Chapter 62 Petty theft
Xu Zangyu was taken by Xiao Mingxin to the Bamboo Forest Residence. The place was quiet and deserted, but it made him feel at ease.
The young man before him seemed to be... the subject of the portrait he had hidden in his Qiankun bag. This man called himself his senior brother. If he wasn't an enemy, then he was someone he owed a debt of affection.
"Junior brother, where have you been for the past five years? Why was you imprisoned in the Autumn Water Sect by Lu Ming? If it weren't for Qianlihe's message, I would have been afraid that you had disappeared forever."
Xu Cangyu blinked her confused eyes, "Um...actually, I also want to ask, who am I?"
Xiao Mingxin: "......."
"How could you not even know who you are! Did Lu Ming do something to you?" Xiao Mingxin's face was gloomy as he gripped his sword tightly, as if he was planning to fight Lu Ming again.
"No." Xu Zangyu was a little embarrassed to say it. "I have no memory of what happened after I was blasted out of the ground. By the way, is our sect involved in tomb raiding?"
“…Junior brother, how could you think that? The Tianyi Sect certainly doesn’t engage in tomb raiding.” Xiao Mingxin said with difficulty, “So, you’ve been buried in Black Mountain all these years?”
"I guess so."
"...Black Mountain has searched the entire place, but they couldn't find any trace of Junior Brother. Junior Brother, you..." Xiao Ming couldn't understand. Could it be that Xu Cangyu was destined for a calamity? "I'd better check what's wrong with Junior Brother's cultivation level."
"Okay. I saw a doctor before and he said my brain is full of blood clots. Senior brother, do you think there's any way to treat it?" Compared to Lu Ming, Xu Cangyu trusted the person in front of him more. The affection that arose in his heart was not lying. This person must have had a deep bond with him in the past.
Xiao Mingxin was stunned as soon as he probed Xu Cangyu's body with his spiritual power. He couldn't believe it even after confirming it several times. His expression was almost the same as when Lu Ming diagnosed him. Xu Cangyu felt a chill in his heart. "Could it be... that there's really no hope for him?"
“No, Junior Brother,” Xiao Mingxin withdrew his hand, paused for a moment, and then said, “Junior Brother, you are already at the Nascent Soul stage…”
Xu Zangyu: "......."
According to what he knows, after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, one should ascend to immortality. Wow, he's that powerful!
Xiao Mingxin continued, "It should be an opportunity that Junior Brother obtained after eliminating the disaster, but Junior Brother's spiritual meridians could not withstand such a vast amount of spiritual power, so at the last moment before his body exploded, he sealed all the acupoints in his body. This seal was made by Junior Brother himself."
Xu Zangyu finally understood the whole story, and he said, "How could my face have gone off to rob a tomb and smashed my brain?"
Lu Ming lied to him from beginning to end, making it sound like he was a heinous criminal being avenged by his enemies.
Xiao Mingxin touched his head and said, "Junior brother does have blood stasis in his brain, which is probably caused by the collapse of his spiritual veins. Junior brother's spiritual power is surging and cannot be gathered in his dantian. I'll see if I can help junior brother guide his spiritual power and then find a way to repair his spiritual veins."
Xiao Mingxin mobilized her spiritual power again and patiently guided it. However, the spiritual power of a Nascent Soul cultivator was not to be underestimated. The restless spiritual power clashed wildly. Fearing that she would hurt him, Xiao Mingxin used her own spiritual power to envelop Xu Cangyu's spiritual power and endured all the damage.
As time passed, a fine layer of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his condition had not improved. Ultimately, using the power of a Nascent Soul cultivator to guide the power of a Divine Transformation cultivator was too insignificant.
Xiao Mingxin's spiritual power was interrupted time and again, and when she tried to reconnect, Xu Cangyu stopped her, saying, "If you can't do it, don't make things difficult for yourself."
Xiao Mingxin had always been hailed as a cultivation prodigy, his breakthrough speed consistently among the best. Yet now, he deeply felt his own uselessness. What good was his superior talent if he still couldn't protect the person he wanted to protect?
After a long while, Xiao Mingxin finally managed to speak: "It's all because my senior brother is useless."
"Senior brother, there's no need to blame yourself. No one is born with an obligation to protect another. If I were to encounter any trouble, it would be my own fault, and I can't blame anyone else. Besides, I'm alright now, so there's still hope, isn't there?"
Now that things have come to this, is it really necessary to wallow in self-pity and blame others? He has always been easygoing, taking things one step at a time, and he won't give up until things are beyond saving.
But his senior brother seems...unable to accept it. It seems that this emotional debt is truly in his heart.
It's not just the humiliation and despair depicted in the portrait that show resistance.
Xiao Mingxin was enveloped in cold, but a warm embrace suddenly came over him, and someone whispered, "So, don't be sad."
The chill could not withstand the warmth in his arms, and his heart was warmed again. He smiled silently, for no matter how fierce the wind and rain, only his junior brother would never bend.
I hugged him tighter and said, word by word, "You are my junior brother, Xu Zangyu, and I am your senior brother, Xiao Mingxin. I grew up with you on Zhuyu Peak, practiced swordsmanship with you, and studied with you. But you never liked to study, and you would get sleepy as soon as you saw a book. Although you are not proficient in literature, at least you can recognize all the characters."
Xu Zangyu felt warmer and warmer as he listened, but also more and more embarrassed. Cough cough cough, there's no need to bring up such an embarrassing thing again.
With a soft gurgling sound, breaking the warm atmosphere, Xu Cangyu chuckled sheepishly, "I think I'm a little hungry."
It was getting late, and Xu Zangyu thought for a moment and said, "The shops must be closed by now. I'll go out tomorrow."
He casually spent some money, and his bag of gold didn't disappear at all; in fact, it kept getting fuller. At this rate, he could easily live comfortably for several years.
"Junior brother, wait a minute, I'm going to check the small kitchen."
Xu Zangyu followed, but the small kitchen seemed different from what he had imagined. It was covered in dust and cobwebs, indicating it had been abandoned for a long time. Xiao Mingxin used a dust-removing incantation several times to completely clean it up.
“You used the small kitchen for a few years when you were a child, but you stopped using it after that because you were taking fasting pills.”
"Then just give me the fasting pill, senior brother." Xu Cangyu had never cooked before and had no idea what he could make.
“I remember that my junior brother didn’t like to eat fasting pills. Besides cultivation, he would always buy some little trinkets to satisfy his cravings.”
Even those with a close relationship wouldn't know all his little habits. He looked at the bare stove around him and said, "We can't cook anything now."
"not necessarily."
Xiao Mingxin teleported him to a courtyard. Next to the courtyard were several fertile fields planted with various medicinal herbs. Inside the house, lights flickered, and a person could be seen pounding herbs with a pestle.
"Whose courtyard is this? Senior brother wouldn't be here to borrow vegetables, would he?"
Xiao Mingxin walked up to the herb with its broad leaves, pulled it up by the roots and grabbed a handful. "This herb is cooling and detoxifying. It's crisp and refreshing when fried or stir-fried, and it has a unique flavor."
There wasn't a single weed in this medicinal herb field, and every herb grew lush and glossy, indicating that its owner must have taken great care of it. However, Xiao Mingxin grabbed most of them in one go. I wonder if that junior brother will faint from anger when he sees this.
Seeing how familiar he was with the task, Xu Zangyu chuckled and teased, "I never thought that my senior brother, who is usually so upright, would do such petty theft."
Xiao Mingxin showed no remorse, wiping the dust off his sleeves. He could even steal things with a leisurely and elegant air. "Junior brother, have you forgotten how you used to steal Fourth Junior Brother's herbs to cook when you were little? Originally, only a dozen or so of these herbs were needed. After you tasted them, Fourth Junior Brother's herb field was completely empty, and he had no choice but to plant a large area of them."
"..." Xu Zangyu's smile froze. He was practically a demon king reborn. His fourth junior brother must hate him to the core.
"Why don't we replant the herbs? Fourth Junior Brother has had a lot of trouble growing these herbs."
Xiao Mingxin remained calm. "It's alright, Fourth Junior Brother is already used to it."
Xu Zangyu: "......"
Xiao Mingxin turned and walked ahead, then suddenly remembered to remind him, "If you find hollow bells hanging in the herb field, don't touch them."
"Why?" A weak voice came from behind, sounding guilty.
He turned around and saw Xu Zangyu holding a hollow bell hanging from a herb in his hand.
"Ding ding ding—"
The bells on the eaves rang loudly, and the person inside, who was pounding medicine, immediately put down the pestle and rushed out of the room.
"Which thief dares to steal my herbs?! Die!"
"Hurry up."
Xiao Mingxin pulled him away, leaving a trail of gleaming silver needles on the ground. He was just one step away from being riddled with needles.
Chen Zhiguang rushed to the herb field, but didn't see a single person. He angrily cursed, "You're lucky you ran fast. Next time, I'll poison you into a useless piece of trash."
He inspected the medicinal herb field and found that nothing was missing except for the purple water lily. Purple water lily wasn't considered a precious herb, but it tasted exceptionally good, and only a daring glutton like Xu Zangyu would risk his life to eat it every time.
Xu Zangyu... Third Senior Brother is back?
He rushed to Xu Cangyu's courtyard, but saw no one there. There were no signs of anyone having set foot in the courtyard, and even the grass on the ground had grown to his knees.
How could the third senior brother possibly come back? If he were to return, he should go back to Wumen, not this place that once abandoned him.
Xu Cangyu, hiding in the shadows, asked Xiao Mingxin in confusion, "Where is this place?"
"Your former residence."
"Oh... Fourth Junior Brother guessed it was me?"
Xiao Mingxin: "Probably no one but you would do that."
Xu Zangyu thought his fourth junior brother would start cursing at the courtyard, but in fact, his fourth junior brother stood there for a long time before finally leaving with tears in his eyes.
Xu Zangyu felt a pang of guilt, “It seems that Fourth Junior Brother still cares about the herbs he worked so hard to grow.”
"...What Fourth Junior Brother cares about might not be the herbs." Xiao Mingxin hesitated, then looked into his eyes and said, "Don't underestimate your importance in other people's hearts. If he really hates you, he would never plant another patch of them."
My junior brother is insightful in matters of the heart, but he is always a bit confused about matters of the heart. There are many things I want to ask him, but I always give up in the end.
"Then...should I go up and say hello? Otherwise, Fourth Junior Brother won't be able to sleep tonight."
Xiao Mingxin pulled him back, "You've been gone for five years. If you suddenly reappear now, Fourth Junior Brother will really have trouble sleeping. Wait a while, at least give everyone some time to prepare."
Xu Zangyu suddenly remembered Lu Ming's words, "Lu Ming said that I was not well-liked in the sect and had even made mistakes?"
He noticed that Xiao Mingxin's face stiffened, and then anger suddenly surfaced. "There's not a single good person in the Qiushui Sect. If it weren't for the people from the Qiushui Sect, my junior brother wouldn't have suffered those undeserved disasters."
Xu Zangyu is now like a blank sheet of paper, listening to everyone say that he is different, and everyone seems to avoid the details and carefully recount the past.
"Senior brother, I want to know what mistake I made."
“It’s not your fault… Hearing others’ opinions is not as good as your own. Once I heal you, you’ll know that it’s all nonsense from the Qiushui Sect.”
Xiao Mingxin did not go back. He went to the back mountain, spotted a pheasant with red feathers roosting under a pine tree, and held an arrow in his hand, ready to fire.
But the pheasant was very beautiful, with bright eyes, unlike any ordinary bird. Xu Cangyu looked at the handful of herbs in his hand and said uncertainly, "Could this also be someone's pet?...I used to steal chickens?"
“You didn’t steal it,” Xiao Mingxin’s words eased his mind. Then Xu Cangyu heard him say, “This is a spirit beast that Master raised to extract feathers for refining weapons. No one usually dares to touch it.”
"...Master's? You know that, yet—"
Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Mingxin shot an arrow. Xu Cangyu saw that he had brought the chicken and kindly plucked all the feathers off it and put it back on the spot. He didn't touch any of his master's refining materials. As for the other useless chicken meat, he took it without any guilt.
Xu Zangyu was speechless. Would he and his senior brother really not be expelled from the sect?
The stove, long dormant, was relit with smoke. Xiao Mingxin prepared the ingredients and then stir-fried the herbs in the pot. Flames burst from the pot as Xiao Mingxin continued stir-frying with one hand while holding Xu Cangyu's side with the other. His expression was solemn, as if he were doing something important.
"Back off, watch out for fire."
Perhaps, it wasn't him who should be worried, but Xiao Mingxin. His entire sleeve was on fire, but he calmly put it out and continued to stir-fry with half of his sleeve, saying, "Just wait a little longer."
Xu Zangyu chuckled, "You'll be cooked in a little while."
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would have thought Xiao Mingxin was refining pills.
Taking the spatula from his hand, Xu Cangyu put the lid on the pot and immediately extinguished the fire. He then added the seasonings and took the dish out of the pot. Xiao Mingxin, who was standing to the side, stood there stunned like a wooden stake, his serious expression showing a hint of helplessness.
Your hand...
Xiao Mingxin froze, her right hand hidden behind her back. "It's nothing."
"Are you sure?" Xu Cangyu took his hand out. It was red and greasy, with several blisters. Xu Cangyu frowned and carefully wiped the dirt off with a handkerchief to avoid breaking his hand.
These hands are long and beautiful, with only calluses from years of sword practice on the tiger's mouth. There is no trace of hard work anywhere else, clearly indicating that the ten fingers have never been exposed to the elements.
"If you can't cook, why pretend?"
The blood that had been only on the tip of his ear instantly spread to his neck, and Xiao Mingxin looked embarrassed. "I think that's what you did..."
He still seemed puzzled, "I don't know why the food caught fire when I put it in the pot?"
“It seems even the most outstanding person has things they can’t handle,” Xu Zangyu said, taking out the medicine from his body to treat his wounds before sending him aside to perform the surgery himself. Xiao Mingxin felt guilty and kept adding fuel to the fire for him.
But these firewoods were very strange; sometimes they would suddenly burst into sparks, and Xu Zangyu's clothes were accidentally burned with a small, black hole.
Without thinking, Xiao Ming extinguished it with his hand, so flustered that he forgot to use his spiritual power.
"What are you doing?"
Xiao Mingxin seemed to have been suddenly pointed out, his face stiffening and showing a barely concealed panic, "Swatting mosquitoes."
"How come I didn't see it?" Xu Cangyu relied entirely on his sense of touch when cooking, but he didn't expect the roast chicken he made to be so good. In particular, the aroma was much more tempting than that of roast chickens outside. He guessed that the spirit chicken was more fragrant than the ordinary chicken.
He beckoned Xiao Mingxin over, "It's time to eat, senior brother."
Xiao Mingxin dusted himself off and stood up. His once spotless clothes were now covered in burn marks, with scorched holes and wisps of white smoke rising from them.
Xu Cangyu: "...Senior brother, your clothes look like they're on fire."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Xiao Mingxin: A real man never bows his head to look at someone in a sorry state [laughs]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
