Encounter (I)
"Tell Qingle... Tell him to wait for me to come back..."
The cat demon's voice, a mixture of despair and pleading, echoed in He Shu's mind again.
He turned over in bed irritably, feeling as if a heavy stone was pressing on his heart. He felt so stuffy that he even felt uncomfortable lying down.
He sat up helplessly, yawned deeply, and a hint of fatigue appeared in the corners of his eyes.
Even though the cat demon finally relented and told him not to look for the hairpin anymore, the stolen elixir was still hidden in it. How could he really just sit back and do nothing?
After all, this thing was lost in his hands. If the Heavenly Court investigates it in the future, he will definitely be held responsible and will not be able to escape punishment.
He Shu did not dare to delay for even a moment and searched almost non-stop for several days in a row. He didn't even bother to convey a message to Fu Qingle first, but still found nothing.
It was the first time he felt how huge Luzhu Mountain was. Even though he had searched every corner, he still couldn't find the jade hairpin. The ominous premonition in his heart grew stronger and stronger.
If the hairpin had been left in the Ninth Heaven before jumping into the Abyss, there might still be room for recovery. But if it had vanished into thin air in that raging sea of chaotic clouds...
Forget it, he made up his mind.
At worst, he would bite himself to death. He was just asked by the cat demon to return the hairpin, and had no idea that there was an elixir hidden in it.
The worst result is to be punished by Yaodan Yuanjun.
Thinking of this, He Shu sighed deeply.
Although it was just two immortal pills, the punishment might not be severe, but that Yuanjun had always been at odds with Xuantongzi and was aware of their close relationship...
No matter what, I'm afraid I can't escape this time.
It’s all because of that old baboon Xuantongzi who made enemies everywhere in Heaven!
He Shu couldn't help but complain secretly in his heart. He got up from the bed, walked to the study, picked up a storybook and walked into the yard.
I've been so busy searching for things these past few days that I'm exhausted. I might as well finish reading this book first, take a breath, and then go find Fu Qingle to fulfill my promise to the cat demon.
Thinking this, he relaxed and stretched. Just as he was about to curl up in the comfortable recliner to enjoy a moment of leisure, his eyes inadvertently caught a glimpse of the crane feather pendant still tied to the branch of the peach tree.
My mood instantly sank, and I even lost most of my interest in reading the storybook.
The branches are covered with peach petals, so flourishing that they almost bend the branches.
The crane feather pendant that he had casually made in the past as a way of repaying his gratitude, although it was enchanted with a blessing spell at the time, ultimately failed to play any role. It was now spinning and swaying leisurely in the wind.
The fine down feathers brushed against the adjacent petals, which were still as smooth and clean as new, as if leaving no trace of the passage of time.
He Shu suddenly turned his head away, unwilling to look anymore.
Weren't those words that he used to persuade the cat demon to let go of his obsession what he said to himself?
But it is not easy to let go.
He placed the scroll in his hand on the stone table beside him, turned and walked towards the peach tree.
His plain clothes seemed about to be swallowed up by the surging pink clouds around him. The flowers on the branches were in full bloom, and the heartless bustle made his figure seem even more lonely.
A mountain breeze blew by at this moment, and in an instant, the flourishing flowers on the branches fell off, and countless soft petals broke free from the stems and fluttered down.
A few petals brushed against He Shu's forehead, bringing a slight tingling sensation. Then, more petals brushed against his eyebrows, cheeks, and the corners of his lips...
As gentle as a sigh that cannot be captured in time, with a fleeting cold beauty.
He did not dodge, but just raised his face slightly, closed his eyes, and let the flower rain fall on his shoulders and hair.
Soon, he opened his eyes again, and a clear trace of reluctance and struggle flashed in his eyes.
He Shu knew that a short pain was better than a long one. Since he couldn't really let it go for a while, he would just let time resolve it.
Now, what he had to do first was to take off the feather ornament and keep it properly, so as to avoid feeling sad every time he saw it in the future.
He made up his mind, tapped his toes, and leaped lightly into the air, diving into the depths of the flowers like a leaf. His fingertips just barely touched the string, and just as he was about to pluck it off—
The wind blew again at this moment, gently pushing aside the layers of branches and the chaotic light and shadows under the trees.
His eyes accidentally glanced downwards, and his whole body was suddenly frozen in mid-air as if he was fixed in place by a spell.
Amidst the misty rain of flowers, a figure was standing quietly, slightly tilting his head, looking at him intently.
The familiar eyebrows and eyes, separated by the dancing petals, are as clear as a nightmare and as hazy as a phantom.
"I found the fairy!"
Is it... Qingshan?
He Shu's gaze was fixed on the figure he had been thinking about day and night. He almost greedily described the other person's eyebrows, face, shoulders and neck contours, as if he could not see enough, and as if he was eager to confirm something.
His mind went blank for a moment, and his breathing stopped. The feather ornament that he had just grasped with his fingertips slipped out of his hand. He subconsciously reached out to grab it, but his foot slipped and he fell down as if he had lost weight.
He hadn't recovered yet and even forgot to cast a spell to protect himself. Only one thought was roaring in his mind:
It turns out that night by the stream wasn't a dream...
But the expected pain of hitting the ground did not come.
A pair of strong arms caught his falling body steadily, with such great force that they even pressed him deeper into their arms, dissipating all the impact of the fall.
The peach petals swirling around were attracted by the movement and fluttered towards them, slowly landing on the overlapping lapels of their clothes.
He Shu felt like he had fallen into a warm and real embrace, and his nostrils were instantly filled with a familiar yet unfamiliar scent.
He was forced to raise his head and open his eyes that were closed in astonishment. His pupils dilated slightly, reflecting the face above him that he had been thinking about day and night, as well as the seemingly endless petals that kept falling.
His ears were filled with the sound of the man's heartbeat, as violent as a drum, coming from his chest. Through the thin clothes, it hit his chest heavily, making his heart numb.
"From the sky, from the sky, a fairy fell."
The young man holding him spoke, his voice filled with pure surprise.
He Shu had already stretched out his hand, intending to touch the cheek of the person in front of him, but it suddenly stopped in mid-air.
These words woke him up and he came to his senses in an instant.
He is not Qingshan.
He is just the reincarnation of Qingshan.
And... no matter who he is, as long as he is a mortal, I shouldn't get too close to him.
He Shu loosened his arms around the young man's neck and tried to leave his embrace.
He struggled a little harder, but found that he couldn't move it at all.
Although he felt a little embarrassed, he didn't know why, but he felt a complicated sense of relief in his heart.
In this life, Qingshan is at least a healthy person. Judging from his physique, he will definitely live to be a hundred years old.
This... is great.
A gentle, slightly bitter smile rose from the corner of his mouth, and the hand that was suspended in the air finally fell and gently patted the other person's forehead.
"Thanks--"
He was just about to thank the young man and ask him to put him down, but suddenly he felt empty underneath him, the support disappeared, and he fell down suddenly again.
For some reason, the man suddenly loosened his grip. He Shu let out a light cry and subconsciously tightened his grip on the young man's collar.
The man immediately woke up from his daze, and hurriedly exerted force with his arms again, suddenly pulling He Shu back into his arms.
However, in his haste, he lost his balance, stumbled, and was pulled forward by the force of the fall!
“Hmm!”
He Shu was held tightly in someone's arms. With a dull thud, the young man's back hit the bluestone floor covered with fallen flowers, shaking up countless pink and white petals like a flock of fluttering butterflies.
He gasped in shock, and when he came to his senses he found that he was completely lying on the young man, their bodies fit together perfectly.
His hand was still tightly grasping the other person's collar, while the man's arms were still tightly wrapped around his back and waist, forming an extremely intimate posture.
He Shu's cheeks instantly turned hot. He stood up in a hurry and took a few steps back. He turned his head and tried his best to cover the tips of his ears and the sides of his neck which had turned red.
"Are you okay?"
"It's okay, I'm fine."
As the man spoke, he sat up, but did not stand up immediately. Instead, he raised his hand to scratch his head, his eyes falling on the fallen flowers on the ground, and whispered:
"I'm sorry I almost fell and got you hurt."
He spoke slowly, enunciating each word, and casually picked up a petal from the ground and gently kneaded it, appearing very nervous and awkward.
"It's okay, I'm fine. But you, are you not hurt?"
As He Shu spoke, he carefully observed the young man out of the corner of his eye. At first, he thought the man's honest reaction was a little cute, but he soon sensed something was wrong.
Even if one's personality changes after reincarnation, it shouldn't be like this... like the pure ignorance of a child.
He looked like an adult, but his behavior, actions, and reactions...
He Shu walked forward, reached out to help the person who was still sitting on the ground, and brushed off the dust and flower petals on his clothes.
When his fingertips touched the fabric that was so rough that it was even a little scratchy, his movements froze for a moment.
This material...is definitely not used by wealthy families.
Didn't Xuan Tongzi say that Qingshan would have a safe and peaceful life in his next life, and would be rich and powerful? Then what was going on with the current situation?
The more He Shu thought about it, the darker his face became. He frowned, took the man's hand, walked to the stone table and sat down, then took the young man's hand and began to look at it.
These hands have thick joints and are covered with thick calluses.
The lines on his palms were deep and tangled, crisscrossed by tiny old scars that had long since healed into white lines. The veins on the backs of his hands were knotted and bulging, revealing the hands of a man who had worked for many years, broad and strong.
It is a world of difference compared to the white and slender hands that were used to write books and paint in the previous life.
That old mandrill actually deceived me!
He Shu was in a rage when he suddenly felt a warmth on his forehead. When he came to his senses, he saw the person in front of him smiling at him innocently, with a clumsy flattery:
"Fairy, don't be angry, smile, it's beautiful."
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