Chapter 24: Questioning

January 10th, 2023

Fang Li remained in closed door cultivation for an entire seven days before he finally suppressed the blood spirit’s energy. Only then did he come out of the inn room.

Because of the events on Mt. Wanxun, the identity of the three Heavy Snow Sect members couldn’t be used any longer. Fang Li restored his own features, and Xie Huai put on the veiled hat again.

Wu Yimei had long prepared fine wine and dishes. Fang Li smelled the fragrance of the food on the table, and his appetite immediately rose. His spirits were high as he sat down in the large hall to eat.

The sound of conversation all around them entered their ears with crystal clarity.

“I heard that the devil from Hollow Ridge came to Xining county and destroyed Night Sky Palace on Mt. Wanxun!”

“Who doesn’t know about that these days? You didn’t just come out of closed door cultivation, did you?!”

“Who would’ve thought that Shan Qingyang was that kind of person? Night Sky Palace encountering that devil just goes to show that evil will always meet with greater evil! It’s just too bad how that Cloud Swallowing Beast suffered from that devil’s vicious hand!”

“Brother Zhao, I heard you also accepted Night Sky Palace’s invitation, but you left the mountain early? Thank goodness you avoided that disaster!”

“Right? This old Zhao is a coward, so I managed to flee with my life.”

“I heard that Yuyi-jun was with that devil the whole time, too. The two of them seemed very intimate……”

“And that devil was extremely cruel and terrifying, and his subordinate was stone-faced like a corpse. Nobody even saw clearly what happened when he killed Shan Qingyang with one strike……”

Fang Li propped up his chin and listened carelessly, long used to these strange occurrences. Thinking about how the cultivation world now had one more terrifying tale about him, the corners of his lips couldn’t help but rise.

Just then, a crisp and frigid voice was heard. “All of you, don’t forget, if not for that devil’s actions, you would already have become nutrients for the blood spirit fetus. You sure wouldn’t have the fortune to be wagging your sharp tongues here.”

Fang Li startled and couldn’t help but turn to look.

Ji Fangfang was dressed in neat and tidy, tight-fitting robes. With a bang, she set her greatsword on the table, and her ice-cold eyes were full of ridicule.

The crowd’s expressions became a bit unsightly, and they immediately spoke in resentful, displeased voices. “It’s not like that devil did it for the sake of rescuing us. It was only to snatch the blood spirit fetus.”

“Is that so? This Brother Zhao left because he was scared away. If not for that devil, he would have stayed on Mt. Wanxun to wait for death……” Ji Fangfang raised an eyebrow. “Besides, in the end, he still let all of you go.”

Someone said with a stiff face, “That’s because Yuyi-jun spoke up to plead for mercy. Otherwise, how could that devil let us go……”

Ji Fangfang drew out her words. “Oh? Then how come I didn’t see you thank Yuyi-jun? Instead, you insinuate at every turn that he’s fallen to evil together with the devil.”

One of the crowd became red-faced and said angrily, “He really has fallen to evil together with that devil! Otherwise, why didn’t he warn us earlier? He had plenty of chances to expose that devil! So what if he pleaded for mercy at the end? Does he want to buy us out with a tiny little favor?!”

Ji Fangfang scoffed. “So to say, that’s how little your lives are worth.”

She paused, then added, “If I were Yuyi-jun, I would just let you all die.”

“Seeing as Night Sky Palace can engage in demonic acts, the way I see it, I’m afraid they might not be the only traitors to the righteous path among us!” Someone insinuated.

“Ji Fangfang, are you standing on that devil’s side?” Another interrogated furiously.

Fang Li couldn’t avoid feeling a little concerned. This little girl was a little too honest. With a personality like that, she would face a lot of suffering. Just as he was about to make a move to stop things.

Two white-robed disciples carrying swords on their backs walked through the door. Their sleeves were embroidered in silver thread with cloud patterns, and jade tassels hung from their long, snow-white swords. Their bearings were overflowing with loftiness and grace, and you could tell at a glance that they were disciples of a big sect.

Fang Li’s expression shifted, and he turned to look at Xie Huai.

One of the white-robed youths had a round face, and he would probably look very cute if he smiled, but right now, his face was cold and stiff. With a flick of his wrist, he unsheathed his long sword and pointed it at one of the people speaking. “Were you the one slandering Yuyi-jun?”

The man who the sword was pointed at paled and didn’t dare move. These two were Cloudbank Keep disciples!

No matter how much courage you gave him, he still wouldn’t dare speak ill of Yuyi-jun in front of Cloudbank Keep members. He immediately gave a forced laugh. “Perhaps you two sirs misheard. I definitely didn’t mean it that way.”

Tao Lu gave a cold snort, then turned and cupped his hands at Ji Fangfang, saying gratefully, “Thank you, young lady, for upholding honesty.”

If the Cloudbank Keep disciples said Ji Fangfang was upholding honesty, then if the rest of them kept saying that Ji Fangfang wasn’t, wasn’t that equivalent to speaking ill of Yuyi-jun? Although the crowd had a bellyful of criticism, they didn’t dare voice any of it anymore and sat back down one by one. They thought, everyone said that Yuyi-jun had been driven out of his sect, but it looked like Cloudbank Keep’s members still defended him……

Ji Fangfang was still fairly polite to Tao Lu. Her expression alleviated somewhat, and she made a noise of affirmation, saying, “I was only speaking the truth, nothing more.”

Tao Lu blinked. Ji Fangfang was someone who had seen the whole process with her own eyes! Seeing as she was also speaking this way, it meant that Elder Sect Brother hadn’t been lying. At least in this matter, that devil hadn’t done anything evil to harm others.

Thinking of this, Tao Lu felt endlessly conflicted and in knots. Back when the devil had besieged Cloudbank Keep, he’d injured a great many and had captured their elder sect brother in front of everyone. It would be impossible to ask him not to hate that devil, yet that devil insisted on also doing good and rescuing people.

But, but even if that devil saved some people, so what? That didn’t erase all of his actions and conduct. If that devil hadn’t snatched their elder sect brother, how could their elder sect brother’s reputation have been dragged into this?

He definitely wouldn’t forgive that devil! But as the disciple of a righteous sect, he absolutely couldn’t do as those other people did and spit out nonsense with his eyes wide open.

On this matter, the devil hadn’t done anything wrong. It was those people who had been wrong.

Tao Lu knew that Xie Huai was sitting right in this inn, but he didn’t dare look in his direction in fear that that devil would discover something amiss. The two of them sat down and drank a cup of tea, then left in a hurry.

Fang Li shot Xie Huai a complicated glance. That Ji Fangfang would speak up for him was within his expectations, but why were the Cloudbank Keep disciples doing so? It couldn’t be that……

No way, no way, he must be overthinking things!

There’s no way Xie Huai would do something like that.

He could only say, one would expect no less of Xie Huai’s fellow sect members. The same tradition of honesty flowed through all of their veins!

But in this world, being too honest would make things difficult at every step. It was better to live with one eye open and one eye closed than to be unable to tolerate a single speck of dust in your sight.

These days, it was politically correct to curse at him. Forget speaking up for him, even refusing to curse him made one a traitor. Everyone was venting their feelings, so if you insisted on discussing this matter on its own merits and sifting out right from wrong, you would only bring trouble upon yourself.

After Cloudbank Keep’s actions today, although these people wouldn’t say anything to their faces, the rumors circulating behind their backs would probably get even uglier.

Thinking of this, Fang Li couldn’t help but worry.

With just one glance, Xie Huai could read Fang Li’s worries, and a surge of warmth rose up in the depths of his chest.

You never pay attention to how others talk about you, yet you insist on thinking on my behalf wherever we go. If I were also to pour the dirty water onto you for the sake of keeping myself clean and to keep my mouth shut even when I know the truth, wouldn’t I be no better than those people?

Although going against the flow is difficult, it’s not a reason to sink into vice.

Right now, it’s only telling the truth. That should be something that’s taken for granted.

The words that you can’t speak, I’ll speak for you. I want you to know that in this world, there’s no such thing as right and wrong that everyone agrees on.

Besides, if he were afraid of trouble, he wouldn’t be the Yuyi-jun who drove back all evil in the world with sword in hand.

Cloudbank Keep had ten thousand years of legacy. They upheld justice and protected all around them. Even less did they have disciples who were afraid of trouble.

……………………………

Fang Li’s group didn’t stay in Xining county for long and quickly set out again. Recently, he was in pretty good spirits.

The scattered public was just like this. Some people spoke well of you, some spoke ill of you; there were a thousand types and categories of people, and the things that Yan Sui had done were truly overboard…… That he wasn’t being cursed one-sidedly right now was already unexpected enough. Fang Li didn’t need any more than that.

Fang Li was afraid he’d be a little bored on this trip, so while they were on the carriage, he had Wu Yimei buy a few folk stories and travel journals.

The carriage was piled high with all sorts of books. Fang Li was lazily curled up on his side, and the thick fox fur coat was laid out under him. In order not to make Xie Huai uncomfortable, he did his utmost to pass the time by himself. Luckily, the space inside the carriage was big enough that they wouldn’t disturb each other, and they each had a corner.

The quality of each of those books was vastly incongruent. Some Fang Li consumed with great interest, while others he put down after just a few glances. Today, he randomly drew out a book from the pile. The cover of the book looked completely ordinary. It was a grayish green color, and only the two words “Refining Passion” were written on it in calligraphic script. By its looks, it was most likely a romance novel……

Normally, Fang Li didn’t read these kinds of novels. After skimming through it a bit, he was about to put it down when his gaze suddenly froze, and his heart abruptly quickened for a few beats. He seemed to have seen something incredible!

Although the book was using aliases, Fang Li could tell at a glance that it was about him and Xie Huai!

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No way…… Did the people of this world have such heavy tastes? They could even ship him and Xie Huai? And even write it into a whole book?

He’d accidentally seen his and Xie Huai’s fanfiction……

Who would understand this kind of feeling?

Fang Li pretended to casually swipe a glance at Xie Huai. His eyes were closed, and he looked like he was sleeping. Fang Li shook out his sleeves, and his fingertips quietly shifted toward the book, sneakily masking the cover. Then, right in front of the person in question, with a feeling like he was committing a crime, he started cautiously reading.

And then—he consumed it all in one go, forgetting to eat or sleep.

The author’s writing truly wasn’t bad. Although the plot was completely bizarre and dog-blooded, the story was extremely imaginative, and the plot was full of twists and turns. Every chapter ended on a cliffhanger, making one wonder what would happen next, so even though Fang Li felt thunderstruck until he was charred outside and tender inside, as soon as he stopped paying attention, he ended up reading it all the way to the end.

Fang Li’s expression became complicated and moved. This fanfiction was even more bizarre than the original book. Was there really a market for this thing? Who would read it!

There was absolutely no way he could let Xie Huai discover this novel. If Xie Huai knew that people were using him as a model to write this kind of shameless, degenerate, vulgar novel, and it had even collapsed his character setting so that he would fall in love with a devil, Fang Li suspected that Xie Huai might feel the urge to kill.

The author of the book was only randomly shipping pairings. The crime didn’t deserve death.

Fang Li secretly shoved the book back and even deliberately stuffed it toward the inside of the pile, then picked up a travel log and started to read, the perfect picture of someone who hadn’t done anything at all.

Xie Huai’s eyes were faintly closed, but even with his eyes shut, he could sense the presence of the person beside him.

These days, although Fang Li ate and slept beside him, he almost never spoke to him. Even while reading, he flipped the pages softly, as if afraid of disturbing him……

Actually, there’s no need to be so careful……

Who knew what entertaining book he’d been reading yesterday, but he hadn’t slept for a day and a night, and he’d even let out soft laughs from time to time. Only when the sky began to darken today did this person finally drowsily lean back and go to sleep.

Xie Huai slowly opened his eyes, his gaze falling on this person’s pale white face. Perhaps it was because he was tired from reading, but there were faint, bruised circles under his eyes, and his wide sleeves covered his gaunt hands. He looked frail without a trace of aggression.

What had he read yesterday that had made him so delighted and enthralled? And that he was afraid Xie Huai would discover?

Xie Huai hesitated for a moment, then reached out his hand and, with perfect precision, pulled out the novel with the grayish green cover that Fang Li had stuffed into the depths of the pile of books.

Xie Huai reached out and flipped open the book……

And then.

Two shichen later, he closed the book with a stupefied face, then silently stuffed it back as if it had never been picked up in the first place.

Only the faint redness at the base of his ears revealed that he wasn’t at ease right now.

After a long time, Xie Huai’s complicated gaze fell onto Fang Li’s face. So what you were looking at was this? No wonder you were so careful in fear that I would find out…… Moreover, even this bizarre, nonsensical story can make you so satisfied and delighted?

Do you like me so much, to the point that you have to rely on something like this to console yourself?

Xie Huai suddenly closed his eyes, a bit flustered.

He wasn’t willing to think on it further.

To like someone but to only be able to rely on fantasies was truly too demeaning.

Why go this far?

………………………

Fang Li slept until daylight the next morning and lazily propped himself up into a sitting position. Xie Huai was still closing his eyes and resting, and the book pile still had the same appearance as last night. It looked like nothing at all had happened.

They traveled for a few days and arrived at Baihua province.

Baihua province was the world’s most famous entertainment district, a free-spirited place. There were no sects in charge here, nor was there anyone here especially to maintain order, but everyone who came here would voluntarily abide by its rules.

Not all those who cultivated were without passions and desires; on the contrary, those who cultivated the path of apathy were no more than a handful. Other than the few single-minded cultivation addicts, there were no small number of those who longed to indulge in the luxuries of the mortal world. This was precisely a place for cultivators to enjoy.

Arriving at the right time was better than arriving early.

When they reached the area, they just happened to chance upon Baihua province’s Flower Queen Election that was held once every three years. That was a grand occasion known all throughout the world! Fang Li decided to go and expand his horizons a bit.

Attired like a young master from a rich family, Fang Li arrived at the site of the Flower Queen Election, Glimmer Lake.

Glimmer Lake was at least several thousand kilometers wide, and looking at it from afar, it was almost like an ocean.

Wu Yimei was Fang Li’s purse. A toss of his hand was extravagant enough to afford the most luxurious pleasure boat.

Xie Huai followed Fang Li onto the boat, casting a glance sideways at Wu Yimei. This entire trip, Wu Yimei had remained reticent and sparse with words and hadn’t engaged in any conversation with him, but he could sense the hostility that Wu Yimei had hidden extremely deep.

Was this hostility merely because he was afraid Xie Huai would harm Fang Li, or was it because of something else?

Xie Huai wasn’t clear.

But no matter what Wu Yimei thought, it wasn’t important.

Xie Huai retrieved his gaze and looked at the man in front of him.

The sickly pale man’s expression was languid, wrapped in luxurious brocade robes, his facial features unrestrained and carefree when they moved. He looked all around him full of enthusiasm, as if everything was interesting to him……

Xie Huai couldn’t help but give a very low laugh. When you left the ridge last time with Wu Yimei, were you also like this?

Amidst the gentle night breeze, the luxurious pleasure boat traveled lazily forward. Being able to come to the front to spectate was a privilege reserved only for distinguished guests. Both of Fang Li’s hands were propped up on the guardrail, his upper body tilted forward slightly, watching the beauties on the stage proceed in a line.

There were both men and women, but every one of them was stunning. There was the charming type, the imperious type, the lovely type, the pure and clean type……

A thousand different looks, of every shape and size.

The level here was even a slight cut above the flock of beauties in his rear court. Any one of them could send the crowd into a frenzy.

It made one’s eyes dizzy.

Fang Li was watching the beauties on the stage, but Xie Huai was watching him.

In the darkness of night, the streams of light reflected off the river’s surface in glimmers. The man’s pale face and faint lips rippled under the light and shadow, hazy as if covered in a layer of mist and fog, yet he gave off an inexplicable, beguiling pull, making one unable to help but get drunk on the sight.

Xie Huai couldn’t suppress the thought, why do you like me?

He had never thought about this question before because it wasn’t important. He didn’t need to know why a devil would like him because in the end, he was going to kill him.

But right now, at this moment, Xie Huai suddenly wanted to know very much why Fang Li would like him……

As soon as this thought arose, it could never be restrained again.

Fang Li watched the sight before him with concentration. As the night passed, the Flower Queen Election finally ended. The winner was a beauty whose looks could rival a nation, indeed befitting of the title……

Maybe it was because he’d been watching for too long, but he was a little tired. He was just about to return, but when he turned his head, he was met with Xie Huai’s face.

Xie Huai’s face was pure and clear as a celestial being’s. Even though he was always cool and impassive, when the night sky reflected off of his flawless features, in that split second, he made the recently crowned Flower Queen look dull and dim in comparison.

Fang Li couldn’t help but think with amusement, the most beautiful person in the whole world was right next to him……

Yet he was ignoring what was right under his nose and looking elsewhere.

Perhaps it was due to the enticement of the night air, but Fang Li suddenly felt in the mood for a little teasing. He lifted Xie Huai’s chin with one hand and tilted his head, smiling. “Not even the Flower Queen can compare with Yuyi-jun’s beauty.”

Xie Huai looked at the man before him. The fingers that were hooked on his chin were suffused with a slight chill, but they seeped thread by thread into the pit of his stomach. It seemed like something had swung open in his heart, and those gentle and affectionate eyes seemed to ripple as if filled with lakewater……

Xie Huai’s throat bobbed, and he suddenly reached out and grasped Fang Li’s ill-behaved fingers. His eyes darkened a bit, and he said in a hoarse voice, “Is that so? So, is the reason you like me just because of my looks?”

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