don’t wear a mask, you’re more likely to be looked down upon by others,” Meng Yang said.
Xie Shuci hissed, "How old are you two? Won't your parents worry if you go out on your own? Oh no, you two look too young, are you twins?"
"Exactly."
Chu Guiyi chuckled and said, "This is not a suitable place to talk. Let's move to another place."
"yes."
Before long, the group found a teahouse and asked for a private room.
"What do you want with me?" Xie Shuci asked.
Meng Yin took out a token from his pocket and placed it in front of Xie Shuci, saying, "Young Master Xie, this is the token for the auction. We are here to find you on the orders of our patriarch. As long as you have this token, you can freely enter and exit the venue. Please make sure to come in person, Young Master Xie."
"Huh? For me?" Xie Shuci was stunned. Hadn't he heard that only prominent figures in the cultivation world could participate in the auction?
"Indeed. After hearing about your deeds, the head of the family was eager to meet you and took this opportunity to invite you to the auction."
Xie Shuci's expression was somewhat complicated. He said, "Well, let me make this clear first. All my pills were given to me by my fellow disciples. I can't refine top-grade pills myself."
"Young Master Xie need not worry. After learning about what happened in the Dragon Fang Secret Realm, the family head greatly admires you."
Xie Shuci asked suspiciously, "How do you know what happened inside the Dragon Fang Secret Realm?"
Logically speaking, not many people should know what happened.
Two identical baby faces flashed with the same doubt as they said, “Young Master Xie, don’t you know? A scholar has recorded in detail your experiences in the Dragon Fang Secret Realm and the reason for the disappearance of the Banxia Clan. Now, that book, ‘Tales of the Dragon Fang Secret Realm: My Brothers and I, Part One,’ has become a must-have book for everyone in Qizhou. Everyone admires your courage and selflessness!”
Xie Shuci's expression froze. "W-what? What kind of strange tales? What the hell? Say it again?"
"Tales of the Dragon Fang Secret Realm: My Brother and I - Part 1".
Xie Shuci's face was expressionless. He swallowed hard, his voice trembling, "Could it be... there's a second one?"
Meng. The twins said, "Yes, it is said that the scholar is writing the second part."
Judging from the unusual title, Xie Shuci had a vague idea of which unfortunate scholar it was.
He asked through gritted teeth, "What's that scholar's name?"
His surname was Du, and his given name was Pingsheng.
"Du, Ping, Sheng!"
Only that guy could come up with such an avant-garde name!
Chu Wenfeng sneered from the side, "Oh, isn't this your brother who's like 'a bosom friend afar brings a distant land near'?"
Xie Shuci gritted his teeth, "You believe everything he writes? What if he made it all up?"
Meng. The twins said, "Young Master Xie, there's no need to worry. This has indeed happened, as Elder Ye Changxuan of the Hehuan Sect has acknowledged it."
Xie Shuci: "..."
Damn! I didn't think it was a big deal at first, but the title is really embarrassing!
But since things had come to this point, Xie Shuci had no choice.
He coughed lightly and asked, "What did he write about me?"
Meng. The twins said, "The book perfectly portrays Young Master Xie's heroic demeanor and his selfless acts for his friends. He is a role model in the hearts of the people of Qizhou, and even more so for us alchemists!"
Xie Shuci was somewhat smug. "So how did you get this portrait?"
"To be honest, the portrait was also painted by Mr. Du."
"This book is very popular in Qizhou. Countless people are curious about your appearance. In addition, the head of the family greatly admires your deeds, so he specially asked Mr. Du to paint a portrait of you. We have brought the portrait to find you and invite you to participate in this auction. We also hope that the people of Qizhou can admire your heroic figure."
Upon hearing this, Xie Shuci quickly shook his head and said, "No, no, the bigger the tree, the more the wind will blow. Who knows, people might think I'm very capable and want to come and spar with me."
"Young Master Xie, please rest assured that if you do not wish to reveal your identity, the Meng family will definitely help you conceal it, and the portrait will never fall into the hands of others."
Upon hearing this, Xie Shuci nodded, "That's fine then, I'll reluctantly accept this token. By the way, does your auction house accept items? I have some pills and treasures I'd like to sell."
"certainly."
"That's good."
Xie Shuci comfortably put away the token, and even deliberately showed it off in front of Chu Wenfeng, saying, "Let you flaunt your power again? See? Now your brother has one too!"
Chu Wenfeng curled his lip indifferently.
Xie Shuci put away the token and naturally took the half-eaten sugar figurine from Xie An's hand. Turning around, he noticed that the Meng twins were looking at them with very strange expressions, as if they wanted to say something but hesitated.
Xie Shuci immediately and warily blocked Xie An from view. "What are you looking at?"
"I have a small question in my mind, and I wonder if Young Master Xie could answer it."
Xie Shuci took a bite of the sugar figurine, and a crumb of sugar fell onto the table. The little blind man, with his keen ears, picked up the crumb and fed it to Xie Shuci's mouth without expression.
Xie Shuci frowned and leaned back.
Xie An said, "Eat."
Xie Shuci reluctantly opened his mouth and used the tip of his tongue to roll up the sugar crumbs that had fallen on the table. He then looked at the two members of the Meng family, who, seeing their interaction, looked excited and their eyes kept darting between him and the little blind boy.
"What are you doing?" Xie Shuci asked unhappily.
"May I ask, Young Master Xie, what is your relationship?"
Xie Shuci said, "Can't you tell? We're brothers."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xie An reached out a hand from the side and wiped the sugar crumbs off his lips.
The two men's eyes immediately exchanged meaningful glances. "Brother, brother."
Xie Shuci didn't think anything of it and asked suspiciously, "What's with those expressions on your faces? What's wrong, brother?"
Xie Shuci couldn't tell who was who between the two men. He only saw one of them looking excitedly at him and the little blind man, saying, "Young Master Xie, you don't know this, but the book records that you and this young master have a deep friendship, going in and out together every day and sleeping in the same bed. Yet you are not actually blood brothers..."
Xie Shuci asked, puzzled, "So?"
"Therefore... the people have many speculations about the relationship between the two of you, resulting in numerous folk tales circulating among the common folk. At the end of the first part of the Chronicles of Strange Tales, there was even a special description of you gazing into each other's eyes on the verge of life and death, a glance that seemed to last an eternity. Everyone is speculating that in the second part, you will... you will..."
Xie Shuci: "..."
He became more and more excited as he spoke, his face flushed, which reminded Xie Shuci of the first time he shipped male-male fictional characters...
Xie Shuci glanced back at Xie An, who had a calm expression, and felt a little happy. He had originally thought that if others knew he was with the little blind girl, they would look down on him for being an old cow eating young grass and leading a child astray.
"What will happen? And what kind of stories are there?" Xie Shuci asked curiously.
Before he could finish speaking, Chu Wenfeng suddenly sneered and said, "Xie An, a blind man, a glance between life and death? A glance that lasts a thousand years? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"
Xie Shuci: "..."
Oh yeah, this is a bug! When we get to Qizhou, we'll have to get Du Pingsheng to fix it; it makes no sense.
The twins exchanged a glance, then said in surprise, "But the book says that this young master's background is very mysterious, and his cultivation is unfathomable..."
"Pfft—" Xie Shuci couldn't help but laugh out loud when he heard this.
He pointed at Xie An, who stood calmly to the side, and couldn't stop laughing. "Him? Mysterious identity? Unfathomable cultivation? You're giving him far too much credit! He's just an ordinary blind man."
Xie An: "..."
Chu Guiyi: "..."
Chu Wenfeng glanced at him, thinking that Xie Shuci was such an idiot, completely fooled by him. He crossed his arms and said ambiguously, "You underestimate him too much, you moron."
Xie Shuci leaned back, his back against the little blind man's shoulder, and chuckled like a little bee, "You believe everything Du Pingsheng writes? Don't be fooled by Xie An's usual unfathomable appearance, he's just pretending—oh dear!"
Before Xie Shuci could finish speaking, Xie An grabbed him by the waist.
Although his little rascal is a good-for-nothing, he has an exceptionally strong sense of self-esteem. If Xie Shuci were to expose his true colors in front of everyone, he would probably stage another runaway drama.
Xie Shuci quickly stopped talking, even though he really wanted to tell the others, "Don't be fooled by the little blind boy's calm and composed demeanor all day long. This guy is afraid to sleep alone at night without me!"
No matter how glamorous he may seem to outsiders, only Xie Shuci knows that this man is both capricious and openly so. He is aloof and distant in public, but if Xie Shuci speaks a few words to someone in private, he will feel awkward and hesitant for a long time.
Strangely enough, if this had happened to someone else, and they had been bothered by it every few days, Xie Shuci would have gotten impatient long ago. But when it happened to Xie An, he not only didn't get impatient, but sometimes even enjoyed it.
Xie Shuci didn't continue, waving his hand and saying, "Anyway, the stories definitely have some fictional elements, so don't believe them all."
The twins nodded. "That makes sense."
"Oh, right." Xie Shuci seemed to remember something, looked at the others, moved forward a bit, beckoned the twins to move closer to him, and said in a low voice, "Well, I have a question for you, please tell me the truth."
"Please speak, young master. I will answer all your questions to the best of my knowledge."
Xie Shuci tugged at his clothes, glanced back at the little blind boy, and lowered his voice even further, saying, "Do you have any storybooks from your area? Can I borrow them to take a look?"
One of the twins widened his eyes, "Young Master Xie is interested? Could it be that you two really..."
"What nonsense are you talking about? I just want to see what's inside and, by the way, condemn the writers of these stories for their ulterior motives. I don't care about myself, but how old is that little blind boy? It's an insult to literature for you to make up stories about him like this!"
“How could Young Master Xie think that way? That young master is at least sixteen or seventeen years old, which is not young. There are many men in the cultivation world who marry and have children at the age of sixteen or seventeen.”
Xie Shuci looked at him with a skeptical expression. "Has no one said anything about me being an old cow eating young grass or anything like that?"
"Young Master Xie, what are you thinking? Everyone says that you and Young Master Xie are a match made in heaven."
Who doesn't like flattery? Xie Shuci chuckled and said, "Then let me ask you another question. In the folk tales, between me and Xie An, who is the top and who is the bottom?"
The two looked puzzled. "What's a 'top'? What's a 'bottom'?"
"Oh, I forgot you wouldn't understand."
Xie Shuci didn't understand at first, but he learned as he read more.
He coughed lightly, glanced back at the other three to make sure they wouldn't hear what he was saying, then turned back and asked in a low voice, "So... so who goes up and who goes down?"
"What do you mean, who goes up and who goes down?"
"It's...it's that...that position..."
"Ah!" The two suddenly realized, their eyes practically lighting up at the mention of this. "You mean this? In storybooks, it's usually him on top and you on the bottom."
"He goes up and I go down?! Why should I?!" Xie Shuci slammed his hand on the table, and the other three cast "concerned" glances at him.
Xie Shuci felt a lump in his throat and lowered his voice, "Why is he on top? I'm older than him, and my build... although I'm not as tall or strong as him, look at how sickly he looks, does he resemble the one on top?"
The two men glanced at Xie An, their faces full of innocence: "Yes, they look alike."
"Nonsense! How is that similar? He even sleeps like that..."
Xie Shuci stopped talking, then pointed at the two men fiercely and said, "When you get back, make sure all the story writers in your area change them. I'm the one in charge! Do you understand?"
The two pursed their lips and blinked. "We don't have jurisdiction over those who write storybooks. Besides, it's more exciting when the underdog defies the boss, don't you think?"
"You're not exciting at all! That's not exciting at all!"
Xie Shuci huffed and sat back down in his original seat. The twins shrugged, sensing Xie Shuci's anger and embarrassment, and didn't say anything more.
"What are you talking about?" Xie An asked.
Xie Shuci said with a straight face, "It's nothing, I just discussed the mysteries of life with them." "Everyone, the auction will be held soon. Please go as soon as possible. The patriarch has prepared accommodations for everyone. We still have two tokens to give out, so we won't stay any longer."
After a short while, the two men stood up, put on their masks, and clasped their hands in greeting to the four men.
"Thank you for your trouble," Chu Guiyi nodded to the two of them.
After seeing off the Meng family's twins, the four of them purchased some necessities in the city, then returned to the shore, activated the divine ship, and prepared to leave Huaizhou for Qizhou.
Throughout the journey to Qizhou, Xie Shuci remained in a depressed state.
It wasn't because the blind boy in the storybook was above him and he was below him, but because he had been thinking about a question that he had never thought about before.
What I'm saying is that Xie Shuci didn't dare to think in that direction before, but after being "enlightened" by the Meng twins a couple of days ago, his thoughts started to go a little astray.
Now that he and the blind girl are dating, the question is, if something happens between them in the future, what will their positions be, and who will be on top?
Xie Shuci was well-read, and he felt that there weren't many bottom characters like the little blind man in his books. If it were in other books, the character would probably be a sickly and arrogant top. However, Xie Shuci would never admit that he was a bottom, and there were top characters like himself in his books.
So, after some thought, Xie Shuci tragically discovered something—he and Xie An had the same model!
They can only have a platonic relationship.
Having figured this out, Xie Shuci felt unusually heavy-hearted when facing Xie An again.
One night, Xie An habitually pulled him into his arms, but Xie Shuci pushed him away with a serious expression and said earnestly, "Little blind man, if our relationship can only go as far as spiritual communication, can you accept that?"
Xie An paused, "What's wrong with you now?"
"From a rational point of view, our feelings can only be pure; from an emotional point of view, you may have to keep them bottled up for the rest of your life."
"?" Xie An frowned slightly.
I have no idea what strange things are going on in Xie Shuci's head.
"If you like me, you'll have to keep it to yourself," Xie Shuci said, patting the back of his hand.
Xie An was amused by him. "You told me not long ago that you needed a time portal, and now you want to back out?"
"No, the problem is, we collided."
"What did you hit?"
"Location."
Xie An asked, puzzled, "What position?"
"Hey, it's that position. Think about it, when a man and a woman are having sex, one person needs to be on top and the other on the bottom. But we've bumped into each other, and we're both on top, so it won't work. So if we want to spend our lives together, we have to hold back."
Xie An, enraged, laughed instead, "You crashed into it?"
"yes."
He suddenly grabbed Xie Shuci's right wrist, pushed him back, and then grabbed Xie Shuci's left hand, pressing them both above his head.
"Hey! What are you doing!" Xie Shuci shouted.
Xie Shuci was suddenly pushed onto the bed, and for a moment he didn't understand what he wanted to do.
Xie An controlled Xie Shuci's hands with one hand and used the other to loosen his belt. He then spread Xie Shuci's legs apart with his knees, a position that rendered him completely powerless.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
Xie Shuci's belt was untied, and Xie An even went so far as to open his collar.
Xie An said with a half-smile, "Did you bump into someone?"
"Holy crap, stop!"
"You bumped into him?" Xie An remained unmoved, pulling his robe down to his shoulders. "Even if you did bump into him, wouldn't it have been easier to succeed with a little force?"
"Damn it, Xie An! I'm a cultivator, I know magic, don't think I won't hurt you!"
Xie An was not intimidated by his threat at all. "If you are willing, even if you kill me, I will do what I want to do."
Xie Shuci's face flushed. "Don't do anything reckless, I'm warning you!"
"We're not doing anything reckless, we just want you to know clearly that we didn't crash."
After saying that, he didn't continue, but instead released Xie Shuci.
"You're talking nonsense! We did crash! We really did crash!" Xie Shuci hurriedly dressed, sat up, and looked at him with a mixture of shame and anger.
Xie An calmly sat back down. "If you feel you've been hit, why don't you try it with me and you'll know the result."
"you……"
Xie Shuci was speechless for a moment, not knowing what was going on. Xie An was clearly a good-for-nothing, but he was incredibly strong. Xie Shuci didn't dare to use too much force, and he really couldn't break free. If they really got into a fight, he would definitely be the one getting hurt.
Xie Shuci, of course, dared not say "Let's try it," and simply changed the subject, "Do you know how to do it, you newbie?"
Xie An narrowed his eyes slightly. "You know?"
"Of course!" Xie Shuci's reading wasn't for nothing. Although a certain Green River was cut so much that it couldn't even fit a baby stroller, but... cough cough... there are other places too.
Xie An gave a cold laugh, "You seem quite experienced?"
"Ah... what are you thinking about? Of course, it's not my own accumulated experience."
Xie An paused for a moment, then said, "I don't know, but you can teach me."
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