Chapter 45 A Gift of Gratitude: She would give him a day of freedom.
(45)
Shang Xinglan's day consists of waking up, eating, cultivating, reading, sleeping... and so on.
There was a bamboo grove planted in the east courtyard, and the open space in the grove was where he cultivated. He spent nine hours a day there. The servant would bring him food and occasionally secretly bring him a book to read. Apart from that, the only thing he could do was cultivate.
Chu Li used an invisibility talisman to avoid the servants on the road and quietly followed Shang Xinglan to the East Courtyard.
"Greetings, young master."
All the servants would bow respectfully when they saw him, but Shang Xinglan calmly passed by them without exchanging any pleasantries.
Once they reached the deserted corridor, Chu Li muttered to herself, "Why do you ignore people when they talk to you?"
I told her before that it was rude of her not to listen to others, but she herself didn't listen either.
Upon hearing her voice, Shang Xinglan turned her head to look at the empty space beside her, but couldn't see anything. The invisibility talisman was indeed effective.
"It's not that we're ignoring it."
He said casually, "They won't say anything to me other than a greeting. The head of the family doesn't allow me to talk to the servants."
Ultimately, he was an anomaly in this family, an anomaly enshrined on a pedestal, not treated as a human being, but as a deity.
Chu Li asked in surprise, "Then who do you usually talk to?"
"I won't say."
Shang Xinglan led her around the corridor, pushed open the door to the east courtyard, and said in a low voice, "Come in quickly."
Only after sensing that Chu Li had entered did Shang Xinglan close the door tightly.
She took off the invisibility talisman, breathed a sigh of relief, and turned around, only to be startled by the child who suddenly appeared behind her.
A chubby boy held a bamboo stick in both hands and pointed it directly at Chu Li.
"Brother...who...who is she?"
Chu Li opened her eyes wide, grabbed the bamboo stick, and easily flung it away.
It almost poked her eye!
Shang Xinglan quickly stepped forward and pulled the child aside. "A-Yue, didn't I tell you to wait in the room? Why did you come out?"
Ah Yue?
Chu Li looked at the chubby child, whose face was full of timidity and whose speech was somewhat stuttering.
Could this be... Shang Jinyue?
"You've been gone for so long and haven't come back. I was afraid something had happened to you." A-Yue's eyes quickly reddened as she said, feeling wronged, "I shouldn't have let you go, I'm so sorry..."
Shang Xinglan casually rubbed his head and said gently, "I'm fine. I got the things and even met your future sister-in-law."
As he spoke, he glanced at Chu Li and smiled slyly.
Chu Li awkwardly looked away; she didn't want to be called sister-in-law by a little kid who wasn't even knee-high.
"Sister-in-law?" Shang Jinyue looked up in surprise. "You are the legendary Daughter of Heavenly Yin, but why do you look so old?"
Chu Li: "..."
She grabbed Shang Jinyue and slapped him hard across the butt without holding back, saying, "You're the old one!"
Shang Jinyue, in pain, ran behind Shang Xinglan and cried, "Brother, she actually hit me! Are you sure you haven't mistaken her for someone else?"
What a terrifying woman! He had never seen anyone who would attack someone without saying a word.
"It's all because you talked nonsense." Shang Xinglan glanced at him. "She's not old, she's from the future. Right now, she should be about my age."
He paused, then suddenly became curious, "Where are you now? Why don't you come to the store to find me?"
Upon hearing his words, Chu Li's expression stiffened slightly, and she subconsciously looked away.
She was probably only three years old at the time, and she was being beaten at her stepmother's house.
"Me?" Chu Li said, feigning calmness. "I'm currently cultivating. All members of the Chu family must meditate on the mountain. It's very hard work every day. Otherwise, how can we help you overcome your tribulation in the future?"
Shang Xinglan gazed at her for a long time, then lowered her eyelashes and said softly, "So that's how it is."
"You're lying! You don't have any cultivation at all!" Shang Jinyue grabbed Shang Xinglan and said urgently, "Brother, don't believe her. She's definitely a fraud."
Chu Li narrowed his eyes and took half a step closer to him. Shang Jinyue was so frightened that she grabbed Shang Xinglan's arm tightly.
"I'm not lying, I really am cultivating." Chu Li said without batting an eye, "It's just that I later fell into demonic possession. After I cleansed myself of demonic energy at the Soul Cleansing Spring, my cultivation disappeared. It will come back in the future."
I've indeed heard that the Soul Cleansing Spring of the Cangshan Sect can wash away demonic energy.
Hearing her explain it so convincingly, Shang Jinyue's suspicions lessened slightly. "Then how did you fall into demonic possession?"
Indeed, one lie requires countless more to cover it up.
Chu Li sighed, seeing that Shang Xinglan also looked eager to know, and said helplessly, "Could you let me sit down and talk? I've been standing for a long time, is this how you treat me?"
Shang Xinglan nodded in agreement, "Let's go inside, sit down and talk slowly."
After the group entered the house, Shang Xinglan politely led them to the table and solemnly served them candied fruits and pastries.
"The story of falling into demonic possession is a long one, but to make it short, we had a big fight after we got married, which made me restless during my cultivation, and that's how I fell into demonic possession." Chu Li picked up his teacup and took a sip. As expected, it was his favorite Qingshan Yunwu tea.
Shang Xinglan and Shang Jinyue were both somewhat incredulous. "It's that simple?"
"It's that simple."
Chu Li coughed lightly.
Shang Xinglan stared at her intently for a long while before tentatively asking, "So, why did you two argue?"
"You ask too many questions." Chu Li pretended to be annoyed by his questions, resting her chin on her hand and said, "Just live well, and I will come to find you when you turn eighteen."
Shang Xinglan listened quietly to her words, but her gaze fell on the tea leaves swirling in her cup, and she said softly, "I understand."
"Couldn't you have come sooner? If you had come earlier, the patriarch wouldn't be in such a hurry..."
“Ah Yue”.
Shang Jinyue wanted to say something more, but Shang Xinglan interrupted her, "Would you like to try the Bodhisattva Dew?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Shang Jinyue was indeed captivated by him and couldn't wait to say, "You really got it!"
Chu Li asked, puzzled, "You went to Linshui Pavilion just to get the Bodhisattva Dew?"
“Yes,” Shang Xinglan took out the Bodhisattva Dew from her storage ring and blinked. “It’s the Wine Immortal’s relic. Do you want some?”
Hearing this, Chu Li's lips twitched slightly, and she pressed down on his hand, "You really got beaten up for nothing. You can't drink at all, your alcohol tolerance is terrible."
Hearing her words, the two children looked at each other, both feeling somewhat disappointed.
This was their first time drinking alcohol. They had finally managed to find out that Linshui Pavilion had Shang Liuyu's privately collected aged Bodhisattva Dew, and they were looking forward to having a good drink.
"Can't I even try a little?" Shang Xinglan held the wine pot, clearly somewhat unwilling. "Maybe my alcohol tolerance just decreased after I grew up."
He looks incredibly cute, and strangely resembles Yin Yin. They truly are father and son.
Chu Li's heart softened involuntarily. She sighed, unscrewed the lid of the wine flask from his arms, and said softly, "Alright, you can only have two sips, understand?"
Shang Xinglan nodded, poured the Bodhisattva Dew into wine glasses, and each of the three of them had a glass.
He picked up the glass, took a small sip, and frowned as the cold liquor startled him. "It's sweet, but also a little bitter."
Shang Jinyue took a sip, but couldn't swallow it and spat it out. "It tastes awful, not even as good as lychee ice."
Chu Li couldn't help but laugh at their disappointed looks. Children are children. Even if one of them grows up to be the Lord of the Demon Realm and the other to be the head of the Shang family, they will still be no different from Yin Yin when they are young.
Her stomach quickly began to burn, and Shang Xinglan took another sip, a blush gradually spreading across her face.
He likes to drink.
Doing unconventional things made him feel truly alive.
To live as a human being.
Shang Xinglan quietly turned her head to look at Chu Li beside her. She seemed to have a high alcohol tolerance, having already finished her drink. She looked extremely carefree. Why was Chu Li able to live so freely when they were both burdened with missions?
She does whatever she wants, drinks whenever she wants, curses whenever she wants, and gets angry and then resorts to violence. She's fearless, as if nothing that happens to her would surprise anyone.
With the effects of the alcohol, he propped his head up in a drunken stupor and dreamed about their future.
How did Chu Li come to his house? How did she fall in love with him and have his child? How good was their relationship? Will he be able to go out and play freely after that?
He and Chu Li will definitely have a lot of fun, even just shopping for groceries will be enjoyable.
He could accompany her to steal things; he knew magic, and if Chu Li wanted the moon, he could steal it too.
Shang Xinglan had a lot to say, but he was afraid that if he said too much, Chu Li would get annoyed, and it wouldn't be good if she thought he was an unreliable chatterbox.
After downing a cup of wine, Chu Li felt warm. The wine immortal's relics were indeed different from the Bodhisattva Dew sold in ordinary restaurants; they tasted much stronger.
"Alright, no more drinking." She snatched the wine glass from Shang Xinglan's hand and said lazily, "Go cultivate. Didn't you say you'd take me out to play after you finished cultivating?"
Shang Jinyue stared at them in surprise, then suddenly slammed her hand on the table and stood up. Startled, she began to stammer, "No, no, what if the family head finds out..."
"Sit down." Chu Li slammed her hand on the table. Startled, Shang Jinyue immediately sat down obediently. Chu Li looked down at her and said, "So what if the family head finds out? Didn't you come to play with him too?"
Upon hearing this, Shang Jinyue retorted softly, "I can only come here once a year, and it's only because of my grandmother's birthday that I can come to the main family. If the head of the family finds out that my brother ran away, I don't know how severely he will be punished."
Chu Li said with a hint of doubt, "Nonsense, then where are your parents?"
“Father and Mother can’t see Brother anymore…” Shang Jinyue said in a low voice, her face ashen. “The Patriarch said that Brother cried when he saw Father and Mother, which is too pathetic.”
Chu Li choked up immediately. She hadn't expected that even their biological parents couldn't often be by Shang Xinglan's side.
Does that mean he doesn't even have anyone to talk to?
“I’ve stopped crying.” Shang Xinglan suddenly retorted, as if afraid that Chu Li would look down on him because of this, and repeated softly, “I didn’t cry last year either.”
From birth, Shang Xinglan has been confined to this seemingly spacious but actually incredibly cramped space. He has long been accustomed to this kind of life, only occasionally feeling a little lonely.
He was very happy to have Chu Li and Shang Jinyue with him today.
Perhaps the reason he left such a memory on the towering stone was because he accidentally bumped into it while stealing the Bodhisattva's Dew.
The towering stone recorded his happiest day when he was five years old—secretly drinking with A-Yue.
Chu Li understood the reason, and her heart ached even more, her eyes welling up with tears.
“Let’s go out and have some fun right now.” She suddenly stood up and grabbed Shang Xinglan’s wrist. “Come on, I’ll take you outside to see the sights. We can go wherever we want today.”
Shang Xinglan was stunned for a moment, then staggered a couple of steps as she was pulled up, her face flushing even more. "Wait, I haven't started cultivating yet..."
"What's the point of practicing? I might have to leave soon, let's hurry!" Chu Li hurriedly led him out, and thinking about making Shang Xinglan happy, she was inexplicably excited. "There's a restaurant near Shang's place that makes really delicious lion's head meatballs, as well as a bookstore that sells calligraphy and paintings, and an opera troupe. I promise you'll have a great time..."
She pulled Shang Xinglan to the base of the wall, and Shang Jinyue hurriedly followed. Seeing her pointing at the wall, she said, "Climb over, and there's a long street outside. I'll carry you up the wall first."
"No, there's a formation here!" Shang Jinyue rushed up to stop them, panting, "Let's go through the main gate, I'll cover for you."
Formation?
How come she never discovered the formation after marrying into the Shang family? She could always climb out whenever she wanted.
Shang Xinglan looked up at her, seemingly lost in thought, and gently pursed her lips, "Let's go, A-Yue will help us."
Shang Jinyue took out invisibility talismans and stuck them on their bodies. She then took out Bodhisattva Dew from the house, hesitated for a moment, closed her eyes, and gulped down several mouthfuls.
Chu Li stared at him in disbelief as Shang Jinyue rushed out first, lying on the ground and acting drunk and disorderly.
"It's so hot, I feel so nauseous, help! I'm going to throw up!"
The commotion was quite loud, especially in the quiet shops, and all the servants ran to join in the fun.
"He's really loyal. I'm starting to look at him in a new light." Chu Li clicked her tongue in amazement, then tugged at Shang Xinglan beside her and urged, "Let's hurry up and leave now. We can definitely get out of here."
The two of them carefully avoided the servants and the guards with cultivation, and nervously held each other's hands behind the artificial hill. After the guards left, they ran desperately through the seemingly endless corridor.
The sun peeked out from the clouds overhead, and birds flew toward the distant mountains.
She wanted to give him a day of freedom, even if it was a day that had already happened twenty years ago.
Finally, she saw the main gate. The thought of being able to take Shang Xinglan away from this prison made her heart pound with excitement.
Just as Chu Li stepped across the threshold, the person behind her suddenly let go of her hand.
"Chu Li".
Shang Xinglan lowered her head and said softly, "You can go now."
Chu Li turned to look at him, puzzled, and asked, "What do you mean? We finally made it this far, and you're not planning to go out and play with me?"
"Um."
He still didn't look up at her, only saying softly, "I'm going back to cultivate diligently, and I won't go anywhere else after this."
Chu Li didn't understand. They had agreed on everything, so why did Shang Xinglan suddenly change her mind?
"This memory will soon come to an end." Shang Xinglan's gaze fell on her boots, which were gradually disappearing and turning transparent, and he said in a low voice, "I have something to tell you."
Chu Li asked, puzzled, "What did you say?"
He slowly looked at her, his voice gentle yet firm, "I don't know why we'll argue in the future, but if it really comes to the point of falling into demonic possession, the fault will definitely be mine. I'm sorry for making you suffer."
Chu Li stood there, stunned, watching his earnest apology, and asked absentmindedly, "What if... it's my fault?"
Shang Xinglan paused, then a relaxed smile suddenly appeared on her face.
"Then I forgive you."
Across that short threshold, Shang Xinglan raised his hand and gently hugged her.
"Even if it's something unforgivable, I forgive you for it all, as a gift of gratitude for coming into my life."
From today onward, he no longer felt that waiting was a painful and unbearable thing. Even if he had to cultivate for nine hours a day, even if there was no one to talk to, even if reading was a luxury, as long as he thought that Chu Li would come to his side when he turned eighteen, everything was not so terrible.
As the white mist dissipated, Chu Li watched the small figure being swallowed by the mist, and subconsciously reached out to touch it, but couldn't touch anything.
She was not wronged.
Shouldn't Shang Xinglan be the one who's always been wronged?
He was deceived into marriage by her while she concealed his identity, and because he believed her, he cut off his immortal bones and eloped. He learned to do chores and take care of her, and worked hard to cultivate so that he could ascend to immortality with her, but was pushed off a cliff.
Why would he forgive her again and again, even after all that?
If she were Shang Xinglan, she would never have done such a thing. She even hid in a corner, covered her ears, and watched helplessly when she saw him being punished by the head of the family when he was only five years old.
Why didn't I help him? Why didn't I stand by his side to protect him? Why am I always so stupid, making myself regret it time and time again?
Tears streamed down Chu Li's chin, and she tried to wipe them away, but they just wouldn't stop.
She knows the reason.
She didn't love him enough.
She always talks about making amends for her mistakes, yet she constantly expects Shang Xinglan to compromise for her. When she's sad, she resorts to the most extreme methods to force him to suffer with her. She can't reciprocate Shang Xinglan's kindness and understanding in the same way.
I'm the one who should apologize.
I'm sorry, Shang Xinglan.
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