CH 67

translator: baumkuchen

Because Bai Yuehu was still waiting, Lu Qingjiu didn’t dare to make anything too complicated, and hence chose one of the most simple dishes possible. He used the pressure cooker to make a big pot of red braised beef. After it was done, he carried it right into the bedroom.

When the smell of beef filled the room, Bai Yuehu, who’d just fallen asleep, opened his eyes. After waking up, he didn’t speak, simply picking up his chopsticks and speedily finishing the food Lu Qingjiu had cooked for him.

“Do you still want more?” Lu Qingjiu felt like he definitely wasn’t full.

Bai Yuehu shook his head, indicating that he wanted to sleep for another while and replenish himself tomorrow morning. 

Looking at the bloodstains on his body, Lu Qingjiu was still a little worried. “Sleep, I’ll wipe you clean with a warm towel.”

Bai Yuehu nodded. The moment his eyes closed, he sunk into a deep sleep once more. He was still wearing that black robe, which was still emanating a pungent scent of blood from the blood that had congealed on it.

Lu Qingjiu carefully stripped off the black robe and saw the wounds that had appeared on Bai Yuehu’s body from the fight. Compared to the wounds from last time, this time seemed to be even more serious. The wounds almost completely covered Bai Yuehu’s body, but fortunately, hadn’t seemed to hurt any vital parts, and the bleeding had already stopped.

Lu Qingjiu went to get some warm water and a towel, then helped Bai Yuehu clean up his wounds and wrapped them up with gauze. But Lu Qingjiu didn’t dare to use too much medicine on Bai Yuehu’s body, afraid of harming his self-healing ability.

Looking at the wounds scattered messily all over Bai Yuehu’s beautiful body, Lu Qingjiu felt especially distressed. He did his best to make his movements more gentle, afraid of waking Bai Yuehu up. After treating his wounds, Lu Qingjiu placed Bai Yuehu on his soft bed, tucked him in and turned off the light before finally leaving the room.

“Lu-ge, how is Mister Bai?” Standing at the door, Jiang Buhuan asked uneasily. Even though he hadn’t seen the wounds on Bai Yuehu’s body, he could guess that they couldn’t be light. After all, in a fight with two giant, monstrous creatures like that, even just a casual swipe of a claw could rend the earth and split the sky in two. At the time, he thought that he’d fallen asleep, but thinking more carefully about it afterwards, he clearly had been knocked out by the tremors.

“He’s asleep,” Lu Qingjiu said, “He has a few injuries, but it shouldn’t be anything too serious. Did you see who won in the end?”

“No,” Jiang Buhuan said honestly, “I fainted halfway.” 

Lu Qingjiu replied, “You fainted?”

“En,” Jiang Buhuan said, “The force from their fight was too strong, I couldn’t hold out.” He had only just wiped off the blood on his face.

“Oh, you should go rest,” Lu Qingjiu said, “I can watch over him on my own.”

Aljcu Detejc cbvvfv, bcis atfc ublcu boo ab riffq. 

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Lu Qingjiu sat by his side, reading quietly by the light of a little lamp. Even though Bai Yuehu had already been staying here for nearly a year now, his room was still empty. Other than a few daily clothes, there were only the simplest daily necessities. Other than those, he couldn’t see any other traces of someone living here. Even if he were to disappear, it seemed as if it wouldn’t take more than the time it took to turn around.

The book Lu Qingjiu was reading was《What the Master Would Not Discuss》. It was about a few folk stories of the supernatural. Ever since he’d learned about the unscientific side of the world, he’d started reading about these kinds of ancient stories of the supernatural. The more he read, the more interested he was in this other world.

As the night grew darker, and the moon rose high in the sky, the wind blowing in through the window grew cold. A bit of sleepiness rose up in Lu Qingjiu’s heart, but he suppressed the surge of sleepiness, picked up his cup of tea which was already about to go cold and took a sip. Behind him, Bai Yuehu let out a low moan. After hearing this, Lu Qingjiu thought that Bai Yuehu had woken up and hurriedly turned around, but under the moonlight, he could see that Bai Yuehu’s eyes were still shut, still asleep. Seeing this, Lu Qingjiu slowly stepped forwards, reached out his hand and gently helped adjust Bai Yuehu’s posture. Only then did Bai Yuehu’s tightly-scrunched eyebrows relax slightly. 

What should I make for him tomorrow morning? After suffering so many wounds, he must have lost a lot of blood. Lu Qingjiu planned on cooking a few more eggs for Bai Yuehu tomorrow morning to help replenish his body.

Just like that, Lu Qingjiu sat by his bedside, staying up until the first hints of morning light peeked over the horizon. In the later half of the night, in order to stave off his sleepiness, he had poured himself several more cups of strong tea, and sat like that by his bed, drinking and waiting. By the time the sky started to brighten, he was already so sleepy he didn’t feel sleepy anymore.

Guessing that Bai Yuehu would wake up soon, Lu Qingjiu went to the kitchen and boiled some water, preparing to make breakfast. He knew that Bai Yuehu liked eating meat, so he made him a pot of chicken soup. Even though drinking chicken soup in the morning was a little strange, Bai Yuehu would probably like it.

Bai Yuehu’s sleep had always been very shallow, but this time, he’d slept very heavily. He knew that Lu Qingjiu was staying by his side, sitting somewhere near him. 

This let Bai Yuehu put down his guard, and let his body sink into the soft mattress. He smelled the light aroma of tea, which lingered in the room, filling him with a sense of security.

As for what happened afterwards, Bai Yuehu didn’t quite remember, because he really fell asleep.

After Lu Qingjiu finished breakfast and returned to Bai Yuehu’s room, Bai Yuehu was already awake, leaning up against the head of his bed, his eyes closed as he rested. Lu Qingjiu hurriedly said, “Yuehu, are you hungry? I made you breakfast.”

Bai Yuehu nodded. 

Lu Qingjiu hurriedly brought the food he’d prepared over from the kitchen. It was a large pot of stewed chicken and a big bowl of chicken noodle soup. They both had a very light taste, making them very suitable for Bai Yuehu’s body, which had just been injured.

Bai Yuehu picked up his food, but didn’t start eating straightaway. Instead, he asked, “What about Jiang Buhuan?”

Lu Qingjiu thought that he was worried about Jiang Buhuan’s safety. “He suffered a small injury, but it doesn’t seem to be anything serious. He’s currently sleeping, do you want me to call him over?”

Bai Yuehu frowned. “Why hasn’t he left.” 

Lu Qingjiu almost choked upon hearing those words. Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, he asked, “He can leave?”

“Naturally. If not, what did I use up so much energy for.” The moment he started thinking about how Jiang Buhuan was even still going to bum a breakfast in their home, BAi Yuehu was a little unhappy. “Have him leave, quickly.”

Lu Qingjiu said “alright”, smiling.

Only after saying this did Bai Yuehu slowly start to eat the food in front of him. 

Next to him, Lu Qingjiu warmly watched Bai Yuehu eat his noodles. Yin Xun had also come over. Smelling the scent of chicken soup, he walked over to the door of Bai Yuehu’s bedroom, but he didn’t dare to come in, so he stuck his head in and looked inside, just in time to see Lu Qingjiu’s fatherly gaze and smile.

Yin Xun, “……” Alright, this family’s gained another son, in a perfectly-timed response to China’s two-child policy.

After finishing his meal, Bai Yuehu went back to sleep. After putting everything away, Lu Qingjiu also felt a little sleepy. The first thing he saw after walking out of the bedroom was Yin Xun with his head shiftily stuck out.

“What are you looking at?” Lu Qingjiu reached out and slapped him on the head. 

“Aren’t I watching your deep father-son relationship…… Ah, no, watching your long-lasting friendship,” Yin Xun said, “You watched over him for the entire night?”

Lu Qingjiu said, “En, do you want breakfast? I’ll make chicken soup with rice.”

Yin Xun said, “Yeah. After eating, you should go and sleep.”

Lu Qingjiu said, “You’ll watch over him?” 

Yin Xun said, “I can, but you need to let Bai Yuehu know first, and tell him to not make a move against my tender body……” Otherwise, with a bite, he probably wouldn’t even have the chance to regenerate.

With a helpless look on his face, Lu Qingjiu agreed.

Lu Qingjiu grabbed some pickled vegetables, then mixed them together with sesame oil. After that, he and Yin Xun ate a bowl of steaming hot chicken soup with rice and pickled vegetables. Just as they finished eating, they saw Jiang Buhuan had gotten up as well. Possibly because he hadn’t gotten a good sleep last night, there were dark circles under his eyes.

“Good morning.” He greeted Lu Qingjiu. 

“Good morning,” Lu Qingjiu said, “Come and have breakfast.”

Jiang Buhuan nodded happily. His happiest times here were meal times. The rice was soaked soft in the chicken soup and on top were even sprinkled scallions. The pickled vegetables were fresh and delicious. Mixed in sesame oil and hot pepper, it perfectly dealt with the oiliness of the chicken soup. Just as Jiang Buhuan has happily engrossed in eating, he heard Lu Qingjiu said, “Bai Yuehu said that the thing that wanted to kill you has already been dealt with, you can leave Shuifu village now.”

“It’s been dealt with just like that?” Hearing this, Jiang Buhuan actually felt a hint of disappointment.

“En,” Lu Qingjiu said, “He said that, so there shouldn’t be any problems anymore.” 

Jiang Buhuan said, “Then…… then alright.”

Lu Qingjiu said, “You should buy train tickets for this afternoon. I’ll go sleep for a while, and send you to town after I get up.” He felt that Jiang Buhuan, this kid, should probably be really eager to leave. After all, Shuifu village was so remote and backward, it was basically only suitable for people who wanted to live out their retirement to stay here.

“Alright.” Now that the matter had been settled, Jiang Buhuan no longer had any excuse to keep staying here. He ate the chicken soup with rice in front of him without actually tasting it, asking in a small voice, “Then…… Can I come back in the future?”

Surprise appeared on Lu Qingjiu’s face. 

“I mean, come and play when I’m on break in the future,” Jiang Buhuan hurriedly explained, “I’ll pay the accommodation fees, and I won’t be too troublesome……”

“Alright.” Lu Qingjiu laughed. He hadn’t thought that Jiang Buhuan actually really liked Shuifu village. “You’re welcome to.” But celebrities had always been very busy, so Jiang Buhuan probably wouldn’t have a lot of time to vacation in Shuifu village.

“That’s great,” Jiang Buhuan said, “You helped me deal with so many issues, I don’t know how to thank you.”

“No need,” Lu Qingjiu said, “This isn’t solely your issue.” If what Bai Yuehu said was true, then Jiang Buhuan was only a pitiful person who had been dragged into all this. The ultimate goal of the mastermind behind the scenes was Shuifu village and Bai Yuehu. He wanted to use Jiang Buhuan’s death to corrupt Bai Yuehu. He just didn’t know what this kind of corruption meant…… 

Jiang Buhuan didn’t understand, but seeing that Lu Qingjiu didn’t plan on explaining, he didn’t ask further.

(big pig trotters = liar. e.g. all men are big pig trotters = all men are liars) 

After staying up for an entire night, Lu Qingjiu was a little tired. After he finished eating, he went right off to sleep and didn’t get up until it was afternoon. After waking up, he went to go check on Bai Yuehu’s condition—— No, more accurately, he was checking that Yin Xun was still alive.

“Wuwuwu, I’m so scared,” Yin Xun, who had chewed halfway down his hands out of nervousness from being alone in the same room with Bai Yuehu, said, “How about I send Jiang Buhuan off, and you look over him?”

Lu Qingjiu, “Did he wake up halfway?”

Yin Xun, “He woke up, he woke up halfway, glanced at me, and asked ‘where’s Lu Qingjiu’. I said ‘he’s sleeping’, and then he told me to stay further away from him, otherwise he wouldn’t be responsible if he ate me in his sleep.” 

Lu Qingjiu, “……” Why was it that he felt that Bai Yuehu was actually disdaining Yin Xun.

Yin Xun said sorrowfully, “I’m just a pitiful, weak, helpless little mountain god, why is he treating me like this.”

In the end, Lu Qingjiu helplessly agreed to Yin Xun’s suggestion, letting him drive Jiang Buhuan back in the pickup truck. After all, Yin Xun had already eaten half his hands out of nervousness, if he ate any more who knew when they’d be able to grow back. ‘Eating my hands’ was meant to just be cutesy, only his family’s idiot son would really bite them off.

Hence, Yin Xun happily took over the task, going to send Jiang Buhuan off, leaving Lu Qingjiu to stay in the house and watch over the still-sleeping Bai Yuehu in his place.

All the other creatures were a little afraid of Bai Yuehu, but strangely, since the moment he saw Bai Yuehu, Lu Qingjiu had practically never felt any fear of him. In his point of view, Bai Yuehu was just an absolutely ordinary fox spirit, nothing to be afraid of.

After sleeping until about three or four o’clock in the afternoon, Bai Yuehu finally woke up. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Lu Qingjiu leaning against the window, reading a book. Warm sunlight shone onto his cheek, coating both his skin and black hair in a layer of warm gold. The light blurred the outline of Lu Qingjiu’s figure, making him seem as if he was about to disappear with the light.

“Lu Qingjiu.” Bai Yuehu called his name like he was speaking a spell to call him back. 

Lu Qingjiu’s body moved as he raised his head to look at Bai Yuehu. Seeing that he’d woken up, his usual gentle smile appeared on his face. “You’re awake.”

“En.” As Bai Yuehu watched him quickly stride over to him, looking at him against the light, his chest swelled, as if something was about to gush out of it, making him press his lips together slightly, afraid of revealing his emotions.

“Are you hungry?” There really weren’t many things that Lu Qingjiu could do for Bai Yuehu. Fortunately, of them, was what Bai Yuehu needed most.

Bai Yuehu nodded. Yesterday’s fight had consumed too much of his energy, requiring a long period of replenishing and recovery. 

“I’ll cook for you,” Lu Qingjiu said, “What do you want to eat?”

Bai Yuehu said, “Anything’s okay.”

Lu Qingjiu discussed, “Then I’ll cook some pork trotters for you, then fry up some fried rice.”

Bai Yuehu said, “Anything’s fine.” 

Oe Hlcuple aegcfv jcv kfca ab atf xlamtfc. Cii atfrf atlcur tjv yffc gfjvs-wjvf, ogbw tlw tjnlcu yffc kbgglfv atja Djl Tefte kbeivc’a tjnf jcsatlcu ab fja joafg kjxlcu eq. Coafg tf delmxis tfjafv atfw eq, tf ygbeuta atfw ab Djl Tefte’r yfvgbbw, bcis ab olcv atf yfvgbbw fwqas, klat cb rluc bo Djl Tefte.

“Yuehu??” Lu Qingjiu called out, a little panicked.

“I’m here.” Bai Yuehu’s voice drifted over from the courtyard.

Lu Qingjiu walked over to the courtyard, and saw Bai Yuehu sitting on his rocking chair once more. He said, “I wanted to soak in the sun.” 

Lu Qingjiu let out a sigh of relief. Smiling, he walked over to his side, and placed the food on the stone platform. “Eat.”

Bai Yuehu raised up his hand and began to eat slowly.

The spring sun was, sure enough, the best. Cool wind brought with it peach blossom petals from who knows where. Some fell on the soil of the courtyard, while some fell on Bai Yuehu’s black hair. Lu Qingjiu suddenly stood up, walked over to stand behind Bai Yuehu, lowered his head and gathered Bai Yuehu’s hair behind his neck, and neatly tied it up.

“Will they come back again?” Lu Qingjiu asked. 

“En,” Bai Yuehu said, “As long as there’s light, there’s shadow. As long as the light still exists, the shadows will not be eliminated.”

Lu Qingjiu said, “This is what you’ve done for generations?”

Bai Yuehu said, “Yes.”

Lu Qingjiu let out a soft sigh. 

Bai Yuehu said, “Right, I have something to give you.”

Lu Qingjiu, “What is it?”

He originally thought it would be something extremely important, but then saw Bai Yuehu stand up, then, his expression serious, turned his butt towards Lu Qingjiu. Before Lu Qingjiu could react, he saw nine white, fluffy tails emerge from Bai Yuehu’s tailbone. Bai Yuehu’s voice drifted over. “You see, it’s grown back.”

Lu Qingjiu, “…………” 

Bai Yuehu, “I said it would grow back in spring.”

Lu Qingjiu’s shoulders shook. He tried his best to hold back his laughter, but failed. He laughed so hard he doubled over, and laughing so hard he even began to tear up.

Bai Yuehu stared at Lu Qingjiu suspiciously. “What are you laughing about?”

“No…… nothing.” Lu Qingjiu felt like his family’s fox spirit was really too cute, so much so that he could hold back, reaching out and hugging those nine fluffy fox tails, indulging in the soft feeling left after those tails rubbed against his face. “I like you so much.” 

Bai Yuehu, “Like me?”

Lu Qingjiu gave the tails a firm kiss. “Of course.”

However, Bai Yuehu looked at Lu Qingjiu doubtfully, then turned back and muttered something in a low voice. Standing behind him, Lu Qingjiu was of course able to hear Bai Yuehu’s little complaint loud and clear. Bai Yuehu had said, “What you like is clearly fluffy things.”

“What do you mean,” Lu Qingjiu explained, “Who told you that I like fluffy things?” 

Bai Yuehu said, “All humans like them.” His tails twitched. “If you don’t like them, what are you hugging them for.”

Lu Qingjiu said, “I like your tails, because they belong to you. If they were someone else’s, I might not like them.”

Bai Yuehu didn’t reply, but he clearly didn’t believe Lu Qingjiu’s words. Hmph, humans always lied easily. Even though he said that, when he truly saw his real form, he would turn and run. Otherwise, how did the phrase “Lord Ye’s passion for dragons (I’m pretty sure I’ve explained this before, but just a recap: Lord Ye was famous for really liking dragons, but when a real dragon came to see him, he was actually very afraid)” come about.

Lu Qingjiu said, helpless, “Do you see me lusting after Su Xi’s father’s tails?” 

Bai Yuehu mercilessly saw through Lu Qingjiu. “That’s because he doesn’t show them.”

Lu Qingjiu, “……” He actually couldn’t refute this.

“And right now, he only has bald tails,” Bai Yuehu said, “All his extra fur was lost to me for me to make the fur coat. Isn’t it warm?”

Lu Qingjiu, “It’s warm.” 

Bai Yuehu, “Good.”

Lu Qingjiu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He really wanted to explain that he actually didn’t value fluffiness so highly, but felt like with his hands hugging those tails, he wouldn’t seem very convincing. In the end, he could only sigh, rub his face against those fluffy tails, and say, “Even though I like fluff, I like you more.”

Bai Yuehu raised an eyebrow. “Is it that the tails aren’t nice to hug anymore, or is it that the coat isn’t nice to wear anymore?”

Lu Qingjiu, “……” 

Bai Yuehu was firm despite the lack of truth in his words. “I’m fluffy.”

Lu Qingjiu, “……” Fine, maybe he was better off skipping this topic.

So in the end, Bai Yuehu sat back down on his rocking chair, proudly lending his tails to Lu Qingjiu to hug. The tails really felt like they were real. Not only did they have warmth, they could even move. It felt very pleasant when they wrapped around Lu Qingjiu’s waist. But the question arose, where did the tails come from? Were they the result of a bet, like how Bai Yuehu had gotten that coat? Or…… had he eaten the rest?”

Lu Qingjiu was a little conflicted. Compared to before, the fur on the tails had become more lush, as well as more smooth. Hugging them felt like hugging a big stuffed toy, unimaginably comfortable. The most magical thing was they could even wrap around you. Lying against them, it felt like Lu Qingjiu was lying against a cushion. Adding on the warmth of being in the sun, he quickly drifted off to sleep. 

By the time he next woke up, the sun was already in the west. The first thing he saw after opening his eyes was Bai Yuehu’s profile. A peach blossom petal had landed on the tip of Bai Yuehu’s nose. Lu Qingjiu reached out a hand, and gently picked the petal up.

Despite this, Bai Yuehu woke up. He opened his eyes as well, his eyes still slightly muddled from sleep. He turned, moving slightly with a soft humm, and pulled Lu Qingjiu into his chest.

This was probably a habit left from them sleeping together in the winter. At that time, when Lu Qingjiu went to sleep, the two would be in perfectly acceptable positions, but practically every morning, he would wake up in Bai Yuehu’s arms.

“Oh……” Lu Qingjiu said, “It’s time to get up, I haven’t even made dinner yet.”  

Bai Yuehu said, “I don’t want to eat.”

Lu Qingjiu smiled and said, “Alright, don’t fuss, you just got hurt, how can you not eat?”

Bai Yuehu said, “I’m not very hungry.”

Even though Bai Yuehu said that he wasn’t hungry, Lu Qingjiu still struggled out of his arms. He checked the time. Right now, it was already past 6 pm, but Yin Xun, who’d sent Jiang Buhuan off, had yet to come back. 

Could something have happened? Lu Qingjiu was a little worried, hurriedly pulling out his phone to call Yin Xun.

After the call connected, Yin Xun’s voice sounded from the other end. He said, “Jiu-er, there’s no need to worry about me, I’ll be coming back a little later.”

“What happened?” Lu Qingjiu asked doubtfully.

Yin Xun said, “Aiya, it’s nothing big. It’s just that after sending Jiang Buhuan off, I noticed that I had a red rash on my butt. I went to the clinic to get some medicine, and the doctor said that I had an allergic reaction and said he’d put me on a drip for a while before I went back.” 

Lu Qingjiu, “……” He remembered that Yin Xun seemed to have been allergic to slugs, just that hadn’t it not been very serious before? Why did it suddenly flare up today?

Yin Xun’s explanation was very skimpy. “I’m also confused. The doctor said that it might be because it’s spring. Y’know, spring, it’s the season of allergies……”

Lu Qingjiu, “Alright, come back soon.”

Yin Xun hung up the phone in silence. He stared at the screen of his phone, weeping silently. He wanted to go back too, okay, but that afternoon, a certain person had sent him a text, saying that he wasn’t to appear in front of him before 6, if not he’d kill him and eat his flesh. He couldn’t do anything, and could only grit his teeth and let the pickup truck take the blame. This was his first time getting a text from Bai Yuehu, when he got the text, he originally thought that Bai Yuehu had actually changed and texted him, who knew that when he opened the text, he would find that Bai Yuehu wanted his life. 

“Wuwuwu, Jiu-er, you need to protect your body at home.” As Yin Xun wiped away his tears, he worried for his good friend. “Don’t have it so that when I come back, I see you having been eaten by Bai Yuehu until only your skeleton is left……” Lu Qingjiu wasn’t like him, who could grow back after being eaten, but speaking of which, what kind of eating method was still open to discussion.