Xue Heng cleaned up the snake corpses on the ground and shouted at the two: “Ming Xiao just sent me a message, he has already brought people back. I will go find them, you two remember to return on your own later.”

Not going back was fine too.

After all, these two didn’t seem to need anyone else.

After speaking, he didn’t want to stay with them and left the scene first.

After Xue Heng left, Xie Liufeng lowered his head and asked Chu Xinghui’s opinion: “Shall we go back now or rest here for a while?”

Chu Xinghui thought for a moment and said: “Let’s go back now.”

He wanted to know what exactly was going on with this suddenly appeared evil spirit.

Chu Xinghui put away his spiritual sword, and as soon as he took a step, he stumbled slightly.

During the fight just now, he had exerted too much force and was already somewhat weak now.

Xie Liufeng kept watching him closely and immediately reached out to support his waist.

Chu Xinghui pondered for a moment.

Actually, if he was alone, he could hold on and walk a few steps without problems.

But now that Xie Liufeng was beside him, he decided to be a little lazier.

So Chu Xinghui tugged on Xie Liufeng’s clothes and asked him: “I can’t walk, can you carry me?”

Xie Liufeng pinched his hand and said: “Didn’t you say just now your hand couldn’t lift? What if I carry you and your hand loses strength and falls?”

Chu Xinghui thought about it and felt his words made sense, so he said: “So… you want to hug me?”

This position was more energy-saving for him, and he wasn’t unable to accept it.

Xie Liufeng: “…”

He always had no way to deal with Chu Xinghui, so he squatted halfway in front of him: “Get on, little ancestor, I’ll carry you.”

Chu Xinghui then quickly climbed onto Xie Liufeng’s back and very consciously used his “unable to lift” hand to wrap around Xie Liufeng’s neck.

The evil spirit had been dealt with, and the crisis was temporarily resolved.

After Ming Xiao received Xue Heng’s message, he quickly brought people back and paced anxiously in place.

Although Xue Heng said Chu Xinghui was fine, remembering the previous situation, he still couldn’t help but worry a little.

He paced unknown how many rounds before finally seeing Xue Heng walking over.

Ming Xiao immediately rushed up to stop him: “Master! Master!”

Xue Heng stopped and looked at his very unstable, unlucky disciple, asking: “What’s wrong?”

Ming Xiao glanced around but didn’t see anyone and asked him for news: “Where is Chu Xinghui?”

Then he saw his master’s face show an indescribable expression, pointing behind him: “Oh, he’s behind.”

Ming Xiao followed Xue Heng’s direction and saw Xie Liufeng carrying Chu Xinghui walking over.

He was startled and thought something had happened.

Then he saw Chu Xinghui jump very nimbly down from Xie Liufeng’s back.

Ming Xiao: “…”

He didn’t quite understand this.

How could he look both very weak and not weak at the same time?

He wanted to walk closer to take a look but was pulled away by Xue Heng, who grabbed his collar and dragged him off: “Go visit your friend later, preferably when Xie Qinghe isn’t around. There’s nothing for you to do now.”

It was better to help him with tasks now.

During the period when Chu Xinghui was ordered to rest and recover, Xie Liufeng was busy outside helping handle matters in Hanshuize.

The giant snake had escaped from the seal. After dealing with the evil spirit, everyone first went to check the seal’s condition.

The result was unexpected: the surface of the seal showed no signs of damage.

This was a very dangerous signal.

Whether this time the evil spirit escaped the seal by itself or someone was secretly sabotaging, it meant that handling the evil spirit here with a seal was not safe enough.

Xue Heng first stuffed the snake corpse into a temporary seal, then reported to the sect to discuss how to handle the matter.

In the evening, Xie Liufeng returned to Chu Xinghui’s tent.

Since Chu Xinghui was there, Xie Liufeng didn’t arrange another place to stay and directly lived with Chu Xinghui, which also made it convenient to take care of him.

While holding Chu Xinghui’s hand to check his recovery for the day, he talked to him about the result of the sect’s discussion: “The sect plans to send people over to directly find a way to destroy the natural formation here.”

Chu Xinghui asked: “Will it be troublesome?”

Xie Liufeng sighed: “Of course it will be troublesome, but compared to all the messy things that have happened recently, it’s worth it.”

Destroying the terrain trends of this place was a big project. It wasn’t something that could be done through simple brute force. Moreover, while construction was ongoing, they would also have to clean up the accumulated resentment here. Otherwise, if the resentment was released, the nearby living beings would probably suffer.

The most troublesome part was that very few people in the Beiyue Sword Sect understood formations. Relying solely on the master and disciple from Daoyuan Peak was a bit difficult.

It was just that too many things had happened here recently. Whether it was the black-robed man or the escaped evil spirit from the seal, leaving the natural formation here would remain a hidden danger.

Chu Xinghui thought for a moment and reminded him: “The saintess from Bihai Taohua Island is still recovering in the sect.”

After Xie Liufeng finished checking his body and let go of his hand, he couldn’t help laughing when he heard this clearly mischievous remark: “I thought the same, so I’ve already sent what we found in the cave back to the sect.”

He had found some fragments of paper in the cave.

Although the information on those scraps was unreadable, the pulp used to make the paper contained shavings of the Revitalizing Wood.

Revitalizing Wood was quite common, but mixing its shavings into paper was a habit unique to the cultivators of Bihai Taohua Island. It was said that using such paper could enhance a cultivator’s spiritual perception.

Xie Liufeng wasn’t sure if this obvious trait was something the black-robed person left intentionally or a flaw exposed when that person lost their mind—but overall, it was a handle delivered to their door.

He had originally planned to use this to threaten Yue Yao, and now using it here made no difference.

Presumably, the sect leader would be able to apply his extensive diplomatic skills to involve Bihai Taohua Island in this project that benefited the entire cultivation world.

Speaking of Yue Yao, Xie Liufeng recalled another matter: “Fang Yan sent a message not long ago. You might be interested.”

Chu Xinghui asked him: “Is it related to you?”

Xie Liufeng chuckled: “What, are you only interested if it’s related to me?”

Chu Xinghui thought for a bit and very honestly admitted: “Yeah.”

Xie Liufeng: “…”

He rubbed Chu Xinghui’s head vigorously.

Even though it wasn’t a piece of news Chu Xinghui was interested in, Xie Liufeng still spoke: “Do you remember that pair of siblings you followed last time?”

Chu Xinghui thought for a moment and recalled a little: “Mu Zeqing and Mu Lingxuan?”

Xie Liufeng gave an “mm”: “Qin Suyun went to meet those people.”

Chu Xinghui found it a bit strange: “They know each other?”

After Qin Suyun changed her identity, she hadn’t contacted her previous relatives and friends. Body-snatching and rebirth wasn’t an honorable matter, and for a sect like Lingxiang Sect that valued reputation, whether they could accept it was questionable.

Chu Xinghui thought again and then realized: “Was it not Qin Suyun, but Yue Yao?”

Xie Liufeng said: “It should be her.”

He added: “Fang Yan has been probing her during this time. Yue Yao doesn’t seem to know about the day Qin Suyun went mad, nor does she know that she took Qin Suyun’s body and went to Daoyuan Peak. That day when I went to find the black-robed person, she just thought it was a coincidence.”

Chu Xinghui couldn’t help but frown.

Yue Yao wasn’t sure whether he had told Xie Liufeng everything.

And during her time in Lingxiang Sect, she had always carefully avoided contact with Qin Suyun to avoid revealing their connection.

Although both of them harbored ulterior motives, their views on this matter were quite aligned.

Although Beiyue Sword Sect had closely monitored Qin Suyun, it had never been overt. At least on the surface, Qin Suyun still appeared to be able to act normally.

Yue Yao didn’t want the Beiyue Sword Sect to find out what she was doing, so borrowing Qin Suyun’s body was justifiable.

But after pondering for a while, Chu Xinghui still felt something was off.

Once something was spoken aloud, it lost the possibility of remaining a secret.

Yue Yao was not someone who was careless.

Even if she was eighty percent sure Chu Xinghui wouldn’t tell Xie Liufeng what they discussed, she would still guard against the other twenty percent possibility.

Moreover… Yue Yao had been too quiet during her recovery stay at Beiyue Sword Sect.

Now that Cultivator Baiyun had disappeared, although Yue Yao was still the young mistress, she was already the actual leader of Bihai Taohua Island. Logically, she shouldn’t be comfortable leaving her sect for so long.

Although part of the reason was that Beiyue Sword Sect deliberately kept her there, Yue Yao herself didn’t seem to oppose it strongly.

Was she waiting for something?

Seeing through Chu Xinghui’s thoughts, Xie Liufeng continued: “After meeting those people from Lingxiang Sect, Yue Yao said she had things to handle back on the island and took her leave from Fang Yan. She seemed in quite a hurry to leave. In order to stop Fang Yan from ‘kindly’ keeping her any longer, she even sold out Qin Suyun’s identity.”

Chu Xinghui paused, confirming: “She revealed that Qin Suyun is from the upper realm?”

If Yue Yao had already told, then why had she forced him to keep it a secret?

Xie Liufeng shook his head: “Not that. She revealed that Qin Suyun is Qin Yuwen, and hinted that we could sell Qin Yuwen to Lingxiang Sect. I heard the sect leader’s wife had been weeping ever since Qin Yuwen died. Maybe it really could fetch a good price.”

In short, she sold an almost universally known and utterly worthless piece of information.

Chu Xinghui continued asking: “Did the sect leader let her go?”

Xie Liufeng said: “Fang Yan was still stalling her. Anyway, she’s the one in a hurry, not the Beiyue Sword Sect. But it should happen within these couple of days.”

After all, they weren’t some demonic sect. If Yue Yao really wanted to leave, they couldn’t detain her for too long.

The situation was still unclear, and it wasn’t time to alert the enemy.

There wasn’t much more to be uncovered from the Hanshuize matter, so it was temporarily set aside.

Chu Xinghui was injured and still couldn’t see, so it wasn’t suitable for him to remain long in a place filled with resentment.

After Xie Liufeng handled the remaining matters and delegated the rest to Xue Heng and Ning Yuanzheng, he brought Chu Xinghui back to the sect ahead of time.

It just so happened that when they returned, they ran into Yue Yao finalizing her agreement with Fang Yan and preparing to leave.

The two parties exchanged polite greetings and passed each other.

Yue Yao suddenly seemed to recall something, stopped, and called out to them.

She carefully looked Chu Xinghui over, covered her face with her fan, and let out a soft “Ah.”

Although Chu Xinghui couldn’t see, he could feel her scrutiny, so he furrowed his brows and took the initiative to ask: “Does Cultivator Yue have something to say?”

Yue Yao sighed dramatically and said with implication: “I suppose Cultivator Chu has already forgotten what I said before.”

Chu Xinghui tried to recall what she meant, but only remembered some meaningless chatter, so he politely asked: “What did Cultivator Yue say?”

Yue Yao’s gaze fell on his unseeing eyes, and she hinted: “It’s your eyes now, but in the future, it might be your ears, your sense of smell, your taste… until you meet some unpredictable, unfortunate end.”

She chuckled softly: “Cultivator Chu should reconsider what I once told you. You and the person beside you are not well-matched. Based on your fate, you shouldn’t be suffering this hardship, nor the suffering yet to come.”

After speaking, she didn’t wait for either of them to respond and quickly walked away.

Chu Xinghui: “…”

He found that the people from Bihai Taohua Island really liked to curse him.

Not long after Yue Yao left, her fan was suddenly sliced in half by a flash of sword light.

She looked in shock and suspicion at the broken fan in her hand, her expression turning ugly.

Xie Liufeng looked back at her and smiled: “Next time you say something like that, please look at me. I’m not dead.”

Yue Yao slowly put away the broken fan and her expression gradually calmed: “I meant no offense. After all, avoiding misfortune and seeking fortune is part of divination. I’ve known Cultivator Chu for a while now, and we’ve been through life-and-death situations. I’d say we have some bond. This was just a friendly reminder. If you don’t believe me, then treat it as the ramblings of a foolish woman. No need to get angry.”

She looked at Xie Liufeng and smiled slightly: “Besides, I wasn’t only referring to Cultivator Chu. The karma of being ‘ill-matched’ won’t fall on just one person. The person beside him might also…”

Yue Yao seemed to realize she’d said too much, abruptly stopped talking, gave them a small bow, and turned to leave.

This time, she truly left.

After Yue Yao left, Chu Xinghui tugged on Xie Liufeng’s sleeve and analyzed seriously: “She probably wasn’t sure whether I told you everything she said before. If I didn’t, she now suspects I’m hiding things from you. And after hearing her words, you’d also start to wonder whether I’m hiding something from you.”

That way, their relationship would suffer.

However… Chu Xinghui frowned: “She seemed a little anxious this time.”

According to Yue Yao’s usual style, words meant to sow discord would be said secretly when Chu Xinghui was alone. Then she’d pretend to casually mention something to Xie Liufeng when he was alone, creating mutual suspicion and achieving her goal while staying out of the fire.

But this time, she chose to speak directly in front of both of them, using a flimsy excuse.

She even tried to drive a wedge between both of them at once.

Very efficient—so efficient that it seemed desperate.

Xie Liufeng agreed with his view and nodded: “I’ll assign someone to keep monitoring her movements.”

He hesitated for a moment and gently patted Chu Xinghui’s head: “Alright, forget about her for now. Let’s go back.”

Chu Xinghui waited a while.

Xie Liufeng didn’t take his hand.

And Chu Xinghui could sense that Xie Liufeng had hesitated just now.

He thought for a moment, noted it mentally for later, and silently reached out his hand.

Xie Liufeng pretended not to understand and teased: “What is it?”

Chu Xinghui wasn’t pleased and reminded him: “You said you’d hold my hand.”

Xie Liufeng couldn’t help but laugh and finally took his hand again, leading him toward Qingjing Peak.

Before they even reached the doorstep, they ran into the always-busy Fang Yan again.

Fang Yan stopped, glanced at their joined hands—

Then couldn’t help but glance again.

Doing his best to ignore something strange, he greeted them seriously: “Martial uncle, Junior Brother Chu.”

Since they’d run into each other here, he decided to report the latest news: “You two came back just in time. One of the people you asked me to keep an eye on… has disappeared.”

Xie Liufeng had him watch those people… they were the few from Lingxiang Sect.

Xie Liufeng frowned: “Missing?”

Fang Yan nodded: “Yes, Mu Cheng’s daughter… the one called Mu Lingxuan.”

Chu Xinghui couldn’t help but ask: “Are you sure she’s missing?”

Those people were always secretive and sneaky to begin with, and their whereabouts were hard to track. It was hard to determine whether someone was really missing.

Fang Yan explained: “Pretty much sure. Originally, she and her brother would occasionally go out to buy things, but for a few days in a row it was only her brother going out. Her presence also suddenly disappeared from that house.”

He continued: “Our people were constantly watching them. During the period when Mu Lingxuan possibly vanished, no one left the house at all. The house had already been checked thoroughly—no formations or secret passages.”

It was indeed a very strange thing.

Xie Liufeng thought for a moment and asked: “Any reaction from the others?”

Fang Yan shook his head: “No, they behaved calmly, as if they had already known she would disappear.”

Xie Liufeng and Chu Xinghui simultaneously recalled the incident where Yue Yao used Qin Suyun’s body to meet those people.

These two events happening one after another were hard not to connect.

Chu Xinghui suddenly remembered something they had long overlooked and reminded: “That black-robed person once said Yue Yao was a sacrifice.”

It was a clue everyone knew.

But ever since Yue Yao woke up, her speech and behavior had been almost completely normal. She didn’t look like someone who had lost something to a sacrifice, so over time, the clue became less noticeable.

So even now, no one knew what the “sacrifice” was meant for.

… Instead, Mu Lingxuan, who had now suddenly disappeared, seemed more fitting to be the “sacrifice.”

Especially given how those people from Lingxiang Sect clearly had some kind of deal with Yue Yao.

It was not something to think about deeply, because once you did, that already unpleasant sect leader of Lingxiang Sect became even more off-putting.

Everyone present was smart. As soon as Chu Xinghui said that, the other two also started thinking in that direction.

Fang Yan felt a bit disgusted: “I’ll get someone to investigate what’s happening on the Lingxiang Sect’s side.”

The sect leader had left the sect with two key disciples for quite some time, there should have been some rumors by now.

After bumping into two acquaintances in a row, Xie Liufeng and Chu Xinghui finally returned safely to Qingjing Peak.

As soon as they got home, Chu Xinghui let out the bird that had been staying in the spiritual sword.

The black bird circled them once, then flew straight into its long-lost familiar nest, rolling around inside comfortably. Its feathers fluffed up, turning into a ball of fluff.

It let out a joyful and noisy chirp.

Chu Xinghui picked up a pebble and tossed it beside its nest.

The black bird immediately stopped chirping and obediently stayed in the nest, getting ready to sleep.

After dealing with the noisy bird, Chu Xinghui suddenly smelled a sweet fragrance and asked Xie Liufeng: “Are the flowers blooming?”

They had returned from the trip at the start of early autumn.

The osmanthus tree in the yard was well-tended, now full of golden flowers the size of rice grains. As they approached, a faint fragrance wafted through the air.

Xie Liufeng looked at the tree and gave a soft hum: “They are.”

Chu Xinghui walked to the tree, touched the flowers above.

Xie Liufeng walked over and stood beside him, also looking up at the flowers on the tree.

It hadn’t been convenient earlier outside, but now that they were home, Chu Xinghui suddenly changed the subject and started settling accounts: “Did you believe what Yue Yao said earlier?”

Xie Liufeng felt wronged and immediately cleared his name: “How could I?”

He wasn’t stupid.

At most… he had been a little worried.

Of course, he wasn’t afraid Chu Xinghui would hurt him, just that his own situation had never had a precedent… what if it really brought bad consequences to Chu Xinghui?

Yue Yao had never been trustworthy, but psychological suggestion was always a useful tool.

Someone you didn’t like much, you might blame for bad luck. Someone you liked too much, you might worry about harming them just because you cared.

Even if rationally you knew it was nonsense, you couldn’t help but worry when you cherished someone too much.

Chu Xinghui suddenly called his name: “Xie Liufeng.”

Xie Liufeng snapped out of it and asked: “What is it?”

Chu Xinghui couldn’t see him and had trouble positioning, so he instructed: “Lower your head.”

Xie Liufeng saw his serious expression and thought something important was happening, so he lowered his head.

Chu Xinghui carefully felt his face.

Xie Liufeng grabbed his wandering hand, half amused, half exasperated: “Why are you touching my face?”

Chu Xinghui answered truthfully: “I can’t see, I need to confirm the position.”

Xie Liufeng was puzzled: “Confirm what…”

He suddenly opened his eyes wide.

Chu Xinghui lifted his head and kissed his lips.

A flush quickly spread over Xie Liufeng’s face.

He felt it wasn’t very appropriate and instinctively wanted to pull away.

Chu Xinghui kissed him while firmly pressing down his hands, not letting him escape.

Now that Chu Xinghui couldn’t see, Xie Liufeng didn’t dare resist too hard, afraid of hurting him, and was forced to stumble back until he was pushed against the tree.

The newly bloomed osmanthus flowers fell from the tree.

Tiny petals rained down, landing on the two people’s clothes and hair. The overly prominent fragrance blended their breaths into one.

Chu Xinghui had no relevant experience, so his kiss was clumsy, occasionally biting instinctively.

Xie Liufeng had completely lost the ability to think and could only let himself be kissed in a daze.

In the end, Chu Xinghui bit his lip fiercely and said: “Don’t listen to what she said, listen to me.”

He said: “I like you. I want to stay with you forever. If you leave me because of what she said, I would truly be heartbroken to death.”

Xie Liufeng tried to say something: “I…”

As soon as he spoke, Chu Xinghui kissed him again.

Xie Liufeng finally regained some sanity. His voice was hoarse but gentle: “…Let me finish, okay?”

Chu Xinghui reluctantly loosened his hold a little and waited for him to speak.

He had already made up his mind: if Xie Liufeng said something he didn’t like, he would kiss him again.

Xie Liufeng struggled to free a hand from his grip and touched his hair, then promised him seriously: “I don’t believe what she said, and I will never leave you.”

Chu Xinghui loosened his hold slightly and fell into thought for a moment.

Then he kissed Xie Liufeng again.

Xie Liufeng, after being tormented for so long, became a little embarrassed and angry: “I already said I don’t believe it. Why are you still kissing me?”

If he kissed him again, he might not be able to hold back and kiss him back.

Chu Xinghui didn’t ask how he knew what he was thinking just now. He honestly expressed his thoughts: “…But I want to kiss you.”

There was no reason, he just wanted to.

Xie Liufeng: “…”

He closed his eyes and gave up resisting.

…

No one knew how much time passed before Chu Xinghui finally let go of Xie Liufeng, satisfied.

Xie Liufeng tidied his clothes and barely regained his usual composure.

Hearing their strange movements, the black bird no longer wanted to sleep. It poked its head out of the nest to watch the fun.

The heat on Xie Liufeng’s face still hadn’t faded. He glanced at it and threw a stone next to its nest.

Black bird: “…”

It sulkily shrank its head back.

What was all this about? It was just a bird. Why was it getting dragged into this mess?

 

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