Chapter 22 Chapter 22 Junior Brother, let go.
As dusk fell, the orange clouds blended into the blue that had not yet darkened, forming a satiny lilac purple that was pleated and spread over the mountains illuminated by the setting sun.
Birds return to the forest and insects chirp noisily.
Nan Qiongshuang and Li Xuanbai walked side by side on the narrow stone steps in the mountains. Her dress was a little too long for her, so she held the hem of her dress in her hands.
The stone steps had been in disrepair for a long time, spiraling downwards and already covered with moss. She stared at her feet cautiously.
Li Xuanbai extended his forearm to let her support him. "The road is so difficult to walk on. It would be great if you could leave your place with me."
She provoked Li Xuanbai only to lure Gu Zhi into the trap. If the heat was just right, it would give the fish a boost; if it was too hot, the fish would abandon the bait.
She smiled but didn't answer, then suddenly asked, "Why, do you like me?"
"yes."
He stared at the distant twilight mountains on the horizon without a second thought.
Just open your mouth and say it.
Nan Qiong Shuang chuckled and didn't bother to pay attention.
As she was looking down at the stone steps below her feet, she found that the arm that had been supporting her had fallen behind her by a step and stopped half an inch behind her, not moving forward.
"What's wrong?" She looked back at him suspiciously.
But Li Xuanbai's expression was solemn for a moment, and then he slowly smiled, and his expression was as unconvinced as before that the heaven and earth and the five elements could not do anything to him.
He said lightly, "Hey, Senior Brother."
The stone steps ahead meandered downwards, with flowers and trees lining the roadside. Gu Zhi stood on the stone steps below, his long clothes covered in snow. He looked at the two of them and smiled good-naturedly.
Li Xuanbai still held her up with his arm outstretched. When she saw him, she didn't even bother to bow, but just looked at him with a half-smile.
"Brother, aren't you too busy with official duties to spare any time? How come you're in such a good mood to come out for a walk?"
Gu Zhi smiled, "Junior brother, why don't you practice martial arts? Why are you out strolling on such a nice day?"
His eyes seemed to glance unintentionally at the five fingers of Nan Qiongshuang that were supporting his forearm.
He didn't look at her, just glanced at her and then looked away lightly.
Nan Qiongshuang's heart moved, and she silently let go of Li Xuanbai's forearm.
Li Xuanbai lowered his head and glanced at her coldly, his eyelashes pressed down heavily.
He sneered.
"Brother, you said you would take care of her, but in reality, not only did you nearly kill her, you also locked her up in the room every day, using her as your little canary. If you can't take care of her, why bother taking on this porcelain job? Just focus on practicing your sword."
Gu Zhi laughed and said, "Miss Chu is still recovering from her injuries. Forcing an injured person to hike in the mountains, Li Xuanbai, are you drunk to the point of losing your mind?"
"So what if she's injured? She's not dying." He spread his hands. "I'm worried she'll get bored, so I took her out to play."
Gu Zhi: "There are so many traps on the mountain. If Miss Chu is injured, can you take the responsibility?"
Take responsibility? Li Xuanbai gave Nan Qiongshuang a deliberately sarcastic look. "Who will be held accountable? She died on the mountain, and no elders asked."
He was obviously resentful of her for avoiding suspicion.
Nan Qiongshuang really wanted him to taste her silver needles.
Gu Zhi smiled so hard that his eyebrows curved, and he said word by word:
"Of course, I'll be held accountable."
"Brother, don't you think you're meddling too much?" Li Xuanbai flung aside the folding fan pinned to his waist with a swish, waving it still. "You brought people up the mountain to detoxify. As long as they take the medicine properly, the rest is none of your business."
"Young Master is so busy with his daily affairs, yet he is so concerned about a woman in his busy schedule. It's really strange." He waved his fan twice and said in a provocative tone:
"Could it be that the Young Master——"
"Shut up!" The long sword was unsheathed with a swish, and a flying dragon snow sword shone with a cold light, pointing diagonally at Li Xuanbai's throat.
Li Xuanbai didn't try to dodge, his small earrings swayed due to the sword wind, his long eyelashes drooped a bit, the sword light reflected on his face, he just lowered his eyes and sneered.
Nan Qiongshuang hurried forward, pulling Li Xuanbai back two steps, and stood in front of the sword tip herself:
"Master...Master, please don't be angry. Master Xuanbai is just—"
The tip of Gu Zhi’s sword trembled.
Before he could finish his words, Li Xuanbai grabbed his arm and pulled him behind him.
Even under Gu Zhi's sullen gaze, she didn't let go, and fiddled with the small, bright red earrings, saying:
"Tsk, what is the young master worried about? Danger? I'm with her."
"Or, Young Master thinks..."
A pair of beautiful fox eyes, with the inner corners of the eyes hooked down and the outer corners raised mischievously:
"It's not the mountain that's dangerous, but me?"
Accompany her?
These two words are really harsh.
Following his words would mean falling into his trap. Gu Zhi didn't want to argue any further, so he sheathed his sword and said briefly, "Miss Chu's injuries haven't healed yet, and it's dangerous up there. You're not allowed to leave the hospital without permission. This is the consensus between my uncle and me."
He took a few steps forward and stood in front of Li Xuanbai. No matter how contemptuously and provocatively Li Xuanbai tried to provoke him, he just met his gaze without dodging or avoiding it.
Tensions were high, but with a slight smile:
"What my uncle and I mean is what the mountain means."
Word by word, steady and confident:
"Everyone on the mountain cannot be questioned."
Don't think you are special.
No matter how well you practice or how much you are favored by your uncle, you are just a disciple in the mountains.
Li Xuanbai understood what he meant, sneered, looked away at the horizon, and crossed his arms.
"As for you, you haven't been practicing diligently during the day and have been slacking off here and there. I will report this to my uncle and punish you."
Li Xuanbai snorted coldly: "Punish me? I want to see how Master punishes me."
"And the matter of trespassing into my yard and taking my people away."
Gu Zhi laughed, "It's really strange that someone dared to break into the yard and come to the head of me, the young master."
As he said this, he stretched out his hand in front of her who was hiding behind Li Xuanbai, and without giving her a choice, he grabbed her other arm without saying anything.
Nan Qiong Shuang's arms were being pulled by people on both sides, and both sides held on stubbornly and refused to let go. Although she had not unexpected this situation, she still closed her eyes helplessly.
She often caused men to fight over her, and every time this happened, she was caught in the middle and was actually in a difficult position.
Gu Zhi smiled and said, "Let go."
She actually felt that even such a gentleman could be creepy when he smiled.
Li Xuanbai and Gu Zhi stared at each other for a while, their eyes, which had turned into two crescent moons, smiling.
Gu Zhi didn't say another word or make another move.
He just gave the order and waited patiently and with a smile on his face.
After a while, Li Xuanbai's hand that was holding her arm finally slowly loosened.
Even such an arrogant and unruly person would let go and give in.
Gu Zhi held Nan Qiong Shuang's arm, without even looking at Li Xuanbai who was standing unwillingly in the wind behind him, he put his arm around her shoulders, turned around, and walked down the stone steps.
The long steps were winding and the flowers and trees were rustling. Li Xuanbai stood in the purple sunset and watched the two people walking down the steps. Suddenly, he lowered his head and kicked a stone in front of his shoe hard, kicking it directly into the darkening twilight.
That hypocrite pretended to be humble and restrained, but he actually held her arm all the way down the stone steps.
No looseness.
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