Chapter 234 Though Dead, Still Alive (Jealousy) Calling out to the Fairy One More Time...
Words kept coming from the jade tablet, the crimson lines intertwining to form characters, but he had no heart to read them carefully. He glanced at them hastily and, finding that they were still the same words, his gaze shifted to the courtyard.
The two were still whispering something, and under the slightly tilted table, their legs were draped like snowflakes.
He seemed to like sitting like this, with his back straight, arms crossed, and his fingertips tapping occasionally. His upper body appeared normal and quite distant, but his lower body was very intimately and shamelessly pressed against Lin Feiran.
His right leg, crossed over his left knee, was not quite there; it was also pressing against her right knee. As they moved, his leg would unintentionally rub against her again and again.
Wei Changzai stared at it, his gaze lingering on it for a long time. When he looked down again, the porcelain bowl in his hand had shattered into several pieces.
His throat moved slightly, and he glanced at the jade tablet. His words, having received no reply, gradually stopped and eventually coalesced into a single sentence.
"The Demon Capital is far away, return soon. Qiu Tong still has an old item belonging to her master, keep it safe and do not lose it."
"Yes, I will return to the mountain with Qiu Tong as soon as possible."
He withdrew his hand, hung the jade pendant back on his waist, stared at it for a moment with his dark eyes, and ultimately did not look at the courtyard again.
...
In the courtyard, Lin Feiran no longer cared about Wei Changzai. She looked at Ru Xian, paused for a moment, and still couldn't help but ask.
How did you know about my past with him?
Just now, Wei Changzai turned and walked to the kitchen. Ru Xian watched for a moment and suddenly asked her if she had pledged her love to Wei Changzai in the peach grove and even caught a dragonfly for him.
As he spoke, his gaze remained fixed on Lin Feiran, his eyes flickering slightly, making it impossible to discern his true meaning.
"You're so smart, how could you not guess who told me?"
Lin Feiran glanced into the kitchen, where wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys, and the boy's figure was partially hidden in the mist.
After saying that, Ru Xian looked at her expression, lowered her eyes, but didn't say anything more.
He didn't want to say anything sarcastic.
Lin Feiran had a past, which he had always known, and she hadn't hidden it from him, but he had never thought about it deeply.
As a young boy, Ru Xian traveled through the human world and saw many lovesick men and women. He either helped them or mocked them, but he never understood them.
In his eyes, there was only himself.
Whether he's a healer or a demon lord, it's all just empty titles. Curing diseases and living on is his only wish.
Similarly, he never took anyone seriously; whoever they were, they were all insignificant.
He had always thought that way, until Lin Feiran appeared.
He had never felt such excitement, pity, liking, admiration and longing for anyone before; all the few positive emotions he possessed were concentrated on one person.
These qualities are embodied in Lin Feiran, who is cute, strong, resilient, sharp, slow-witted, weak, and as delicate as a wisp of fire.
He was not an innocent young man, but he still possessed a kind of unbridled spirit.
When he realized the special feelings he had for Lin Feiran, he recklessly let himself fall into depravity without a moment's hesitation.
He was always decisive; once the feelings were there, he would accept them without struggling.
He was so engrossed in it that when he learned of Wei Changzai's existence, he didn't really care, or rather, he deliberately ignored it.
He didn't want to compete with someone from the past, as that would be very tasteless. Besides, Lin Feiran had done a good job and had never caused him any worry.
This morning, while he was making medicine in the courtyard, Wei Chang, after preparing the meal, walked to the back and suddenly mentioned the peach grove in front of him.
He said, "This is the peach grove where I fell in love with her."
"The day I was with her, the sky was filled with the glow of sunset, and there was a lotus pond with green leaves next to us. We fished until the afternoon, and a dragonfly took the lemongrass from my hand. She chased after it and brought it back to me, and even gave the dragonfly back to me."
Later, she asked me if I wanted to be with her.
I agreed.
Ru Xian paused, turned around, and interrupted, saying, "The person with her now is me."
Wei Changzai looked at her unbiasedly: "Is that so? I was the one who was with her before, but what about now? How can you be sure she won't leave you?"
Wei Chang is clueless about human relationships and worldly affairs, but he is very adept at certain things, such as sowing discord and drawing out the dark side of people's hearts.
"Manman is only nineteen years old this year, and has only been away from Daohe Palace for a year. She has never seen anything, so she is full of curiosity about people outside the mountains."
She's never seen someone as attracted to beauty as you, so she wants to get close to you.
After she came down the mountain, you were the first person to help her, so she was grateful.
But what does she like about you?
If the first person to offer help wasn't you, but someone else, would she still treat you this way?
Your beauty is not unique. The road ahead is long, and one day she will grow tired of you and leave you. What's the point of being together? Every meeting must end in separation.
Nothing in this world is constant.
Ru Xian's expression remained unchanged, but her voice grew colder: "It seems that some people are regretting it."
Wei Changzai paused, then surprisingly admitted, "Yes, I regret it. I will take her back."
Ru Xian glanced at him slightly: "She's not an object, how can she be taken away by anyone?"
Wei Changzai's gaze remained fixed: "You said she is your sword."
“Yes, wherever you heard it from, I did say that.” Ru Xian straightened up, lifted the lid of the cauldron, and looked at the boiling liquid inside. “But, wherever the sword is, the sheath is there too. I’m always with her. Am I wrong?”
"..."
"Even if she met someone else instead of me when she went down the mountain, she wouldn't fall in love with just anyone. She likes me because I'm good enough, and she doesn't like you because she's found you're not that good."
The only reason I can stand before you today is because, in her heart, I am better than you.
“I don’t need her to promise to love me forever. I just want this moment. But isn’t ‘forever’ just a series of moments?”
These words somehow hurt the young man before him, and his dark eyes seemed to be filled with frost and snow.
His provocation failed, but he was the one who became flustered. However, he still maintained a degree of composure: "Is that so? I will wait until the day you two separate."
Ru Xian turned around and looked at the medicine that was about to be brewed. Her voice was still unhurried: "Instead of waiting for that day that will never come, we should pray to heaven that she will not find out that those curtains were sewn from her old clothes."
With a clang, sword energy attacked from behind, cold as frost and snow. Even the boiling bubbles in the medicine cauldron slowed down, and a few ice patterns spread out.
Ru Xian was not afraid. He formed a hand seal to protect the furnace and turned around to receive the attack. In an instant, shattered ice scattered everywhere, grazing the hair of the two of them. With a loud bang, a large area of the peach grove next to them collapsed, and petals fell everywhere.
Ru Xian withdrew her hand, raised her eyebrows, and laughed, "You missed."
Wei Changzai looked at the peach grove, his eyelashes trembling slightly, but when he heard the noise coming from the bedroom, he stopped moving and just lowered his eyes.
Ru Xian naturally heard this as well. He glanced towards the door and said in a relaxed tone, "It seems that your deep contemplation last night was not in vain. You have broken through to a higher realm."
Wei Changzai did not deny it.
As if igniting the medicine cauldron, he turned around, lifted the lid, looked at it for a moment, took out a few round cardamoms and put them in, then raised his eyebrows in satisfaction and said.
“I remember that the direct disciples of Daohe Palace have always cultivated the unity of heaven and man, and you should be the same.”
Now that you have cultivated to this point, your heart is still biased. Are the elders in the sect aware of this?
Does Lin Feiran know?
What will she think of you?
Wei Changzai pursed his lips and remained silent.
Ru Xian had already poured the warm medicine into the porcelain bowl. He crossed his arms and said, "She's coming out soon. Guess which she'll choose first: delicious food or bitter medicine?"
"If you choose the medicine, does that mean that even without me, you wouldn't get a chance?"
Later, when Lin Feiran went out, under his watchful eye, she indeed drank the bowl of specially made medicine first. The strong smell of green plums could even reach the tip of his nose.
Her expression remained unchanged, but her eyes widened slightly, showing some confusion.
That was indeed very sour.
But it doesn't even amount to a fraction of what he cherishes.
In his confrontation with Wei Changzai, he could be said to have held his own in the slightest, but the moment he saw Lin Feiran, a feeling of jealousy, which he had never experienced before and was not quite clear, arose in his heart.
This word almost never comes out of his mouth.
Humans all use peacocks to symbolize narcissism, and he never felt that this was wrong; in fact, he readily accepted it. Self-love is not something to be ashamed of.
He is good enough, so he doesn't need to be jealous of anyone.
But he had to admit that when Wei Changzai described that scene, he couldn't help but start imagining it.
Imagine how Lin Feiran walked into the peach grove, how she gracefully strolled through the lotus pond, caught a dragonfly, and then came to you, looking at you with those clear eyes, and giving you a focused and gentle smile.
Because he knew her so well, he was able to describe the scene perfectly, which made him jealous.
He had never known what jealousy felt like. Before he could even react, the honey grass had been replaced with sweet plum, making Lin Feiran purse his lips repeatedly from the sourness.
He stared intently at Lin Feiran's expression, and even though he knew she wouldn't be upset with him because of this slight bitterness, he still didn't look away.
Lin Feiran withdrew her gaze from Wei Changzai, and began to speculate about the confrontation that had taken place that morning.
It was probably because he told Ru Xian about his past that she was unhappy, and the two had another disagreement, which led to the fight.
Before she could speak, Wei Changzai came over with a bowl of plain noodles, interrupting their eye contact. He placed the bowl in front of Lin Feiran and said in a clear voice.
"Slowly, you can eat now."
Lin Feiran turned her head and looked at them. Under their gazes, she shook her head directly: "No need. You didn't eat much before. Just have this bowl to tide you over. I can do it myself."
After saying that, she stood up, leaning on the table, and prepared to go to the kitchen. As she passed Wei Changzai, she stopped.
“We’ve already been implicated by your temporary refuge, so how can we let you do these things again?”
I will cook my own meals from now on, so I won't trouble you.
In the next few days, I will need to smelt things, so I will meditate on the rooftop and will not need to come inside to rest. If you are tired, you may do so as you see fit.”
She took two steps, turned back to look at Ru Xian, and said with pursed lips, "You didn't eat much either, do you want to come with me?"
Upon hearing this, Rushan's crossed legs began to sway gently again, and the corners of her lips curled up slightly. However, she crossed her arms in front of her and did not speak, only tilting her head and raising her eyebrows slightly at her.
Lin Feiran sighed softly, then walked back to him with difficulty, extending a hand as if to pull him: "Please?"
Ru Xian then raised her hand and offered it, but only loosely placed it in her palm, then turned and grasped her wrist, so that she didn't have to exert any effort. Instead, she stood up and supported her arm.
Lin Feiran said, "Didn't you say I should set off on my own?"
Ru Xian glanced at her sideways: "I am a doctor, so I naturally know how to apply force to help your bones grow better."
“…Okay.” What else could Lin Feiran say?
She walked towards the kitchen with Ru Xian, her hem swirling as it brushed against Wei Changzai's gradually clenching hand, before disappearing like dust.
The distinct strands of noodles swirled in the bowl, turning from hot to cold. The person behind the bowl still didn't touch the food; he simply sat there, his gaze wandering aimlessly around him.
...
Lin Feiran's words were very polite, but they weren't just for the sake of dividing the food; she genuinely wasn't full.
This place is just a no-man's-land constructed by Wei Changzai. The spiritual energy here is not as abundant as outside. Moreover, after one night, for some reason, the spiritual energy around us seems to have been absorbed by more than half of it, making it even drier than before.
For Lin Feiran, breathing exercises to absorb spiritual energy were not practical; for now, the only option was to supplement her diet.
As she entered the kitchen, she was about to roll up her sleeves when Ru Xian reached out and pressed them down, saying, "You did a good job just now, I like it. What would you like to eat? I'll make it."
Lin Feiran looked at her in surprise: "Is that alright?"
Ru Xian raised his eyebrows and said, "I have traveled in the human world for many years. Do you think I have always lived on wind and dew, and acted like an immortal?"
Lin Feiran paused: "Isn't that right?"
Ru Xian wanted to deny it, but then suddenly smiled and said, "Of course! Call me Fairy again, and the next dose of medicine will have honey grass added, but no sweet plum."
It turned out to be a sweet plum.
Lin Feiran's doubts were resolved. She was originally embarrassed to call him by his childhood nickname, but seeing his expression, she stopped being coy and moved her somewhat sluggish body closer to him, looking at him earnestly.
Like a hailstone, she paused slightly, but a smile had already spread across her eyes: "You've learned well, I like it."
Author's Note: I've been working on this chapter for a long time, finally ready to remove the last thorn in Ru Xian's heart. [heart emoji]
P.S.: Considering that language like that of sleet can only be represented by syllables, including it in the main text would seem abrupt. Therefore, for convenience, it will be added to the paragraph comments later.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
