Chapter 99 The sword wind whips up fallen leaves, spiritual energy…
The sword wind whipped up fallen leaves, and the leaves, imbued with spiritual energy, hurtled straight at Xie Baoqiong's face.
He reacted quickly by tilting his head to avoid the sudden attack.
The fallen leaves, having lost their target as they flew past, spun around and landed lightly on the pebbly path.
Xie Baoqiong stared intently in the direction from which the fallen leaves had come.
Shuangmu, leaning on his sword with both hands, tilted his head and greeted him with a regretful expression:
"Brother, how have you been?"
The two words, coupled with Shuangmu's calm and collected tone, sent a chill down Xie Baoqiong's spine. He didn't think Shuangmu was really close to him at all.
Not to mention that since the day Shuangmu recognized their relatives, they have been living in separate courtyards and have hardly seen each other in the past six or seven days, so there is no affection between them.
Those few fallen leaves that flew straight at him were enough to show that the other party had ill intentions.
Moreover, Xie Baoqiong had not forgotten the other party's identity, which was still unknown to her.
"Your identity hasn't been confirmed yet, isn't it a bit premature to address me like this?"
"It's just a matter of time; Father has already tacitly accepted this title, hasn't he? Younger brother."
A face strikingly similar to Xie Baoqiong's suddenly loomed close, the identical eyes reflecting his changing expressions like an empty mirror.
The longsword transformed into a sharp leaf, pressed against his neck, and a low voice whispered in his ear:
"Little brother, it's not good to be distracted."
Xie Baoqiong showed no fear. Her eyes swept over Shuang Mu, who was standing very close to her. Ignoring the threat to her neck, she swiftly drew her sword from her sleeve, the cold blade aimed directly at Shuang Mu's neck.
Shuangmu covered his neck, lightly touched the ground with his toes, and leaped backward.
He only lowered his hand after creating a safe distance, leaving a trail of blood on his palm.
In contrast, Xie Baoqiong, who had pressed against the leaf, only had a faint white mark on her neck.
Shuangmu raised an eyebrow, a hint of interest flashing in his eyes: "My little brother is really amazing."
Xie Baoqiong had no time to pay attention to Shuangmu's nonsense. Before Shuangmu could make a move, she gripped her long knife, lunged forward, and silenced Shuangmu's remaining words with a single strike.
...
The fight between the two was quite loud, and soon servants who heard the commotion brought Xie Zhuo over.
When Xie Zhuo arrived, he saw Xie Baoqiong pressing down on Shuang Mu, plunging a knife into the ground next to Shuang Mu's face and severing a strand of Shuang Mu's hair.
He coughed lightly and called out, "Xiao Bao."
The two people on the ground looked up at the sound, and two identical faces turned to Xie Zhuo at the same time. One was slightly surprised, while the other calmly took the opportunity to push away the stone pressing on him. Neither of them showed any shame or guilt for being caught fighting.
Xie Zhuo's gaze swept over Xie Baoqiong from top to bottom. Although Xie Baoqiong was in a sorry state, she did not have any obvious injuries. However, Shuang Mu below her was in a worse state, with bruises on her face and reddish-brown stains on her collar.
Under Xie Zhuo's silent gaze, Xie Baoqiong sheathed her knife, took a few steps to Xie Zhuo, grabbed Xie Zhuo's sleeve, and looked warily at Shuang Mu, who had just stood up.
Xie Zhuo's attention was drawn to the approaching head; the fallen leaves of autumn seemed to have moved to a new place to spend the winter, growing on Xie Baoqiong's head.
He glanced at Shuangmu, who had tidied herself up not far away, then looked down at the short, slender girl beside him. Helplessly, he reached out to pick up the fallen leaves from Xie Baoqiong's hair, then patted the dust off her clothes before freeing his sleeve and, pretending to fetch water, speaking:
"What happened?"
"He attacked me first."
"Father, my brother and I were just having a friendly spar."
Two voices rang out simultaneously.
Similar voices mingled together and entered Xie Zhuo's ears.
The moment he opened his mouth, the two people in front of him suddenly looked at each other, their voices, which were almost identical, seemed to be arguing with themselves:
"Little brother, aren't we just having a friendly spar?"
"You call that sparring?"
...
Seeing that the two were about to fight again, Xie Zhuo quickly called for a stop:
"Keep quiet."
They both turned their heads away, averting their gazes from meeting.
The surrounding sounds quieted down, leaving only the sound of shoes stepping on fallen leaves.
Xie Baoqiong stepped forward from where she was standing, approached Xie Zhuo, and was about to grab the clothes in front of her when Xie Zhuo slapped her away.
Xie Zhuo's impartial voice came from above:
"Xiao Bao, stand still."
Xie Zhuo sighed inwardly at the way a certain stone would stick to him and act coquettishly anytime and anywhere, but he had to restrain Xie Baoqiong's behavior verbally.
Avoiding the resentful gazes from below, he turned to Shuangmu behind him with a serious expression:
"The garden of this mansion is not a place for you to fight. Fighting is strictly prohibited in this mansion from now on."
“That’s right, that’s right.” Xie Baoqiong, who had just been looking resentful, changed her expression and chimed in when she saw who Xie Zhuo was talking to.
Shuangmu's cold gaze swept over Xie Baoqiong, then he lowered his eyes and said respectfully, "I will follow Father's teachings."
"And you too." Xie Zhuo lowered his gaze, staring at the imaginary but arrogant tail behind Xie Baoqiong, and pressed his palm against the fluffy hair:
"Even if you win, you have to keep chasing and fighting."
Her proudly perky hair instantly wilted, and Xie Baoqiong turned around to give her a disgruntled look.
Xie Zhuo was fully aware of what had happened in the Marquis's residence. Although Xie Baoqiong had currently defeated Shuangmu, there was no guarantee that Shuangmu didn't have any hidden tricks up his sleeve. He could only pretend not to see Xie Baoqiong's gaze and spoke coldly:
"Since you two made this mess, it's up to you to clean it up. I'll come to check it tonight."
Xie Baoqiong then had time to pay attention to her surroundings.
The garden was completely unrecognizable; the walls, tiles, and trees were a mess, as if a hurricane had swept through.
Several trees had their bare branches pruned, fallen leaves mixed with grass clippings were scattered all over the ground, a corner of the wall had collapsed, and the pebble path underfoot was even worse, with only the part underfoot remaining.
"yes."
"I don't want to."
The same voice should deliver a clear and distinct answer.
Xie Zhuo pulled Xie Baoqiong, who had jumped onto him and wanted to follow him, and put her on the ground. His voice was cold and ruthless:
"You can have a snack after you've finished tidying up."
Xie Baoqiong, still like a cat about to get wet, refused to touch the ground and said with great pride, "I can buy my own snacks."
"Xiao Bao, who broke the tiles? Who pruned the tree... You can't run away from your mistakes."
With each word Xie Zhuo spoke, Xie Baoqiong's struggles lessened, until finally she could only watch Xie Zhuo's back as he left.
Shuangmu stood still, quietly watching the interaction between father and son, his eyes flashing secretly. Xie Zhuo was indeed aware of everything that had just happened.
...
Xie Zhuo didn't forbid the two from using magic. Apart from the collapsed courtyard wall, which took the two of them, who had no experience in building walls, to work hard, the two of them tidied up the courtyard without much effort.
Shuangmu controlled his spiritual energy to sweep the last fallen leaf into the pile of fallen leaves before slowly looking at the other person who was already half-lying and half-leaning on the rockery.
The moment his fingertips shifted slightly, a figure suddenly appeared at the end of the pebble path. He dispersed the spiritual energy gathered at his fingertips, and his lips parted slightly.
Then Xie Zhuo stopped in front of the artificial hill, pulled up the boneless figure on the ground, and finally hugged it directly into his arms.
The warm yellow sunset generously poured down on the two of them, bringing a cozy feeling.
Looking at the face that was almost indistinguishable from his own, Shuangmu couldn't help but step out of the shadows and move closer.
But the autumn sunset wasn't warm as it appeared; instead, it carried a desolate chill, much like the look in Xie Zhuofen's eyes.
"Shuangmu, you should go back and rest early too."
A sudden autumn wind arose, scattering the freshly gathered fallen leaves and carrying the whispers from afar into Shuangmu's ears.
"It's getting windy. Stay inside when you get back later, okay?"
He looked up and saw Xie Zhuo's palm pressed against that identical face, his thumb gently scraping it, as if trying to shut out the chill of the autumn wind.
Only after the shadow disappeared from sight did he respond softly:
"Um."
—
In the days that followed, Xie Baoqiong occasionally encountered Shuangmu, but she never drew her sword against him again as she had on that day.
He just always felt awkward listening to Shuangmu calling him "little brother" so often.
"Little brother, what are you doing?"
Xie Baoqiong looked towards the courtyard wall following the sound and, as expected, saw that identical face.
Shuangmu, facing his gaze, naturally vaulted over the wall and landed in front of him.
"Don't call me brother."
During the conversation, Xie Baoqiong shook her sleeve to cover the object in her hand.
"What would you like me to call you, little brother? Like your father, Xiao Bao?"
Shuangmu sat down closer to him, and unexpectedly grabbed his wrist as she raised her hand:
Why is my brother holding my hair?
The object in Xie Baoqiong's hand was exposed to the two of them; it was a strand of hair that he had cut off from Shuangmu's temple a few days ago.
"let go."
His purpose in taking the hair was, of course, to verify Shuangmu's identity.
The voices of Xin Sheng and Shuang Mu rang out together:
"Could it be in order to use a method of tracing its origins?"
Shuangmu pulled a strand of hair from between his fingers, held it between her fingertips, and waved it at him.
Why don't you all believe me?
"What?"
Feeling the loosening of the force on her wrist, Xie Baoqiong immediately pulled her hand back.
"The fact that I am my father's child."
Xie Baoqiong put the exposed strands of hair aside, attempting to steer the conversation away from the topic:
"Didn't your father leave you behind? Besides, your identity can only be verified after the Grand Preceptor Lin returns."
“But Father looks at us differently.” Shuangmu stared at the strand of hair spinning between her fingers, puzzled. “Why? We clearly have the same face.”
Seeing his serious expression, Xie Baoqiong boldly said, "Maybe it's because I'm fake that looking the same is useless before my identity is verified."
Shuangmu turned her face away, her expression blank for a moment, staring at her own face in silence for a long time:
"...Has anyone ever told you that you're annoying?"
Xie Baoqiong casually replied, "No." She then glanced at Shuangmu beside her, pulled the strand of hair back, and put it together with the others: "If you want one, pluck one from your own head."
Shuangmu was certainly not foolish enough to listen to Xie Baoqiong. Before he could even make a move, he heard Xie Baoqiong steer the conversation back to the topic:
"But if you say it, someone else has already said it."
As they spoke, those eyes, clear as lake water, drew closer, and in the center of the lake, another pair of identical eyes were reflected:
Do you hate me?
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