Chapter 67: Faced with the Hope and Expectations of Others |
[December 11, 2023]...
Since it’s my fault, I’ll help you recover it.”
As soon as Xíng Zhǐ finished speaking, Lady Jīn hurriedly said, “No! It’s better for this humble servant do it. You will be in trouble if you fail to understand its character and fall into its trap again!”
Shěn Lí frowned. “What was that thing just now? Its sound seems to have hurt you.”
“This humble one has tossed ten thousand years worth of unwanted desires into that hole. After such a long time, it condensed and took shape similar to my own shadow. It was a part of me, so naturally it will know my weaknesses.”
“In that case, you can’t fight against it.” Shěn Lí said. “I caused this trouble, and so I should take care of it up.”
Lady Jīn turned her head and gently touched Shěn Lí’s face with weak boneless hands. Her eyes were watery when she spoke. “Good sister, how can you be so responsible? It really makes my heart pitter patter.” She pouted after saying this and moved closer toward Shěn Lí’s face, but before she could touch contact, Xíng Zhǐ pulled Shěn Lí away. Lady Jīn missed her target.
Xíng Zhǐ raised his lips in a smile when he spoke, “Speak properly.”
Lady Jīn curled her lips and said, “It understands me, but I understand it even better. It’s just something I threw away. Do you really think this humble servant can’t handle?” She straightened her clothes and got off the stone bed. “But the thing can confuse people’s hearts, inciting lust and evil desires, strengthening itself from these emotions. Weren’t the two of you tricked by it when you were down there?” She looked at the two of them ambiguously. Her eyes narrowed with laughter when she saw Shěn Lí turning away and coughing awkwardly with a flushed face.
But even before Shěn Lí could say, “Wait a moment,” a golden light appeared and Lady Jīn was back.
“Ah, this humble servant forgot to mention, the time for the final treatment is coming soon and since High God did the last treatment, this humble servant will have to trouble High God to do the final one as well.
After the treatment is complete, little sister may fall sleep, but upon waking up again, all your senses should be restored. As for qi, that will depend on daily meditation and breathing exercises to slowly recover.” She winked at Shěn Lí before saying, “One final chance, don’t waste it.”
A gust of wind blew.
Shěn Lí’s mouth twitched as she looked at the spot where Lady Jīn used to be. It didn’t look like Lady Jīn’s evil thoughts and desires had been stripped away at all! She was blatantly hinting; then to run off after saying such an ambiguous thing, she was clearly not taking responsibility!
Shěn Lí turned to Xíng Zhǐ, intending to talk about serious matters, but when she did, she saw him holding his chin with a stern expression on his face.
“Speaking of which, the last treatment should start soon. Shall we do it on the stone?”
“You can’t be serious?!” Shěn Lí scolded in a deep voice. Her ears were red, but Xíng Zhǐ only smiled.
“May I ask Your Highness which of my words were not serious?”
Shěn Lí fell silent. Just when she felt overwhelmed by embarrassment, another golden light flashed in the cave. She lashed out like a frightened bird, “What else do you want!”
Lady Jīn was hurt. “Hey now, I was only gone for a second. Little sister, how could you treat this humble servant like that?” Her eyes glistened, and Shěn Lí held her forehead.
“No, I lost my temper for a moment. I apologize.”
“I wanted to say that it might take some effort for me to catch my evil thoughts. The troublemaker from earlier, the one you call Fú Shēng, you are going to settle your score with him later right? If you find him, remember to bring my golden core back.” Lady Jīn aggrievedly said, “The day you fell, this humble servant was so anxious that she did not check. Fú Shēng’s people found my golden core and stole it away. Although this humble servant does not need it, the thought of giving it away for free is just. . . ”
“Fú Shēng took your golden core?” Shěn Lí interrupted Lady Jīn and murmured, “Why does he want your golden core?”
“This humble servant does not know either.” Lady Jīn waved her hand. “I really won’t say anything more on the matter. That thing will escape if I’m late.” Lady Jīn hurried away.
After what Xíng Zhǐ told her, Shěn Lí knew Fú Shēng had a reason for the things he did; so then what did he want with Lady Jīn’s golden core? How did it relate to everything that was already happening?
Xíng Zhǐ reached out with a finger to massage Shěn Lí’s brow upon seeing her frown deepen. “Even if we can’t understand these things now, we will once we look back on them. Our highest priority right now is healing your body.”
Shěn Lí stiffened slightly, but the treatment had to be done. She nodded, then turned her back and slowly stripped. Though Xíng Zhǐ had already seen her nude body, they were in a different place; and the change in location combined with the lack of barriers between them made her feel ashamed. She didn’t dare turn around after taking off her clothes; instead she covered her breasts and turned her head slightly to speak to him over her shoulder. “We can start. . . ”
Xíng Zhǐ, still fully clothed, looked coldly at what could only be the representation of her military achievements. It was as if time froze; he did nothing but stare at the scars on her back.
Shěn Lí frowned and turned back to look at him curiously. “What?”
Xíng Zhǐ shook his head and gave a helpless smile. “I feel distressed.”
His words surprised Shěn Lí. Her mouth twitched, but in the end, she just turned her head away and said, “It is nothing. The pain faded a long time ago.”
Xíng Zhǐ remained motionless.
After a moment of silence, Shěn Lí said, “High God, did you know human memories are deceptive, especially about the wounds that are made, about the pain that accompanies them? Because remembering the pain clearly would mean not being able to move forward. After so many years of training my mind and body, I’ve developed the practical skill of selective forgetfulness.” She turned to look at Xíng Zhǐ. “I’ve forgotten about the pain of yesterdays gone by. These injuries stopped hurting so long ago I’ve forgotten they’re even there.”
Xíng Zhǐ hugged her from behind in a cool embrace with his chilly arms. Their skin touched again, and like yesterday, she could feel his heartbeat clearly. “Shěn Lí,” he whispered from behind her, “I want to protect you and give you a lifetime of peace and security. Tell me, are you willing?”
Shěn Lí was silent for a long time, her only reply was a sigh. “Let’s heal the injury first. Just this one time. . . please don’t. . . I won’t be able to forgive myself.”
Xíng Zhǐ chuckled in her ear. “Who do you think I am? I’m not going to force you if you are unwilling. Besides that. . . you were so brave yesterday, you should still be suffering some discomfort.”
Shěn Lí’s cheeks burned. She knew she shouldn’t, but a strange feeling invaded her heart.
In time, their treatment was completed.
When the power that helped Shěn Lí dredge her meridians returned to Xíng Zhǐ’s mouth, Shěn Lí felt a powerful slumber steal over her body. Her eyelids were so heavy, she could barely lift them. Before losing consciousness, Shěn Lí managed to utter a few words. “I should. . . return to the Demon realm.”
Xíng Zhǐ hugged her and stood silently for a moment before laying her down on the stone bed and dressing her. He touched her head as he spoke. “I know you will be angry, but I refuse to let you return to the Demon realm.”
When Shěn Lí woke up again, she felt peaceful winds and auspicious clouds surrounding her. She rubbed her eyes, and she could see her vision was back. She could hear the sound of wind with her ears, feel her body in an embrace, smell the faint fragrance of the person near her. Her hearing, touch, and smell had returned. She raised her hand and bit the webbing between her thumb and index finger. The slight coppery taste of blood touched her tongue; and she knew her sense of taste had returned as well.
All five sense were present. She had fully recovered!
“Xíng Zhǐ.” She shouted out his name jubilantly, the joy clear in her voice.
Xíng Zhǐ hummed softly in response.
“I have finally recovered all my senses.” Shěn Lí smiled happily.
Infected by her happiness, Xíng Zhǐ also smiled.
“Now I just need to meditate to recover my magic. Then I can collect Fú Shēng’s debt on behalf of the Demon realm and myself!”
The curve of Xíng Zhǐ’s smile narrowed slightly after Shěn Lí finished speaking. “Can I collect it for you?”
Shěn Lí was stunned, but she shook her head. “He schemed to harm me and the Demon realm. I need to do it personally.”
Xíng Zhǐ argued. “His intentions target the Ruins, and he is a concern I left unsettled; so I should take care of him.”
Shěn Lí was surprised. “This isn’t a conflict. We’re dealing with the same enemy. It’s not that I am rejecting help, it’s simply that I wish to collect my debt personally. If you want to go; we can join forces.”
“I mean to say, I will be the only one going," said Xing Zhi.
Only then did Shěn Lí feel something was off. She frowned then asked. “Go where?”
“We are almost to the southern gates of the Immortal realm.”
Shěn Lí’s frown didn’t go away. “What did you bring me here for? Didn’t I say I wanted to return to the Demon realm?” As she spoke, she struggled to get out of Xíng Zhǐ’s embrace, but her body felt stiff, and she couldn’t move. Furious, she yelled out, “What the hell are you trying to do?!”
“The Celestial realm has its own barrier. Intruders can not enter. Wait there for me and I will let you out once I’ve settled everything.”
Shěn Lí’s voice was sharp. “You want to put me under house arrest?”
Xíng Zhǐ glanced at her then said, “If you want to call it that, then yes, I am putting you under house arrest.”
“That’s absurd! You’re crazy!”
Xíng Zhǐ stopped talking once they entered the Southern gate.
The guards were about to kneel down in salute after spotting Xíng Zhǐ, but when they saw the person Xíng Zhǐ was carrying, they were momentarily stunned. The two guards hurriedly stepped forward to stop him. “High God! High God! Isn’t this. . . isn’t this the Azure Sky king? She. . . she is. . . ”
Shěn Lí shouted in fury. “I am the king; now hurry up and knock some sense in to your god and have him put me down!” Well that was what she wanted to say, but the words refused to leave her throat. She couldn’t even open her mouth!
Fantastic!
One guard murmured to himself, as if he was stunned. “I really discovered it. . . ”
His companion glared at him. Immediately understanding, he turned around and ran towards the Immortal emperor’s palace, while the other guard stopped Xíng Zhǐ. “High God, will High God be returning to the Celestial realm now?”
Xíng Zhǐ ignored him and walked away.
The guard hurriedly called out, “High God, please stay! A few days ago. . . because High God was in the lower realm. . . erk. . . acting in the Eastern sea, the Celestial realm shifted. The skies are unstable. If High God returns to the Celestial realm now, I’m afraid things will turn bad. . . ”
The skies were unstable?
The instability must have been because the only remaining god had been sanctioned by the Heavenly Dao. Shěn Lí stared in astonishment at Xíng Zhǐ. What did he do in the Eastern sea? It turned out his injuries before were from the backlash.
Xíng Zhǐ paused. “Was anyone hurt?”
“Tiles fell sporadically, but no one was hurt. It’s just that the stone tiles from the Celestial realm are very heavy, and they smashed through all nine levels of the Immortal realm before falling to the lower realm. Fortunately, only the mountains were hit and no one in the lower realm was hurt.”
Just a few pieces of tiles and stone could be that dangerous to people. . .
Shěn Lí gritted her teeth secretly. Faced with this reality, she knew it would be too selfish to indulge in her own desires.
“I will discuss this with the emperor afterwards. You can return to guarding the gate.” Xíng Zhǐ spoke calmly, then turned to leave. Just as the guard moved to stop him again, a loud shout rang from the horizon.
“High God, please stay! High God, please stay!” The Immortal emperor had not used the imperial carriage, but directly took a cloud over. He was in such a hurry to step off that he almost stumbled. The emperor exclaimed in surprise when he saw Xíng Zhǐ carrying Shěn Lí. “High God! High God,. . . why should. . . ?!”
Xíng Zhǐ didn’t answer.
Meanwhile, behind the emperor, hundreds of civil and military officials arrived and began crowding in front of the gate. They stared at Shěn Lí in Xíng Zhǐ’s arms. Then they looked at each other, then back again at the picture in front of them. Everyone was sighing and the expression on their faces were obvious. Who knew how many convoluted conclusions they had; but it was certain they were scolding Shěn Lí thoroughly in their hearts.
How could she not understand their expressions? Had their positions been switched, she was sure she would have despised them as well. Two people, a young man and a young woman together in a love affair. How could their feelings be weighed against the lives of everyone else?
But even in this kind of atmosphere, Xíng Zhǐ smiled and whispered to Shěn Lí. “Shěn Lí, did you ever think you would play the role of the ‘enchantress who brings calamity’?”
Shěn Lí was startled. All she wanted to do was sigh. To still make a joke in this kind of situation, he really was. . . special.
The crowd’s expression became solemn when they heard his words and a grave silence descended. As the leader, the Immortal emperor stepped forward with hands clasped in a fisted salutation. He spoke from a bowed position. “May High God have pity for those suffering in the three realms. Life is hard for the common people.”
Behind the emperor, all the officials knelt and kowtowed in unison.
The sound was like a wave to Xíng Zhǐ’s ears.
“May High God have pity for those suffering in the three realms. Life is hard for the common people!”
Shěn Lí couldn’t move or speak amidst the denunciation. Xíng Zhǐ was also silent and unmoving.
As Shěn Lí looked at the officials kneeling and the emperor bowing, she thought about how much pride the immortals had, and yet here they were willing to beg. They had to be at their wits end. She didn’t know what Xíng Zhǐ felt faced with the scene, but it made her smile bitterly. They weren’t going to get anyone’s blessings for being together.
She wondered if Xing Zhi would still take the risk despite knowing this.
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