Chapter 94 The area around Luozhou City fell in succession...
It rained for several days in a row in the Luozhou area.
The initial downpour turned into a light drizzle, leaving a damp patch in the cracks of the sky and earth.
The vines that had climbed a trellis in the backyard of the clinic had stretched out their leaves a bit, no longer looking as wilted as before.
Cheng Ling bent over the table, studying the insect corpses and powder that Rong Feng had brought back. She used a specially made knife to cut across the insect's skin, and the swirling powder rushed out and sprinkled towards her. She skillfully used her spiritual power to separate a small portion of it.
Under the eaves, a stern-looking figure entered the house with steady steps.
Rong Feng glanced at the varying shades of scales on Cheng Ling's body, his eyes darkening. He hastily looked away and his gaze fell on the neatly arranged insect corpses and powder: "You experimented on yourself again?"
Cheng Ling's focused gaze did not waver: "This powder only has the effect of making demons reveal their true forms, it's nothing to worry about."
She used tongs to pick up a dead insect and held it between herself and Rong Feng:
"As the insects die, the effect gradually weakens. Although a solution has not yet been found, the areas that came into contact with the powder that day are gradually recovering."
She put down the insect and shrugged: "But the trump card he kept hidden until the very end was just this. If it were me, I would have at least used some poison. And how did he know that he would be facing a demon in the end..."
Rong Feng's gaze fell on the faint scales at the corner of Cheng Ling's eye, and he continued the latter's words: "It seems that someone just wanted to verify the identity of the person who fought him last."
"But all those involved in this matter are dead, and it is now impossible to verify."
As he spoke, Cheng Ling turned his head and looked out the window at the sky where flashes of thunder occasionally streaked across the horizon.
Amidst the thick clouds, a glimpse of dark blue light could be seen.
Rolling purple lightning formed a cage that surged within the clouds, from which boundless spiritual energy dissipated, transforming into raindrops that fell to the ground.
In the quiet and deserted courtyard, Xie Baoqiong sat on a small stool and looked up at the sky.
The surging purple lightning in the clouds gradually faded, leaving behind a few sparse rays of sunlight.
But nothing fell from the sky for a long time. Just as Xie Baoqiong thought that Chisong had been struck by purple lightning and was about to get up and pick up the small stool to go back to the house.
A melodious and lingering dragon roar resounded through the sky.
He looked back up at the sky and saw a long, slender tail fin flash across the gradually brightening clouds, like the scales scattered by a butterfly flapping its wings, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
...
After the rain, water droplets clung precariously to the eaves, about to fall into puddles on the ground as people walked by.
Xie Baoqiong sat alone in the center of the flower hall at a round table decorated with gold-painted auspicious cloud patterns, with a steaming bowl of pine nut water in front of her.
He pressed his mouth against the edge of the porcelain bowl, his partially petrified and less agile hands gripping two chopsticks, awkwardly swishing water into his mouth.
Xie Rongjing, who was passing by in a hurry under the corridor, happened to catch a glimpse of this scene. His robes fluttered in the wind and he abruptly changed direction.
A shadow fell over the bowl of noodles. Xie Baoqiong loosened her grip on the chopsticks, slurped the water that was about to reach her lips into her mouth, and then tilted her head back with her cheeks puffed out.
A familiar face appeared in his clear eyes. He puffed out his cheeks and swallowed the food in his mouth quickly, uttering three hesitant words:
“…Thank you, Your Highness.”
Xie Rongjing's hand, hanging by his side, stiffened, his fingers clenching and then relaxing.
His eyelashes fluttered rapidly as he took in the figure in front of him.
Only when he got closer did he realize that Xie Baoqiong was still wearing the same clothes he had changed into. Unlike before, when she would be covered in dust after wearing them all day, the clothes were clean, though wrinkled all over. Also, Xie Baoqiong's hair was sticking up because no one had taken care of it.
His gaze moved upwards and landed on that face that seemed to be separated by something. The petrification was still obvious, and there was still soup stain on the corner of her mouth. His heart couldn't help but clench with pain. When had Qiong'er ever looked like this since she returned to the manor?
He forced himself to look away, his gaze finally settling on the bowl of noodles and Xie Baoqiong's partially petrified fingers. With a natural movement, he picked up the bowl, grabbed a piece of noodles, and, despite Xie Baoqiong's surprised expression, brought it to her lips.
Where is the person who took care of you?
Confused and hesitant, Xie Baoqiong followed his heart and bit into his chopsticks. Just as Xie Rongjing finished speaking, his mouth was full, and after a couple of twitches, he was about to speak in a hurry.
Eat slowly, no rush.
Xie Rongjing had just put down his chopsticks when he noticed Xie Baoqiong chewing even faster.
He took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the soup from the corner of her mouth: "Brother is not busy today, you have time to spend with Qiong'er."
As soon as those two words were uttered, Xie Baoqiong's lips drooped instantly, and she swallowed all the food in her mouth.
He turned his head away to avoid Xie Rongjing's movements and spoke with a wronged expression:
"You're lying, you're not my brother."
Xie Baoqiong's eyes always looked pitiful, and although Xie Rongjing could only see the drooping corners of her eyes at this moment, it did not stop his pity from overflowing.
Listening to Xie Baoqiong's nonsensical words, he felt a moment of self-loathing and couldn't help but take it out on Xie Zhuo. How long had it taken him to coax Xie Baoqiong into calling him "brother"? Now, she had reverted to her old ways.
Xie Rongjing picked up his chopsticks again, took a small piece of finely sliced mushroom from the bowl, and brought it to Xie Baoqiong's lips:
“It was my fault. That night, I thought Father would go back to see you, so I didn’t go with him. When I went to look for you the next day, you had been taken away by Lord Chishong and your whereabouts were unknown…”
"He's not my dad." Xie Baoqiong smelled the aroma so close to her, reluctantly took a small bite, and mumbled under her breath as she chewed.
Xie Rongjing heard everything clearly, but made no attempt to speak well of Xie Zhuo.
"Yes, yes, yes, Father is not Qiong'er's father, but Brother is still Qiong'er's brother. In mortals, the older one is called elder brother..."
At this point, Xie Rongjing glanced hesitantly at Xie Baoqiong, whose age was difficult to discern, before continuing to reiterate the same set of reasoning he had originally used to deceive Xie Baoqiong:
“I’m older than you, so no matter who you are, you should call me brother.”
But Xie Baoqiong now was not as easily fooled as he had been when he first came down from the mountain. He picked up the remaining mushroom strips from his chopsticks and refuted them clearly and logically:
"Qi Gui is younger than you, but he still addresses you as Prince Xie."
Xie Rongjing retrieved his empty chopsticks, picked up a few strands of water, and used them to shut up his increasingly clever younger brother's head. His expression remained unchanged as he spoke:
"That's because I've only met Qi Gui a few times. You see, Meng Rui calls me Brother Rong Jing, right?"
He looked at his younger brother's cheeks, which were puffed up like a hamster's, and said seriously, "Besides, you are different."
Xie Baoqiong's eyebrows furrowed, and he chewed harder: "Because I'm a demon?"
"No," Xie Rongjing answered decisively, as if the answer required no hesitation: "Because I favor you."
"What is favoritism?" Without the constraints of her status, Xie Baoqiong could ask Xie Rongjing this question, which seemed strange to humans, directly.
Xie Rongjing picked up another spoonful of water and brought it to his lips: "Preference means that between a not-so-sweet orange and a sweet orange, you prefer the sweeter one."
This was put in plain language, and Xie Baoqiong might not be completely unable to understand it. A slight upturn of his downturned lips appeared, but he maintained his composure, feigning ignorance as he spoke:
"But I am a stone, not sweet, so I can't eat it."
Xie Rongjing easily caught up with his words:
"I've heard that there's a folk dish called 'Fried Stones,' which I imagine involves replacing the seasonings with sugar and honey to make the stones sweet."
Xie Baoqiong was so shocked by these words that he forgot to chew; he knew that humans would eat stones.
Xie Rongjing, however, continued to bluff with a wicked grin: "Qiong'er is such a big piece, she can definitely eat for a long time."
As expected, the words immediately drew his younger brother's attention.
Although her words were full of disapproval, Xie Rongjing argued with a good attitude, "But I definitely can't bear to part with my younger brother, Qiong'er, don't you think?"
Xie Baoqiong kept a straight face and didn't say a word, but she accepted the water that Xie Rongjing offered to her lips without hesitation.
Xie Rongjing could only suppress his laughter and considerately handed him another chopstick.
Only after Xie Baoqiong had finished the entire bowl of water did he speak in an extremely soft voice as Xie Rongjing wiped his mouth and smoothed the frizzy hair on his head:
"elder brother."
Xie Rongjing hugged him and replied, "Brother is here."
His gaze then swept over the empty flower hall, and he frowned as he asked again, "Where is the person who took care of you?"
“They all know I’m a monster now.” Xie Baoqiong’s fingers twitched stiffly, her voice low.
Xie Rongjing realized what was happening without even thinking. He grasped the petrified part of Xie Baoqiong's finger and gently stroked it, saying, "It was my oversight, it's all my fault."
...
Xie Baoqiong was wearing a newly changed brocade robe with dark blue and green patterns. The porcelain bowl that had held the ice cream was empty. He clutched Xie Rongjing's sleeve and lay down on the couch, falling asleep without realizing it.
When he woke up again, the room was dim and there was a thin blanket on him.
Feeling the fabric in his hand, he relaxed and moved his numb body. His sleepy eyes were even more at ease when he saw the dark figure next to the couch.
The figure sitting next to the couch seemed to notice the movement, and the other hand that he hadn't grabbed reached out to help him pull back the thin blanket that he had kicked away.
A faint scent of gardenia wafted over.
A large hand gently rubbed the petrified area on his face, brushing aside the strands of hair stuck to his cheek.
The scent of gardenias was stronger.
He seemed to have transformed back into a pebble beneath a flourishing flowering tree.
Xie Baoqiong's body, which was lying on its side, suddenly stiffened and stopped stretching.
The hand that was stroking his cheek seemed to sense something and withdrew as if fleeing, but a moment later it landed on his back and patted him gently twice, as if gently stroking away the nightmare of a child who had been having a nightmare seizure.
The force transmitted to his back through the blanket was so light that it was almost unbelievable, yet the feel of the fabric in his palm and the scent of gardenias at the tip of his nose reminded Xie Baoqiong that it was real.
He should have let go the moment he noticed, but now he unconsciously gripped his hand even tighter, as if trying to blend himself into the fragrance of gardenias when no one was watching, to connect with the lush foliage of the flowering tree, and to become a tiny seedling sprouting from the cracks in the pebbles beneath the tree.
Greed is a wondrous thing; it can even make a stone conceive of new ideas.
They were supposed to be strangers, they were supposed to be complete strangers, they were supposed to be the ones who abandoned him...
But what is Xie Zhuo doing now?
Does Xie Zhuo know what he's doing right now?
His emotions, like a tangled mess, disrupted his steady breathing for a moment. The hand that was gently patting his back stopped, and the softness in his hand disappeared the next instant.
The seedlings that had sprouted branches retreated back into the stone.
...
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On Xiaobao's nickname
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