Chapter 48 Listening to the Oracle (Part 4) Jiang Zunyue Never Said He Liked Her
Shi Xiangyue sat in the yard for a while with his head propped up.
Passive listening to the oracle almost drained her energy.
After regaining some strength, she put the bracelets on both wrists and went back to her room to sleep.
Summer nights are long and hot.
In his daze, Shi Xiangyue seemed to hear the sound of cicadas coming from a very far distance.
Fireflies occasionally fly through the lush forest, birds hibernate in their nests, the air is filled with a faint earthy smell, and the star-like moonlight outlines the river, weaving it into a silvery-white garment.
The girl sat barefoot on a huge rock, swinging her legs up and down bored.
After escaping from the Shixiang clan, she did not dare to slack off for a moment and continued running for two days. Only when she could no longer run did she stop to rest for a night.
Shi Xiangyue held her cheeks with both hands, with a beautiful face, and watched Jiang Zunyue expressionlessly as he used the magic to make a fire and slowly processed the fish caught from the river.
"Now you can tell me, why don't you leave? Why are you following me?"
"I don't have any extra gold leaves to give you."
The boy skewered the fish with clean sticks and set it over the fire to roast. After using a cleansing spell to cleanse the fishy smell from his hands, he looked up at the eyes that clearly showed world-weariness.
"You may not know how valuable the Master Clan's gold leaves are out there. As for me, I'm neither a professional thug nor a black-hearted con man. I'm just a free-spirited, solitary knight."
"One gold leaf is enough to keep me going for a year."
"So you plan to follow me... for a year?" Shi Xiangyue's feet stopped shaking and stepped on the stone.
Jiang Zunyue shrugged helplessly and turned the fish over: "You gave too much."
Is it wrong to be rich?
Shi Xiangyue was speechless and couldn't help but give him a blank look.
Jiang Zunyue turned away and pretended not to see it.
"It's cooked. Be careful, it's hot."
Shi Xiangyue angrily took the fish from Jiang Zunyue and took a vicious bite.
Hmm? She glanced down at the spot where she had bitten, and slowed down her chewing.
Golden on both sides, fragrant with cumin, and just the right amount of saltiness...
tasty!
So delicious!
"Actually, you can just follow me." Shi Xiangyue spat out the fishbone, then took another bite, chewing slowly. "After all, I spent a lot of money on it."
Jiang Zunyue leaned against the stone, holding a bowl in one hand to catch the fish bones she spit out. Seeing that she licked her lips as if she was still unsatisfied, he handed her another fish.
He said resignedly, "Jiang obeys orders."
"Then do you know where to have fun?"
"Tomorrow we'll leave the forest and ask someone for directions."
"First of all, I paid you a lot of money to protect me. Besides protecting me, the rest of the reward can be exchanged in other ways. Um... start by helping me carry my luggage."
…
The world of cultivation is divided into nine states, and Master Xiangyue has visited six of them in half a year.
She told Jiang Zunyue that she liked Jingzhou the most, especially Changning Mountain in Jingzhou, which was peaceful and secluded, and had outstanding people and beautiful scenery.
Not long after, Jiang Zunyue hired people to build a wooden house on the mountain and expanded a small courtyard outside the house.
The sun rises and the moon sets, day after day.
There are more and more things in the courtyard, stone tables and benches, a swing under a Chinese tangerine tree, rockery and flowing water, and hundreds of flowers.
Every day after playing outside, Shi Xiangyue would return to the wooden house. As soon as he entered the door, he could see the lantern that Jiang Zunyue had hung on the Tang tree, the washed clothes hanging on the clothes rack, and the food that he had warmed with his spiritual power on the stone table.
She walked along the path filled with the fragrance of flowers, lifted her skirt and sat on the bench, picked up the dishes and chopsticks on the table, and enjoyed the dishes she had specifically ordered, which Jiang Zunyue had just learned.
Bright moon, flowers, candlelight, and delicious food.
The fatigue of the day seemed to be washed away easily.
Shi Xiangyue finished his meal and cleared away the dishes.
Coincidentally, Jiang Zunyue came back from outside, carrying a chicken in one hand and half a bag of flour in the other.
"You're back." She greeted naturally.
"Leave it alone, I'll go wash it."
Jiang Zunyue put down his things, picked up the bowl and chopsticks, dragged the chicken and flour with his spiritual power, and turned to go to the kitchen.
Shi Xiangyue put her hands behind her back and stretched her arms, following his shadow and coming to the kitchen with him, but she just stayed at the door watching Jiang Zunyue busying around and did not go in.
Because Jiang Zunyue said that there was burnt wood ash in the kitchen, and if she went in, her dress would most likely get dirty.
That won’t do. Shi Xiangyue won’t allow her beautiful dress to become dirty.
So these dirty and tiring work naturally fell on Jiang Zunyue's head.
"What do you want to eat tomorrow?" Jiang Zunyue, who was busy preparing the chicken, took the time to ask the girl who was secretly watching outside the door.
"Spicy chicken and roast chicken, I want some too."
He roughly estimated her appetite and smiled: "Not enough meat. I'll go down the mountain to buy more tomorrow morning."
"good."
Shi Xiangyue sniffed his nose and called him:
"Jiang Zunyue."
"Hmm?" The boy stopped what he was doing and turned around.
"You reek of blood."
"I went to the city today to help exorcise demons, and I think I got infected then," he explained.
Shi Xiangyue nodded.
I felt a little relieved.
Fortunately, he was not injured.
She added, "You have a high level of cultivation and strong abilities, so why do you want to be a ranger? If you go to a big sect, they won't treat you badly." In fact, what she really wanted to ask him was why he was willing to stay with her in Changning Mountain?
The young man was silent for a moment, frowning and thinking seriously.
"I've been there, it's boring."
His eyes rolled and fell on the girl who was standing by the door frame with half of her head sticking out.
"Changning Mountain is much more interesting than that place."
"Jingmei."
“She’s beautiful too.”
Shi Xiangyue crossed her arms. The longer she spent with Jiang Zunyue, the less she wanted to roll her eyes at him. Sometimes, even she didn't realize it, her gaze towards him was filled with many vivid emotions, whether dependence, anger, or tenderness...
"Smooth talk!"
She left these words behind and went to sleep without looking back.
On New Year's Eve, Shi Xiangyue dragged Jiang Zunyue to the city to join in the fun.
It was the first time that Shi Xiangyue celebrated the New Year outside of the Shi Xiang clan, and she was curious about everything.
Especially the twelve zodiac masks hanging on the stalls.
She stood before the intricately crafted mask, feeling perplexed: "I don't know my zodiac sign."
"I'm seventeen, and my zodiac sign is Rabbit." The boy was taller than her, so he could easily grab the mask from the top shelf and put it on her face. "You and I are the same age, so you are also a Rabbit."
Shi Xiangyue held the mask and looked at the people walking on the street through the two small holes.
Jiang Zunyue walked around behind her and tied the rope into a bow behind her head.
"It's so lively over there, Jiang Zunyue, let's go take a look."
The boy looked worried: "There are too many people. What if we get separated?"
"Why bother? Can't you just hold hands?"
The girl wearing a rabbit mask tilted her head, grabbed Jiang Zunyue's hand, and ran towards the downtown area.
"Grandma, how much is this?" Shi Xiangyue was so fascinated by a porcelain doll that she couldn't take her eyes off it.
"Girl, dolls are not sold alone."
Grandma pointed to a pair of porcelain dolls, one male and one female, and said with a smile, "As the saying goes, good things come in pairs, and perfect couples are made in heaven. My dolls are always a pair, and I never sell them separately."
She looked at their clasped hands, and then at their looks, she was struck by their striking beauty, a perfect match.
"It just so happens that the young lady has found a husband of her dreams. Why not buy two and take them home?"
"Young people in the city who have bought dolls all praise my dolls for their renowned ability to bring about marriage, saying they are even more effective than the red thread used by the matchmaker."
She took out two pieces of red paper and said, "Write down your birth dates, fold them up, and place them at the feet of the doll. I promise you will marry soon, love each other deeply, and stay together until old age."
Shi Xiangyue hesitated.
"If you like them, just buy them all." Jiang Zunyue felt in his pocket and took out money.
"I suddenly don't like it anymore."
What's the point of buying it like this?
Jiang Zunyue never said that he liked her.
There's no way she likes him!
"He's not my ideal husband!"
"I won't marry him either!"
Shi Xiangyue suppressed his heartache, put down his beloved porcelain doll, turned around, dived into the crowd, and disappeared without a trace.
"Why--"
"Girl, don't go! I said something wrong, I apologize..."
"Mother-in-law." The young man placed two spirit stones on the stall.
"I want both dolls."
…
Shi Xiangyue ran back to Changning Mountain in one breath.
She turned on the light, closed the door, pulled out a stool, sat at the table, and drank two cups of cold tea.
Her face was so hot.
Shi Xiangyue turned to look at the bronze mirror.
Her face in the mirror was as red as a piece of red-hot iron.
She stamped her foot angrily, blaming herself for losing composure tonight and failing to hide her feelings. She had lost face.
The night breeze blew in and blew on her face, bringing her back to some sense.
She stood up and walked to the window, raised her hand to close it, her eyes inadvertently swept across the windowsill, and her hand suddenly stopped in mid-air.
On the windowsill, a male and a female ceramic dolls stood quietly, with a corner of red exposed under the boy's feet.
Shi Xiangyue's face became hot again, even hotter than when she heard her mother-in-law say in the city that Jiang Zunyue was her ideal husband.
She pulled out the origami and unfolded it. On it was a line of small characters written in a flamboyant style:
Born in Jiangzun month, Guimao year, Yimao month, Dingsi day, Renyin hour.
Shi Xiangyue put the paper back to its original place.
Have a good night.
The next day, when the sky was bright, Shi Xiangyue looked much better.
As was her wont, the first thing she saw when she woke up was the porcelain dolls on the windowsill. The two dolls had been repaired many times over the past three hundred years, and their shape was only preserved by spiritual power.
She was in a good mood today. She walked to the courtyard and lay in the rocking chair, looking at the tangerine tree planted for her by Jiang Zunyue for a while, and then looking at the stone table and bench where he had sat, as well as the flowers and plants he raised.
Shi Xiangyue smelled the fragrance of the flowers and closed her eyes comfortably.
Everything in the yard was carefully maintained by her, and every flower, grass and tree still looked the same as it did three hundred years ago.
Their home has never changed.
But the difference is that Jiang Zunyue will not come back.
"Chief! Chief! Something bad has happened!"
Her peaceful moment was suddenly broken by Shi Xiangwen's hoarse shouting.
"What happened?"
She has lived for too long and her appearance is not as good as it used to be, but she is still stunningly beautiful.
Shi Xiangwen looked at her face, and his anger was inexplicably calmed down.
"The people of Shaoyang Sect have gone crazy!"
"Chief, we all know that you are in poor health, so we have been trying every possible way to keep them away from you for the past five days..."
"But they're going too far! They're actually coming all the way here with swords in hand!"
Shi Xiangyue blinked expressionlessly: "Did anyone get hurt along the way?"
Shi Xiangwen: "No, that's right, but they were too cruel! Look at my right eye, there's a big bruise!"
"You are not strong enough to beat others, so don't act pitiful in front of me."
The clan leader's mouth is still as poisonous as ever!
Shi Xiangwen secretly complained in his heart, but he did not dare to forget the purpose of his visit for a moment.
"Chief, hurry up and leave! They'll be here soon!"
Shi Xiangyue glanced at him indifferently and said, "Later, hide behind me so you don't get punched in the left eye."
Shi Xiangwen: ...
For a moment, I didn’t know whether to be moved first or to cry first.
Woo woo woo, good patriarch, I will follow you all my life!
In half a minute, the Shaoyang clan members led by Zhu Ciying and the Shixiang clan members filled the yard.
Zhu Ciying finally met the mysterious leader of the Shixiang clan, Shi Xiangyue.
She bowed to her as a junior, apologized for her extreme and inappropriate behavior, and then explained her purpose.
"Master, I have something to discuss with you!"
Shi Xiangyue glanced at them calmly and said firmly, "We have nothing to discuss."
"Clan leader, this matter concerns the resurrection of the Demon Lord and the survival of the cultivation world!"
"I know." Shi Xiangyue said, "But so what?"
"This is your monks' business, not mine."
She wouldn't be as stupid as Jiang Zunyue.
Sacrifice one person for the sake of all living beings.
"You guys go."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shi Xiangyue felt a strong fluctuation of spiritual energy.
In the blink of an eye, Zhu Ciying, who was standing opposite her, flew towards her quickly with a sword in hand.
The sunlight reflected off the snow-white sword, and Shi Xiangyue was dazzled by the strong light.
That sword...
Shi Xiangyue squinted his eyes to see more clearly, completely forgetting that he was in danger.
Zhu Ciying knew her limits. She would not really hurt Shi Xiangyue, otherwise the conversation would definitely fail.
When she was less than a meter away from Shi Xiangyue, she was about to put away her sword, but something unexpected happened.
A silver scabbard appeared out of nowhere and blocked Shi Xiangyue's way, sending her flying!
"Are you okay?" Xie Rangchen caught her from behind.
"fine."
Zhu Ciying stood firm on his feet, frowned and looked at the scabbard blocking Shi Xiangyue: "Brother, that scabbard..."
"Yeah, it's what you think."
Xie Rangchen tidied up her messy hair and smoothed out the wrinkles on her dress.
"It is the scabbard of the sword of wickedness."
-----------------------
The author has something to say: I will catch typos when I have time.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com