CH 67

Fang Baichu didn’t feel that there was anything strange in his words and continued discussing with Uncle Pan which part of the pig’s body was the most tender. Gu Louyin knew that these ‘joys of fish and water’ were not those ‘joys of fish and water’. He didn’t want to care, but when he thought of the scene he saw in Xiao Yuan’s room in the morning, his mood was still uncontrollably chaotic.

Mu Yingyang and Xiao Yuan were fellow disciples who grew up together since they were kids and the feelings between them were naturally not comparable to others. Mu Yingyang seemed to already know that Xiao Yuan’s death was fake. Xiao Yuan was not hiding from him anymore but kept it from him from beginning to end. It was clear at a glance who was more important to Xiao Yuan.

Gu Louyin closed his eyes, trying to suppress the feeling of suffocation and anxiety in his chest.

Didn’t he think just a short time ago that as long as Xiao Yuan was alive, it didn’t matter who he was nice to, whom he liked and who he was with. He didn’t care about it and he was not qualified to care about it. Now he could stay by his side as a good friend, look at him and talk to him. It was enough to be satisfied. If he took a step further, he might scare Xiao Yuan away again. All he asked for was to continue the status quo.

Gu Louyin thought he had calmed down, but when he saw Xiao Yuan and Mu Yingyang walking side by side, he realized that there were some things he couldn’t stop caring about just by saying he didn’t care. A secret, selfish thought was moving in his heart – he wanted to take that person for himself, not to let outsiders see and touch him, so that he would always be the only one in his eyes.

But he couldn’t do it.

Xiao Yuan was still in this world, and it was already his greatest salvation and indulgence. How could he be willing to make the other party unhappy again?

Xiao Yuan endured Mu Yingyang’s ‘sincere feelings’ along the way, and his face was full of bitterness. He made it clear that he didn’t like him, that it was impossible, but Mu Yingyang still showed no sign of giving up. He really didn’t know what to do.

Xiao Yuan smiled at Gu Louyin, “Did you buy the duck?”

Gu Louyin looked as usual, “En.”

“We caught a big fish,” Xiao Yuan said, “would you like to see?”

“Yes.”

The fish they caught was indeed so big that Uncle Pan didn’t have a plate large enough for it. Ah Yuan was cooking. Fish was steamed, chicken was stewed, duck was braised and pork and vegetables were fried together. For people like Xiao Yuan who were used to eating delicacies from all over the world, Ah Yuan’s cooking skills could only be called average. Xiao Yuan wanted to go into battle by himself, but Shen Fugui was not a guy who would cook. In order not to reveal his identity in front of Gu Louyin, he could only hold back his itchy hands, although he suspected that Gu Louyin seemed to notice something.

When everyone got together for dinner, Mu Yingyang put food into his bowl, “This is the fish we caught together. Eat more.”

Xiao Yuan: “…”

Mu Yingyang treated Shen Fugui – no, it should be impossible for Mu Yingyang to be so good to anyone except his Shixiong. He picked food for him in such a dignified manner that even a fool could see there was something fishy. However, Gu Louyin still had no suspicions at all, as if he had really become a fool.

Xiao Yuan ate the fish absent-mindedly, thinking about how to ask Fang Baichu to check Gu Louyin’s brain.

After the meal, they came to the courtyard to enjoy the moon. Ah Yuan served her home made pastries, looked up at the moon in the sky and then looked at the young man with silver hair and in white clothes. She thought, why enjoy the moon when she could admire the immortal master.

Xiao Yuan saw Ah Yuan’s little girl’s thoughts and teased: “Miss Ah Yuan, do you think the moon is better-looking or our Master Gu is?”

“Master, Master Immortal…” Ah Yuan flushed with embarrassment, covered her face and ran away. Xiao Yuan felt that her reaction was really cute and couldn’t help but chuckle: “Louyin’s hair is all white but he is still more pleasing to girls than us black-haired people. You say, isn’t it annoying?”

Gu Louyin said calmly: “Don’t make trouble.”

Fang Baichu drank a few more glasses of Uncle Pan’s homemade plum wine and sighed, a little tipsy: “Different people have different fates.”

Mu Yingyang snorted through his nose, “Annoying, what’s annoying about it?” It didn’t matter if he was pleasing to that girl, as long as he wasn’t pleasing to his Shixiong.

Mu Yingyang pulled Xiao Yuan’s sleeve and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: “Shixiong.”

“En?”

“I’m spending the Mid-Autumn Festival with my Shixiong again,” Mu Yingyang said with a quiet smile, “it seems like a dream.”

Hearing this, Xiao Yuan was in a daze for a while. Before he went to Xingtian Sect, he had spent the Mid-Autumn Festival with Mu Yingyang and Li Xianting every year. They would go to the highest mountain to enjoy the moon, eat snacks and chat as they did now. Later, he went to Xingtian and Xiao Du accompanied him during the Mid-Autumn Festival that year.

Xiao Du took him to Luling City, bought him a lot of food and did a good deed for the day, giving leftover rice cakes to a hungry beggar.

The Mid-Autumn Festival was a family reunion day, and he personally schemed to kill his last family member.

Xiao Yuan nodded, “It really is like a dream.”

“By the way,” Mu Yingyang said in a normal voice, “Where do I sleep tonight?”

Fang Baichu said: “There are many farmhouses in Qingzhu Village that have empty rooms and the villagers are very hospitable. You might borrow a room from them.”

Mu Yingyang said lazily: “It’s so late, I’m too lazy to bother. Shen Fugui, can you spare me half of your bed?”

Gu Louyin’s hand holding the cup suddenly tightened. Xiao Yuan smiled and said, “Okay.”

Before Mu Yingyang had time to be happy, Xiao Yuan continued: “You are my guest, how can half be enough? My whole bed belongs to you.”

“Then where will you sleep?” Mu Yingyang stopped for a moment, his cheeks flushed slightly, “On me?”

“I-” Xiao Yuan glanced at Gu Louyin suspiciously and said calmly: “I’m going to squeeze with Master Fang.”

Fang Baichu was a little confused, “Huh?”

“Don’t huh,” Xiao Yuan said decisively, “it’s decided.”

Mu Yangyang was quite unwilling but didn’t want to anger his Shixiong. He squinted at Fang Baichu coldly, causing Fang Baichu to feel chill all over his body and secretly complain about the injustice.

Gu Louyin lowered his eyes and took a sip of bitter tea.

After enjoying the moon, Xiao Yuan refused Mu Yingyang’s request to visit and followed Fang Baichu to the small farmhouse where he was staying. Fang Baichu couldn’t help but grumble: “Why does young lord have to sleep with me? Isn’t it pushing me into a fire pit? Didn’t you see the way Master Mu looked at me…”

Xiao Yuan said, “If I don’t sleep with you, should I sleep with Gu Louyin?”

“Is there anything wrong with sleeping with Master Gu?”

“It’s wrong, very wrong.”

Fang Baichu said quietly: “What’s wrong?”

“I’m going to Yunjian Pavilion tonight. Keep it a secret for me and don’t let Gu Louyin know.”

Fang Baichu briefly woke up from his drunkenness, “What, what? Tonight?”

“No one knows what Gu Hang will do with our souls. It is urgent to get the earth souls  back.” Xiao Yuan said, “In addition, I have done too many things with Shen Fugui’s identity and I am worried that Yunjian Pavilion will harm Shen Fugui himself.”

Fang Baichu was puzzled: “If Yunjian Pavilion and Xuanle Sect turned against each other, wouldn’t this be a happy event for Xingtian Sect?”

Xiao Yuan sighed softly: “It’s true but… it’s just that, let’s see how it goes.”

“How many people does young lord plan to take?”

“I’ll go alone.”

Fang Baichu was so frightened that he became completely sober and stammered: “You, you alone?”

Xiao Yuan nodded, “I have a face-changing technique. It’s not difficult to get in, but it’s easy to be exposed if I bring too many people.”

Fang Baichu was worried: “But if young lord is alone, if there is any accident…”

“You don’t have to worry about this, Li Yanzhi’s people are lurking near Yunjian Pavilion. If there is an accident, I will send a signal, and he will come in and take care of it.” Xiao Yuan raised his eyes and looked at the bright moon on the horizon, “I hope everything goes well.” It would be great if he could get their earth souls and Qingyan on this trip or at least figure out where Gu Hang was hiding these two things.

In the dead of night, the moon and stars were sparse. Xiao Yuan left Qingzhu Village and came to the foot of Yunjian Pavilion Mountain. Li Yanzhi had been waiting there for a long time.

Xiao Yuan said, “Are you ready?”

Li Yanzhi’s face was serious: “They are all ready according to young lord’s instructions. Young lord, did you really think it over? This subordinate really worries about you going alone.”

“No need to talk about it,” Xiao Yuan said, “bring the things.”

What Li Yanzhi prepared for Xiao Yuan was a set of Yunjian Pavilion disciple attire. The disciples of Xingtian Sect discovered that Jiang Liuyuan had recently gone out on an errand on the orders of Qian Sang. Jiang Liuyuan was the eldest brother of the younger generation of disciples of Yunjian Pavilion and he was highly respected by Gu Hang and others. Xiao Yuyuan planned to use his identity to get into Yunjian Pavilion to inquire about news.

Putting on Yunjian Pavilion’s disciple attire and turning into Jiang Liuyuan, Xiao Yuan successfully fooled the gatekeepers of Yunjian Pavilion and got in with no effort.

Disciples on night patrols could be seen everywhere in Yunjian Pavilion, and the security was more strict than when he came last time. Xiao Yuan first went to Jiang Liuyuan’s house and searched inside but found no useful clues. He was about to look elsewhere when he suddenly heard a knock on the door.

Xiao Yuan said, “Who is it?”

“Da Shixiong (eldest senior brother), it’s me.”

Xiao Yuan smiled silently – why does Lin Wulian look for him every time he pretends to be someone else to come to Yunjian Pavilion? Aren’t they a little bit too destined?

Xiao Yuan opened the door, “Lin-Shidi.”

Lin Wulian’s face was pale as paper, his cheeks sunken and his footsteps were weak, as if he had been lingering on the sickbed for a long time. It seemed that Gu Louyin had injured him extremely badly in the secret passage that day. Xiao Yuan put on a concerned expression and said, “Lin-xiong, your injury is not yet healed. You come here late at night, what’s the matter?”

Lin Wulian coughed a few times and said with an effort: “Now that you have returned, DaShixiong, you must have found what Master told you to. I want to know how Xiao Yuan came back from the dead and whose body he took.”

Xiao Yuan suddenly realized Jiang Liuyuan was sent to investigate this matter. “The one whose  body Xiao Yuan took was an unknown little casual cultivator, I am afraid Lin-xiong never heard his name.”

Lin Wulian clasped his fingers, “Then where is he now, is he still with Louyin?”

“I don’t know.”

Lin Wulian was puzzled. That day, he obviously saw Xiao Yuan’s soul in the ancient mirror, but only Gu Louyin and Shen Fugui escaped from the secret passage. After that, they searched the entire secret passage and did not see Xiao Yuan. How did Xiao Yuan disappear without a trace?

Xiao Yuan looked at Lin Wulian’s expression silently and said, “Lin-Shidi, don’t worry, since Xiao Yuan and Gu Louyin’s earth souls are in our hands, they will definitely take risks to get them back. We just need to lay a trap and wait for them.”

Lin Wulian was suspicious, “How did you know about their earth souls?”

Xiao Yuan calmly said, “Qian Shishu told me.”

Lin Wulian was alert and said, “Seriously?”

“If not, who else could have told me?”

Lin Wulian pondered for a moment and said, “It’s late, so I won’t bother Da Shixiong anymore.”

Xiao Yuan watched him walk to the door and suddenly said, “Lin-Shidi is going to ask Qian Shishu to verify this matter?”

Lin Wulian paused, “DaShixiong is afraid that I will check it?”

Xiao Yuan smiled, “To be honest, I’m a little scared.”

The door slammed close in front of Lin Wulian. Lin Wulian took half a step back, turned around and said, “Da Shixiong, what do you mean by this?”

Xiao Yuan didn’t bother to talk nonsense and asked, “Where are the souls of Xiao Yuan and Gu Louyin?”

Lin Wulian’s eyes darkened, “You are not Da Shixiong, who are you?!”

Xiao Yuan was not completely sure that fighting against the seriously injured Lin Wulian was worthy of his Bihai Chaosheng. After Lin Wulian entered the house, he secretly set a barrier so no movement from the house could be heard outside. As long as he wanted, he could kill Lin Wulian at any time.

“Guess.”

“You are here for the earth souls, you are not Louyin, you can only be…” Lin Wulian’s eyes widened, “Xiao Yuan?!”

Xiao Yuan applauded and smiled: “Lin-xiong is really smart, I admire you.”

Lin Wulian suddenly realized, “It was not Shen Fugui who was with Louyin that day, it was you?!”

Xiao Yuan hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, “Yes, so if Yunjian Pavilion wants to settle accounts, don’t look for the wrong person. Okay, let’s get down to business.” Xiao Yuan summoned Bihai Chaosheng and turned it in his hands, “Where are my and Gu Louyin’s souls?”