Chapter 72 The Account "There's something even more outrageous, doesn't Ah Chu want to try?"
(72)
The little boy sat on a small stool by the window, playing chess with Xie Yunge sitting opposite him.
His hands unconsciously twisted the hem of his clothes, and his eyes kept glancing towards the palace gate. His mind was filled with the image of his mother before she left. Would he be able to successfully eliminate the great evil?
My mother has always been incredibly capable; there's nothing she can't do. She can read and write, play the zither, cook, and is also a formidable fighter. Moreover, the book says that only a woman born under the influence of Yin can vanquish great evil.
But he was still very scared. His mother had no cultivation and was no different from those powerful cultivators. What if she accidentally got hurt?
The chess piece landed on the board with a crisp, clear sound. Xie Yunge glanced up at him, noticing that his mind was elsewhere, and said softly, "Tan Yin, whatever you do, you must concentrate."
The little boy came to his senses, lowered his eyes somewhat sullenly, picked up a chess piece, pondered for a moment, and placed it on the chessboard.
He doesn't know how to play chess; he's only occasionally seen books about the art of chess, and he's not proficient at it. He's already lost many games.
I wonder how my mother and Shang Xinglan are doing now...
Focus, focus.
The little boy forced himself to put aside distractions and play chess seriously.
However, not long after, Xie Yunge quickly cornered him again.
He felt a sudden urge to cry. He didn't want to play chess anymore. Even if something really happened, he wanted to be with his mother. They were a family, and they would get through whatever happened together.
The little boy quietly wiped his eyes, picked up another chess piece, and wanted to place it casually in a corner of the chessboard, but for some reason, his arm could not move.
He frowned and tried to place the chess piece, but watched helplessly as his hand moved in the air, as if controlled by a hand, and landed on the chessboard.
Xie Yunge suddenly exclaimed "Huh?" and looked up at the little boy in confusion, "Why is this piece placed here?"
The little boy opened his mouth, looking at him with a face full of terror, "Sister Yunge, I didn't play this game, there's a ghost in your house."
Xie Yunge: "...?"
She looked at the little boy, puzzled, hesitated for a moment, then placed the chess piece on the board. "You play again."
The little cub swallowed hard, picked up a chess piece, and carefully tried to place it on the chessboard. But just as the piece was about to be placed, it seemed to grow legs and move to a different position on its own.
"It moved by itself, did you see it?" The little cub backed away in horror. "It's a ghost, it must be a ghost!"
Xie Yunge was also slightly surprised. She picked up the chess piece and examined it carefully, only to hear a low laugh from beside her.
The little boy was so frightened he almost jumped up and tried to run away, but someone grabbed his collar and lifted him off the ground.
His breathing stopped, and he saw a familiar face appear before him.
The other person looked at him with interest and chuckled, "You didn't wet your pants, did you?"
The little boy's eyes slowly widened, and for a moment he even forgot to struggle, staring at him incredulously, "You, how did you get here..."
Just as Shang Xinglan was about to tease him again, she received a solid punch to the shoulder.
Then, another figure gradually appeared beside him. Chu Li hugged the little one and complained, "You can't scare him like that, he'll have nightmares tonight."
Shang Xinglan paused for a moment. It wasn't him who had used the chess pieces to scare the little cub just now; it was clearly A Chu.
Upon seeing Chu Li, the little boy's eyes immediately welled up with tears, and he couldn't help but throw himself into her neck, "Mother, I missed you so much, I don't want you to leave me again..."
Chu Li patted his back and coaxed him gently, "Don't cry, don't cry. Mother swears she will never leave you again... Look, Mother is amazing now."
She freed one hand and placed it in front of the cub, a pure spiritual fire instantly igniting at her fingertips.
The little boy's eyes lit up, and he looked at her curiously, "Mommy, how did you do that? Teach me quickly."
Chu Li proudly began to teach him, showing off all the little spells she had just learned from Shang Xinglan.
Shang Xinglan looked at Xie Yunge, bowed slightly, and said, "Thank you."
Xie Yunge waved his hand and chuckled, "It's alright. Since you've appeared here, it means the Great Evil has been eliminated and the mortal realm has returned to peace. We should be the ones expressing our gratitude."
Shang Xinglan shook his head. He didn't think he had done anything special. It was all done by A Chu. Most importantly, they didn't do these things for some noble reason like saving the world. They just wanted their family to be together forever.
Chu Li coaxed the little cub for a while before turning to look at Xie Yunge. She led the little cub to Xie Yunge's side and gently hugged her.
Xie Yunge paused for a moment, then raised his hand and patted her shoulder, "Thank you for your hard work, A-Chu."
Chu Li said in a low voice, "I'm sorry, Yun Ge."
"What is there to apologize for?" Xie Yunge asked, somewhat confused.
Chu Li whispered in her ear, "I wasn't helping you out of a predicament before, but rather using you to get into the Cangshan Sect."
Upon hearing this, Xie Yunge's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she chuckled softly, "I already knew about this."
Chu Li was stunned for a moment, then suddenly looked up at her, "Then why did you dare bring me in?"
"No matter what her purpose is, don't look at what she wants to do, look at what she actually does." Xie Yunge lightly tapped her heart with her fingertip. "You have been helping me all along. Even if you don't think so yourself, I can't ignore the help you have given me."
When Chu Li helped her out of a public predicament, and when a merchant came to her door, she stepped forward and took the blame herself. Chu Li genuinely helped her, and regardless of her initial purpose, Xie Yunge was willing to befriend her.
Hearing her words, Chu Li suddenly felt a sense of familiarity.
It turns out that, just like Shang Xinglan told her about the blank sheet of paper theory, Xie Yunge is someone who likes her, which is why he can see the real her through those messy and complicated colors.
"You're going to the Heavenly Realm, right?" Xie Yunge wasn't good at handling such emotional scenes. She patted Chu Li's head and said softly, "My brother told me that you suffered a lot like us before."
Chu Li pursed her lips tightly; she really didn't want to recall her past.
“It will be alright,” she smiled gently. “You see, as long as you survive, everything will be alright.”
Yes, everything will be alright.
Chu Li smiled slightly, and the image of the old man who had kicked her out of his home many years ago came to mind.
Looking back now, perhaps he was already terminally ill at that time and had no choice but to drive her away.
She no longer harbored any resentment or grievances; a sense of indescribable relief washed over her, as if she had truly let go of everything.
No, that's not right.
She also had a deep-seated obsession, a resentful one at that.
Chu Li slowly shifted her gaze to Shang Xinglan, who was still playing with the little cub. Her eyes narrowed slightly. There was still a score to settle between them.
*
Back at Xiaofushan, the house was covered in a thin layer of dust. Shang Xinglan and Xiaozai took a whisk and cleaned it. They were going to pack up the things in the house and take anything that could be taken to the Heavenly Realm with them.
"I'll take this with me, and that one too..." The little boy listed his treasures as if they were his own. They were mostly books he liked to read and gifts Chu Li had given him. Suddenly, a book fell to the ground. He bent down to pick it up, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw something under the bed.
The little boy paused slightly, then squatted down and tried to reach out and touch the thing.
After a short while, he finally managed to pull the thing out from under the bed; it turned out to be a memorial tablet.
The little boy paused for a moment, then wiped the dust off the memorial tablet with his sleeve and clearly saw the words written on it in slightly clumsy cloud seal script: "Shang Xinglan, husband of Chu Li."
He stood there, stunned, holding the memorial tablet and looking at it over and over.
So that's how it is.
No wonder, ever since that person took off his mask, my mother has been especially kind to him. No wonder they look so alike. No wonder he has never hurt them.
Father didn't die; he came back from the bottom of the cliff.
The little boy pursed his lips, and after a long while, he suddenly stuffed the memorial tablet back under the bed.
They'll never need this again; they'll never be separated again, never.
Outside the courtyard, Chu Li was taking a nap in a rattan chair under the shade of a tree.
Shang Xinglan brought over a plate of sliced pears and apples and placed it next to her. "It's getting cold. Don't sleep outside. Be careful not to catch a cold."
Upon hearing this, Chu Li lifted her eyelids and glanced at him, saying in a low voice, "I dare not sleep inside."
Shang Xinglan looked at her, puzzled.
"Who knows if I'll wake up one morning to find a golden lock tied to my ankle?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Shang Xinglan paused slightly and took a breath almost imperceptibly.
"That gold lock was really heavy. It took me a long time to pry it open with a hairpin. I thought I was going to be locked up there for the rest of my life."
Chu Li rested her chin on her hand and looked at him with a smile, "Husband, you're amazing, keeping a canary at home."
Shang Xinglan's forehead twitched, and she softly explained, "It's because of Erlong. Erlong amplified my evil thoughts. I didn't mean to think that way..."
"I was only sixteen years old then. I think someone said that we should slowly develop feelings for each other, and wait until I grew up..."
Before she could finish speaking, her lips were gently covered.
Chu Li blinked, pulled his hand away, and whispered, "Yes, that's exactly what you did to me back then, covering my mouth so I couldn't even say no."
Shang Xinglan was silent for a moment, then leaned down and whispered in her ear, "I admit, that's what I think."
Chu Li's eyelashes trembled, and her heart skipped a beat.
"There's something even more outrageous, Chu, don't you want to try?"
Her face suddenly flushed, as if it were burning her whole body red. After a long while, Chu Li couldn't help but whisper, "Yes."
She liked Shang Xinglan no matter what, but...
Chu Li looked away, her voice even softer, almost inaudible, "But the condition is that it can't be too unreasonable, or I'll get angry."
"What would be considered excessive?"
"That's right, I'm tired and need to rest..."
Shang Xinglan gently touched her reddened earlobe and said softly, "Oh... I understand. You don't need to rest as long as you're not tired."
Chu Li nodded seriously.
“But Ah Chu,” Shang Xinglan suddenly laughed, “have you forgotten that we have both ascended to immortality and will never feel tired.”
Oh right, doesn't that mean there are no restrictions on him at all?
Chu Li was stunned for a moment, then he picked her up from the wicker chair. She quickly said, "I haven't finished yet. Let me think about it some more. There are other conditions..."
She instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, and then heard Shang Xinglan say lazily, "Don't think about it, you'll definitely spoil me in the end." Just like he spoiled A Chu, A Chu never made any demands on him, and accepted him no matter what he looked like.
He gently kissed Chu Li's forehead, his smile deep, and said, "While Yin Yin is still packing her luggage, let's go to the east room?"
"..." Chu Li paused, then hugged him tightly and urged, "Then hurry up, Yin Yin can pack her things quickly."
"Don't worry, I'll empty the contents of my storage ring for him to clean up. It won't take more than an hour to finish."
Meanwhile, the little guy, who was buried in a pile of clutter, looked up from the mess of books, his face full of confusion.
It's so strange, the more I tidy up, the messier things get!
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