Return (II)
He Shu went to great lengths to get He Qi a moment to say goodbye, and the argument took quite a while.
When he arrived at Ye's house again, the banquet had already ended. After all, he had caused trouble and escaped, so he didn't dare to return to Li's house openly. He could only quietly change back to his original form and fly into the branches of the pine tree in Li Qingshan's yard.
Dusk spread over the blue bricks and gray tiles, the iron horses on the eaves swayed gently, and with a clink of a bell, they fell into the deepening night, and there was no sound anymore.
For the first time, Li Qingshan's yard was deserted. The servants seemed to have been dismissed. This made it easier for him to act, but...
He Shu looked at the warm yellow light coming through the paper window, folded and spread his wings, and was actually a little afraid to get closer.
How should he explain the trouble he caused in the Ye Mansion, how should he face Qingshan who was dragged down by him, and how should he say "I'm leaving"?
The wooden frame of the unlit lantern in the corridor turned white in the dim light, the copper ring on the door was polished to a shine, and the crickets in the corner of the wall were hiding in some brick hole, singing one after another, making the surroundings even quieter.
He Shu watched the sky gradually darken until it was completely shrouded by night.
“Cough cough cough——”
A light cough came from inside the house. The candlelight flickered on the window paper, tracing the figure that was getting closer and closer, like a half-dried ink painting.
He Shu held his breath and stared, only to see the shadow reaching out a trembling hand, its fingertips pressing against the window bolt, making a faint creaking sound.
At the open window, Li Qingshan was wearing a black cloak with a loose collar. His long hair was spread out like a black waterfall, covering the paleness of his chest.
A gust of wind blew through the hallway, and a few strands of hair stuck to his bloodless cheeks, fluttering wildly in front of his eyes, but he just lowered his eyes and remained motionless.
The moon in the sky was full, and its light spread over her long hair, casting a layer of cold white light on the ends of her hair.
Li Qingshan half-leaned against the wooden window sill, his head against the frame. He raised his hand to his lips and coughed twice, his back arching into a fragile arc. His eyebrows were drooping, and his messy hair obscured his expression.
He Shu looked in the direction of his gesture and saw the moonlight falling coldly on the green bricks of the courtyard, illuminating a few clumps of orchids in front of the steps that had wilted yellow due to the spring chill.
He Qi's impatient urging suddenly exploded in his consciousness. He Shu's heart tightened and he had no time to hesitate. He spread his wings and flew towards the window.
He clumsily pried open another window bolt with his beak, jumped lightly onto the windowsill, and carefully curled up his huge body, close to Li Qingshan.
The warm feathers pressed densely against the other's cold cheeks. The long neck curled up gently and carefully placed on the man's shoulder. A hint of chill came through the feathers, causing He Shu's wings to tremble slightly.
Qingshan’s body temperature is so low, how can I open the window to let in some fresh air!
He subconsciously rubbed Li Qingshan's skin with the warm side of his neck, trying to convey some warmth.
"nameless?"
A whisper with a smile sounded,
"What are you doing? It's so itchy..."
He Shu suddenly raised his head, his round eyes widened instantly, and in a panic he blurted out:
"Qingshan, how did you recognize me!"
He originally wanted to take one last look, get closer, transfer his true energy, and then quietly leave, but now he was completely confused.
Li Qingshan tilted his head slightly, his cheek unconsciously close to the feathers on his shoulder.
"I'm not really sure. When I rescued you, you were in a much more miserable state than you are now..."
As he spoke, he moved back slightly to make more room, and touched He Shu's back feathers with his fingertips. He lowered his eyes and asked:
"Wuming, why did you return in your true form today? But...what happened?"
He Shu felt comfortable being touched, and a long moan of satisfaction almost escaped from his throat, but he was brought back to reality by these words.
Thinking of Heqi's angry expression and the real purpose of this trip, he became flustered and stammered:
“It’s…it’s…”
"If it's the Ye Mansion's business, don't worry about it."
"Ah... yes, Ye Mansion..."
He Shu felt as if he had been pardoned, but in an instant he became nervous again.
"Qingshan, that bastard didn't give you any trouble, did he?"
He searched up and down but found no wounds. He breathed a sigh of relief and was about to feel relieved when a faint fishy smell entered his nostrils.
It was blood! His heart suddenly began to beat faster.
"By the way, no acupuncture today!"
He Shu was so anxious that he flapped his wings, trying to push the person into the house.
"Hurry in, it's getting late, let's hurry!"
"Wuming, it's okay if we don't do it for a day, right? We'll do it tomorrow..."
Before Li Qingshan could finish his words, He Shu, who had transformed and landed on the ground, dragged him to sit down.
"To-tomorrow?"
He froze in the instant he held the other person's hand, turned his face away, and after a long while, he turned back with difficulty, trying to lift the corners of his mouth upwards, but it was uglier than crying.
"Are you tired? Well...then take a break first, and we'll come back later...By the way, Qingshan!"
He Shu seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw. A faint light flashed in his palm, and a piece of exquisite peach blossom-shaped cake appeared. He spoke so quickly that it was a little erratic:
"This... This is a Peach Banquet I stumbled upon on my way here... Qingshan, you know, the Peach Banquets in the mortal world are much more lively than the ones hosted by Divine Sky Primordial Mother, and the people are very welcoming. Seeing me passing by, they stuffed a few peach cakes into my hands. They're delicious, I'm sure you'll like them, come and try them!"
He Shu handed over the pale yellow peach cake, his eyes full of cautious expectation.
Li Qingshan slowly pulled his hand out of his palm and did not take the peach cake.
He lowered his head silently, his long hair hanging like an inky curtain, blocking out all prying eyes. Only his knuckles, pressing against the window sill, turned slightly white from the force.
The air seemed to freeze, leaving only the uneasy crackling of the candlelight.
"Qingshan?"
He Shu's voice was filled with loss, the smile he forced out froze at the corner of his mouth, and the hand that was handing over the pastry dropped down weakly.
"Are you blaming me..."
"I don't want to cause any trouble, but... I'm just angry at that person for saying that to you. I, I shouldn't have run away..."
"No……"
Li Qingshan finally spoke, but he still lowered his head, and his voice was very dry.
"I'm not blaming you... I'm just a little tired, Wuming. Can you come and give me acupuncture tomorrow, tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow... not tomorrow..."
The word "No" was like a huge rock blocking He Shu's chest, but He Qi's cold order was still ringing in his ears, so he had to say it out loud.
An indescribable panic gripped him, as if his heart was being tightly gripped by something, making him feel suffocated and uneasy.
He couldn't help but move closer, wanting to reach out and lift the annoying long hair, but his wrist was quietly grasped by a cold hand, and the strength gradually tightened.
"nameless……"
Li Qingshan's call was so low that it was almost inaudible.
"Tomorrow...tomorrow..."
He kept repeating these two words in his mouth, his voice low and hoarse.
Suddenly raising his head, Li Qingshan tried hard to curl the corners of his lips into his usual gentle smile, but his eyes, which were always clear, were now filled with broken light.
Like a candle flame about to go out under the moon, it was filled with strong and insoluble emotions that He Shu could not understand.
"Wuming... is it true... that there is no tomorrow?"
He looked at He Shu, his voice filled with an extremely suppressed calmness.
"Are you going home? There's nothing to be ashamed of. Didn't I tell you at the time that if you wanted to leave, just let me know in advance?"
He went on talking to himself.
"Leaving tomorrow...it's so rushed."
"I haven't prepared anything yet. I'm afraid the farewell party will be simple. I hope Wuming won't blame me..."
"No, of course not!"
He Shu retorted eagerly, but his head drooped even lower, almost burying it in his chest.
Li Qingshan's gentle and smiling words pierced his heart like a needle. He rolled the farewell words on the tip of his tongue countless times. Finally, as if he had exhausted all his strength, his voice was as light as a mosquito:
"Qingshan, actually...actually I'm leaving today..."
The last few words almost disappeared into the air. He subconsciously grabbed the tassels on the cushion and tightened them little by little, not daring to look the other person in the eye.
Li Qingshan paused for a long time, his eyes fixed on the dark night outside the window, and he asked in a very soft voice:
"Are you in such a hurry? Did something happen at home?"
A gentle touch came from above his head, and the palm of his hand had a familiar coolness. He Shu couldn't help but feel a pang of pain in his nose, and the accumulated grievances and sorrows burst out instantly:
“No…no…”
As he spoke, he buried his wet face deeply in Li Qingshan's neck, his cold hair sticking to his forehead.
Like a fledgling seeking shelter, it curled up in this embrace with the scent of medicine, trying to hide its surging tears.
He also didn't want to go back to that cold place.
If he went back, he didn't know when he would be able to return to the mortal world. He had made mistakes in the mortal world and was also implicated in the cat demon incident. Perhaps he would never have the chance to leave there again...
"Going home is a good thing, why be sad?"
He Shu suddenly approached, and Li Qingshan quickly raised his hand that was hanging by his side. As the person in his arms trembled more and more violently, he slowly lowered it. His gentle caress concealed his restrained trembling.
"If you can't bear to leave, come back when you have time... when you have time... Next time you come, let's go fishing by Yangchun Creek. Don't you still miss the silver minnows there and want to try what they taste like?"
"Next time we come, if it's spring... when the wild peach blossoms are in full bloom in the mountains and forests, we can go to the suburbs to enjoy the spring..."
"Go for an outing, go for a purification ceremony..."
Li Qingshan's voice gradually became lower, like catkins drifting in the wind. Those promises about spring, streams, and peach blossoms finally disappeared in the thick night.
He stopped talking and just gently patted He Shu's back, still with an irrepressible reluctance.
He Shu raised his head and looked at Li Qingshan's pale face with tearful eyes. The words "maybe I'll never come back" were stuck in his throat and he couldn't bear to say it out loud.
He nodded vigorously, forcing the tears back into his eyes:
"Okay... Qingshan, then you just take your medicine and get treatment, and when I come back... we'll go fishing together!"
As he made these almost hopeless promises, he held Li Qingshan's cold wrist tightly.
This time, he no longer pretended, and his pure true energy flowed into the other person's meridians without reservation, as if he wanted to melt all the reluctance, worries and promises before parting into the last bit of warmth.
"I'm a real good fisherman. Next time... I'll show you..."
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