Mo Li (Part 3)
"Just now by the river, I seemed to hear you mention...getting married? But Sang Li and you..."
"Uh, that!"
He Shu interrupted Qingshan's question in a hurry, and suddenly stood up excitedly, but forgot that he was in a carriage. With a dull "bang", he hit the roof hard.
He grimaced in pain, lost all his strength in an instant, and curled up back on the couch, holding his head, looking extremely miserable.
"Are you okay, Wuming?"
Seeing this, Qingshan moved to sit beside Heshu with concern, gently rubbing the top of his head that was hit, his tone full of heartache and helplessness.
"Why are you so excited all of a sudden? Are you hurt?"
"No, it's okay...it's just...that..."
He Shu's mind was in a mess, like boiling water, and his face suddenly turned red. He hesitated for a long time before he could barely piece together an excuse. He spoke so fast that he almost bit his tongue.
"Oh! I'm not excited. Getting married... Yeah, it was in the storybook I read yesterday... and that scene just happened to be written about it! Just now... Just now, I must have been distracted, and for some reason I suddenly thought of the plot in the book, so I... I just said it subconsciously..."
As he spoke, he turned his head away guiltily, his eyes wandering, not daring to look Qingshan in the face, for fear that someone would see that he was lying.
Fortunately, the other party seemed to think that he was only acting abnormally because he was in pain. His movements became gentler, and he chuckled softly, saying, understandingly:
"Is that so? I thought Sang Li told you."
"Tell me...what?"
He Shu didn't turn around. The voice came muffled from the crook of his arm. He subconsciously moved closer to the wall of the car, trying to create some distance.
Qingshan got too close all of a sudden, and with the heater on in the car, he felt a little stuffy and uncomfortable.
"It's about Bai Ziming."
Qingshan said softly, and pushed him away a little to give him some space.
"It's the man who came to your house last time to deliver a message to you. He's getting married soon, and he sent us an invitation a few days ago, inviting us to attend his wedding."
"Yes...it's this marriage..."
He Shu was even more embarrassed when he realized that he had completely misjudged the problem. He touched the tip of his nose, raised the corners of his mouth stiffly, and let out two dry and awkward laughs, but he also breathed a sigh of relief quietly.
"I really don't know about this... Sang Li... she didn't tell me - it's over!"
He suddenly remembered something he had forgotten, stood up straight, and exclaimed:
"Sang Li, Cang Jue and the others are still waiting for me in the teahouse!"
I was in a trance just now, and followed Qingshan into the carriage going home in a daze, completely forgetting the other two people!
He Shu sighed inwardly and didn't care about the pain in his head or the embarrassment just now. He stood up from his knees and eagerly lifted the curtain beside him, wanting to see where he was outside.
"call--"
The biting cold wind immediately found a gap and rushed into the warm carriage, carrying with it the moist earthy smell of the forest and the fishy taste of grass and trees, scraping across his still hot cheeks like a blade.
The scenery in front of me quickly swept backwards. The trees on the side of the road had lost their original shape and turned into an endless gray-brown belt. The remaining swaying and blurred light and shadow made it impossible to tell where I was going.
"This carriage...how come it's going so fast?"
He stared out the window in a daze, muttering to himself, his anxiety growing even more intense.
When he looked up again, the thick curtain in front of him, which was lifted up at a corner, had been gently lowered by Qingshan's hand, blocking out the whistling cold wind.
"This is no ordinary horse."
Qingshan patted Heshu's arm soothingly.
"It's a spirit horse I borrowed temporarily from my master. It's called Shunhua, so its speed is naturally extraordinary."
"I see……"
He Shu heard this and nodded in realization.
Since it was a spirit horse, it would have already flown far out of Shenyue Town in just half a minute. If it turned back now to look for Sang Li and the others...
Thinking of this, he turned his head to look at Qingshan, and happened to see the gentle smile on the other's lips. His heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly lowered his eyes to avoid it.
Forget it… He sighed in his heart.
It was indeed inappropriate to go back and forth like this. Besides...his heart was secretly hoping to go home with Qingshan sooner.
Without further delay, he immediately focused his mind and energy, and used the art of sound transmission, sending his thoughts directly to Sang Li who was still in the teahouse:
"Sang Li, I...I won't go back to the teahouse. You two can have your meal on your own. Tell Cang Jue I'm sorry for disturbing his mood."
Finally, he suddenly remembered the upcoming festival and quickly added:
"By the way, the Lantern Festival is approaching. If Cangjue is free, why don't you all come to Luzhu Mountain after dinner? It will be more lively with more people, and we can celebrate the festival together."
He soon received a concise reply from Sang Li, and that cold voice rang directly in his mind:
"Okay, I understand. Just go home with Qingshan and I'll pass on the message for you."
"Huh?"
He Shu was slightly stunned and asked subconsciously,
"I haven't told you anything in detail yet, how did you know... that Qingshan was the one who came to pick me up?"
He couldn't help but widen his eyes and looked in surprise at Qingshan, who had returned to his original position and was now sitting in a relaxed posture opposite him.
Sang Li's response was calm and even a little speechless:
"When I travel, Master's spirit horse always accompanies me... Besides, without me, he's just a mortal. Without a special reason, how could he have the strength to drive such a spirit horse to work for him, galloping for days just to find you in Shenyue Town, thousands of miles away?"
"...Okay, let's stop here. The dishes are here."
Before he could finish his words, the connection on the other end was cut off cleanly by Sang Li.
He Shu was still a little dazed, but for some reason, he always felt that something was wrong, as if he had missed something and hadn't figured it out.
He frowned and went over everything that happened today in his mind carefully. Suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind and he suddenly understood!
His eyes were like lightning, shooting straight at Qingshan who was sitting upright, as if in a trance.
"You and Sang Li..."
He Shu narrowed his eyes and asked slowly in a dangerous tone,
"Are you coming to Shenyue Town together?"
He suddenly leaned forward, supporting himself with his hands on the soft couch beside the other person, instantly closing the distance between them, almost nose to nose, forcing the pair of eyes that were trying to keep things quiet and avoid eye contact to look at him.
"It's fine that you couldn't get to the bottom of the cold pond! But we walked such a long way outside the town and talked so much... and you just followed me quietly? You even eavesdropped on me talking to myself by the river!"
He Shu became more and more angry as he spoke, his cheeks flushed with shame and anger.
"Li Qingshan, are you doing this on purpose? Tell me the truth. If it doesn't snow today, when will you show up?"
"Wuming, you misunderstood me..."
Qingshan was caught off guard by his sudden approach. His eyes flickered and he tried to explain. His voice was still gentle, but with a hint of urgency.
"I didn't mean to follow you. When Sang Li was nearing Shenyue Town, she cast a spell on her own and went to Cang Jue first. I did rush here after you entered the city and parted ways. Meeting you by the river... was just a coincidence..."
As he spoke, he tentatively reached out his hand, wanting to touch He Shu's shoulders, which were slightly heaving with emotion, but was mercilessly opened with a "snap".
Qingshan withdrew his hand awkwardly, lowered his eyes and continued, his tone filled with sincere apology:
"Regarding the Bai Mansion incident, it was indeed my fault. I didn't confess in advance, so they found me long ago and have been pestering me until now, causing you unnecessary worry and distress... It was my fault."
He tilted his head slightly and lowered his eyes dejectedly:
"Just now, by the river... I saw you looking melancholy, lost in thought, staring at the ice. My heart was overwhelmed with mixed emotions, and I hesitated for a moment, unsure how to approach you... That's why I didn't choose to meet you right away. It wasn't my intention to spy on you."
After hearing his explanation, He Shu's tense expression relaxed a little and his anger subsided a lot.
It turns out Qingshan didn't hear Cangjue's "marriage" talk, thank goodness...
He breathed a sigh of relief and sat back in his seat, but still turned his head away awkwardly, refusing to look at Qingshan. However, his tone softened noticeably, and he muttered softly with grievance and dissatisfaction:
"Hmph... nice words! I think you're all in cahoots! And what about you... you used those nonsense words at Qingxiao Temple about 'crying, making a scene, and then threatening to hang yourself' to trick me into worrying... How dare you do that!"
"W-what...first crying...second making a scene, third hanging yourself?"
Qingshan originally had a cautious and slightly flustered expression on his face, but when he heard these seven words, he completely lost control of it. He froze for a rare moment, his brows slightly raised in disbelief, revealing an almost dazed expression that rarely appeared on his face.
He Shu was surprised to see him looking so defeated and helpless. The shame and anger in his heart suddenly disappeared, and was replaced by a kind of mischief that was trying to find fault with him.
He immediately regained his spirits and leaned forward again, a malicious and cunning smile on his face, and took the opportunity to joke:
"Yeah... Sang Li's story was so convincing! She said Xuan Tongzi accused someone of running to Qingxiao Temple and 'crying, making a scene, and then trying to hang themselves' because they couldn't find me. It was quite a scene..."
He deliberately dragged out his tone, staring at Qingshan with sparkling eyes, and asked,
"Is this really true, Qingshan? Hmm?"
"What do you think?"
Qingshan curled up the corners of his mouth helplessly, and that smile was full of helpless indulgence.
He simply relaxed his body, leaned back into the soft couch, and put on an attitude of waiting for scrutiny, allowing the man with a lot of bad intentions to look at his rare expression of frustration and embarrassment with interest.
"Master has always been out of tune. How much of what he says can be trusted?"
"Who knows if it's true or not! I didn't see it with my own eyes!"
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