Chapter 37 "I like Chi Wan."...
"And you? How do you feel about me?"
When Meng Chiwan said those words, she not only wanted an answer from Yun Xianqing, but also wanted to reveal her true feelings to him.
She has always been an insecure person who finds it hard to trust others. She initially saved Yun Xianqing out of necessity, but later gave him the Yanxi Pill because she didn't believe in fate. Even though he said she was his only hope, she knew in her heart that Yun Xianqing would leave sooner or later, and no one could stay with her forever.
And then what happened? It was the tide receding and rising again outside the courtyard, the whispers under the moon, the hands that led her forward, the words "I'll teach you how to cultivate immortality," the talisman that warmed her hands, the umbrella that shielded her from all the filth, and his praise of her beauty amidst the fireworks year after year.
Yun Xianqing, what's your answer? How do you feel about me?
Meng Chiwan looked at Yun Xianqing, whose lips were clearly white from the pain, yet her eyes seemed to be asking him a question.
"Of course I like Chi Wan." Yun Xianqing looked at her with a smile almost without hesitation, just like when he told her with a smile that she could protect anyone she wanted to protect.
Yes, that's always been his way. He says things as if they're nothing to him.
"Does Chi Wan like me too? Otherwise, why would she be in so much pain?" He chuckled softly, and a hint of joy flashed in his dark pupils, as if something had suddenly lit them up.
He grasped her hand and pulled her close, his gaze tracing her features from her hair, then her eyebrows, eyes, nose, and finally her lips, which were tightly pursed in pain.
He raised his hand and brushed her hair, then pressed his knuckles against her lips and gently touched them.
"Chi Wan looks like she's in so much pain... How about you ask your brother Zhong Huai to help you?" Yun Xianqing smiled very lightly, her eyes even showing a touch of beautiful allure.
His cool knuckles slowly traced down her neck, then stopped at her collarbone, and gently tapped it twice.
The pain in her heart gradually subsided, and the storm finally calmed down.
Yun Xianqing looked at her, tilted her head slightly, and smiled warmly.
Meng Chiwan slowly turned her head and saw Zhong Huai kneeling on the ground, being guided by the water sword to play the zither. With each pluck of the strings, a few drops of blood flowed onto the strings, which then slowly stained a large area of the zither body red.
Meng Chiwan was at a loss for how to react for a moment. Even though she was slow to react, she realized that something was wrong.
Thump thump.
Meng Chiwan's heart started beating faster uncontrollably as soon as he finished speaking.
"...What are you doing?" After a long while, she finally spoke.
Zhong Huai is indeed acting strangely, but is Yun Xianqing right in front of us?
The strings seemed to be plucked faster.
She wanted to look at Zhong Huai again, but she pinched her chin.
Yun Xianqing forced her to look at him, then reached out and gently stroked her lips, his voice slightly seductive: "It's red. More beautiful than the color of your brother Zhong Huai's blood."
"Yun Xianqing, what's wrong with you?" Meng Chiwan looked at Yun Xianqing, and for a moment she didn't dare to look at Zhong Huai anymore.
"You're asking me what's wrong?" Yun Xianqing raised her eyes, lifted her eyelashes, and said in a light and calm voice, "I've fallen for Chi Wan."
"You like...me?" Meng Chiwan asked, somewhat puzzled.
Is this what liking someone is like?
“Chi Wan likes me too, so it’s normal for me to clean up some dirt for her, isn’t it?” Yun Xianqing said calmly, seemingly unaware that anything was wrong. “Liking someone is… I also think it’s beautiful when Chi Wan is in pain.”
"Beautiful?" Meng Chiwan precisely caught the word. "Is this what liking someone means?"
Yun Xianqing's voice was clear and bright, still the familiar Wen Qingyin: "Yes."
Meng Chiwan pondered the matter carefully, feeling that something was still amiss, but when she met Yun Xianqing's deep, unfathomable eyes, she couldn't find a way to refute it.
Shouldn't liking someone mean feeling sorry for them?
Don't you feel sorry for me?
But she didn't say it aloud, because Yun Xianqing spoke up again in an instant: "You want to ask me if I feel sorry for you, right?"
She didn't say anything.
Yun Xianqing continued, "But you say you like me, so why do you always feel sorry for him?"
She instinctively wanted to retort, but for some reason the piano music suddenly stopped: "I didn't..."
Her voice also ceased along with the pain.
Yun Xianqing looked at her, gently stroked her cheek, and then said, word by word, "You see, your Zhonghuai brother is unwilling to ease your pain. Or..."
His voice was tinged with laughter: "Let me do it."
Then the piano music started again, seemingly accompanying his good mood.
"What do you mean by predestined fate, Chi Wan? Fate is something you have to fight for. Obviously, your brother Zhong Huai knows this very well. Otherwise..." Yun Xianqing cast a spell, and something was peeled away from Zhong Huai's body. "How could he have such a thing?"
She had seen it before. At the Fairy Palace.
A talisman of sorrow.
When was it put up?
She thought back carefully and realized that her strange feelings for Zhong Huai probably started after she fell into the Immortal Demon Realm.
No, perhaps that's incorrect. It was even earlier than that.
But when exactly?
She couldn't quite understand it.
Yun Xianqing seemed to sense her confusion and asked her calmly, "Do you know what I was thinking when he bumped into you after you jumped down from the tree?"
Meng Chiwan: "I don't know. Was it around that time?"
When she jumped down from the tree after giving away the bracelet, Zhong Huai did help her up, but she was preoccupied with Yun Xianqing at the time and didn't notice.
“I was thinking… it’s nothing.” Yun Xianqing looked at her, then fell silent.
He was thinking about how Zhong Huai should die.
They had clearly abandoned him intentionally, so why did he still manage to escape alive and even reach Meng Chiwan, nearly...?
He lowered his eyes, hiding all his emotions and malice.
Then he looked up again, his smile warm and gentle: "Chi Wan, what do you want to do with him?"
Meng Chiwan turned to look at Zhong Huai. This time there was no obstruction. She clenched her fist and then gently released it: "Dispose of him? Xihe, I have no right to dispose of him."
Yun Xianqing's smile faded slightly.
She continued, "I don't remember Zhong Huai. I only remember Zhong Huai, the brother who protected me and took the beatings and scoldings for me when I was little. Later, he escaped from his suffering, and I don't blame him for leaving me behind, because I always remember how much he endured for me when I was young. But now, I'm almost forgetting him from when I was young. So, I'm forgetting him, not that I want to punish him."
In the blink of an eye, many years have passed. The girl who couldn't even cry on the shore has finally grown up and finally repaid that debt of gratitude.
So, let's keep things separate. He, in his youth, would never have given her a heartbreak charm.
Let's just assume he died in that river long ago. Even though she's still afraid of water.
She reached out and gently hooked her hand around Yun Xianqing's, then said, "Let him go. I won't leave. I like you."
Yun Xianqing stared at her intently without speaking, but she sheathed her water sword.
Then she jokingly said, "I also want to put one on you. I'll put on the mother talisman, and you can put on the child talisman."
Yun Xianqing looked at her but didn't say anything.
She laughed again, "I want to see how heartbroken you are because of me. You're always so calm, as if you have no emotions. Every time I see you, you're always smiling. I want to see how you cry."
Her tone was light and cheerful. Then she reached out and touched the area under his eyes.
"It flows out from here, and then flows into my heart." Her voice was soft, but her face was beaming with smiles.
Her knuckles were warm, and when they touched Yun Xianqing's eyes, Yun Xianqing seemed to be a little stunned.
He listened to her gentle and soothing voice, but he still couldn't understand why he hadn't moved away.
They just didn't have time to react.
He told himself that.
Suddenly, Zhong Huai's voice came from behind Meng Chiwan; he seemed somewhat anxious.
She wanted to turn around and look at Zhong Huai, subconsciously trying to hear what he was saying, but Yun Xianqing covered her ears.
Yun Xianqing seemed to say something, but she couldn't hear it. She could only tell from the opening and closing of his lips: "Don't listen. Trust me."
Meng Chiwan nodded without hesitation.
She trusts him. If nothing unexpected happens, she will continue to trust him.
A smile spread across her face: "Can you teach me how to use a water sword? I think it's amazing."
But before she could get a reply from Yun Xianqing, the ground began to shake violently around her.
Fog began to roll in all around.
Yun Xianqing lowered her hand from covering her ears, and she could only hear Zhong Huai's voice getting farther and farther away, as if it had fallen into some distant place.
The surrounding area was collapsing, but for some reason the spot where she and Yun Xianqing were standing remained stable.
Meng Chiwan unleashed the power of the "Surging Waves," preparing to face an unknown surprise. But this time, her resolve seemed even stronger than before.
Perhaps it was because Yun Xianqing was by her side that some of her unease dissipated.
Then, in the heavy mist, Yun Xianqing gently leaned down and whispered in her ear, his voice carrying a strange meaning: "Chi Wan, the person you are looking for has arrived."
She gently raised her eyes and saw faint colors in the mist, and heard slow footsteps in the silence.
Author's Note: Meng Chiwan: Yun Xianqing, what's wrong? [Milk Tea]
Yun Xianqing: I like Chi Wan! (Eyes sincerely) [Sprinkling flowers]
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