Chapter 14 Just Friends
Although Ren Yi was amazed and impressed by Yan Shuoyun's ability to sleep standing up, he couldn't just stand there and let someone lean on him forever. With Yan Shuoyun's partial cooperation, he finally managed to remove the knife from the other's back, lay him down on the stone bench next to the pavilion, and then became a leg pillow himself.
After finishing all the work, Ren Yi breathed a sigh of relief.
He lowered his eyes and scrutinized Yan Shuoyun, and sure enough, the man's complexion was extremely poor, with dark circles under his eyes. The fact that a cultivator could be reduced to this state showed just how busy the Xuanqing Sect had been these past few days. Then, thinking that Yan Shuoyun was so busy, yet still found time to inquire about his past affairs, he couldn't help but feel quite moved.
Thinking of this, Ren Yi couldn't help but raise his hand and tentatively place it on Yan Shuoyun's forehead.
He didn't completely let go. People always have an instinctive resistance to exposing their vulnerabilities, and each person's psychological defenses are different. Ren Yi wasn't sure if Yan Shuoyun's level of trust had reached that point.
Fortunately, Yan Shuoyun only frowned slightly before relaxing, without showing any excessive resistance. Ren Yi breathed a slight sigh of relief, his fingers landing firmly, and a faint spiritual energy overflowing from his fingertips.
Yan Shuoyun had only closed his eyes to rest and calm himself down, as he wasn't sure if he would have the same self-control if they faced each other again. However, with the effect of the spiritual energy, his entire sea of consciousness felt as if it were being immersed in a warm, comforting liquid, as if it had returned to a safe womb. He involuntarily relaxed and actually fell asleep.
Seeing that Yan Shuoyun had finally completely relaxed, Ren Yi also breathed a sigh of relief.
The current effect is not only due to the spiritual power, but also to the mental energy guidance that Ren Yi learned in other worlds.
Ren Yi had used this method on the Chosen One before. When he first met Xiao Hanzhou, the latter had just suffered the blow of his family's massacre and was in a very poor mental state. Ren Yi was very worried that the Chosen One would collapse and die before the plot officially began. In desperation, he tried this method as a last resort, and it worked remarkably well.
However, since the Chosen One is protected by the world's consciousness, the same method that works on the Chosen One may not work on others. But for now, it seems to be effective.
After Yan Shuoyun relaxed, his head slid to the side a little. Ren Yi helped him lean his face inward, and even this movement did not wake him up, which showed that the other party was really very tired these past few days.
When Xiao Hanzhou arrived, he saw this peaceful and serene scene.
The dappled sunlight filtered through the leaves and fell on the person sitting there, as if a layer of shimmering light emanated from him. The young man looked down at the person resting on his lap with a tender expression.
This familiar scene made Xiao Hanzhou feel dazed for a moment, as if he had returned to a long time ago—
Countless times, the boy would open his eyes and see a delicately shaped jawline and crimson lips, above which were a pair of extremely beautiful peach blossom eyes. Because the owner of those eyes was half-lowered, there was no trace of the usual arrogance in those eyes, only a tenderness that seemed to carry a gentle affection.
That was a rare moment of respite he had finally obtained amidst his pent-up anger and self-loathing for his cowardice and incompetence. Countless times, Xiao Hanzhou almost completely abandoned his past hatred and indulged in this tenderness.
But every time this happened, his hands would clench into fists at his sides, his neatly trimmed nails pressing crescent-shaped bloody marks into his palms. The pain and the smell of blood assaulted his senses, reminding him of that night—his father's last words, his mother's bloodied hands pushing him away. How could he forget?! How could he dare forget?!
...
But later, after he had truly avenged his family, and after he was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Why did he leave again?
The emotions that had been suppressed in his heart for the past few years suddenly surged up. Xiao Hanzhou almost forgot his original purpose for coming. He couldn't help but step forward quickly, wanting to question him. But before he got close, he saw the person hurriedly set up a barrier with spiritual power and look at him warily.
--alert?
Xiao Hanzhou was completely stunned. He stood frozen in place, feeling a chill rising from the soles of his feet, as if freezing his entire body.
Is A-Yi... on guard against him?
He knew that after three years apart, there had been some estrangement between them, but he never expected the other party to show such a subtle hostility. Upon realizing this, the first emotion that rose in Xiao Hanzhou's heart was not anger or annoyance, but utter bewilderment. How could A-Yi be hostile towards him?
Xiao Hanzhou stiffly shifted his gaze downwards, finally landing on the person lying down, being protected by A Yi.
Unsurprisingly, it was Yan Shuoyun.
The senior disciple of Xuanqing Sect, and A-Yi's savior.
—Savior, life, grace, person.
Xiao Hanzhou silently repeated the last four words again, but his gaze couldn't help but linger on the person's neck, heart, and other vital areas.
This wasn't the first time, and Xiao Hanzhou found this person truly an eyesore.
Ren Yi was a little embarrassed. He had subconsciously set up a barrier after seeing Xiao Hanzhou's expression.
But after finishing, he realized that given their relationship, Xiao Hanzhou wouldn't actually lay a hand on him. He thought he had overreacted. Looking at the latter's expression, his face had indeed darkened.
After a brief moment of stiffness, Ren Yi, adhering to the idea that "I'm not embarrassed, it's others who are embarrassed," calmly replaced the defensive barrier in front of him and then placed a soundproof barrier around the sleeping Yan Shuoyun—don't ask, the answer is that I just used the wrong one because my hand was shaking.
Feeling relieved that he had successfully saved the day, Ren Yi looked up and, without expecting Xiao Hanzhou to speak first, asked, "Hanzhou, were you looking for me?"
Although Ren Yi asked this question, he did not expect Xiao Hanzhou to give a definite answer.
Once members of the "tool person" department enter the small world, they need to have a clear understanding of their own role, which is to be "tool people" who are used and discarded, just as their name suggests.
It's human nature to hope for a reward for your efforts most of the time, but work is work, and once you're paid, you have to do your job properly. If you have unrealistic expectations, it's easy to have a mental breakdown during a task. Nine times out of ten, this is the problem that most new employees face. As a veteran employee who has been through many worlds, Ren Yi wouldn't make such a newbie mistake.
But unexpectedly, Xiao Hanzhou replied with an "Mm".
This person really came looking for him?!
Ren Yi immediately became alert.
It's important to understand that the persona he's currently masquerading as the chosen one's secret admirer, besides providing money and gifts in the early stages and tirelessly helping the chosen one improve his cultivation to avenge his family, also plays a role in creating obstacles and pushing the development of the main characters' love story.
In short, it's about sowing discord between the main characters, finding ways to cause trouble for the bottom character, and constantly arousing Xiao Hanzhou's guilt and pity for him. Although Ren Yi thought those actions were really stupid, vicious, and strangely foolish, work is work, and he had to grit his teeth and do it no matter how unwilling he was.
However, this time when they meet again, there are no plot requirements, so Ren Yi can swear to God that he really didn't do anything!
Xiao Hanzhou came specifically to see him now, could it be to bring up old grudges?!
As Ren Yi was thinking this, Xiao Hanzhou took another step forward.
Ren Yi's eyelids twitched as he began to estimate whether he would have time to defend himself if Xiao Hanzhou suddenly made a move at this distance.
Seemingly noticing Ren Yi's tension, Xiao Hanzhou pursed his lips and didn't continue forward. Instead, he took out a jade box radiating coldness from his storage bag and handed it over, saying briefly, "Snow Soul from the Blood Frost Mountains, which can enhance cultivation."
Xiao Hanzhou forced his way into the Crimson Snow Realm back then for this Snow Soul.
Although A-Yi possessed the Daoist bones, forcibly extracting his spiritual root would ultimately damage his cultivation. He originally intended to use this to help A-Yi repair his foundation, but he was too late. After leaving the secret realm, he only received news that the other party had left.
Over the years, that feeling of missing out on something has been weighing heavily on my heart.
Xiao Hanzhou sometimes couldn't help but wonder if things would have been different if he had come out earlier.
When Xiao Hanzhou handed over the jade box, he leaned forward slightly. A golden-red tassel hung from the exposed hilt of the sword above his shoulder, with a jade bead dangling from it. However, Ren Yi was too on guard to notice these details, or even if he had, he wouldn't have thought anything of them.
Because he gave Xiao Hanzhou so many things, and there was no system to record them all, it would be very difficult for him to remember them all.
Putting everything else aside, just take Xiao Hanzhou's natal sword. Apart from the millennium meteorite iron, which was obtained by Xiao Hanzhou from a secret realm as the main material, all the other materials were contributed by Ren Yi. After all, he is the chosen one of destiny. Once he obtains a treasure, the next step should be to forge the sword. If he were to run around for some ingredients, it would be too undignified. This is when the tool person should step in.
Ren Yi put in quite a bit of effort for this back then.
After all, it is the sword of the chosen one, destined to be remembered in history for thousands of years. The other materials needed to forge the sword cannot be of inferior quality. Although they cannot compare to rare treasures like millennium meteorite iron, any one of them would be a treasure that everyone would fight over.
Ren Yi still feels lingering fear when he thinks about the hardships he endured traveling all over the mainland back then.
But what can be done? It's all for Ki.
...
Ren Yi had done plenty of these kinds of tasks over the years—tasks that were clearly laborious and time-consuming, but whose usefulness was so obvious that no one could tell they were actually done, perfectly embodying the role of a mere tool. Compared to those tasks, weaving a sword tassel or carving a jade bead was a way to relax and relieve stress, which is why Ren Yi had long forgotten about the sword tassel.
At this moment, Ren Yi's attention was focused on the jade box emitting a chilling aura in front of him, and he was pondering how to refuse.
Ren Yi's idea is quite practical; I've never heard of a tool being used by the chosen one to pay for things.
Regardless of how Xiao Hanzhou suddenly decided to give him the gift, Ren Yi only knew that he had accepted the Snow Soul today, and he would definitely return it many times over tomorrow.
This is the favored son of this world; would Heaven allow him to suffer a loss? Impossible.
This is a lesson learned by countless experienced professionals through years of hard work and sacrifice.
Before Ren Yi could come up with a suitable reason, the jade box was stopped by two fingers on the side that was against him.
Ren Yi was taken aback. He looked down and met Yan Shuoyun's gaze, who had just opened his eyes. He exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Yan, you're awake?"
He had been careful not to set up a silencing barrier so as not to wake people.
Yan Shuoyun smiled and gave Ren Yi a silent response, but her eyes glanced at Xiao Hanzhou standing next to her.
—With such blatant murderous intent, if he doesn't wake up soon, he really might have passed out in his sleep.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
