Chapter 52 Run! The impending summer rain + a super troublemaker...
"Concentrate your mind, join two fingers together, and extend both hands forward. Place your right palm down in front of you, overlapping it, and feel the flow of spiritual energy throughout your body. Using your left wrist as an axis, swing it up and down twice while reciting the incantation." Xianyue said, shaking her head as she turned her back.
Sikong Zhaixing mimicked the gestures, chanting, "Wind and water, heed my command!"
This voice was righteous and full of vigor.
However, a strong wind swept by.
Nothing happened.
Sikong Zhaixing frowned and said expressionlessly, "Are you kidding me?"
"idiot!"
...
"Sink your Qi to your Dantian, guide your internal energy downwards and gather it at the Yongquan acupoint," Sikong Zhaixing said coldly.
Xianyue paused for a moment, then asked, "...What is the dantian? And where is the Yongquan acupoint?"
Sikong Zhaixing simply sat down on the ground with her legs spread wide, and said indifferently, "Fool."
"You idiot, you're not allowed to curse me."
Xianyue rushed up and pinched his face. When she touched her own soft, bouncy cheeks, she immediately loosened her grip and couldn't help but pinch them again.
Sikong Zhaixing patted her hand, but didn't knock it away.
He lazily propped up his arm and said indistinctly, "Isn't that perfect? I'm a country bumpkin in everything, and you're ugly in every way[1], aren't we a match made in heaven?"
Wei Sheng Xian Yue aimed his punch straight for the shoulder.
Fortunately, Sikong Zhaixing was prepared. With a swift grab of his right hand, he skillfully locked the fist in his hand, and it was unclear how he managed to deflect the force.
He laughed gleefully, raising an eyebrow and saying, "Out of options, huh?"
She smiled sweetly at him, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons.
Upon seeing this smile, Sikong Zhaixing's body instinctively tensed up.
The next instant, a headbutt slammed into his head.
"You dare say I'm ugly! You bastard, you think we're a perfect match? You're dreaming!!"
Xianyue tackled him to the ground, pressing her down heavily on him with a series of headbutts.
Sikong Zhaixing was seeing stars from the blow she threw. He gripped her hand tightly and stood up angrily, saying, "Wei Sheng Xian Yue, are you crazy?!"
The distance suddenly shrank to almost nothing, and their clear pupils reflected each other's faces like mirrors on water.
He suddenly fell silent, his fingertips trembling slightly.
Xianyue quickly propped herself up and moved her body backward to get away from him.
Sikong Zhaixing lay on the ground, blinking, still somewhat dazed.
"Sikong Zhaixing".
He slowly got up, tightening his grip on her intertwined hands. "Huh?"
Xianyue punched him hard in the stomach, lowered her eyes and threatened, "If you dare to talk nonsense again, I'll kill you."
A certain unspoken expectation, still unclear, was then thrown to the ground and shattered mercilessly.
Sikong Zhaixing clutched her stomach and gasped, exasperated, "Anyone who marries you will be incredibly unlucky!"
He was stunned as soon as he said those words.
He frowned and thought to himself, "It's all that candle spirit's fault for talking nonsense all day long, focusing on these kinds of things."
Xianyue nodded and smiled, "Say what you will! I am a person destined for marriage."
Sikong Zhaixing scoffed, "A preordained marriage? I wonder who's so unlucky, their ancestors for eighteen generations must have been unlucky too."
"Sikong Zhaixing, do you want to die?"
......
The day, which had been filled with chaos and confusion, passed by in the blink of an eye. As darkness fell, the two men, hungry and cold, huddled in the cellar, contemplating life while looking at the three flower seeds they had brought over after a long day of work.
The dark cellar was cold and damp, and the only thing within reach was their clasped hands, which still retained warmth.
Xianyue shook Sikong Zhaixing's hand, touched her empty stomach, and truthfully told him, "Sikong Zhaixing, you're hungry."
“We’re all hungry.” He took Xianyue’s hand and placed it on his stomach, where the Empty City Stratagem was playing.
“We should eat! It’s been a whole day! We’re human, people will die if they don’t eat,” Xianyue said, putting her arm around his shoulder.
Sikong Zhaixing raised her eyes and said weakly, "Since you have so much energy, go out and find something to eat."
"Sikong Zhaixing, are you even a man?! It's the middle of the night, and there are monsters everywhere. You want me to go out and find food? Is that even reasonable?"
“Don’t you know perfectly well whether I’m a man or not? You’re much stronger than me, and you have more stamina. Go ahead,” Sikong Zhaixing said, drawing out his words.
"No, no, we have to go together no matter what!" Xianyue struggled to lift him up.
Her petite, soft body nestled against his strong chest, and Sikong Zhaixing lay there feeling perfectly at ease.
He squeezed the hand holding the moon and suggested, "Look at this big flower seed, let's pry it open, dig out a little to eat, and then close it up again. Wouldn't that be done without anyone noticing?"
Xianyue stared hesitantly at the brown flower seed, "But can we eat this?"
"If they can eat ants, why can't we?"
That being said, something still feels off.
Sikong Zhaixing urged, "I still have a tinderbox in my clothes. Let's go find some firewood and roast it."
The two dogs exchanged a furtive glance, confirming with each other that they were moved.
Xianyue stealthily leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Doesn't this cellar door look like firewood?"
Sikong Zhaixing gasped and slowly raised his head.
What a coincidence! The firewood somehow grew into the sky.
A gust of wind swept past the cellar entrance, causing the leaping flames to flicker. Fortunately, most of the lingering chill had dissipated.
"But we don't have a knife?" Xianyue circled around, observing the flower seeds, unsure where to begin.
Sikong Zhaixing reached out to pat the back of her head, but when he raised his hand, he realized that the distance between them was as vast as an insurmountable chasm.
He naturally withdrew his hand, pulled out a hairpin, and said matter-of-factly, "Use the hairpin to pry it open!"
Here, one for each of us.
Xianyue stared at the two golden hairpins, her heart bleeding. These hairpins had cost her a great deal of precious spiritual treasures to forge.
The gurgling sounds from her stomach grew louder and louder, and she picked up a cigarette with trembling hands.
Fine, let's just pry it open.
This debt will be attributed to Sikong Zhaixing.
The two of them pried and smashed at it, and it took them quite a bit of effort to finally make a small opening in the flower seed.
This flower seed is milky white, has a smooth texture, resembles a sweet potato, and has a faint sweet aroma.
I must say, it looks quite tempting.
The exquisite gold hairpin had shrunk to the shape of a mud stick. Sikong Zhaixing casually tossed it aside, then pulled two new ones from his hair and said sincerely, "You've thought of everything when we're traveling the world. Otherwise, we wouldn't even have chopsticks."
Xianyue gave him a cold glance.
Sikong Zhaixing obediently squatted down and said in a serious tone, "I'll cook for the young lady."
The succulent was carefully buried in the pile of "firewood," and the fire burned brighter and brighter, soon emitting a sweet aroma.
Sikong Zhaixing used a hairpin to pick out the flower seed meat and roughly peeled off the charred outer skin.
The milky white, soft, and sticky interior was exposed to the air, and a swallowing sound suddenly arose.
Just as Sikong Zhaixing was about to put it in his mouth, Xianyue grabbed his wrist and laughed, "Let me eat first."
We still have to try the poison.
Sikong Zhaixing smiled and said, "I'll eat first."
Xianyue raised her eyes and said, "I pried it open, so I'll eat it first."
"I baked it, so I have to eat it first."
The two were straining against each other, and the poor flower-shaped meat, unable to bear the weight, fell to the ground with a thud.
Xianyue jumped up and down, saying, "Sikong Zhaixing! All you know is eating! Why don't you eat yourself to death?"
"I told you not to steal it. If you keep digging, how can it be sealed? If you keep digging, it'll be empty." Sikong Zhaixing said with his eyes closed.
Half an incense stick later, the two of them squatted by the fire in a bad mood, waiting for the newly dug flower seed meat to ripen.
Just then, Xianyue suddenly leaned closer, her warm breath falling on her cheek.
Sikong Zhaixing was startled and was about to lean back.
The next moment, Xianyue angrily pinched his face and accused him, "You got my face all covered in dust!"
The rough linen sleeve swept haphazardly across his face, and his delicate, soft flesh instantly flushed red.
Sikong Zhaixing stretched out his arm to reach her face, "You think you're the only one who's become a clown?"
The two, not wanting to be outdone, rubbed their faces against each other, getting closer and closer.
Until, in the center of the flickering, dancing firelight in their pupils, their faces were suddenly reflected again.
A touch of translucency, a touch of heat, and seemingly mixed with some wateriness.
It was a shimmering, watery light, a humid heat that left one feeling helpless.
Summer rains are imminent.
Xianyue suddenly pulled her hand back, pinching her fingertips and saying fiercely, "Wipe it yourself!"
Sikong Zhaixing's hand, which had been suspended in the air, suddenly withdrew as if startled.
It's ridiculous, why do they have to look at others through their own eyes like a mirror?
baffling.
During the stalemate, the sweet aroma of glutinous rice filled the air again.
Sikong Zhaixing exhaled and quickly turned around.
It's finally ripe!
This shredded pork has a dense texture and tastes similar to sweet potato, but with an even richer sweet flavor.
The two were starving and ate so much they couldn't lift their heads.
But as I ate, "Why do I feel like my head is getting heavier and heavier..."
Sikong Zhaixing vaguely echoed, "Why do I feel... like I can't lift my head?"
With a loud clang.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the two of them collapsed onto the ground, sprawled out like a human pyramid.
A small piece of flower seed rolled and tumbled into the fire. The flames rose a foot high, burning ever more fiercely.
...
It was the dead of night.
Xianyue was awakened by the pungent smell of burning and the thick smoke, and soon coughed until her chest ached.
With tears streaming down her face, she struggled to open her eyes.
The entire cellar was shrouded in billowing black smoke, and at a glance, one could only barely make out the raging fires burning within.
The three enormous flower seeds were already engulfed in flames, which surged forth like a raging tide.
Xianyue choked and couldn't open her eyes, desperately shaking the unconscious Sikong Zhaixing beside her, "Sikong Zhaixing! I'm going to die."
Luckily, they left a vent, otherwise we would have really been doomed.
Sikong Zhaixing's head throbbed with pain from the violent shaking, and he barely managed to open his eyes.
My mind and soul were shaken!
He suddenly sprang to his feet, grabbed Xianyue, and ran toward the cellar entrance.
After a period of chaos and turmoil, the two men, smothered by smoke and looking like refugees, collapsed in the woods near the cellar entrance with vacant eyes.
"It's all over, all over. I spent the whole day moving seeds, and now they're all gone."
"And seeds? It's a good thing I tore down the door, otherwise they would all be dead inside."
etc……
Xianyue paused, then suddenly felt guilty and said, "The cellar's burned down. Black Seven... won't kill us, will he?"
"Should we...apologize to him?" Sikong Zhaixing tentatively suggested.
But……
There's no time for sentimentality!
The two men tightened their grip on each other's hands, jumped to their feet, and exclaimed in unison, "Run!"
-----------------------
The author's note: [1] The original sentence is from "Four Pieces of Jade: Romance".
I'm rustic in every way, he's ugly in every way. Ugly as they may be, rustic as they may be, but we're kindred spirits.
I am stupid in everything, and he is ugly in every way. Ugly or stupid, it doesn't matter, but we are very compatible.
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