Chapter 26 [VIP]
Jiang Zhuochen stared blankly at Xu Xing, bewildered. The air conditioning must have been set too low, making him a little disoriented.
He didn't quite understand what made the other person angry and what made them calm down. Why couldn't his carefully planned arrangements attract him, while now, without him doing anything, the other person was happier than before?
Jiang Zhuochen tentatively asked, "Are you really not angry anymore?"
"I'm not angry anymore," Xu Xing said in a softer tone.
"You won't give me the cold shoulder and ignore me anymore?"
Xu Xing smiled helplessly yet firmly, "No, it won't happen again."
Jiang Zhuochen felt relieved, but then he was caught off guard by a strong floral fragrance that made his nose itch. He covered his nose, pulled away from Xu Xing's arm that was around him, and sneezed.
"It smells so good."
Xu Xing rested his hand on the desk after it was moved away and joked, "You're only smelling it now?"
"Hmm..." Jiang Zhuochen had been so nervous earlier that his attention was entirely on Xu Xing, so he hadn't noticed the fragrance. But now that he was relaxed, the scent was so strong that it made him dizzy.
He stepped back onto the sofa and fanned himself vigorously. "Stay away from me."
Xu Xing laughed, "Aren't you going to take it back later?"
"I won't take it." Jiang Zhuochen quickly refused. He was exhausted and smelly, and most importantly, there were too many people around when he got off work. If he hadn't realized he would be surrounded when he came over, now that he did, there was no way he could take it again. "It's a gift for you, take it if you want."
“Okay, I’ll take it,” Xu Xing replied casually.
He wasn't interested in flowers, but since Jiang Zhuochen had given them to him, he didn't really want to throw them away, and in the end, he had someone take them back.
For the next two days, Jiang Zhuochen showed no outward signs, but he kept thinking about what the female ghost had said before she disappeared. He spent the next two days quietly, preparing to find a way to get Xu Xing to accompany him to Fanglin Town.
As the sun set, Xu Xing came to the Taoist temple to pick him up after get off work. He cleared his throat and asked cryptically, "Have you been busy these past few days?"
Xu Xing casually tossed the trash on his desk into the bin, mentally reviewing his upcoming schedule. "Not too busy, what's up?"
"I was scrolling through short videos today and came across a place that looks similar to the village where I lived when I was a child. I'm a little curious and want to go check it out."
These words also piqued Xu Xing's interest, and a sudden urge to investigate arose within him. Aren't they from two different worlds? How could they have a similar village? Are their worlds on the same timeline, or are they simply similar?
Not hearing a reply, Jiang Zhuochen clasped his hands on the table, leaned closer to Xu Xing across from him, and asked, "Could you come with me if you have time? I don't know the way here."
Xu Xing flicked his finger between his eyebrows, and after hearing the other man's soft cry of pain, he teased, "You don't know the way now? Who was it that wanted to fly on a sword to find someone in the first place?"
“That was the only way we could do it,” Jiang Zhuochen said matter-of-factly. “If you had a better way, I wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble.”
After saying that, he leaned on the table, grabbed Xu Xing's sleeve and tugged at it, saying in a serious tone, "You'll have to come with me. What if I get lost and can't come back? Then I'll become a homeless vagrant again?"
Xu Xing's gaze fell on Jiang Zhuochen's hand, which was holding his, and his heart tightened because of the latter's last words.
"again?"
"Yes." Jiang Zhuochen nodded vigorously, but his tone was pitiful, trying to gain sympathy. "I lived in that village for more than ten years before my master took me back. Most of the villagers saw that I was young and were willing to come and support me when I told fortunes, so that they wouldn't starve to death."
"Okay." Xu Xing lowered his eyes and loosely wrapped his arm around Jiang Zhuochen's wrist. "I'll go with you."
"Really?" Jiang Zhuochen pressed his palm down and stood up, unable to hide his joy. "Then it's a deal."
Xu Xing smiled and met his gaze, "I won't lie to you."
Xu Xing not only doesn't lie, but he's also incredibly efficient. Jiang Zhuochen spent some time researching Fanglin Town at the villa, and when Xu Xing returned in the afternoon, he told him that the work arrangements were complete and he could leave the next day.
Jiang Zhuochen sighed as he jumped up to pack his luggage.
At first glance, Fanglin Town doesn't seem particularly special. The village roads are covered with a layer of dust under the scorching sun, and old gray-tiled houses are interspersed with newly built villas. What they have in common is that the roof tiles silently steam in the sweltering heat.
A few sparrows hopped among the millet in the open threshing ground, and a gentle breeze knocked over an old bamboo rake with a dull thud. Cicadas chirped loudly from the dense canopy of locust trees behind the house, making the shovels being swung more frequently on the distant field ridges.
Such an ordinary and harmonious scene—could Master's soul really be here? Jiang Zhuochen suppressed his doubts and began to explore as if on a tourist's trip.
The town wasn't too big or too small. Jiang Zhuochen had been wandering around for two days and had seen most of the places, but he hadn't seen a single ghost, let alone any trace of his master's spirit.
After walking under the scorching sun, Jiang Zhuochen, parched with thirst, found a shady spot to sit down and have a drink of water.
His peripheral vision wandered aimlessly, and he spotted Xu Xing, who had been following him everywhere, wiping his sweat under a big tree. He chuckled to himself as he drank water, then a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes.
He leaned closer and asked, "Has the President never considered the plight of the people?"
He used to insist on dragging his master down the mountain to cultivate with him. When he saw how out of place his master was in those poor towns, he would wonder if the other person was really a god? Otherwise, how could he always be so immaculate and aloof?
"Do you think business trips are only about negotiating deals and signing contracts?" Xu Xing was amused by him. "You haven't been watching enough TV dramas."
"I haven't been watching TV lately." Since he's settled in here, he hardly uses his phone anymore, let alone TV dramas. "But the CEOs on TV don't sweat."
"Who can walk under this sun for hours without sweating?" Xu Xing asked. "Is he a mummy?"
These words seemed to tickle Jiang Zhuochen's funny bone, and he couldn't stop laughing. "It seems our CEO has never suffered such an injustice before. It's my fault."
A crisp laugh drifted into his ears on the wind. Xu Xing lowered his eyes, a smile playing on his lips. "Is it the same place you live?"
Jiang Zhuochen's eyelashes fluttered less frequently. He slowly leaned back against the cement grass trough, mumbling indistinctly, "More or less..."
The tiny, rice-like blossoms on the locust tree overhead, under the blazing sun, exuded a slightly sweet fragrance. The wind carried this sweet scent to the clothes of those below. The shadows of the tree flowed endlessly across Jiang Zhuochen's body, and dappled sunlight fell on his shoulders, then slid down his open collar.
Xu Xing met his unintentional glance, and the halo of light silently melted in his pupils. The clamor was invisibly compressed, and only his outline remained clear in his eyes.
Jiang Zhuochen stared blankly as the other person finished drinking the water, inwardly scolding himself for three seconds for making the other person so tired.
He was considerate enough to let the other person rest for a while until they were fully recovered before he led them to continue exploring the road.
The longevity lamp in his mind was still lit up. Jiang Zhuochen observed Xu Xing's reaction the whole way and unknowingly passed by the town's cultural square.
Unlike the hustle and bustle of the city, people of all ages here spontaneously gather together when they have nothing to do, and this square is clearly an excellent place for the elderly to play cards and chat.
He turned around and suddenly wanted Xu Xing to descend to the mortal world and experience the everyday life.
The other person's expression remained indifferent, while Jiang Zhuochen, who had been fed by many families since childhood, chatted very well with the old man.
Xu Xing didn't urge him, letting him squat down in a ball, listening to the old man tell stories with a well-behaved smile that elders love.
After chatting for a while, the elderly people realized that the two looked unfamiliar. The old lady wearing reading glasses stopped her needlework and asked, "You're not from around here, are you? I don't think I've seen you before."
Seeing that the conversation had gone on for a while, Jiang Zhuochen scratched his head and said apologetically, “I heard that this town is haunted, and since it’s summer vacation, I wanted to come and explore, but I didn’t expect to find nothing after several days.”
Xu Xing's eyes flickered slightly, and he realized that the other party had ulterior motives for calling him over.
The old men looked at each other, completely baffled by the rumor. "There's nothing haunted here."
"No?" Jiang Zhuochen looked disappointed. "I heard people talk about it so convincingly, and I was even thinking of coming to see for myself."
His mother-in-law couldn't bear to see him looking so dejected. She tried to recall if anything unusual had happened recently, and after a long pause, she finally spoke: "There's no ghost story, but a while ago, a section of the hillside behind us collapsed due to a rainstorm. People who saw it said that the ground beneath the collapsed area was completely empty, as if it had been hollowed out by something. It's quite frightening. If you're not afraid, you can go and take a look."
Jiang Zhuochen's eyes lit up. "How do we get to that hillside?"
"See that water tower?" The old man pointed to a conspicuous, somewhat old water tower in the distance. "There's a small river nearby, and upstream is a hillside. But that place is far away, all mountain roads that cars can't go in, so it's not easy to come back in a day. Be careful if you go there."
"Thank you, Grandma. I'll be careful." Jiang Zhuochen stood up and waved warmly. "Goodbye, Grandma."
That genuine joy abruptly stopped when he turned around and met Xu Xing's ambiguous smile. He bit his tongue, lowered his head furtively, and prepared to brush past him in a self-deceiving manner.
Xu Xing grabbed him by the collar, dragged him back without a word, sat him on the sofa, and poured a glass of water for himself and Jiang Zhuochen.
Jiang Zhuochen quickly walked behind the sofa and massaged Xu Xing's back and shoulders, explaining guiltily, "Calm down, I didn't mean to lie to you, I was just afraid you wouldn't want to come."
Xu Xing chuckled, "You've even learned to play the victim now, you're really something."
“I wasn’t trying to gain sympathy,” Jiang Zhuochen explained softly. “Apart from the fact that we live in different places, everything else is the truth.”
"Don't be angry. If you don't want to, I can go by myself."
Feeling the pressure on my shoulder gradually lighten, the lingering heat from the outside air in the other person's palm seeped through the thin fabric onto my skin, reflected on the glass door of the balcony to the side, making it look like an intimate hug from behind.
After being coaxed so gently, Xu Xing's anger completely dissipated; there was no need for further deception. "Want to go alone?"
The flat tone didn't reveal whether he was still angry. Jiang Zhuochen couldn't see his expression, so he could only guess and slowly said, "Not really."
"Because I can help you find someone?" Xu Xing's fingers tapped across the soft leather of the sofa, his inexplicable thoughts growing and entwining like vines. It was like a test, but more like an anchor seeking confirmation.
"I feel more at ease with you here."
A note from the author:
I was correcting typos before uploading when I noticed a certain place was censored (口口). I went back and looked...it's really funny. If it weren't blocked, who would have thought of that?
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