Chapter 151 - Heating Up
"Second Brother! Big Brother!" Su Tang's shout broke the delicate atmosphere, "Are you all right?"
Xie Zhao suddenly woke up and quickly stepped back: "It's okay, it's okay! A mere poisonous mushroom can't faze us, the Guixu Twin Devils!"
Chu Linyuan had already turned and walked out of the medicine garden. His back was as straight as a pine tree, but his ears seemed a little redder than usual.
As the sun set, the skeleton of the Talisman Array Tower cast a long shadow in the twilight. Xie Zhao sat on the unfinished tower's rooftop, swinging his legs and watching the evil clouds swirling in the distance.
I heard footsteps coming from behind me, and I knew who it was without turning around.
"Brother, look." Xie Zhao pointed to the horizon, "The evil clouds have dispersed a little, and you can see the stars."
Chu Linyuan sat down beside him, silently gazing up at the rare clear night sky. A few stars twinkled faintly but firmly in the gray sky.
Xie Zhao took something out of his arms - a brand new headband, similar to the one he gave to Chu Linyuan, but tied at the end was a small stone emitting a pale golden starlight.
"Here, a return gift." He handed the hairband to Chu Linyuan, "It's made with leftover Chenji Star Sand. Wear it on your hand, and it will save you some effort when drawing talismans."
Chu Linyuan took the hairband, brushed his fingertips across the warm star stone, and his cold eyes flashed slightly.
"Shall I help you tie it?" Xie Zhao asked tentatively.
Unexpectedly, Chu Linyuan did not refuse. He held out his wrist, where he still wore the hairband Xie Zhao had given him yesterday.
Xie Zhao carefully untied the old hairband and put on a new one. His fingertips accidentally brushed against Chu Linyuan's wrist bone, feeling the beating of his pulse, and suddenly felt that his heartbeat was a little faster.
"Okay." Xie Zhao pretended to be calm and withdrew his hand. "How is it? Doesn't it look good?"
Chu Linyuan looked at the star stone on his wrist, which was shining with a pale golden light. He was silent for a long time, and suddenly said: "When I was a child, my master gave me a piece of warm jade."
Xie Zhao was stunned - Chu Linyuan rarely mentioned the past.
"Then it broke." Chu Linyuan's voice was so soft that it was almost blown away by the night wind. "This... won't break."
Xie Zhao felt a surge of warmth in his heart and was about to say something when he suddenly felt his shoulder sink - Chu Linyuan's head leaned over, breathing evenly, and he actually fell asleep.
Xie Zhao froze in place, not daring to move. Under the moonlight, Chu Linyuan's sleeping face was unusually relaxed, his hard, cold features softening. Xie Zhao carefully adjusted his position to make him lean more comfortably.
"Good night, brother." He said softly, with the corners of his mouth rising unconsciously.
The next morning, the light was dim, and a beam of light leaked through the gaps in the clouds, like a searchlight, accurately hitting Xie Zhao's eyelids. His eyelashes trembled, and consciousness slowly emerged from a deep sleep.
The first thing I felt was the heavy weight on my shoulders, carrying a familiar cold aura of murderous intent. Then, the warm breath brushed evenly against my neck.
Xie Zhao suddenly opened his eyes!
What came into view was Chu Linyuan's enlarged, defenseless sleeping face.
The cold and hard outline appeared softened in the morning light, the long eyelashes drooped, casting a small shadow under the eyelids, and the thin lips were slightly pursed, losing their usual sharpness.
He was leaning on her shoulder, sound asleep. His black collar was slightly open, revealing the starting point of the ferocious dragon pattern just below her collarbone.
Xie Zhao instantly froze like a stone statue. His heart pounded in his chest, making his eardrums buzz.
He even subconsciously held his breath, fearing that the slightest movement would wake up the sleeping iceberg on his shoulder.
Last night... he actually fell asleep leaning against his senior brother? And his senior brother didn't throw him down?
A warm current mixed with absurdity, secret joy and huge unreality, like the starlight attracted by the base of the talisman array, instantly washed over every limb and bone.
The soul-guiding lamp talisman on the chest seemed to be filled with boiling lamp oil, and the light was so hot that it almost penetrated the body!
He moved his eyes cautiously and extremely slowly, his gaze sweeping over Chu Linyuan's hand on his waist - that hand with distinct joints, used to holding the Immortal-Slaying Spear, was now just loosely placed, but with an unquestionable protective posture.
His gaze finally fell back on Chu Linyuan's face, on that rare, defenseless calmness.
The corners of Xie Zhao's mouth gradually and uncontrollably widened. His peach blossom eyes were filled with morning light and a kind of almost foolish satisfaction.
He carefully adjusted his sitting position to allow Chu Linyuan to lean more comfortably, and then just stared at him intently, as if he wanted to engrave this rare look of his senior brother into his soul.
Time flows in silence.
From below the square came the dull stomping of Tie Niu's feet during his morning exercise, Luo Hongyi's whispers about the herbs, and the subtle movements of Su Tang fiddling with the photo stone, all of which became blurred background noises.
After an unknown amount of time, Chu Linyuan's eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly.
The fingers on Xie Zhao's waist curled up very slightly.
Xie Zhao's heart instantly rose to his throat! He closed his eyes quickly, his body tensed, and tried to adjust his breathing, pretending that he was still asleep. However, the arc at the corner of his mouth that he couldn't suppress completely betrayed him.
The weight on his shoulders shifted. Chu Linyuan opened his eyes dazedly, his cold eyes gleaming with a rare haziness as he first woke, then quickly regaining clarity.
He immediately felt the warmth and closeness of his body. Looking down, he saw that he was almost half-leaning in Xie Zhao's arms, while the other was "sleeping" soundly, but his slightly trembling eyelashes and the corners of his mouth that were pressed down hard, revealed that he was trying to hide something.
Chu Linyuan's body instantly straightened up! Like a ferocious black ice beast whose tail had been stepped on!
He stood up suddenly, his movements so fast that they stirred up a gust of wind! His black robe brushed against the cold tower base, making a slight friction sound.
He took two steps back almost like a catapult, his cold face covered with a layer of frost, his eyes as sharp as a knife, staring at Xie Zhao who was pretending to be asleep.
At the base of his ear, that suspicious red spot, like a spark that set the prairie on fire, instantly spread to his entire neck and even climbed up his cheek, forming a sharp and strange contrast with the dark golden dragon pattern on his left face!
"Get up!" The cold voice, filled with suppressed anger and a hint of imperceptible embarrassment, hit the tower base like hail.
Xie Zhao woke up with difficulty, rubbing his eyes, yawning, and acting exaggeratedly: "Ah...it's dawn...Good morning, senior brother..."
He stretched lazily, his eyes casually sweeping over Chu Linyuan's red ears and neck, the mischief in his peach blossom eyes almost overflowing, "Huh? Senior brother, why is your face so red? Did you catch a cold last night? Or were you oppressed by the evil spirit? Do you want me to draw a talisman to dispel the cold for you? The effect will be immediate!"
Chu Linyuan clenched his fists violently, his knuckles crackling slightly! The murderous aura around him surged uncontrollably, and his icy eyes seemed to pierce through Xie Zhao!
"Go down!" The two words were like ice chips squeezed out from between teeth.
"No, Brother!" Xie Zhao stood up with a smile and patted the dust off his butt. "The scenery at the top of the tower is unique and perfect for morning exercise! Look, Xiao Tangdou and the others are watching us!"
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