fish!
As Ji Wang stroked the tail of the wooden fox carving, a strange pang of sadness welled up inside him.
“I won’t blame you…” He stared at the crooked wooden carving. “Were you particularly close to that Taoist priest before?”
Bu Jiu knew who he was referring to, of course. Huai Qing had told him about his sneaking through the library yesterday and had given him some earnest advice: "Even if he can't remember those things, his body will still have instincts."
Bu Jiu did not deny it, but walked away again, seemingly looking for something.
This tacit acceptance made Ji Wang feel even worse.
He recalled the image of Bu Jiu who had pounced on him and acted coquettishly in his hallucination, and then he remembered Bu Jiu's expression when he mentioned "waiting for someone." An inexplicable sense of unease welled up in his chest.
"Is he good to you?" Ji Wang couldn't help but ask, her voice carrying a competitive tone she herself didn't realize.
Only after he finished speaking did he realize how ridiculous his question was. He had only known Bu Jiu for a few days, and he was still a blockhead; how could he compare to that person?
“He…” Bu Jiu’s voice was soft, with an almost tender tone, “He would bring me here when the temple wouldn’t allow me to live there, and he would make me a small wooden bed because he thought the stones were too hard…”
Ji Wang listened and couldn't help but interrupt, "Oh, if he's so nice, why don't you go find him?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them, his tone sounding just like a child vying for attention.
Bu Jiu stared at him for a moment, then chuckled softly, "Fool."
Ji Wang was a little stunned by those two words. Before he could react, Bu Jiu walked towards him, carrying an antique long wooden box in his hand.
The box was opened, and inside lay a long sword, its blade slender and subtly shimmering with light.
"For me?" Ji Wang's eyes lit up, and he instantly forgot his earlier displeasure and reached out to take it.
Bu Jiu then pushed the box closer to him, gesturing for him to look carefully. Only then did Ji Wang notice two characters engraved in ancient seal script on the blade near the hilt—Yun Shen.
His outstretched hand froze in mid-air, and the joy on his face visibly faded, replaced by an expression mixed with disappointment and awkwardness.
"Why are you giving me this..." he muttered, looking away from the name as if even a second glance would be unbearable.
“This is suitable for you.” Bu Jiu pushed the box forward a little more. “If you don’t know how, I’ll teach you.”
Looking at the sword that belonged to "someone else," and recalling Bu Jiu's nostalgic tone, Ji Wang came up with an outrageous yet reasonable guess.
"Bujiu, you said they were hunting me down because of the 'inheritance'... Then could this Taoist priest be the founding patriarch of our Bu Nian Temple?" The more he spoke, the more likely it seemed, and his tone became excited. "So that's why they think I've obtained the inheritance?!"
Bu Jiu: "..."
He looked at Ji Wang's eyes, which were filled with "I'm so smart, right?", remained silent for a moment, and finally just rolled his eyes at him with disappointment.
Those eyes clearly said three words—"So cheap."
Bu Jiu pushed the sword box forward another half step: "If you don't want to learn, that's fine too."
He slightly raised his eyes and looked directly at Ji Wang: "But didn't you say you wanted to establish your own sect? Didn't you swear that you didn't want to hide behind me forever?"
Ji Wang looked at the longsword before him, recalling his own boastful words and Bu Jiu's protective figure every time. A surge of competitive spirit mixed with a touch of embarrassment welled up inside him.
He reached out and snatched the longsword from the box, gripping it tightly.
"I'll learn!" He looked up, his eyes shining brightly with unwavering determination. "But isn't it too late to start now?"
Looking at his renewed fighting spirit, Bu Jiu smiled approvingly and shook his head slightly: "If you were to learn from those people from Bu Nian Guan, it would be too late even if you started from birth. If you learn from me, it's never too late."
Upon hearing this, Ji Wang chuckled twice. He gripped his sword tightly, a desire arose in his heart to achieve the same status as founding a sect: to learn these skills and then carve his name and Bu Jiu's name together on the largest stone in the Taoist temple.
Seeing his renewed spirits, Bu Jiu's expression remained unwavering: "We only have three days at most."
He gazed at the water curtain, as if he could see through it to the undercurrents surging outside: "If we don't go back today, Huaiqing will find out that something has happened. Once his message arrives, or those people come looking for us, it will surely be a fierce battle. It's better to face the enemy than to keep retreating."
Ji Wang then snapped out of his excitement about learning swordsmanship and remembered the man in the alley and the mysterious forces behind him.
He held his sword, moved closer to Bu Jiu, and asked the question that had been nagging at him for a long time: "Who exactly are those people? One minute they say I'm 'the one he's looking for,' the next they're talking about 'Your Excellency.' What are they trying to do?"
Instead of answering directly, Bu Jiu asked in return, "Do you know that there are countless paths to cultivation in this world, but how many of them lead to the ultimate power?"
He looked into Ji Wang's confused eyes and slowly uttered a few words: "Ascension, or...falling into demonhood."
Bu Jiu waved his hand in front of Ji Wang, and extremely subtle black energy drifted past Ji Wang, carrying an undeniable chill: "The so-called Venerable One is the one who chose the latter and has almost reached the end. He craves greater power, even... beyond the limits."
“And this is related to you.” Bu Jiu’s gaze fell on the longsword in Ji Wang’s hand, which was engraved with the words “Yun Shen”. “They believe that you have the ‘key’ he left behind that leads to that power.”
Ji Wang gripped the sword hilt tightly after hearing this.
He suddenly realized that this sword, and the inexplicable "inheritance" within him, were far heavier than he had imagined.
He looked up at Bu Jiu with a serious expression: "I think there's something more important right now."
Bu Jiu was taken aback by his sudden seriousness and hurriedly asked, "What is it?"
Ji Wang put his sword down beside the bed, stood up, and patted his clothes. "You don't need to eat, but I do. I'm going to catch some fish." With that, he started walking towards the cave entrance.
"Stop." Bu Jiu reached out and grabbed the back of his collar. "It's dangerous outside."
“It’s right next to the cave entrance. I’ve checked it out. It’s a natural fishing spot, and the water isn’t deep.” Ji Wang pointed to the area outside the waterfall. “It’s better than eating cold buns.”
Seeing his eager expression, Bu Jiu calculated that there was still plenty of time, so he let him go.
Seeing that Ji Wang was about to leave again, he was still worried. The next second, the little fox lightly landed on Ji Wang's shoulder.
"Huh?" Ji turned his head to the side.
Bujiu swept his cheek with his tail and pointed his front paws toward the outside of the waterfall.
"You want to come with me?" Ji Wang reached out to touch him, but Bu Jiu nimbly jumped to his other shoulder and wrapped a strand of his hair with the tip of her tail.
And so, Ji Wang carefully carried Bu Jiu into the pool.
Ji Wang held his breath, staring intently at the silver fish swimming in the water.
Just as he was about to succeed, Bujiu, in order to steady himself on the swaying shoulder, quickly wrapped his tail tightly around his neck.
The tail was warm and soft, carrying Bu Jiu's unique scent. Ji Wang first felt an itch on his neck, then Huai Qing's words flashed through his mind: "A fox's tail... can only be touched by its master and its closest companion."
The thought struck him like a thunderbolt, causing him to panic. He slipped on the pebbles and lost his balance.
"Splash—" Water splashed everywhere.
Ji Wang scrambled to his feet in the waist-deep water and hurriedly lifted Bu Jiu out of the water: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to! Are you alright?"
Bu Jiu's eyes still held the shock of falling into the water. His snow-white fur clung to his body, making him look smaller and even somewhat aggrieved.
He looked into Ji Wang's arms, and Ji Wang, in his panicked scoop, not only scooped him up, but also found a fat fish struggling in his arms.
This fish had whipped him countless times with its tail just now.
A man, a fox, and a fish stared at each other in the pool.
Bu Jiu's fur was about to stand on end, but the water on it held it down. He angrily raised his front paw and slapped it in front of him. With a splash, Bu Jiu stood soaking wet in front of Ji Wang.
His long, dark hair clung to his cheeks and neck, and his clothes were also soaked with water, clinging tightly to his body.
"Ji! Wang!" He gritted his teeth, whether out of anger or embarrassment, or both, it was hard to tell.
He glared at Ji Wang, and without waiting for an explanation, he turned and strode into the cave, leaving a trail of wet footprints.
Ji Wang hurriedly grabbed the still-throwing fish, chased after it barefoot, and said in a fawning tone, "It really wasn't intentional! Please forgive me, sir, senior! Please forgive me this time!"
He followed closely behind Bu Jiu, saying, "Next time... next time I'll put you on the shore, okay? I promise I won't let you get wet!"
Without stopping, knowing he was in the wrong, Bu Jiu practically fled into the depths of the cave, leaving behind only the words, "Start a fire!"
Ji Wang held the fish, watching Bu Jiu's figure disappear into the depths of the cave, and obediently walked to the small stove and put the fish down.
He was soaking wet, water droplets dripping from his hair and the hem of his clothes, leaving a small puddle on the ground. He crouched down and awkwardly tried to start the pile of firewood.
Just as the flames began to flare up, a pair of familiar boots stopped beside him.
Ji looked up and saw that Bu Jiu had returned sometime earlier, holding a set of clean clothes in his hands.
His hair was still dripping wet as he threw the clothes at Ji Wang and uttered a single word: "Change."
Ji Wang's eyes lit up, and he immediately dropped the firewood he was holding, deftly took the stack of soft, dry clothes, and a big smile spread across his face: "Alright!"
He didn't care whose clothes originally they were, whether they were new or old, as long as they were given to him without consequence, that was enough.
He grabbed his clothes and, like a puppy that had just gotten a bone, happily ran to the bedside to change, leaving his soaking wet old clothes lying carelessly to the side.
Bu Jiu quickly turned around, listening to the rustling sounds of changing clothes coming from the bedside. His gaze fell on the leaping flames, his eyes reflecting a warm light.
The embarrassment and anger from before ultimately turned into a sigh.
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