CH 47

Editor: Byff

Proofreader: XavierForest

Qian Zhu was soaked in water, yet his face held no expression. His hands hung by the sides of his body and he stared at Su Tang.

His entire body was drenched, and his inner clothes could be seen clearly. Once the inner clothes came into contact with water, they turned transparent and revealed the youthful muscles and lines underneath. His black hair was plastered to his shoulders. Water rolled down, dripping to the floor and forming a small puddle.

Su Tang felt extremely awkward, his face  especially red. In a moment of confusion, he lowered himself back into the water as if nothing had happened.

Only his little head was peeking past the water’s surface.

The more one tried to hide, the more obvious it was. 1 Like a hamster that had stolen snacks and fearfully hid inside its wooden home, it still peeked out its head to look around.

Qian Zhu stared at him for a while, but not too long. Though, to Su Tang, this was already terrifying enough because of Qian Zhu’s deep, ink-black eyes that contained no emotions. Usually when this occurred, something terrible would happen.

Su Tang couldn’t help trembling.

He gazed focused on Qian Zhu, and he didn’t dare make any significant movements, watching Qian Zhu as he leisurely walked to the edge before taking off the last of his clothes. He stepped into the hot spring, only an arm’s length away from Su Tang.

Su Tang was frightened into temporarily forgetting to breathe. Was Qian Zhu about to start taking revenge against him? Should he escape? But he wasn’t wearing any clothes, so would he have to run away butt naked?

He hadn’t finished thinking when Qian Zhu reached out to grab him. Like he was plucking a carrot, he lifted Su Tang out of the water and sat him down properly, then…

There was no ‘then’.

Su Tang was stunned for a good few seconds before realising he seemed to have passed the most dangerous time. His heart was filled with complex emotions he couldn’t describe.

Wasn’t this comparable to if a little puppy had bitten its owner, then its owner picked up a knife and walked over, but in the end, only helped to trim the puppy’s fur?

Su Tang tilted his head, realising that Qian Zhu, this old god, was soaking in the water with no expression on his face. His body language proved he was very calm, as if he hadn’t previously been drenched in water.

Thinking until here, Su Tang heaved a sigh of relief. He’d barely managed to escape, but he suddenly felt as if he’d forgotten something.

That ‘something’ was when Qian Zhu was helping him take off his clothes while secretly laughing at him!

Once he thought of this, he got angry. Su Tang felt that he was teased and that this person, Qian Zhu, was truly scum. He seemed to be a calm and upright person when he actually wasn’t so respectable!

Su Tang ‘hmph‘ed, showing a ‘you wronged me’ look. At the same time, he felt this move lacked courage, so he used his little foot to prod Qian Zhu. Qian Zhu didn’t react, so he nudged him again.

Qian Zhu lowered his head and  used his hand to grasp the naughty little foot beneath the water. He slowly lifted it up, and Su Tang almost cried out.

“What did you catch me? Hurry, put it down.” Su Tang said as he wiggled his butt, wanting to scooch back so that the area below his stomach could be hidden by the water.

“You poked me first.” Qian Zhu replied, turning his head to look at the other’s little foot. The toes were round, like small shells. Water droplets rolled down the fair foot, then over the ankle and finally into the water. ‘Di-da’2. It broke the silence.

Su Tang was shocked and kicked his foot around again. Only then did Qian Zhu react and put his foot down.

The two stared at each other for a while before Su Tang couldn’t hold back. He patted his cheeks before feebly saying, “I poked you because I have something I want to ask.”

“What is it?” Qian Zhu asked.

“It’s… It’s, cough, you were laughing at me behind my back.” Su Tang replied after much difficulty. Qian Zhu didn’t react, causing Su Tang to nearly die from embarrassment.

“Sorry.” Qian Zhu said.

“You don’t need to apologise, ah.” Su Tang lifted his head with a smile and continued, “Why did you secretly laugh at me?”

It seemed like this question stumped Qian Zhu. He thought for a while before he replied, “I thought it was rather amusing.”

“How was it amusing?” Su Tang was a little upset.

“When you were running away butt naked.” Qian Zhu said, looking like he wanted to crack a smile.

When he saw Su Tang’s embarrassed, shy face and his neck start turning red, like a red shrimp, it caused Qian Zhu’s heart to itch. He’d watched the other as he quickly ran away with his little white legs and jumped into the water after a few steps.

What left him with the deepest impression was Su Tang’s soft and tender butt.

Although he didn’t touch it, looking at its shape made him feel that it was definitely very soft, like a little peach—fresh and juicy. Looking at it even made him develop a rash desire to bite it.

Qian Zhu curled his lip, yet didn’t express his thoughts, and didn’t mention them to Su Tang. But he didn’t forget, silently hiding this desire deep in his heart and waiting for the right chance; he must try it at least once.

Su Tang felt that, based on Qian Zhu’s words, he seemed rather silly and, at the same time, that made him feel very sad. He didn’t want to accept this thought as the truth, so he asked, “Was it really so unbearable to look at?”

“No, I thought it was really cute.” Qian Zhu replied.

Su Tang turned away, not saying a sentence more.

Only his ahoge 3 was swaying around, appearing especially happy.

After soaking in the hot spring, Su Tang felt comfortable all over. His whole body felt like it was floating on clouds, and when he stepped onto the ground, it felt like stepping onto a rainbow.

His mood was good, so he didn’t wear shoes and just ran straight out. Like the wind, it was as if he was flying with every step he took.

Qian Zhu was right behind him, holding Su Tang’s hand without hesitation. When the other turned to look at him, he explained, “I’m worried you’ll be blown away by the wind.”

“No, I won’t.” Su Tang said, then turned away and continued, “Let go of me and see if I’ll get blown away.”

Qian Zhu let go of his hand, then Su Tang let out a ‘hehe‘ and ran away.

He ran into the courtyard, the ground below his feet soft and covered in flower petals. Qian Zhu walked over and lifted his head to look at the tree. 

“I used to grow on a tree.” Su Tang said, placing his hand on the tree and rubbing it. He wasn’t sure what happened, but he suddenly missed the tree he’d used to grow on.

“Do you want me to carry you up?” Qian Zhu asked, as if reading Su Tang’s thoughts.

“No need, ba.” Su Tang shook his head and continued, “I’m afraid I won’t be able to come down.”

Qian Zhu didn’t continue to speak, instead simply and directly picking Su Tang up and hopping onto the tree.

Su Tang didn’t even have the chance to scream before he was seated on the middle branch. Qian Zhu was hugging him, and it didn’t seem like he’d fall off.

Su Tang lifted his head and looked up. A dull, orange light covered the whole world, and the scent of flowers filled his nose. Behind his back was Qian Zhu’s warm embrace, this feeling so pleasant that it was as if he possessed the whole world.

“This place is really good; why didn’t you bring me here earlier?” Su Tang cheerfully asked.

“I’ve never come here before. This is my first time.” He replied.

Su Tang felt an indescribable feeling in his heart, but when he looked at Qian Zhu’s face, he felt sorry for him.

“Why do you live here alone?” Su Tang suddenly questioned.

“Everyone is afraid of me.” Qian Zhu paused, and then he added, “I’m different from everyone else in the Immortal Realm. I’m a Shaxin4.”

Shaxin was originally an immortal-level status. Unfortunately, the previous shaxin once had a conflict with the Heavenly Emperor, causing the human realm to plunge into the abyss5, and even the Immortal Realm was thrown into chaos. Although the shaxin was executed in the end, people still had some lingering fear in their hearts.

Since Qian Zhu was born to take over the previous shaxin, people transferred their fear of his predecessor onto him. No one was willing to interact with him, and when they saw him, they’d secretly run far away. If they made eye contact with him on accident, they would be scared to the point they couldn’t even walk, much less speak.

Qian Zhu knew this and, due to his identity as a shaxin, isolated himself, never interacting with people or wandering around. Though, even then, he still couldn’t get rid of the fear people had for him.

“But I feel you’re very good ah.” Su Tang said, his heart filled with sadness.

Qian Zhu rubbed Su Tang’s head, warmth in his eyes as he said, “Only you’re not afraid of me.”

“Because you wouldn’t hurt me.” Su Tang patted the hand on his head and complained, “Rubbing my head will make me shorter.”

Qian Zhu didn’t take his hand away, instead continuing to rub Su Tang’s hair. It was soft and extremely pleasing to touch.

Su Tang got upset. He momentarily forgot he was on a tall tree and pulled Qian Zhu up. He threw Qian Zhu’s hand off his head but still wasn’t satisfied. He plucked a bunch of flowers off the branches and threw them on Qian Zhu’s head.

Qian Zhu knew the other was playing around, so he stood up and caught Su Tang, hugging him into his embrace and placing a small yellow flower behind his ear.

Su Tang felt shy and hurriedly removed the flower near his ear. When Qian Zhu took a step towards him, he took a step back and slipped. His body fell backwards, and he had the feeling that he was going to fall off.

“Ah!” Su Tang let out a scream, frightened to the point that he shut his eyes as his little hands flailed around, but someone caught him.

Those hands were full of strength and, without hesitation, they carried Su Tang up. The flowers on the tree fell like raindrops, however Su Tang didn’t care. All he could tell was that his heart was beating like crazy and his tears had, at some point, started to fall.

“Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. You didn’t fall.” Qian Zhu comforted. Su Tang opened his eyes, big teardrops spilling over, and like beads from a broken thread, one fell after the other, with many more to follow.

He stared at Qian Zhu and didn’t even wipe his tears. He buried his head in the other’s chest and started to cry loudly.

“Meanie. You’re a big meanie…” Su Tang pounded on Qian Zhu’s shoulder and wailed.