Chapter 46 Separation Anxiety of Dead Leaf Butterflies
Morax pinched her face and forced her mouth open, then kissed her deeply as if invading a city. Even after being rejected, he insisted on kissing her, taking advantage of her sweet scent.
Qiao Xi went from struggling to react at first, to actively responding. She unexpectedly liked the forceful kiss, but in the open courtyard, it was easy for others to see, so she felt a little uneasy while she was immersed in the kiss.
A moment later, a slightly fishy-smelling breeze blew by, and Qiao Xi choked. Morax stopped kissing her and looked at her, asking, "What's wrong?"
Qiao Xi wiped her mouth with her left hand and said, "There's been a strange fishy smell in the air these past few days, and I don't like it."
Morax's gaze, however, fell on the cut on Qiao Xi's finger. He took her hand, looked at the wound, and said to her, "The weather has been getting warmer lately, and the creatures in the sea are starting to get restless again."
He looked up at Qiao Xi and said, "Let's go inside and I'll bandage you up."
Qiao Xi fell into a slight reverie because of Morax's words. What did he mean by "the things in the sea are restless again"?
Is it related to the sea monster she saw on the day she arrived? Or is there more than one in the ocean?
The information they had was not enough for Qiao Xi to deduce the whole story. He followed Morax into the house and, as Morax had instructed, obediently sat on a low stool.
Morax asked her, "Where did you put your first-aid kit?"
Qiao Xi stood up to go find it for him.
Morax said, "You sit down."
Qiao Xi said, "It's my hand that's injured, not my foot."
As she spoke, she walked to the bedside and brought out the large box again.
Morax was quite impressed with her trunk; it contained all sorts of strange things, from clothes to machetes. He hadn't expected the potion to be there too.
They couldn't help but ask, "Qiao Xi, what are your standards for storing things in this box?"
Qiao Xi found the medicine, then looked up at Mokax: "As long as it can be put down."
"..."
Morax fell silent.
He made Qiao Xi sit back down, then he knelt down in front of her to bandage her wounds. When Qiao Xi looked down, she saw Morax's hair and his long, slender fingers covering her hand.
“Morax,” Qiao Xi suddenly asked, “how old are you?”
Morax raised his young face, looked up and smiled at Qiao Xi: "Isn't it in the information Yi Xiao gave you?"
Qiao Xi: "I just wanted to confirm."
Morax: "Pretty much the same."
He continued to bend down and bandage Qiao Xi's wound.
Qiao Xi looked at Morax's long black hair and couldn't help but reach out and touch it.
At midday in early spring, the sun shines brightly, the newly sprouted branches of the trees are lush and green, and the flowers seem to be filtered through a beautiful lens. Although the weather is still a bit chilly, when such sunlight shines on a light-colored knitted cardigan, it always gives people a very warm feeling.
Morax's hair shone brightly in the sunlight. After touching it once, Qiao Xi hesitated before placing her hand on it, running her fingers through Morax's hair and gently smoothing it.
Morax held Qiao Xi's bandaged fingers, looked up, and met her gaze gently.
He could feel Qiao Xi's fingers brushing against his hair; it was a tingling sensation.
He laughed: "What are you thinking about?"
“Master said that the fixed form only allows me to maintain the best state to control immortal magic, but it doesn’t mean that I will completely possess the body of an immortal. My body is still that of a mortal.” Qiao Xi lowered her head, cupped Morax’s face and said, “You are so old, but you look very young, while I may grow old.”
Morax raised his hand and stroked Qiao Xi's hair. Sunlight fell into his eyes, revealing the shape of his pupils. He said to Qiao Xi, "I promised you that I would grow old with you, little by little."
When did you agree to this?
Morax: "Unbeknownst to you."
Qiao Xi nodded blankly: "What if I die?"
Morax thought for a moment, then put her finger to her lips, paused, and said, "I will still keep the contract between us."
Qiao Xi asked, "What do you mean?"
Morax laughed: "A widow."
Just as he finished speaking those two words, a newly emerged butterfly flew in from outside. It fluttered and landed on Morax's shoulder. Qiao Xi looked down and saw that it was a dead leaf butterfly.
Qiao Xi reached out to touch it, but as soon as she raised her hand, the butterfly suddenly flew away.
Qiao Xi frowned slightly as she watched the direction the butterfly had gone.
Morax stood up, placed his hand on Qiao Xi's shoulder, and gently massaged it intermittently.
Qiao Xi's attention was drawn back to Morax, and she looked up at him.
Morax isn't very good at massage, but it's very comfortable.
Qiao Xi turned around, took Morax's hand and said, "Sit down, I'll give you a massage."
Morax chuckled and pinched her cheek: "It's time to eat."
*
In the kitchen, at the dining table, Qiao Xi ate the pickled bamboo shoots and pork soup made by Morax, and couldn't help but smile with every bite.
Morax thought he had made the flavor strange, so he took a spoonful and tasted it. The pickled bamboo shoots made with the sprouting bamboo shoots were delicious and very tasty. So why was the girl laughing?
Morax: "What are you laughing at?"
Qiao Xi ate and laughed, saying, "Morax, it's so delicious! You're amazing, I feel like I love you even more now."
Morax smiled helplessly at her; it turned out the girl was enjoying her meal.
He looked at Qiao Xi's chubby face. She seemed happy as long as she ate something delicious. That kind of heartfelt happiness shone through the smile on her innocent face. Morax lowered his head and put a piece of rice in his mouth.
After dinner, Morax accompanied her for a walk in the bamboo forest. The wind blew, and the whole bamboo forest rustled. Qiao Xi stretched and said, "Let's digest our food."
Morax looked down at her, then looked up into the depths of the bamboo forest.
Qiao Xi walked beside him, looking up at Morax.
Morax then looked down and met her gaze.
Qiao Xi realized she had been caught peeking, couldn't help but laugh, and then looked away.
Morax silently raised his right hand and ruffled Qiao Xi's hair.
After rubbing her hair, Morax lowered his hand and slowly took Qiao Xi's hand in his.
The two walked hand in hand through the bamboo forest.
Qiao Xi occasionally looked down at their clasped hands; this was the first time they had seriously held hands since officially starting their relationship.
Qiao Xi felt that the order of their relationship was completely messed up, but even so, the feeling of holding hands was still quite heartwarming.
He held her hand firmly, and she could feel the warmth of his palm and the just-right pressure he applied. Qiao Xi looked up at Morax again.
Morax chuckled, looking down at him. "Why are you staring at me?"
Qiao Xi: "Guess?"
Morax: "You think I'm good-looking?"
Qiao Xi shook her head.
Morax tilted his head slightly: "So it's not good-looking?"
Qiao Xi shook her head again: "It looks good."
Morax laughed: "So what are you looking at?"
Qiao Xi: "Because you're good-looking."
Morax: "..."
He tapped her on the head, tightened his grip on her hand, and led her on two laps through the bamboo forest.
Back in the courtyard, Qiao Xi started practicing again.
She knew the importance of training, but she really didn't want to train. She sighed bitterly and turned to look at Morax.
Just as Morax was about to walk over, True Lord Lishui arrived. He was in crane form at the moment. After whispering something in Morax's ear, he nodded slightly to Qiao Xi and then spread his wings and flew away.
Qiao Xi looked at Morax.
"The north is unstable; I need to travel for about two days," Morax said.
Qiao Xi felt a tightness in her chest, and all she could do was nod.
Before leaving, Morax came to Qiao Xi, bent down and kissed her forehead, saying, "Wait for me to come back."
Strangely, Qiao Xi didn't feel like practicing much when Morax was around, but she would start practicing seriously whenever Morax left.
Two hours after Morax left, Qiao Xi finished her task for the day ahead of schedule.
Then she sat by the door in a daze.
She looked north, where the sun was setting. As darkness gradually obscured her vision, Qiao Xi heard strange noises in the distance.
She stood up and looked over. It turned out that Jinlan had come to ask her for a late-night snack on her bicycle.
The blue bicycle's foot brake is quite stable when stationary.
Qiao Xi was puzzled: "Why are you so good at riding this?"
Jinlan also asked in confusion, "This is such a convenient vehicle, are you really not able to ride it up?"
Qiao Xi: "Because these are all mountain roads."
Jinlan said, "Walking on mountain paths is usually exhausting, but thankfully I had this today."
He made numerous suggestive advances to Qiao Xi.
Qiao Xi understood. She looked at the bicycle and said, "This chain is made by Morax, it's very sturdy. Um, the bicycle is yours."
Jinlan cheered on the spot.
"So the chain was made by the Emperor. No wonder it was so smooth."
Jinlan suddenly paused. He looked at the bicycle in front of him. The frame was made by Qiao Xi, and the chain was made by Dijun.
In other words, this car in front of him was made by his partner, and it's one of a kind in the world. Now it belongs to him!
Jinlan was so happy that his face almost turned red. He decided to ride it less often in the future, take better care of it, and put another protective film on it when he got back.
Qiao Xi: "What are you staring at?"
Jinlan: "Greedy, come on, get me some food."
*
At the dinner table, Qiao Xi told Jin Lan about the strange things about her.
"When Morax was around, I didn't want to study, but after he left, I was able to concentrate on studying. Why is that?"
Jinlan stuffed a mouthful of rice into his mouth, puffed out his cheeks as he thought, then swallowed the rice and said, "It's obvious that you don't feel safe when the Emperor isn't around."
"A sense of security? I thought it was separation anxiety..." Qiao Xi muttered softly.
"Separation anxiety?" Jinlan blinked. He had never heard of this term before, but after spending so much time with Qiao Xi, he could guess what it meant.
He said, "Because you feel insecure when you are separated from the Emperor, you are anxious. So you increase your sense of security through high-intensity training, or rather, you relieve your anxiety when you train."
Qiao Xi felt that Jin Lan's words made sense: "You're quite smart sometimes when it comes to not saying what you should say."
Jinlan: "Brother has always been smart."
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Author's note: See you tomorrow.
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