CH 105

A few days later, a simple wooden house appeared on the isolated island full of soul-calling grass. The wooden house was built close to the sea, and in the middle of the night Xiao Yuan could often hear the sound of the waves hitting the shore. 

True Lord Ji Ming hadn’t travelled far for many years in order to help Li Xianting summon his soul. Now that Gu Louyin and Xiao Yuan had temporarily taken his place, he was able to leave the island for a while and go play for several months at the invitation of his friends.

Xiao Yuan and Gu Louyin rose at sunrise and rested after sunset. When it came to soul summoning, Gu Louyin was quite an expert. Back then in the snowy mountain, in order to see Xiao Yuan for the last time he had tried every possible method of soul summoning, and now he could use them on Li Xianting one by one. As for Xiao Yuan, he only needed to water the soul-calling grass every day and feed Gu Louyin well during the day and night.

That day Xiao Yuan spent half a day stewing a complex hoof flower and sea cucumber soup. This was Xiao Du’s dream soup. In his ‘Dream of Golden Millet’, the well-behaved and clingy younger brother made this soup for him. Unfortunately, Xiao Du could only dream and Gu Louyin was the only one who could really drink the soup Xiao Yuan made with his own hands.

Xiao Yuan put the stewed sea cucumber soup into a soup bowl made of a shell, put the soup bowl into a straw basket woven from vines and said to the snow-white lump at the door: “Let’s go, little beast.”

This one was a snow fox. Probably because it grew up in the Penglai realm since it was a baby, it had absorbed a lot of aura and became as big as a bear and also very human-like. Last time it came to Xiao Yuan’s kitchen to steal chickens recklessly and was knocked out by Xiao Yuan’s fan. When it woke up, it became a toy that Xiao Yuan used to relieve his boredom. Not only was it reprimanded to baldness, but occasionally it had to carry Xiao Yuan on its back and run all over the island. This could be described as a truly miserable life.

This time Xiao Yuan was very kind and didn’t ride the fox. He only let it carry the straw basket and threatened that if it spilled a drop of soup, he would pull out its fur.

Gu Louyin came back from the illusionary realm and saw the man and the fox walking slowly on a path through the soul-calling grass. The fox’s fur was snow-white and the man was also dressed in white, like a cold and distant painting.

As Xiao Yuan approached and his face could be seen clearly, the painting became bright.

Xiao Yuan got accustomed to idleness recently and he didn’t bother to tie his hair. His long hair fell down like a waterfall, and the sash around his waist was loose, the wind playing with it. He looked graceful and flamboyant, charming as always.

Gu Louyin still remembered that when they first met, he was puzzled as to why such a bright beauty would be so casual and careless and felt that Xiao Yuan’s temperament was too inconsistent with his appearance. Later, he learned that except for Xiao Yuan, no one in this world could be worthy of this enchanting face.

It wasn’t until Xiao Yuan walked in front of him that Gu Louyin recovered and said, “You are here.”

Xiao Yuan had an expression of ‘is something wrong with you’ on his face and asked, “What were you thinking?”

Gu Louyin said, “Miss you.”

Xiao Yuan couldn’t understand that: “We are all stuck together every day, how can you miss me?”

Gu Louyin smiled softly, and the coldness all over his body melted, leaving only endless tenderness. Seeing it, the snow fox couldn’t help but come up to him, wagging its big fluffy tail and begging for help.

Xiao Yuan took out the soup from the straw basket and asked, “How is it today…?”

Gu Louyin shook his head.

Xiao Yuan sighed, “Sure enough.”

The world was so big; Li Xianting’s soul could be scattered anywhere. True Lord Ji Ming’s soul summoning had been unsuccessful for years, so how could they hit it with one move when it was their turn.

Xiao Yuan handed the soup to Gu Louyin and said casually: “I can understand what you felt when you kept summoning my soul in the snowy mountain.”

Gu Yinlou’s expression changed slightly and he said solemnly: “You can’t understand.”

Xiao Yuan was taken aback.

“You don’t know what kind of mood I was in when I was looking for you.” Gu Louyin paused, “At that time, I really thought you were dead.”

Xiao Yuan regretted the words he said and added with a smile: “That, Gu Louyin…”

Gu Louyin asked him, “If your master never wakes up, what will you do?”

Xiao Yuan had also thought about it before. Shizun had done so much for him and he definitely wouldn’t want him to spend the rest of his life in depression. If Shizun didn’t wake up, although he would regret it, he would still go on to live his life – with Gu Louyin.

“If you hadn’t returned then, I’m afraid…”

“The soup is getting cold.” Xiao Yuan interrupted him, “I’ve been stewing for a long time and I’ll be angry if you don’t drink it.”

Gu Louyin paused, lowered his head and took a sip of the soup, “It’s delicious.”

Xiao Yuan smiled. Picking up the remaining bowl, he came to Li Xianting’s side.

“I made it myself. Would Shizun like to drink it?” Xiao Yuan said warmly, “If you want to drink it, open your eyes quickly.”

After sunset, Xiao Yuan and Gu Louyin returned to the wooden house together. Xiao Yuan could feel that Gu Louyin was in a bad mood. He thought Gu Louyin was thinking of his days in the snowy mountain and feeling aggrieved. Xiao Yuan remained silent outwardly but at night he took the initiative to sit on Gu Louyin’s waist.

“Don’t be angry,” Xiao Yuan put his arms around Gu Louyin’s neck, “I didn’t know I would like you so much, otherwise I would definitely not lie to you so many times.”

“I’m not angry.” Gu Louyin said, “I’m just… scared.” The mere thought of the days without Xiao Yuan sent him into a state of dread. “It’s my problem.” 

“Then tell me, how can I give you a sufficient sense of security?” Without waiting for Gu Louyin to answer, Xiao Yuan whispered in his ear, “Shall we become Dao companions?”

Gu Louyin’s eyes widened slightly.

Bihai Chaosheng stroked Gu Louyin’s chest as Xiao Yuan kissed the corner of his mouth and whispered, “Make me yours.”

As soon as he said that, he was pushed hard by the man under him and fell on the bed.

Gu Louyin looked down at him and said hoarsely, “Have you thought about it? After we become Dao companions, I will be able to find you wherever you go. You will be completely tied to me and will never have the freedom you wanted in the past.”

Xiao Yuan looked into Gu Louyin’s eyes and said, “You are the freedom I want most.”

……

The spring night was short, the spirit and blood were fused and the golden cores were united. In the haze of heat, Gu Louyin left a mark on Xiao Yuan that belonged to him alone.

Half a year later, True Lord Ji Ming returned from visiting friends and told the two of them that he had found a new way of soul summoning. He seemed to be full of confidence that it would work.

Xiao Yuan asked, “How long will this ceremony take?”

“Five years.” True Lord Ji Ming said, “This method requires closed door casting spells. Please leave the island.”

Xiao Yuan thought for a while and said, “Okay.”

Xiao Du had already sent three letters within a month, urging him to return to Xingtian Sect for the Mid-Autumn Festival. If he didn’t return, he was afraid Xiao Du himself would come to the island to seize him.

On the day of departure, Xiao Yuan and Gu Louyin said goodbye to Li Xianting together.

Seeing Xiao Yuan’s solemn expression, Gu Louyin said, “We will come back in five years.”

Xiao Yuan nodded, took out a folding fan and placed it beside Li Xianting’s pillow.

Li Xianting was still sleeping and the years did not leave the slightest trace on his face.

Xiao Yuan and Li Xianting, a master and an apprentice, had nothing to do with romance.

Xiao Yuan bowed deeply to Li Xianting, turned to Gu Louyin and said with a smile: “Let’s go, husband, your wife is going to visit his family.”

Gu Louyin looked back at him and smiled lightly: “Okay.”

*End of Main Story*