Chapter 71
In the evening, Chu Xianyue cooked again. The two sat in the courtyard under the bright moon and stars. Xie Wen tasted it and praised him for his improvement. In fact, apart from the difficult process, his cooking was not bad.
It was quite late when they finished eating. Chu Xianyue was clearing away the dishes. Xie Wen's medicinal soup was still simmering in the kitchen, filling the air with a strong bitter smell. Xie Wen sat in the courtyard, the evening breeze blowing and the bamboo leaves swaying gently. She comfortably squinted her eyes. After a while, she heard a voice in her ear. It was Chu Xianyue calling her. He carried her back into the house and said, "It's cold outside. Don't sleep here."
When Xie Wen opened her eyes, she found herself in a warm embrace. Chu Xianyue placed her on the bed and, fearing she would catch a cold, pulled a quilt over the bamboo mat. When Xie Wen regained consciousness, she found Chu Xianyue helping her take off her clothes.
She closed her eyes shyly, resuming her motionless posture and letting Chu Xianyue do as he pleased.
Chu Xianyue found Xie Wen's expression somewhat amusing, and asked her calmly, "Are you cold?"
It was already autumn, and the evenings were cool and breezy, with few insects chirping, creating a desolate atmosphere. A cold wind blew in through the window, and Xie Wen shivered involuntarily. Chu Xianyue, whose hand was resting on her waist, clearly sensed her discomfort. He got up and closed the window tightly.
He turned back and patiently removed the gauze from her chest. Chu Xianyue scooped Xie Wen up with one hand, and in her daze, she realized that he was just changing the bandage on her chest wound. Xie Wen clicked her tongue and bit her lip, feeling ashamed of her own thoughts.
Xie Wen sat on the bed, while he stood, bending over, carefully unwrapping the gauze from her, layer by layer, until the dark brown wound beneath was revealed. His expression seemed even more somber then. He didn't say a word; the only sounds were the wind and the rustling of bamboo leaves.
He tossed the removed gauze aside, squatted down, wet a handkerchief with warm water, and bent down to wipe her wound. Xie Wen was naked from the waist up, her black hair hanging down in front of her. As he bent down to wipe her wound, his warm, moist breath fell on her skin, creating tiny, fine particles.
Seemingly noticing her unusual behavior, Chu Xianyue looked up and asked Xie Wen, "Does it hurt?"
Xie Wen shook his head. Actually, it was alright, it really didn't hurt. His movements were so gentle, and he even used his spiritual power to relieve her pain. The warm handkerchief that landed on her body felt like a gentle caress. It didn't hurt at all.
Chu Xianyue asked, "Then why is your face so red, and your temperature is also very high? Do you have a fever?"
Xie Wen turned her head away, clicked her tongue, and then punched him lightly. "I'm sleepy. Hurry up and change my dressing and bandages. I want to sleep."
Chu Xianyue tilted his head, and a hint of a smile suddenly appeared in his eyes.
After changing Xie Wen's dressing, it was already late, and the medicine was ready. This time, Xie Wen wisely opened and closed her eyes and drank it all in one gulp. Chu Xianyue raised an eyebrow, held Xie Wen's chin, and kissed her lips. "Are you afraid that I will kiss you like I did yesterday?"
Xie Wen was forced to tilt her head back to receive his kiss. Noticing her difficulty, he lifted her up and placed her on his lap, continuing to deepen the kiss. It took Xie Wen a long time to realize what Chu Xianyue meant, because she had said when she took her medicine yesterday, "I'll drink it myself and I won't let him kiss me."
But today she drank her medicine so readily and decisively, making Chu Xianyue wonder if she did it because she didn't want him to kiss her?
Xie Wen suddenly wanted to laugh. She simply felt that a short, sharp pain was better than a long, drawn-out one, so she decided to finish it in one go. That was all. When did he become so suspicious and prone to overthinking?
Chu Xianyue heard a short laugh escape her throat. He didn't know what Xie Wen was laughing at, but he felt that she was not serious or focused at all. He increased the force of his kiss on her lips, from a light touch to holding them in his mouth, pursing them, sucking on them, and then moving around, finally biting Xie Wen's lower lip lightly.
He turned her face towards him, making Xie Wen look at him, and asked, "What were you laughing at just now?"
Xie Wen blinked, his smile deepening, and said, "Then what are you angry about?"
One sentence left Chu Xianyue speechless. Was he angry? What was he angry about? Was he angry that Xie Wen wasn't being coy like she was yesterday when she drank her medicine, giving him no chance to feed her mouth-to-mouth? Or was he angry that Xie Wen didn't whine and complain that the medicine was too bitter and that she didn't want to drink it?
What on earth is he angry about?!
Chu Xianyue himself didn't know, but seeing her drink such a bitter thing in one gulp made his own taste buds feel bitter too. Chu Xianyue suddenly got up and came back after a while, went to the kitchen, got several rock sugars, stuffed them into Xie Wen's mouth, and said, "Sweeten it. Don't make it bitter anymore."
A sweet sensation spread through her mouth. Xie Wen didn't know the full meaning behind Chu Xianyue's words. She simply leaned against his chest, the rock candy in her mouth. It was sweet, indeed sweeter than many roads she had ever walked before. And all this sweetness was given to her by Chu Xianyue.
Xie Wen gave him a piece of candy and said, "You should have something sweet too, don't be bitter."
Your life has been burdened with heavy expectations and a tremendous mission. In the first few decades of your life, when did you ever live for yourself? Now, have something sweeter. Stop suffering, stop guarding the bottomless pit behind the mountain, wasting your life day and night.
That night, a biting wind blew outside, scattering bamboo leaves that occasionally rattled the window paper. Inside, the room was warm. Xie Wen leaned against his chest and touched the uneven scar on his chest.
Xie Wen babbled, "Chu Xianyue, once my injury heals, we'll both have the exact same mark. We'll be a pair!"
Chu Xianyue suddenly opened his eyes. In the dark night, he met Xie Wen's bright eyes. All the hardness in his heart softened, and a warm feeling spread from his chest to his heart.
Chu Xianyue was at a loss for words. He thought, if giving you a mark exactly like his would require you to endure so much pain, he would rather you didn't have it than suffer like this.
In the darkness, Xie Wen couldn't see Xian Yue's expression or his emotions clearly. All she knew was that she had said those things to make him feel better. But instead, it only made him feel more heartbroken.
After a long silence, he finally responded to Xie Wen with a low "hmm," unsure of what to say, only feeling deeply guilty for not protecting her. Xie Wen chuckled and let it go.
"Chu Xianyue, did you close the window?"
As she spoke, she was pulled into a warm embrace. Chu Xianyue tucked the blanket around her tightly before asking, "Are you cold? The window is closed."
Xie Wen shook her head, but still complained inwardly about how Chu Xianyue had wrapped her up like a baby, keeping her completely covered up. He turned to the side and hugged her, his breath falling on her shoulder, his hand around her waist, and placed on her lower abdomen, rubbing it lightly and heavily at times.
Xie Wen was also very sleepy and didn't have time to worry about anything else, so he fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, the two took the things they had bought the day before and visited the surrounding farmers, specifically going to Aunt Zhao's house. As soon as they arrived, she insisted they sit down and have some time to sit with her. Not knowing how to refuse, they had no choice but to sit and chat with her. Aunt Zhao's husband and son had gone to the fields to weed, and Xie Wen and Chu Xianyue happened to be there to inquire about the evil spirits.
Aunt Zhao said her son had seen the evil spirit; when he got up at night, he was so frightened he almost went insane.
Xie Wen asked, "Besides your son, has anyone else seen him?"
She shook her head and said, "But a few days ago, Old Li from the east side suddenly died. They said he fell down and that was it. But some people say he was scared to death by evil spirits."
Xie Wen and Chu Xianyue exchanged a glance. This kind of evil spirit that does not actively attack is actually low in harm. It is the lowest level of evil spirit, just like the "yin spirit" evil spirit that Xie Wen had encountered before. It can only scare people.
However, many elderly people and children in this mountain village are too weak to even kill a chicken, and they cannot withstand being frightened. Xie Wen said, "Auntie, we learned some exorcism magic from the immortal sect before. We will come back later to exorcise the evil for you."
Aunt Zhao trusted Xie Wen and Chu Xianyue very much. Holding their hands, she repeatedly called them "Immortal Master" and "Taoist Master." This immediately made everyone in the surrounding villages aware that the couple who had recently moved in knew magic and were immortal masters. As a result, they treated them even more kindly.
Xie Wen was having a bit of a headache this time. He had promised to completely sever ties with the past, but he still couldn't avoid using his spiritual power again.
Chu Xianyue reassured her, "It's alright. Nobody here knows us."
Xie Wen nodded. With just one word from him, her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, felt at ease.
That evening, they went to the village and easily found the low-level evil spirit hiding in the village chief's territory. Chu Xianyue subdued it and told everyone that they no longer needed to be afraid, as the evil spirit was gone.
The villagers were deeply moved and gave them some of their own produce as a token of their gratitude. Xie Wen felt it wasn't appropriate to accept the villagers' gifts since he hadn't put in much effort. Chu Xianyue, however, said, "This is their heartfelt wish. They'll be happy if you accept it."
Xie Wen glanced at Chu Xianyue, and Aunt Zhao exclaimed "Oh dear!" and handed all the things to Xie Wen, saying, "Your husband has already said so, Miss Xie, why are you still being so reserved? Take them."
Xie Wen smiled, lowered his head, and showed a rare shy expression. Finally, he waved to the villagers and said, "Then thank you very much."
The two walked slowly home, bathed in the soft moonlight streaming down from the sky.
That night, in her sleep, Xie Wen nestled in Chu Xianyue's arms, her breathing even. The wind outside rattled the window paper. Suddenly, she felt a tightness in one spot. She opened her eyes groggily, reached out, and saw a scarlet light in her blurry vision.
She then realized that she had been pressing down on the bead of blood, leaving a deep red indentation on her neck. At that moment, the bead of blood flickered, emitting a faint, scarlet light. Xie Wen blinked, wondering if she had imagined it. It didn't flicker again.
Suddenly, Xie Wen felt a pat on the back. He was pulled close by a hand, pressed against him, and whispered in his ear, "What's wrong?"
Xie Wen tucked the blood droplets away, nestled his face in the crook of his arm, and breathed in his pleasant scent. Perhaps he had imagined it, Xie Wen thought, and said, "It's nothing, go to sleep."
The room was silent.
Perhaps because the autumn chill was deepening, bamboo leaves rustled outside the window all night, occasionally tapping against the window paper. When the two got up at dawn, they saw that some fallen bamboo leaves had already piled up on the window frame.
Autumn was deepening; there was frost early in the morning, and the weeds along the road were covered in a white mist. In the morning, Chu Xianyue went to the market again to buy some things to prepare for winter.
Because of the long journey, Chu Xianyue didn't let Xie Wen come along. Xie Wen stayed in bed for a while, still very sleepy. It was all his fault for keeping her up so late last night. When Xie Wen woke up again, the sun was shining on her face. She slowly got up, stretched, and subconsciously touched the bloodstains on her neck.
This morning, however, I found nothing.
Xie Wen looked down and saw it was gone. Could it have fallen onto the bed? But she searched the entire bed and couldn't find it. Strange. Could it have fallen on Chu Xianyue and been taken by him?
Then Xie Wen remembered that the Lover's Curse within her hadn't flared up for quite some time. She wondered if it was because she and Chu Xianyue had been doing *that* with each other every day, causing the Lover's Curse to break on its own? Or had the Blood Bead regained its spiritual power, effectively suppressing it for Xie Wen?
When Chu Xianyue returned, he stood under the bamboo forest and looked into the distance. He immediately saw Xie Wen sitting in the courtyard. She was propping her head up, with half of her black hair tied up and the other half hanging over her shoulders. The distinct strands of hair fluttered in the wind under the golden light, just like the foxtail grass in the field.
She looked up at Chu Xianyue with a smile, and Chu Xianyue's heartstrings trembled. He was captivated by her direct gaze, and for the first time, he felt so attached to a place.
Wherever she is, at least she will be there waiting for him, no matter when.
He wanted to see her every time he returned here.
As Chu Xianyue approached, Xie Wenbian skipped over to greet him, smiling broadly as he asked, "What nice things are you buying?"
He took out everything he had bought, including some daily necessities and items for Xie Wen: beautiful coral hairpins and many different kinds of hair accessories—Xie Wen couldn't wear them all on one head. Chu Xianyue said he didn't know which kind she liked, but he had seen many girls like them when they passed by the jewelry store and thought Xie Wen would probably like them too.
In fact, Xie Wen rarely wore hair ornaments or accessories. Firstly, she was poor when she was young and often didn't have enough to eat. Occasionally, she would see her peers dressed in fine clothes and would only feel envious. As she grew up, she focused all her attention on cultivation and worried that wearing hair ornaments would affect her sword speed, so she simply stopped being so attached to them.
She didn't even know how to put it on at first, haphazardly sticking the hairpin into her hair, crooked and uneven. Chu Xianyue stepped forward and put it on for Xie Wen again, saying it looked good before Xie Wen could even ask. Xie Wen didn't doubt his perfunctory attitude, because a person's eyes are often hard to lie; his eyes were shining, brighter than ever before. This made Xie Wen wonder, was she really that good-looking?
Besides jewelry, he also bought perfumes and face creams, saying that his skin tends to get dry and cracked in autumn and winter.
Xie Wen flipped to the bottom and found a piece of fine fabric, pale green with specks of white, like standing under the shade of a tree with dappled sunlight falling on you, or like tiny white petals falling on your skin.
She said, "It's beautiful. What are you going to use it for?"
Chu Xianyue said, "I'll make you a new dress."
"Are you going to make it yourself?"
"Well, I'm afraid the shop won't do a good job." His parents left early when he was a child, and he had to sew his own clothes when they were torn.
At this moment, Chu Xianyue heard a noise coming from inside the house. He frowned, stared into the house, and then looked at Xie Wen. Seeing Xie Wen's knowing look, he knew who was in the house.
Chu Xianyue was about to go inside to check when Xie Wen blocked his way. She stood in front of the door, grinning mischievously, "Chu Xianyue, guess who's inside?"
Who was it? He looked at Xie Wen in confusion, his mind instantly racing through all the people he knew. Xie Wen shook his head, saying it wasn't him. Chu Xianyue's brows furrowed even deeper. After a long while, he staggered back a step. "Could it be that you've been cheating on me? Hiding someone?"
Xie Wen was speechless at Chu Xianyue's words. What was wrong with his thinking?! Xie Wen was so angry that he punched him, "You're the one who's cheating!"
She crossed her arms, turned to the side, and pretended not to want to talk to him.
The door suddenly swung open with a loud thud, hitting Chu Xianyue squarely on the head! Even so, Chu Xianyue remained expressionless, standing there with his dark eyes fixed on the red-haired child before him.
Upon seeing Honghong'er, his expression darkened noticeably. Honghong'er had just opened the door when she came face to face with Chu Xianyue. Soon, as if she had seen something dirty, she walked disdainfully and silently to Xie Wen's side.
Xie Wen didn't notice the smell of sparks in the air. She touched Hong Hong'er, who was hiding behind her, and said to Chu Xianyue, "You didn't expect this either, did you? I was quite surprised when I saw Hong Hong'er in the yard this morning. It probably transformed last night."
Xie Wen said with a sigh, "You've finally recovered your spiritual power! I was sorry for what happened last time; I used up all your spiritual power, causing you to be dormant for so long." Xie Wen was referring to the time when she stormed into the palace alone.
Honghong smiled, her eyes crinkling, looking incredibly obedient. She said, "Awen, just ask me for as much spiritual power as you want. It's all I should do."
Xie Wen's smile deepened. He patted Hong Hong'er's head and said, "Good child, you must take good care of me when you grow up."
Chu Xianyue's demeanor was quite different. He coldly scrutinized Honghong'er, showing no sign of happiness.
He suddenly grabbed Xie Wen's hand and asked her, "Will we have our own children?"
Xie Wen opened her mouth, she had never thought about this before, and asked, "You want a child?"
Chu Xianyue shook his head and said decisively, "I don't want to. It's nothing, just a casual question. Don't worry about it."
Xie Wen simply said "oh," not taking it to heart.
Honghong cooked dinner, and the three of them ate in the courtyard, occasionally passing by farmers returning home from their work. Most of the people living nearby now knew Xie Wen and Chu Xianyue, but they had never seen Honghong before.
Today, however, I saw a child sitting with them at the dinner table. I was quite surprised, so during our conversation, I asked a few more questions, "Who is this? Your child is so big already? You don't look it at all. He's so chubby and healthy, you're such a lucky child."
Honghong looked up and stared back at the farmers with a pair of cold eyes just like Chu Xianyue's. The farmer had been wondering why the child had red hair and whether she wasn't Chu Xianyue's child. But after seeing her, all his doubts were dispelled.
The "father" and "son" had exactly the same expression, especially their eyes. They were equally indifferent when looking at people, but completely different when they looked at their wives. What else could they be but blood relatives!
Xie Wen just chuckled twice. She didn't know how to explain to her neighbors, so she made up an excuse and said, "They're a relative's child who came to stay for a few days."
They were dismissed with this excuse. Lately, it had been getting dark earlier and earlier. In the evening, Chu Xianyue prepared water and massaged Xie Wen's feet before letting Xie Wen go to bed, while Honghong'er slept in the side room that Chu Xianyue had prepared.
Today was peaceful; there was no unnecessary commotion. After Xie Wen fell asleep, she didn't know how much time had passed when she felt a little cold. She reached out with her long arm but found the space beside her empty. She had always said that as long as Chu Xianyue was there, he would definitely hold her while she slept.
Xie Wen squinted as she got up. The room was as silent and dark as if it had been flooded. She lit a candle and went to find Chu Xianyue. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Chu Xianyue sitting in the courtyard in the moonlight, with a flickering candle beside him. He was looking down, his hands holding messy needlework and layers of fabric.
His expression was focused; half his face was bathed in the soft moonlight, and the other half in the gentle glow of the fire. The two lights converged in his eyes, and he looked up to see Xie Wen holding a candle, standing there gracefully in her undergarments.
Xie Wen walked in. "Are you tailoring clothes?"
Chu Xianyue didn't answer first, but asked her, "What's wrong? Did I disturb you?" He was afraid of disturbing Xie Wen, so he sewed in the yard.
Xie Wen shook his head: "No."
"Are you cold?"
Shake head.
Are you hungry?
"Are you getting up at night?"
Xie Wen shook his head. "I can't sleep."
"It's chilly here. Let's go back."
"I'll just watch you from here for a while."
In the end, he couldn't do anything about her, so they went back inside together.
The flickering candlelight shone through the paper window, casting the shadows of two people nestled together.
Late at night, after Xie Wen had fallen into a deep sleep, Chu Xianyue was still sitting under the lamp. He just wanted to get Xie Wen dressed in her new clothes as soon as possible. Thinking of her smiling in her new clothes, a smile unconsciously appeared on his lips.
At this moment, apart from the dim light of the candlelight, a red light flashed and was quickly caught by Chu Xianyue. Honghong'er turned into a blood droplet and landed in front of Chu Xianyue.
He knew that it must have something to tell him when it came at this time.
Chu Xianyue simply gestured softly, and Xie Wen was still asleep, so the light from the blood bead dimmed instantly.
It said coldly, "I have good news."
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