Xie Liufeng had barely managed to mask his condition before he noticed Chu Xinghui had returned far too soon. The young man stood there, watching him intently with a gaze that spoke volumes.

Xie Liufeng, realizing he was caught, quickly tried to deflect: “You’re back so soon?”

But Chu Xinghui was having none of it: “Are you going to deceive me again?” he asked, his tone direct and unyielding.

Xie Liufeng paused, silently weighing his options, before sighing: “It’s not really deception, it’s just—”

Before he could finish, Chu Xinghui walked up beside him and cut him off with a sharp: “Shut up.”

Xie Liufeng didn’t argue. He could see that Chu Xinghui wasn’t going to let him off the hook this time. His injuries weren’t anything serious, but it was clear that the younger man’s worry outweighed the severity of the wounds. Chu Xinghui grasped his wrist, and Xie Liufeng did not attempt to pull away, allowing him to check.

Chu Xinghui’s spiritual energy flowed into Xie Liufeng’s body, the probing gentle but thorough. A few meridians were out of balance, and there were traces of spiritual power that had disrupted his organs.

After a long moment, Xie Liufeng spoke softly to reassure him: “It’s nothing serious. Just a minor issue.”

But Chu Xinghui wasn’t so easily convinced. He pressed on, determined to heal the damage himself. Yet his energy, still in the foundation stage, was a mere drop in the ocean compared to the vast spiritual sea that was Xie Liufeng.

Seeing the younger man’s frustrated persistence, Xie Liufeng couldn’t help but feel a pang of something he wasn’t quite ready to label. He sighed deeply, stopping him: “It’ll be fine with a few days of rest.”

Though Chu Xinghui knew it was futile, he reluctantly stopped, his hands falling away. He quickly found a clean spot nearby, sat down, and gestured for Xie Liufeng to take a seat: “You meditate. I’ll stay here and watch over you.”

Xie Liufeng, clearly not in the mood to argue, closed his eyes and began to meditate. But before he could truly settle into his breathing, he heard Chu Xinghui speak again: “What are you staring at me for?” he asked with an amused yet frustrated smile.

Chu Xinghui didn’t respond right away. He simply turned around, muttering under his breath: “I’m not looking at you anymore.”

Xie Liufeng chuckled to himself, but didn’t press the issue. He closed his eyes once more, focusing on his recovery. The quiet was comfortable, but it didn’t stop Chu Xinghui from looking back, his gaze lingering.

Chu Xinghui had always understood that no one could achieve great strength overnight. But for some reason, that night, a sense of dissatisfaction with his own weakness crept in. If only he had been born a few years earlier, then perhaps he could stand side by side with Xie Liufeng, fighting together. If that had been the case, maybe Xie Liufeng wouldn’t have been injured.

…

The next morning, Xie Liufeng woke to find Chu Xinghui already there, waiting, watching, and waiting some more. As soon as he saw Xie Liufeng stir, he moved quickly, grabbing his wrist.

Without missing a beat, Xie Liufeng held out his hand, allowing Chu Xinghui to check on his condition. After a moment, Chu Xinghui nodded, confirming that his injuries had healed well enough. Then, he wasted no time in addressing the most pressing issue: “We need to talk.

Xie Liufeng, trying to deflect the conversation, reached into his storage bag and pulled out a jade box: “How about I give you this? A gift for you,” he said, trying to lighten the mood.

Chu Xinghui eyed the jade box with suspicion. As he opened it, his expression flickered from confusion to disbelief. Inside was another bone fragment of Xie Liufeng.

He blinked, remembering the last time Xie Liufeng had given him one of these—was this really something he wanted to collect? At this point, he had two pieces of Xie Liufeng’s bones.

Xie Liufeng, noticing the growing discomfort in Chu Xinghui’s eyes, scrambled to explain: “Uh, well… if you collect enough of these, maybe you could summon me with them?” He said it with a straight face, though the excuse sounded thin even to his own ears.

Chu Xinghui raised an eyebrow: “Can’t I already summon you?”

Xie Liufeng paused, considering the logic: “…You’ve got me there. Alright, fine, it’s not exactly useful. But hey, collecting them could still be fun, right?”

Chu Xinghui stared at him, unsure of whether to laugh or sigh. He quietly closed the jade box, tucking it away for later. After all, it was a part of Xie Liufeng, and despite the absurdity, he couldn’t quite bring himself to throw it away.

Seeing that Chu Xinghui was no longer upset, Xie Liufeng tried to change the subject: “Since we’re in the East Sea, how about we take a little detour before heading back to Yongning City? We can rest a bit and enjoy the surroundings. I could also fix that unreliable compass of mine.”

Chu Xinghui nodded: “That sounds good.”

But before Xie Liufeng could breathe a sigh of relief, Chu Xinghui’s eyes hardened again: “But about yesterday… we still need to talk.”

Xie Liufeng sighed inwardly. He had known this wasn’t going to be over so easily.

Xie Liufeng began to test his feelings: “Are you still angry?”

Chu Xinghui shook his head seriously: “I’m not angry.”

“This time, it’s not a serious injury. Even if you hide it from me, it won’t cause any problems. But if something serious happens in the future, will you still hide it from me?” Chu Xinghui paused for a moment and continued to ask him: “Then, is it… that one day you will leave me, and I will still be kept in the dark?”

He looked at Xie Liufeng and said directly: “I know my strength is still weak, and maybe I can’t help you with many things, but you are a very important person to me.”

He wasn’t someone who was good at being sentimental. He couldn’t move Xie Liufeng with emotions or reasoning to make him stop lying to him. The only thing he could do was directly tell Xie Liufeng what he thought.

He was an important person to him.

Usually, when Xie Liufeng made up lies to fool him, it was a tacit way for the two of them to interact, but when he was in trouble, he had the right to know.

Xie Liufeng felt a mixture of sourness and tenderness in his heart. He fell silent for a moment, reached out, and patted Chu Xinghui’s head, taking the initiative to apologize: “It’s my fault.”

He solemnly promised: “I promise you, I won’t hide things from you anymore.”

Chu Xinghui nodded and took the initiative to hold Xie Liufeng’s hand: “That’s enough. Let’s go.”

*

Not long after they left, three figures drifted onto the sea.

Qin Yuwen went ashore first, then turned around and pulled the other two up from the water.

Mu Lingxuan spit out the seawater from her mouth and thanked Qin Yuwen: “Thank you, Senior Brother. If it weren’t for you, my brother and I might have perished in that secret place.”

After the three of them were locked out by Chu Xinghui, Qin Yuwen quickly found another way.

After they entered, not only were they trapped in a maze, but they were also tormented by an unseen phantom. In the end, before the three could escape the maze, the entire building collapsed, and they were thrown into the sea.

Qin Yuwen caught a chill, coughed a few times, and weakly said: “We are from the same sect. Helping each other is only natural.”

Mu Lingxuan snorted coldly: “If it weren’t for that Xie, the rogue cultivator being so malicious, the three of us wouldn’t have ended up in this situation. Even if he really is the child lost by our parents, I would never let such a malicious person enter the family.”

Mu Zeqing patted his sister’s head, his eyes filled with resentment: “Lingxuan, don’t worry. I will deal with this matter.”

The two of them began plotting, exchanging words.

In a place where the two couldn’t see, a trace of coldness flashed in Qin Yuwen’s eyes.

If these two useless people weren’t still useful in the future, he wouldn’t have bothered to bring them out.

He sensed that the seal here had been broken, rushed to catch up, but didn’t even touch the edge of the fragments. Though he didn’t know whether it was the Child of Heaven who did it, it wasn’t good news.

At present, all his plans had fallen into a deadlock… It needed to be planned for the long term.

*

After Chu Xinghui and Xie Liufeng returned to Yongning City, Chu Xinghui made Xie Liufeng rest for a few days. Once he confirmed that Xie Liufeng’s body had no issues, he finally agreed to let him go out.

Xie Liufeng contacted a friend who happened to be nearby, a weapon refiner, and took his compass to be repaired.

Chu Xinghui saw him off and decided to take a stroll through the nearby night market.

He wasn’t particularly interested in the things at the night market, but still didn’t intend to return to the inn yet.

He casually bought a bag of preserved fruits from a roadside stall and, as he did, his gaze accidentally swept over a nearby alley.

A pair of eyes in the darkness had been watching him. Since he sent Xie Liufeng off, they had been following him.

Since he left Wanling Valley, the people who had previously tried to kill him hadn’t appeared for a long time. It wasn’t clear whether this person had just learned his location or had some other agenda.

Chu Xinghui was wondering whether he should confront this hidden stalker, when the person stepped out from the shadows and stood next to him.

It was Qin Yuwen.

Seeing him, Chu Xinghui’s expression immediately turned cold.

Qin Yuwen, seemingly unaware of his cold expression, enthusiastically greeted him: “So it really is Cultivator Xie! I’ve been watching you for so long, almost didn’t recognize you.”

Chu Xinghui had already started planning to leave.

Qin Yuwen directly asked: “The person you just said goodbye to, is he your Dao companion?”

Upon realizing he was referring to Xie Liufeng, Chu Xinghui was truly stunned for a moment.

Though for cultivators, the gender of a Dao companion didn’t matter much, when normal people saw two male cultivators of different ages together, they might assume they were master and disciple, brothers, or friends. It was very rare for anyone to immediately assume they were Dao companions.

Cultivator Qin’s thinking was truly extraordinary.

Since it involved Xie Liufeng, Chu Xinghui was still willing to listen to what Qin Yuwen was trying to sell, so he casually fabricated: “He’s my friend.”

Qin Yuwen chuckled lightly: “What Cultivator Xie doesn’t know is that I’ve learned a little about the art of fortune-telling. Cultivator Xie’s luck is much stronger than ordinary people, but your friend beside you…”

He left a pause, waiting for Chu Xinghui to ask.

But Chu Xinghui simply looked at him with a confused expression and showed no intention of asking.

He didn’t quite understand why this strange Cultivator was suddenly switching from being weak and kind to a fortune teller.

Qin Yuwen waited for a long time but didn’t get Chu Xinghui to ask. He grew a little embarrassed and could only give a self-deprecating laugh, gritting his teeth as he took the initiative to continue: “Generally speaking, everyone has some luck around them. But the friend beside Cultivator Xie is very strange. There’s no luck on him at all. Normally, someone like that should have already been a dead man.”

He kept talking to himself, completely unaware that the person in front of him had already grown completely cold in expression.

Qin Yuwen looked up at Chu Xinghui, speaking earnestly: “The two of you being together will only be harmful to you. If your friend knows his own situation, he might be deliberately trying to steal your luck. I’m only trying to prevent you from being deceived, so I came to see you.”

Chu Xinghui thought for a moment.

After considering it, he felt that it would be inappropriate to hit or scold the person in front of him in such a public place, so he simply turned around and left.

 

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