Chapter 22 - Daily Life
Another day at noon...
The afternoon sun, with a languid air, pierced through the thin, dark clouds, tinting Guixu Sect with a faint, warm golden hue. The bustle of reconstruction subsided, and the air was filled with the faint aroma of dust, newly laid stone, and a faint lingering herbal fragrance.
After many days of repair, most of the east side wall of the main hall has been rebuilt, and the gaps between the rough stones are filled with wet mud compacted by the iron ox with brute force.
Tie Niu was sitting in the shade at the foot of the wall, resting. His huge body was leaning against the newly built stone wall, and he was snoring softly.
The thick horns on his head shone with a cold metallic light in the sunlight, rising and falling slightly with his breathing.
On the bronze skin, the edges of the claw marks deep enough to see the bone have scabbed over, and the new flesh is a healthy pink. Nourished by the brute force in the body, the healing speed is astonishingly fast.
Su Tang and Bai Xiaolu sat side by side on a relatively flat rock not far away.
Su Tang spread out her palms, which held a few small stones of different colors that she had picked up from the ruins.
Her psychic eyes lit up slightly, and tiny stars swirled in the depths of her pupils. Those ordinary stones seemed to be given life in her eyes - she could "see" the faint earth energy remaining in the stones, and even catch a trace of sunlight refracted in them, a colorful halo that ordinary people could not perceive.
"Sister Xiaolu, look at this one," she picked up a dark green stone and handed it to Bai Xiaolu like a treasure. "It seems there's a small leaf trapped inside. It's been so many years, and it's still so green!"
Little White Deer held the Moon-Eating Rabbit, watching quietly. The Moon-Eating Rabbit curled up in her arms, its belly still round, its ruby eyes half-closed, and its ears occasionally twitching sensitively, as if it could pick up the subtlest fluctuations in the air.
It was in better condition than yesterday, but the feeling of fullness from the forced swallowing had not completely subsided.
The white deer gently stroked its fur, feeling that the violent spatial energy in its body was being slowly soothed and combed by a gentle force.
When she heard Su Tang's words, she just smiled faintly, nodded, and her gaze fell back on the Moon-Eating Rabbit.
At the kitchen door, Luo Hongyi moved a small stool and sat down to scrub all her kitchen utensils clean, then hung them upside down in the corner to dry.
At this moment, she was holding the jade box containing the residue from the bottom of the pot, and was using a slender silver needle to carefully pick out the condensed gelatinous particles inside that looked like star fragments.
Her movements were extremely focused, and her beautiful face looked particularly calm in the sunlight.
Every time it was stirred, the dark golden particles would reflect tiny lights inside the jade box.
From time to time, she would bring the silver needle to her nose and sniff it, or pick up a little powder with her fingertips, feeling the strange balance of the domineering and vital dragon vein evil power and the chaotic starlight contained therein.
She was thinking about how to transform these remaining "wastes" into new and more deadly poison recipes.
The sunlight fell on her slightly furrowed brows and focused eyes, removing her usual flamboyance and revealing a different, dangerous and charming calmness.
Inside the cave, the light of the chalcedony became warmer, adding a touch of warmth to the cold stone walls.
Chu Linyuan remained seated cross-legged on the mat. His aura grew even more concentrated. His right sleeve was rolled up, and the dragon pattern's radiance had completely subsided, like a dormant dark-gold branding iron. Only between his deep breaths did a trace of pure malevolent energy emanate.
The hidden injuries in his body were healing at an astonishing speed thanks to the nourishment of the vitality of chalcedony and his own powerful recovery ability.
But the slightest trace of fatigue between his brows had not completely dissipated, like the edge of the snow on an iceberg that never melts all year round, adding a touch of weariness.
Across from him, Xie Zhao didn't try to draw the talisman again. He carefully rolled up the blank talisman paper and set it aside.
At this moment, he was holding the Jinghong Talisman Pen in one hand, and a palm-sized black whetstone with sharp edges in the other.
He lowered his head, his expression remarkably focused. His wrist moved with remarkable stability. Every stroke was accompanied by a subtle, teeth-grinding rustling sound. He wasn't drawing talismans; he was... carving words.
To be precise, it is to deepen the already existing "Chu" character engraving on the pen shaft.
The scratch was originally very deep, and the edges were even a little rough, obviously an old wound.
Xie Zhao's movements were gentle and slow, with an almost pious patience.
His fingertips turned slightly white due to the force. Every time the carving knife moved, it seemed as if he was touching a dusty past, and it seemed as if he was using this method to reaffirm the existence of something that anchored reality.
The incision deepened, and the edges were trimmed to be clearer and rounder. Under the warm light of the chalcedony, the word "Chu" appeared more profound and powerful.
Chu Linyuan opened his eyes at some point. He didn't interrupt, but just watched quietly.
His eyes, like a cold pond, fell on Xie Zhao's lowered, extremely serious profile, looking at his slightly pursed lips, looking at his eyelashes that seemed particularly long due to his concentration, and finally, his gaze fixed on the repeatedly deepened mark on the talisman pen in his hand.
The only sounds in the cave were the rustling of carved stones and the steady breathing of two people.
After Xie Zhao finished carving the last stroke, he gently blew away the remaining stone powder on the pen holder.
His fingertips stroked the "Chu" character carving that had become clear again, even with a hint of sharpness, as if he had accomplished something extremely important.
His tense shoulders relaxed slightly, and the heavy feeling of fear and emptiness that had been weighing on his heart seemed to be replaced by something solid as the scar deepened.
He raised his head and met Chu Linyuan's gaze.
That gaze remained cold, but Xie Zhao keenly detected a hint of… understanding? Or even a faint hint of… approval?
Xie Zhao was stunned for a moment, then raised the talisman pen in his hand, and the corners of his mouth curled up in a much more natural arc than before, with a bit of his usual ruffian air, and a hint of imperceptible relief: "Brother, look, it's fixed."
Chu Linyuan's gaze lingered on the mark for a moment, then moved away and returned to Xie Zhao's face, and he said "hmm" lightly.
There were no extra words. But the atmosphere in the stone chamber was quietly changing during this silent exchange.
Xie Zhao carefully put away the talisman pen, and following Chu Linyuan's example, he closed his eyes again and began to circulate the talisman sea in his body.
This time, the sea of runes in his body was no longer turbulent. The golden runes slowly flowed under the nourishment of the starlight, emitting a stable and restrained light.
The dark golden evil pattern hovered quietly on the blood mark, like a sleeping guardian dragon.
Outside, the afternoon sun shone obliquely on the black iron door frame, casting long shadows on the gravel ground.
The Moon-Eating Rabbit turned over in the White Deer's sleep, and a series of vague gurgling sounds came from its throat.
The brief moment of tranquility is like precious glass, being carefully protected.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
