Chapter 44, Section 44
Chapter Summary: [Xue Yang suddenly said, "How about I tell you a story? Once upon a time, there was a little boy who loved to eat sweet things..."]
-------------------------------------
Xue Yang suddenly said, "How about I tell you a story? Once upon a time, there was a little boy who loved sweets but often couldn't have them. One day, he sat on a set of steps, not knowing what to do. Across the steps was a shop where a man was eating and waiting for someone. When he saw the little boy, he waved him over."
This story's beginning is far more captivating than Xiao Xingchen's clichéd tale. If A-Qing had rabbit ears, they would surely be perked up right now. Xue Yang continued, "This little child, bewildered, saw someone beckoning to him and ran over. The man pointed to a plate of pastries on the table and asked him, 'Want some?' The child, of course, wanted some and nodded. The man then gave the child a piece of paper: 'If you want some, take this to a room in a certain place, and I'll give it to you after you've delivered it.'"
The child was very happy; he had run around and earned a plate of snacks, and he had earned those snacks himself.
Most people realized what was happening by now, and that's when Xue Yang's story would begin.
Lan Jingyi: "I didn't expect this little hooligan to be so cute when he was a kid."
"He was illiterate, but he took the paper and delivered it to the designated place. When the door opened, a burly man came out, took the paper, slapped him across the face, making his nose bleed, grabbed his hair, and asked: 'Who told you to deliver this kind of thing?'"
Wei Wuxian thought to himself, "This child must be Xue Yang himself. I never imagined he would be so shrewd now, but so foolish as a child. Someone asked him to deliver a piece of paper, and he did it. What was written on that paper must not be anything nice. What grudge did that man have against this big man? He didn't dare to curse him to his face, so he asked a little boy by the roadside to deliver the message. How despicable."
Xue Yang continued, "He was scared, so he pointed in a direction, and the burly man dragged him back to the shop by the hair. The other man had already run away. The unfinished snacks on the table were also taken away by the shop's staff. The burly man flew into a rage, overturned several tables in the shop, and left cursing."
"The child was very anxious. He had run around, been beaten, and had his hair pulled the whole way; his scalp was almost ripped off. He couldn't let himself not get his snack. He asked the waiter, 'Where are my snacks?'"
Xue Yang said with a smile, "The shopkeeper was furious after his shop was vandalized. I slapped him a few times and sent him flying out the door, his ears ringing. He got up and walked a bit, and guess what? By sheer coincidence, he ran into the man who asked him to deliver the letter."
He stopped there. A-Qing, who was listening intently, asked, "And then? What happened?"
I thought it was a kind story, but I never expected to get such a sudden beating.
That's terrible.
Seeing the sympathetic looks from the crowd, Xue Yang suddenly had an idea. He shouted into the air, "Xiao Niangui, why should they feel sympathy when Wei Wuxian is beaten, but they don't have to suffer when I'm beaten?"
Everyone: ...?!
No, Miss Niangui, you must not listen to him!
Xiao Niangui revealed himself and gave Xue Yang a half-smile.
This person is ruthless, but... that suits me just fine.
"Okay." Xiao Niangui snapped his fingers.
Everyone: ...Ah!
I instantly felt a tearing pain in my scalp, and everything in my body felt wrong.
Xue Yang scoffed: "Heh, enjoy it."
Xue Yang chuckled and said, "What else can happen? I'll just get hit and kicked a few more times."
A-Qing said, "Is this you? You love sweets, it must be you! Why were you like this when you were little! If it were me, I would spit first, then hit you..." She gestured wildly, and Xiao Xingchen said, "Alright, go to sleep."
As he carried her into the coffin, A-Qing was still fuming, saying, "Ugh! Your stories are infuriating! One is so boring it's infuriating, and the other is so annoying it's infuriating! That man who sent the message is so awful!"
Xiao Xingchen asked, "Later, did you really only kick and hit me a few times?"
Xue Yang said, "Guess? Didn't you also not continue your story?"
Xiao Xingchen said, "No matter what happened later, since you are still doing well now, there is no need to dwell too much on the past."
Xue Yang said, "I'm not dwelling on the past. It's just that the little blind boy steals my candy every day and eats it all, which makes me think back to the time when I couldn't have it."
A-Qing kicked the coffin hard in protest; she hadn't eaten much at all. Xiao Xingchen seemed to smile and said, "Rest, everyone."
The scene instantly snapped out of my memory.
Xue Yang was also taken aback for a moment, then clicked his tongue and said, "What a pity, it seems you'll have to experience this pleasant feeling later."
Everyone: ...No need.
He went out hunting alone at night. Xue Yang didn't go out with him tonight, so A-Qing lay peacefully in the coffin without moving, but she kept her eyes open and couldn't fall asleep.
As dawn broke, Xiao Xingchen entered the room silently.
As he passed the coffin, he reached his hand inside. A-Qing pretended to be asleep with her eyes closed, and only opened them after he left. Beside the straw pillow, she saw a small candy.
She peeked out and looked into the dormitory. Xue Yang sat at the table, seemingly lost in thought.
A piece of candy lay quietly on the edge of the table.
After that night of fireside chat, Xiao Xingchen would give them both a piece of candy every day. A delicate peace was also maintained between A-Qing and Xue Yang.
That day, A-Qing was pretending to be blind in the street again. She had played this game her whole life and never got tired of it. As she walked back and forth tapping her bamboo cane, suddenly a voice came from behind her: "Little girl, if you can't see, don't walk so fast."
It was a young man's voice, sounding somewhat cold. When A-Qing turned around, she saw a tall Taoist priest in black standing a few feet behind her. He carried a long sword on his back, held a whisk in his arm, his clothes fluttering, and stood upright, exuding an air of aloofness and pride.
That face belongs to Song Lan.
Xiao Xingchen gazed longingly at everything in the celestial shadow until that familiar voice appeared.
"Zichen..."
Xiao Xingchen's face paled even more.
Wei Wuxian stroked his chin in a mocking manner: Tsk, now it's all complete.
A-Qing tilted her head. Song Lan had already walked over, put his whisk on her shoulder, and led her to the side, saying, "There are fewer people by the roadside."
Wei Wuxian thought to himself, "Truly worthy of being Xiao Xingchen's friend. True friends are those who share similar temperaments and character." A-Qing chuckled and said, "A-Qing thanks you, Daoist!"
Song Lan put away the whisk, placed it back on his arm, glanced at her, and said, "Don't play around recklessly. This place is full of yin energy. Don't linger outside after sunset."
Aqing said, "Okay!"
Song Lan nodded and continued walking forward, stopping a pedestrian and saying, "Please wait. Excuse me, has anyone seen a blind Taoist priest carrying a sword around here?"
A-Qing immediately turned her head and listened carefully. The passerby said, "I don't know, Daoist, why don't you go ahead and ask someone?"
Song Lan said, "Thank you!"
Ah Qing walked over, tapping her bamboo cane, and asked, "Master, what do you want with that other master?"
Song Lan turned around abruptly: "Have you seen this person before?"
Aqing said, "I feel like I've seen it before, but I also feel like I haven't."
Song Lan asked, "How can I see him?"
Aqing said, "Answer a few questions for me, and I might just meet you. Are you a friend of that Taoist priest?"
Song Lan paused for a moment, and after a long while, she said, "...Yes."
Wei Wuxian wondered, "Why is he hesitating?"
Aqing also felt his answer was forced and became suspicious. She asked again, "Do you really know him? How tall is that Taoist priest? Is he handsome or ugly? What kind of sword does he have?"
Song Lan immediately said, "Your height is similar to mine, and you have a very good appearance. Your sword is engraved with frost flowers."
Seeing that he answered perfectly and didn't seem like a bad person, A-Qing said, "I know where he is, Daoist Master, come with me!"
Song Lan, who had been searching for his friend for years and faced countless disappointments, finally received news of him. His hands, holding the whisk, trembled so badly that even A-Qing could see it. He struggled to maintain his composure, saying, "...Thank you...thank you for your trouble..."
A-Qing led him to the vicinity of the mortuary, but Song Lan remained rooted to the spot. A-Qing asked, "What's wrong? Why aren't you going over?"
For some reason, Song Lan's face was deathly pale, as if he desperately wanted to go in but dared not. His earlier haughty demeanor was completely gone. Wei Wuxian thought to himself, "Could it be a case of homesickness?"
Xiao Xingchen let out a breath and looked at his friend: "It was I who dragged you into this, this is all I should do, you..."
Song Lan stopped him, saying, "Xingchen, let bygones be bygones. I believe that when we leave this Heavenly Realm, the world will be at peace."
Xue Yang, standing behind, got goosebumps again: This group of people makes me want to vomit from their hypocrisy.
Just as he was about to go in, a graceful figure stepped in first and swayed into the gate of the mortuary.
Upon seeing that figure clearly, Song Lan's face instantly turned from pale to ashen!
A burst of laughter came from inside the mortuary. Ah Qing snorted, "Ugh, he's back."
Song Lan asked, "Who is he? Why is he here?"
Ah Qing grumbled, "A bad guy. He won't even say his name, how is anyone supposed to know who he is? He was rescued by the Taoist priest. He's always bothering the Taoist priest, so annoying!"
Song Lan's face was filled with a mixture of shock and anger, and uncertainty. After a moment, she said, "Don't make a sound!"
Xue Yang scoffed: "Senior Wei, don't think I'm the only one who can act. Master Song can also do face-changing."
Song Lan gave him a cold look, suppressing the urge to draw her sword.
Wei Wuxian rolled his eyes: "Master Song's ability to change his expression is all thanks to you, the switch."
Xue Yang: ...
Song Lan: ……
The two silently walked to the outside of the mortuary, one standing by the window, the other kneeling beneath it. From inside the mortuary, Xiao Xingchen asked, "Whose turn is it today?"
Xue Yang said, "How about we stop taking turns from now on? Let's try a different approach."
Xiao Xingchen said, "Now that it's your turn, you have something to say. What method do you want to use?"
Xue Yang said, "There are two small branches here. If you draw the longer one, you don't go; if you draw the shorter one, you go. How about that?"
After a moment of silence, Xue Yang laughed and said, "I win against your weakness, you go!"
Xiao Xingchen said helplessly, "Alright, I'll go."
He seemed to stand up, about to walk towards the door. Wei Wuxian thought to himself, "Good, come out quickly. As soon as he comes out, it would be best if Song Lan grabbed him and ran away!"
Unexpectedly, after taking only a few steps, Xue Yang said, "Come back. I'll go."
Xiao Xingchen asked, "Why are you willing to go again?"
Xue Yang also stood up and said, "Are you stupid? I was lying to you just now. I drew the short one, but I had already hidden the other longest twig. No matter which one you drew, I could take out the longer one. I just took advantage of the fact that you couldn't see it."
After teasing Xiao Xingchen a few times, he leisurely picked up a basket and went out. A-Qing looked up at Song Lan, who was trembling all over, as if she didn't understand why he was so angry. Song Lan gestured for her to be quiet, and the two walked away silently before he began to ask A-Qing, "When did that person, Xing... that Taoist priest, save him?"
Hearing the gravity of his tone, A-Qing knew it was no small matter and said, "It's been a long time since I saved him, almost several years."
Song Lan said, "He never knew who this person was?"
Aqing said, "I don't know."
Song Lan asked, "What did he do while he was with that Taoist priest?"
A-Qing said, "She's just being glib, bullying and scaring me. And then there's her night-hunting with the Taoist priest."
Xue Yang crossed his legs: "Look how good I am to the Taoist priest."
Ah Qing wanted to hit someone again: "What's so good about it! You bad thing!"
Xue Yang pouted: "I'm not as lively and cute as you to make him happy. What can a blind little thing like you do?"
Everyone: ...facepalm
Why are these two starting again? I feel sorry for Master Xiao, having to manage these two brats.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
