Chapter 26 Sword and Sword Tassel "You absolutely cannot abandon me!"...
Hua Deng looked at Chen Zhou, and Chen Zhou looked at her in return.
After a while, Shen Zhou came over, reached out and pulled the blanket over her, covering her up completely without leaving a gap, just like a grandmother would cover a child.
A head popped out from under the streetlight, shaking the hair in front of its eyes: "When did you become so considerate, even worried that I'd catch a cold?"
Chen Zhou sat down on the edge of the bed, his expression unchanged: "Speak what you want to say."
Hua Deng chuckled and reached into the blanket to pull out a wine flask.
“I spent three thousand spirit stones to buy this pot of wine. The shopkeeper told me that even a cultivator at the Integration stage would collapse after three cups. Would you like to have a sip and let me see if it was worth the money?” She smiled brightly.
Shen Zhou didn't even look at it: "I won't drink it."
"Have a sip, have a sip. This wine is so expensive, if you don't drink it now, you won't have the chance later."
She opened her peach blossom eyes wide and kept shoving the wine pot into his hands.
In the dim light, her soft cheeks were pressed against the blankets, her pupils gleaming with a pale gold.
This lamp is not an ordinary candle, but a ritual implement made to resemble a candle; the flame is fake and has no warmth whatsoever.
But when it falls on the streetlights, it suddenly becomes warm and cozy; you can feel its temperature without even touching it.
Shen Zhou was silent for a moment, and just when Hua Deng thought he was about to compromise, he pushed the wine back and said, "No."
His face remained expressionless, but his eyes revealed obvious resistance. It was rare to see him so averse to anything; it was as if alcohol was more deadly than poison.
She sighed, "Fine, I'll drink it myself then."
However, she knew she couldn't finish this pot, so she took out another pot of less intoxicating flower wine and poured herself a cup.
The wine went down smoothly and tasted delicious. Leaning against the headboard, with her eyes half-closed, she told a story, aided by the alcohol.
It was something she never told anyone.
“When I was thirteen, I was kidnapped once,” she said calmly. “The man was a cultivator in the Qi Refining stage. He coveted my family’s money, so he kidnapped me to threaten my parents.”
Shen Zhou responded softly, signaling her to continue.
"He tied me to a boat and ransacked me of all my valuables, including my bracelet." As she spoke, she unconsciously touched her left wrist, as if only then could she feel at ease.
"I don't know if this is lucky or unlucky, but anyway, without that bracelet, the sect leader happened to be passing by and sensed the abnormal spiritual energy fluctuations. He then came looking for me."
"He killed the monk quickly, but as the monk struggled in his death throes, he stabbed me with a dagger right here."
She drank a glass of wine and covered her left shoulder, near her collarbone, with her right hand.
"At that time, the blood kept flowing... I thought I was going to die." She smiled, and was momentarily blinded by the light when she opened her eyes.
Shen Zhou raised her hand and extinguished the lamp, plunging the room into silence. Her face was hidden in the darkness as she covered herself with the blanket and continued to reminisce.
“I was really scared at that time… but I didn’t die. My master told me that because I have a wood-attribute heavenly spiritual root, I have the strongest healing ability, so I can’t die.”
"But I later learned that it wasn't because of my Heavenly Spiritual Root, but... that was also the reason he saved me and taught me the cultivation technique."
Hua Deng's body slid down the headboard, her voice growing softer and softer, indicating extreme drowsiness.
"They really are awful, I don't like any of them." A muffled voice came from under the covers, but a hand tugged at Shen Zhou's sleeve. "I don't care about them anymore, and I don't care what they think of me, but you..."
"You absolutely cannot abandon me for at least this month."
"Won't."
Hua Deng, who had opened her eyes at some point, looked at him and said, "I'm serious, I can give you a lot of money."
“I know,” Shen Zhou said.
After a few seconds of pause, he said in a low voice, "This time, it's free."
Hearing that he could save some money, Hua Deng was indeed much happier. Even in the darkness, her eyes lit up and curved into a smile. She secretly hooked her little finger with her finger.
"You said it."
"I said it."
Hua Deng's lips curled up under the covers as sleepiness washed over her, but she forced herself to remain awake, saying, "But I still can't sleep."
Shen Zhou handed her the wine jug he had just picked up again: "Then keep drinking."
"I don't want to drink anymore," Hua Deng said in a muffled voice. "Can you sing me a song? I'll go to sleep if you sing."
Shen Zhou said, "No."
Hua Deng said expectantly, "Then think about it, think about the songs you've heard before."
There was complete silence beside her, and just when she thought there would be no response, the man began to hum a tune in a low voice, which flowed into the room like moonlight.
There were no lyrics, not even a complete melody; it was just an ordinary tune. Hua Deng recalled that distant afternoon many years ago, when she lay by the window with a fan in her arms, and her mother gently hummed a song for her.
Shen Zhou's humming style was completely different from his mother's. Hua Deng thought it sounded like a robotic repertoire of songs, very stiff and unskilled, which made her want to laugh a little. But when he hummed this tune, it was completely different from his usual steady and magnetic voice; it became lingering and gentle, like a soft murmur.
She wanted to listen more, but the humming stopped abruptly. She was already very sleepy, and clutching the blanket, she mumbled, "What's the name of this song?"
"I forgot."
Where did you learn that?
"Someone sang for me."
After waiting for a while without any movement, Shen Zhou looked down and saw that she was indeed fast asleep.
He raised his hand and tried to pull out the sleeve that was pressed under his head by the streetlights, but he had only pulled it out a little when she flipped him over and pressed it back down, making it impossible for him to move.
He witnessed Hua Deng's sleep quality once again and reached out to push her shoulder.
He never expected to wake up the streetlights; so be it, cultivators don't need sleep anyway.
His hand fell down and rested on her shoulder, but for no apparent reason, those trembling words flashed through his mind: "That person stabbed me in the shoulder, and the blood keeps flowing. I'm really scared."
His movements inexplicably stopped, and he looked at the thin shoulder of the person under his hand.
If the scar is still there, it should be in this location.
He could feel her pulse through her bones and flesh, so vibrant, so powerful, like the bright, sparkling eyes that shone when she spoke.
Shen Zhou didn't move again, probably because he was too lazy to move. He maintained his posture and leaned back.
The moon continued to sink in the west outside the window, casting shadows over the entire room. He stared at the void ahead, where he could see countless techniques flashing past his eyes, yet there was no emotion in his eyes.
*
The sky was bright.
When Hua Deng stepped out of the Immortal Spirit Pearl, Chen Zhou was clearing out demonic beasts nearby, while Su Yiqing was sitting by the stream grilling fish.
Compared to her drowsiness, Su Yiqing was completely refreshed.
After returning home last night, Su Yiqing was still worried about Hua Deng's words, so she read through the entire original novel overnight and finally felt relieved.
She realized that she had indeed been worrying too much.
The villain in the book is already dead at this point, so he obviously won't come to the secret realm of the Immortal Alliance, and he's even found a Daoist partner.
Moreover, Shenye and Huadeng have a good relationship, they sleep in the same room at night, and they get along very well in general.
Especially this morning.
Shen Ye usually didn't communicate with her, but this morning, as she yawned and stepped out of her room, Shen Ye, who was sitting in the courtyard, suddenly said without turning his head, "Hua Deng is sleeping."
Startled, Su Yiqing shrank back into the doorway, covering her mouth to indicate that she wouldn't make a sound. She didn't know if Shen Zhou saw her, but he didn't say anything more.
Su Yiqing had no choice but to believe that this person was definitely not the villain in the book!
Hua Deng had no idea that she had such a rich inner world; she simply assumed that she was sleeping well and greeted her while rubbing her eyes.
After a while, Shen Zhou returned, and they began to walk deeper into the secret realm.
There were many rare and precious treasures in the secret realm, but Hua Deng had no interest in them and gave them all to Su Yiqing.
Occasionally, a few people would try to rob him, but they were all scared away by Chen Zhou with minimal effort. The legendary, fiercely competitive and dangerous Xiashan Secret Realm was transformed into a leisurely place for vacation and tourism by Hua Deng.
As for her mission objective, the Heavenly-grade magic treasure, according to Su Yiqing, it is currently being guarded by Yu Heng, the previous champion of the Qingyang Sect, and her team, and will not appear for another half month.
They made no significant discoveries until nightfall.
Hua Deng noticed that Chen Zhou's communication talisman had lit up again. He picked it up, looked at it, burned the talisman to ashes, and after a moment of contemplation, said, "I need to go out for a while and will be back before dawn."
Hua Deng was startled: "You want to teleport out?"
Disciples in the secret realm can crush jade tokens to teleport out, but they are only allowed to leave and not enter.
Shen Zhou said, "I can't move the jade tablet, but there's another way."
Hua Deng breathed a sigh of relief and did not doubt his words.
Shen Zhou added, "I can only teleport you back to where you were before you left. You stay here tonight and don't wander around. I will set up a barrier to ensure your safety."
Hua Deng nodded hesitantly.
Shen Zhou, who was about to leave, stopped and turned to ask her, "Is there something you want to say?"
Hua Deng squeezed her hand tightly behind her back, and stammered, "Do you have any... favorite animals?"
Shen Zhou asked, "What would you like to eat?"
Hua Deng: "It's not food, it's... oh my god, you!"
She stamped her foot, took her hand out from behind her back, and flipped her palm over to reveal an exquisite sword tassel.
“This is it,” she said, tilting her chin up.
"Sword tassel?" Shen Zhou took it, and the tassel fell from his hand.
"Hmm." Hua Deng glanced around, tapped the ground with her toes, and said calmly, "I found this when I was tidying up my storage bag the other day. I don't know when I bought it. Anyway, I have no use for it, so I'll give it to you."
Shen Zhou examined it closely: "What is this? A rat?" Hua Deng froze, then turned her head sharply, her voice trembling as she asked, "Say that again???"
Shen Zhou glanced at it again and said, "Is that a donkey?"
Why the hell didn't you guess Pikachu?!
"It's a rabbit!" Hua Deng exclaimed in despair. "The rabbit that can hop, jump, and run, the one where 'the male rabbit's feet flutter and the female rabbit's eyes are glazed over'!!"
She likes rabbits because she had a rabbit named Mimi in her past life, so her first thought when designing the sword tassel was to make a rabbit.
Although she didn't make the sword tassel herself, she drew the design herself, and her subordinates perfectly replicated it. And now, her breasts are being mistaken for a donkey with big ears.
"Give me back my sword tassel!"
She puffed out her cheeks and reached out to snatch the sword tassel from Shen Zhou's hand, but he easily dodged it and hung the tassel on his own sword in the blink of an eye.
Hua Deng tried to pry his hand away, but couldn't get it back. Instead, he bounced up and down, swinging the sword tassel, trying to reach it, until he was panting heavily.
She gave up, glaring at Chen Zhou through gritted teeth.
"Didn't you think it looked like a donkey?" Hua Deng sneered. "It probably doesn't look good for a dignified sword cultivator to hang a donkey on his sword."
“Anything is fine.” Shen Zhou stroked the rabbit’s head. The rabbit’s ears stood up, its four legs were upright, and its posture was quite agile, which was quite extraordinary.
“But if it’s given to me, it’s mine,” he said.
Hua Deng snorted and glanced sideways at the sword tassel in his hand. It was all Chen Zhou's fault; she suddenly didn't think it looked so good anymore.
She has always been very confident in her aesthetic sense and painting skills.
In her past life, she raised a Welland rabbit, which was indeed large and muscular. Coupled with her unrestrained pampering and bad temper, the rabbit in her drawings also had a snarling and baring expression.
But! That's not the reason it's described as "like a donkey".
"I'm not giving it to you anymore, give it back." Hua Deng stretched out her hand, feeling wronged.
Shen Zhou smiled, while Hua Deng thought to himself, "Even if you use your beauty to seduce me, it won't work."
Then I felt a chill in my palm, and something appeared out of nowhere.
It is a bead, about the size of an ordinary egg, ice blue, with a lustrous color and exuding a rich spiritual aura.
"What is this?" She picked it up and held it up to the sunlight. It felt cool and delicate to the touch, and as clear as water.
"A thousand-year-old dragon pearl," Shen Zhou said calmly.
He got three dragon pearls that day, but two of them were too ugly, so he crushed them. Only this one was decent.
"Oh...you think I'll forgive you like this?" Hua Deng snorted and put the beads away.
"You seem to like it quite a bit?" Shen Zhou said.
“I’ve said it before, I like sparkly things, and this is it.” Hua Deng raised an eyebrow. “And you, you—”
She coughed and asked casually, "Aren't you happy to receive a gift?"
Him?
Shen Zhou paused for a moment, then said, "The sword tassel is very beautiful."
As for happiness... he hasn't experienced the feeling of "happiness" in a long time.
The last time I had this feeling was when that person was still alive.
That person always does whatever he wants. Knowing full well he doesn't drink, he still forced the wine jug on him, laughing loudly as he said:
“My apprentice should drink! Drink up! What are you looking at me for? I never said I didn’t acknowledge you. I swore an oath that I would be your master for life!”
He smiled faintly and said to the streetlights, "Yes, I'm very happy."
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