Chapter 122, "Yangzhi Jade River," I am here.
"What are you thinking about, so lost in thought?"
Jiang Yu hadn't eaten anything that evening, and Shen Jiuxu, worried that he might feel unwell if he slept too long, went out and cooked a bowl of noodles. He pushed open the door and came in, only to find Jiang Yu still in the exact same position he had left in.
"When you got into trouble in Yunshui City, could it have been the same group of people who harmed me?" Jiang Yu saw him come in and tried to get off the bed, but Shen Jiuxu stopped him first. "Just eat in bed! It's too much trouble."
They had just arrived when Fuyou Palace had been uninhabited for a long time, and the stalls and restaurants outside were all closed. Shen Jiuxu could only find some ingredients in Shen Wuke's kitchen to barely manage to put together a bowl of noodles.
It was truly utterly shabby.
He looked at the bland noodles and didn't want to give them to Jiang Yu. Although his cooking skills were average, they shouldn't have turned out like this.
Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice; this is indeed true.
Shen Jiuxu walked to Jiang Yu's bedside, picked up a piece of noodles with his chopsticks and brought it to Jiang Yu's mouth, "Eat something simple first, and I'll take you to eat something else tomorrow morning."
Jiang Yu kissed him on the corner of the mouth. Shen Jiuxu was glad that he couldn't see what the bowl of noodles looked like, so that he wouldn't look too bad.
"I want to go to Yunshui City."
Jiang Yu didn't think there was anything wrong with the noodles. They were made by Shen Jiuxu, and no matter how bad they tasted, he could swallow them without changing his expression. It had become an instinct for him.
“Okay.” Shen Jiuxu didn’t ask him why. He also wanted to go and see the place where he had died and come back to life. Perhaps there was something there that could be of some use in helping Jiang Yu restore his eyesight.
"Help me disguise myself."
Jiang Yu said in a low voice, "You should get one too. It's not good to go there so openly." Although only a few people in this world know that he is blind, this face caused a great disturbance in Yunshui City before. Unless someone has amnesia, they would not recognize him.
"rest assured."
Shen Jiuxu looked at the fair face. Because he was in a familiar room, his sharp edges had been smoothed out, and he looked gentle and harmless, like a piece of polished mutton fat jade.
Hearing this, Jiang Yu had a bad feeling. Shen Jiuxu's perverse sense of humor was really too much at times, especially towards him. He felt uneasy and wanted to say a few more words of advice, but his mouth was blocked by a chopstick of noodles.
Being blind has its advantages. Jiang Yu suddenly felt that life had become much easier. With Shen Jiuxu around, he didn't need to worry about anything. It was like going back to his childhood, staying by Zhou Yongyin's side. All he had to do was go home on time to eat and sleep.
"Thanks."
Jiang Yu suddenly whispered, and Shen Jiuxu didn't know if he heard clearly. He didn't speak, nor did he stop what he was doing. He just kept stroking Jiang Yu's back with his hand after he finished, "Sleep now, I'll take you to Yunshui City tomorrow."
He then slept peacefully, with Shen Jiuxu by his side, Jiang Yu no longer needed to worry about any safety issues. Qingyun Ladder was indeed a rainy place; they had stayed with Zhou Yongyin for quite some time, and it hadn't even been half a day since they arrived here when a light drizzle began.
Rain falls from the sky, dripping onto the sloping tiles and sliding down their curves, weaving a soothing melody from the roof.
Looking at Jiang Yu's sleeping face, Shen Jiuxu felt a pang of sadness. He didn't know what awaited them. The person behind it all was incredibly cunning and hadn't revealed any weaknesses until now.
On the contrary, they were the ones who were injured or destroyed.
He hoped that Jiang Yu's eyes would be the last time he was injured, but Shen Jiuxu couldn't guarantee it. He sighed. He always thought he was strong enough. He had lived for so many years and had seen birth, aging, sickness, death and separation in the world. But when it came to his own life, he could truly understand what it meant to experience all walks of life.
Perhaps, more accurately, it was meeting Jiang Yu that gave Shen Jiuxu the ability to feel emotions. He chuckled. Shen Jiuxu had never believed such sentimental words before, but now, he had truly changed a lot. If Shen Jiuxu before meeting Jiang Yu knew this about himself, he definitely wouldn't believe it.
Even if someone dies, there wouldn't be such a big change.
He couldn't sleep; he had been staring at Jiang Yu all night until he noticed the sky outside was gradually turning blue. Only then did he put on his coat and go out. At this time, the shops outside should already be open. Last night's meal had been too meager, and Shen Jiuxu still couldn't let go of his obsession.
"A basket of steamed buns and two bowls of porridge."
"A bag of these fruits."
"Two sesame seed cakes, with vegetables inside."
"A bowl of wontons, without scallions."
The street vendors all turned to look at the man who had covered his face with a black mask, and then bought up all the food in a whirlwind.
"Sir, can you finish this? If it's your first time at Qingyun Ladder, stay a few more days. We have plenty of delicious food here."
"Yes, it won't taste good when it's cold. Even if you can eat a lot, can you carry all of this?"
Shen Jiuxu remained unmoved. After buying one last string of candied hawthorns from Aunt Zhang, he slipped away from the crowd. Aunt Zhang watched his departing figure, a sense of déjà vu washing over her. She thought for a long time and still felt that she should know him.
"It looks like Sect Leader Shen."
"Is it really Sect Master Shen?"
"Which Sect Master Shen? The old one or the current one? The old Sect Master Shen has gone to heaven. I haven't heard much about the current one. I only know that they look alike."
"If he didn't look like him, would Young Master Jiang have taken a liking to him?"
Six months later, these rumors were still circulating among the people, never seeming to stop. Shen Jiuxu listened all the way, but his mood didn't change. He was no longer the Shen Qinggui who had lost his memory and thought he was Shen Jiuxu's substitute. Now, thinking about it, he only felt extremely embarrassed, and he was grateful that Jiang Yu was still willing to tolerate him.
Shen Jiuxu's ears turned red. He pretended to be calm and walked back, but when he stood at the door guarding the paper crane, he was surprised to find that his master was walking with his hands and feet moving in unison.
With a flutter, the paper crane flew onto him. Shen Jiuxu guiltily touched the paper crane's head and said, "Get down."
The paper crane obediently flew to the tree, tilted its head to one side, and continued to stare at Shen Jiuxu's strange walking posture. This was simply a great wonder of life.
Jiang Yu was still asleep. Shen Jiuxu was afraid the food would get cold, so he placed it on the edge of the stove. Jiang Yu used to eat these often when he was in Qingyun Ladder. Later, he didn't leave Fuyou Palace for three years. He is a sentimental person, so his taste must not have changed.
I just don't know if the people doing these things have changed.
Shen Jiuxu only recognized Aunt Zhang, Wu Er, and Dianxing's uncle. The faces of the others flashed through his mind, leaving a faint impression but he couldn't quite recall them.
He once thought that he would remember clearly all those who had cursed Jiang Yu, those who had joined in the commotion, and those who had remained silent, but he never expected that he would start to forget.
During those three years in Fuyou Palace, Jiang Yu never mentioned any of them to himself, never uttered a single name. He forgot those people even before Shen Jiuxu. All that remained in his heart were the gazes, the gazes cast upon him from faceless faces.
It turns out that time heals all wounds.
But the people behind it still wanted Jiang Yu to experience these things again. Without the Qingyun Ladder area, they once again used the same trick in the place where Jiang Yu grew up.
The use of the Xianchen Sword once again, coupled with the strange outbreak of illness, plunged Shen Jiuxu's heart into its deepest recesses. He feared that everything would repeat itself, and that he would lose Jiang Yu once more.
During the days when he was unconscious, Shen Jiuxu was like a drifting duckweed, with nowhere to go and nowhere to come from.
He wrote a letter, folded it, and put it in the sachet he always carried with him. Only then did he pull his chaotic thoughts back, go to the closet, find a blue robe, and pick out a white jade belt, which he placed at the foot of the bed.
"Jiang Yu, you're actually this kind of person."
"We all trusted you so much, but we never expected you to ruin us all."
Jiang Yu felt as if he had returned to those days when he was hated by everyone. He hadn't dreamed about these things for a long time. It might be because he had used Xian Chen, or perhaps because he was experiencing the same things again, or perhaps because it was an environment that Shen Wuke was familiar with. He had actually dreamed about these things again after many years.
"Jiang Yu".
"Jiang Yu".
Many people were calling his name, some sharply, some angrily, some resentfully, and he had no idea that two words could contain so many emotions.
"Jiang Yu, I'm here."
Among the myriad sounds, he heard a soft yet tender call. Jiang Yu followed the sound to find its source, but it was lost among the other sounds. He felt a pang of regret, wondering why he had only called out once.
If he were to call out again, he was sure he could find him, even if it was just one person calling him.
Until he heard another sound.
"Jiang Yu".
Like a beam of light suddenly bursting in from the darkness, even though it was only one beam, it still shone perfectly on Jiang Yu, allowing him to feel all the warmth and love.
He recognized whose voice it was.
"Thank you," Jiang Yu said softly, thanking someone for always supporting him. He opened his eyes and saw the owner of the voice. Shen Jiuxu happened to be looking at him at that moment, and the two smiled at each other. The rain outside the window stopped abruptly.
The Fuyou Palace, refreshed by a night of drizzle, was now a sight to behold, its white walls and gray tiles gleaming with birdsong. The morning bell rang for Shen Wuke, and a young man in a neat blue and white disciple's robe, sword in hand, rushed into the woods. Thick white steam billowed from the chimney of the Qingyun Ladder, and everything in the world seemed to be bursting with life in the new day.
They are too.
"I bought some of your favorite foods." Shen Jiuxu pretended not to see the fleeting sadness on Jiang Yu's face. He turned around and gave her enough time to adjust her emotions. When she had estimated that she was ready, he picked up her clothes to put them on her.
Could you call my name again?
Jiang Yu asked him, "Just call me by my name, nothing else."
Shen Jiuxu didn't ask him why, he just did as he was told, "Jiang Yu."
The voice was like a swallow that had traveled across mountains and rivers, arriving from the depths of ice to the vibrant spring. Jiang Yu sat on the bed in the Fuyou Palace, smiling as he asked him to hold him.
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