TFOD Chapter 40

Chapter 39: Grass and Wood 8

A-Qing seemed to pause for a moment, before saying, “Yes, yes, I am!”

Xiao Xingchen said, “Then slow down, don’t walk so fast. It won’t be good if you bump into someone again.”

He didn’t mention that he also couldn’t see, and taking A-Qing’s hand, he led her to the side of the road, saying, “Walk here. There are fewer people.”

His words and actions were gentle and careful. A-Qing’s hand stretched out and hesitated, but in the end, she still stealthily snatched the money pouch from his waist, saying, “A-Qing thanks older brother!”

Xiao Xingchen said, “Not older brother, Daozhang.”

A-Qing blinked, “You’re Daozhang and older brother.”

Xiao Xingchen smiled, “Since you called me older brother, then return older brother’s money pouch.”

Even if A-Qing was a street urchin, her hands and feet would have to be ten times faster to deceive a cultivator’s five senses. As soon as she heard that, she held her staff and started to run like mad. Before she could run two steps, Xiao Xingchen grabbed the back of her collar with one hand and pulled her back. “I told you not to run so fast, what if you bump into someone again?”

A-Qing twisted and struggled, her lips moving as she bit her lower lip with her upper teeth. Wei Wuxian thought, “Oh no, she’s going to shout ‘indecency’!” Just then, a middle-aged man hurriedly turned out from the corner of the street. When he saw A-Qing, his eyes lit up, and he walked over cursing, “You little slut, I’ve caught you, give me back my money!”

Still cursing and not satisfied, he raised his hand and slapped at her face, scaring A-Qing into quickly shrinking her neck and closing her eyes. But this slap didn’t land on her cheek, and was intercepted halfway.

Xiao Xingchen said, “Please calm down. Treating a young girl like this is not good.”

A-Qing secretly opened her eyes to take a look. The middle-aged man had obviously used a lot of force, but his hand was lightly held by Xiao Xingchen, and he couldn’t move forward even a bit. He felt uneasy, but said stubbornly, “You half-blind man who just came out of nowhere, what hero are you trying to be? Is this little wild slut your lover? Do you know she’s a thief! She stole my money pouch, and you’re protecting her, you’re a thief too!”

Xiao Xingchen grabbed the man with one hand and held A-Qing with the other, turning his head, “Give the money back to him.”

A-Qing quickly took the small amount of money from her bosom and handed it over. Xiao Xingchen let go of the middle-aged man, who looked at the money and counted it, and found nothing was missing. He glanced at the blind man, knowing that he was not easy to deal with, so he had no choice but to leave in embarrassment.

Xiao Xingchen said, “You are too bold. You can’t see, yet you still dare to steal things.”

A-Qing jumped three feet high, “He touched me! He pinched my butt, and it hurt so much, why shouldn’t I take some of his money? Such a big bag and there was only so little in it, and he still had the nerve to yell and try to hit people, that poor wretch!”

Wei Wuxian thought, “Clearly you were the one who bumped into him first to make a move, and now it’s turned into him being in the wrong. What a trick to switch the blame.”

Xiao Xingchen shook his head, “If that’s the case, then you should be even more careful not to provoke him. If no one was around today, a slap wouldn’t be able to solve this matter. Young girl, please take care of yourself.”

After he finished speaking, he turned and walked in another direction. Wei Wuxian thought, “He hasn’t taken back his own money pouch. My uncle-master is also a compassionate man.”

A-Qing clutched the small money pouch she had stolen and stood there blankly for a while, then suddenly stuffed it into her bosom, tapped her bamboo staff and chased after him, throwing herself on Xiao Xingchen’s back. Xiao Xingchen had no choice but to support her again, saying, “What else is it?”

A-Qing said, “Your money pouch is still here with me!”

Xiao Xingchen said, “It’s a gift to you. There isn’t much money anyway. Don’t go stealing before you’ve spent it.”

A-Qing said, “Just now listening to that stinky wretch cursing people, so you’re also blind?”

Hearing the second half of the sentence, Xiao Xingchen’s expression instantly dimmed, and his smile disappeared all at once.

The innocent words of children are the most deadly. Children don’t understand anything, and because they don’t understand, their words often hurt the most directly.

Under the bandage wrapped around Xiao Xingchen’s eyes, a trace of blood became more and more concentrated, almost seeping through the cloth. He raised his hand to cover it, his arm trembling slightly. The pain of having his eyes dug out and the injury were not so easy to heal. But A-Qing thought he was just dizzy, and happily said, “Then I’ll follow you!”

Xiao Xingchen forced a smile, “Follow me to do what? Do you want to become a female Daoist?”

A-Qing said, “You’re a big blind man, and I’m a little blind man, if we walk together, we can take care of each other. I have no father or mother and no place to go, following anyone is the same, and walking anywhere is the same?” She was very smart, afraid that Xiao Xingchen would disagree, and knowing that he was a good person, she threatened him, “If you don’t take me with you, and you don’t agree, I’ll spend the money very quickly, and in an instant it’ll all be gone, and then I’ll have to go stealing and scamming again, and get beaten on the face until I can’t find my bearings, how pitiful.”

Xiao Xingchen laughed, “You’re so clever, it’s only you who can trick people until they can’t find their bearings, who can beat you until you can’t find your bearings?”

After observing for a while, Wei Wuxian discovered something magical.

With Xiao Xingchen’s true self as a comparison, he found that the imposter Xue Yang played was truly incredibly similar! Apart from his appearance, every detail was vividly real, to the point that he could even believe that Xue Yang at that time had been possessed by Xiao Xingchen’s spirit.

A-Qing pestered and relied on him, and pretended to be blind and pitiful, sticking to him the whole way. Xiao Xingchen had said several times that following him was very dangerous, but A-Qing just wouldn’t listen. Even when Xiao Xingchen passed through a village and got rid of a monstrous old yellow ox that had become a demon, she wasn’t scared away. She still called him Daozhang every other word, sticking to him like a piece of chewing gum, within a ten-foot radius around him. After following for a while, maybe because he saw that A-Qing was clever and likeable, and that she was a harmless, blind little girl who was poor and alone, Xiao Xingchen tacitly allowed her to stay by his side.

Wei Wuxian had thought that Xiao Xingchen should have a destination, but after skipping through a few memories and judging by the local customs and accents, the places they went to didn’t connect at all; they were a jumbled mess. It didn’t look like he was headed to any particular place, but rather randomly night-hunting, and if he heard of any strange occurrences in a place, he’d go to take care of it. He thought, “Perhaps the Chang Clan of Yueyang case gave him too big a blow, and from then on he didn’t want to mingle with the cultivation sects anymore, but also couldn’t let go of his ambition, so he chose to roam and night-hunt, doing as much as he could.”

At this time, Xiao Xingchen and A-Qing were walking on a flat, long road, with waist-high weeds on both sides. Suddenly, A-Qing exclaimed, “Ah!” Xiao Xingchen immediately asked, “What’s wrong?”

A-Qing said, “Ah, nothing, I just twisted my ankle a little.”

Wei Wuxian could clearly see that she didn’t call out because she twisted her ankle at all. She was walking fine, and if she didn’t have to pretend to be blind in front of Xiao Xingchen, so he couldn’t chase her away, she could jump up and fly to the sky. A-Qing shouted because she had just caught sight of a black figure in the corner of her eye, lying in the thick weeds.

Although she didn’t know if it was dead or alive, she thought it would be troublesome either way. A-Qing clearly didn’t want Xiao Xingchen to discover this person, so she urged, “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go to some city ahead to rest, I’m so tired!”

Xiao Xingchen said, “Didn’t you twist your ankle? Do you want me to carry you?”

A-Qing was overjoyed, her bamboo staff banging loudly, “Yes, yes, yes!” Xiao Xingchen smiled and turned his back to her, kneeling on one knee. Just as A-Qing was about to pounce on him, suddenly, Xiao Xingchen held her down, stood up, and said with a focused expression, “There’s a smell of blood.”

A-Qing’s nose also smelled a faint smell of blood, but the night wind was blowing, and it was there one moment and gone the next. She pretended not to know, “Is there? Why didn’t I smell it? Is it someone nearby slaughtering a pig or a chicken?”

As if the heavens were trying to go against her, the person in the grass coughed.

Although it was an extremely weak sound, it couldn’t escape Xiao Xingchen’s ears, and he immediately identified the direction, stepped into the grass, and squatted down next to the person.

A-Qing, seeing that he had still discovered him, stomped her feet and pretending to feel her way over, said, “What’s wrong?”

Xiao Xingchen was taking the person’s pulse, “There’s a person lying here.”

A-Qing said, “No wonder it smells so strongly of blood. Is he dead? Should we dig a hole and bury him?”

Dead people were of course less troublesome than living ones, so A-Qing couldn’t wait for this person to die. But Xiao Xingchen said, “He’s not dead yet, he’s just very badly injured.”

After a moment’s thought, he carefully and gently carried the person on the ground on his back.

A-Qing saw that the spot that was supposed to be hers had been taken by a foul-smelling man covered in blood, and that her chance of being carried into the city had disappeared. She pouted her mouth, and her bamboo staff stabbed a few deep holes in the ground. But she knew that Xiao Xingchen had to save this person, and she couldn’t complain. The two returned to the road and continued along it. The more they walked, the more familiar Wei Wuxian felt it, and suddenly he remembered, “Isn’t this the road that Lan Zhan and I passed when we came to Yi City?”

Sure enough, at the end of the road, Yi City was towering majestically.

At this time, the city gate wasn’t as dilapidated as it would later be, the corner towers were intact, and there was no graffiti on the city walls. Entering the city gate, the fog was a bit thicker than outside, but compared to the demonic fog that would come later, it was almost negligible. Lamplight shone from the doors and windows of the houses on both sides, and there were still people talking, although they were a bit scarce, at least there was still some human activity.

Xiao Xingchen was carrying a severely injured person covered in blood, and knew that no shop would accept a guest like that. So he didn’t look for lodging, but directly asked a watchman who was coming towards him if there was an abandoned mortuary in the city. The watchman told him, “There is one over there. The old man who guarded the mortuary just passed away last month, and no one’s been taking care of it since then.” He saw that Xiao Xingchen was blind and it was inconvenient for him to find his way, so he offered to lead him there.

It was the mortuary where Xiao Xingchen’s body would be placed after his death.

After thanking the watchman, Xiao Xingchen carried the injured man into the room on the right. The room was neither big nor small, with a small low bed by the wall and all sorts of pots and pans. He carefully laid the man down and took out a medicinal pill from his qiankun bag, forcing it into his tightly clenched teeth. A-Qing groped around the room for a while before happily saying, “There’s a lot of stuff here! There’s a basin!”

Xiao Xingchen said, “Is there a stove?”

“Yes!”

Xiao Xingchen said, “A-Qing, please try to boil some water. Be careful not to burn yourself.”

A-Qing pouted, but set about doing it. Xiao Xingchen felt the man’s forehead and took out another medicinal pill, feeding it to him. Wei Wuxian really wanted to get a good look at the man’s face, but A-Qing was clearly uninterested in him and very annoyed, not giving him even a single glance. After the water was boiled, Xiao Xingchen slowly wiped the blood off his face, and A-Qing glanced at him curiously, letting out a silent “Eh?”

What she “eh’ed” at was that, this person who had had his face wiped clean, actually looked quite good.

Seeing this face, Wei Wuxian’s heart sank.

As expected, it was Xue Yang.

He thought, “What a narrow road for enemies, Xiao Xingchen, you are truly… unlucky to the bone.”

At this time, Xue Yang looked completely like a teenager, seven parts handsome, three parts childish. But who knew that such a young man who would show his tiger teeth when he smiled, would be a heartless and crazy mass murderer.

Judging by the time, it should have been after Jin Guangyao had become the Immortal Supervisor. Xue Yang was in such a state, he must have just narrowly escaped death from Jin Guangyao’s “cleansing.” Jin Guangyao hadn’t killed him, so he was naturally embarrassed to make a public announcement, and perhaps believed that he wouldn’t survive, so he declared to the public that he’d been gotten rid of. But a disaster will last a thousand years. When Xue Yang was on the verge of death, he was saved by his old rival, Xiao Xingchen. Poor Xiao Xingchen wouldn’t have thought to examine the man’s face carefully, and fatefully rescued his enemy who would lead him to such a miserable state. Although A-Qing could see, she wasn’t a member of the cultivation world and didn’t recognize Xue Yang. Even less so did she know the deep-seated hatred between them. She didn’t even know what Xiao Xingchen’s name was…

Wei Wuxian sighed in his heart. It really couldn’t get any more unlucky. It was as if all the bad luck in the world had been concentrated on Xiao Xingchen alone.

Just then, Xue Yang frowned. Xiao Xingchen was examining and bandaging his wounds, and felt that he seemed to be waking up, so he said, “Don’t move.”

A person like Xue Yang, who had done so many bad things, would naturally be unusually alert. As soon as he heard that voice, he suddenly opened his eyes, immediately sat up, and rolled to the corner of the wall, staring at Xiao Xingchen with a guarded and fierce expression. That look was like a cornered beast, not hiding the cruelty and malice within at all, causing A-Qing’s scalp to tingle. This feeling also made Wei Wuxian’s scalp tingle, and he shouted in his heart, “Speak! Xiao Xingchen definitely wouldn’t forget Xue Yang’s voice!”

Xue Yang said, “You…”

As soon as he opened his mouth, Wei Wuxian knew that it was over. Even if he opened his mouth, Xiao Xingchen wouldn’t be able to recognize him.

Xue Yang’s throat was also injured at this time, and after coughing up a lot of blood, his voice was hoarse, and one couldn’t hear that it was the same person at all!

Xiao Xingchen sat by the bed, “I told you not to move, your wound will break open. Don’t worry, I saved you, so I naturally won’t harm you.”

Xue Yang adapted very quickly, and immediately guessed that Xiao Xingchen probably didn’t recognize him. His eyes rolled, he coughed a few times, and asked tentatively, “Who are you?”

A-Qing interrupted, “Do you have eyes, can’t you see for yourself, he’s a wandering Daoist. He painstakingly carried you back to heal you and save your life, and gave you spiritual pills, and you’re still so fierce!”

Xue Yang’s gaze immediately turned to her, and his tone was cold, “Blind?”

Wei Wuxian’s heart called out, “Oh no.”

This little gangster was sharp and cunning, and also very vigilant. Even if A-Qing had a pair of white eyes, he wouldn’t take her for granted and let his guard down. He wouldn’t let go of any suspicious point, and with one slip up, she would be caught by the tail. Just now, Xue Yang had only said four words, and just by the tone of these four words, it would be hard to say whether or not he was fierce, unless you saw his expression and his eyes.

Luckily, A-Qing had been lying since childhood, so she immediately said, “Do you look down on blind people? You were saved by a blind person, or else you’d be rotting on the side of the road and no one would care! You don’t even thank the Daozhang for the first thing you say after waking up, so impolite! And you called me blind, hmph… so what if I’m blind…”

She successfully diverted the topic and shifted the focus. She had a discontented and aggrieved expression, muttering to herself. Xiao Xingchen quickly went to comfort her, and Xue Yang rolled his eyes from where he was leaning against the wall. Xiao Xingchen then turned back to him, saying, “Don’t lean against the wall anymore, your leg wound hasn’t been completely bandaged, come over here.”

Xue Yang’s expression was cold and indifferent, still thinking, and Xiao Xingchen said again, “If you delay in treating it any longer, your leg might be crippled.”

Hearing this, Xue Yang made a decisive choice.

Wei Wuxian could guess what he was thinking: he was seriously injured now and his movements were inconvenient, it was absolutely impossible without someone to heal him. Since Xiao Xingchen himself was stupid enough to come to his door to play the fool, why shouldn’t he accept it peacefully?

So, his face changed in an instant, and he said with a grateful tone, “Then I’ll have to trouble you, Daozhang.”

Seeing Xue Yang’s skill in switching between an unfeeling and smiling face, Wei Wuxian couldn’t help but feel anxious for these two blind people in the room, one true and one fake. Especially A-Qing, the fake blind one. She could see everything, and if Xue Yang found out this fact, she would definitely be killed to prevent any leaks. Although he knew that A-Qing would also mostly be killed by Xue Yang in the end, it was unavoidable that he would still be worried and anxious having to go through this process.

Suddenly, he noticed that Xue Yang was subtly avoiding having Xiao Xingchen touch his left hand. Taking a closer look, it turned out that Xue Yang was missing his little finger on his left hand. The cut was old, not a recent injury. Xiao Xingchen definitely knew that Xue Yang had nine fingers. No wonder when Xue Yang pretended to be an imposter, he had to wear a black glove on his left hand.

Xiao Xingchen was thorough and conscientious when healing people. After lowering his head to finish applying the medicine for Xue Yang, he bandaged him very nicely, saying, “Okay. But you better not move. Or else the bone will misalign.”

Xue Yang was already sure that Xiao Xingchen really was a fool who hadn’t recognized him. Although he was covered in blood and in a terrible state, that lazy and smug smile appeared on his face again, “Daozhang, don’t you ask who I am? And why I’m so badly hurt?”

If someone else was in his position, they would carefully avoid these topics, to prevent any clues that would reveal their identity. But he deliberately did the opposite and brought it up first. Xiao Xingchen lowered his head to pack his medicine box and bandages, and said gently, “Since you don’t want to talk about it, why should I ask. We met by chance, and I’m only helping you out of kindness. It’s not difficult for me either. Once you recover from your injury, we’ll go our separate ways. If it were me, there would be many things that I wouldn’t want others to ask me about.”

Wei Wuxian thought: even if Xiao Xingchen asked, this little gangster would definitely make up a flawless story and fool him completely. People inevitably have some chaotic past, and when Xiao Xingchen doesn’t ask too many questions, it’s meant to show respect. But who knew that Xue Yang would just take advantage of this kind of respect. Wei Wuxian was sure that he not only wanted to trick Xiao Xingchen into helping him heal his injuries, but after recovering, he definitely wouldn’t “go their separate ways”!

Xue Yang was resting in the mortuary guard’s room, while Xiao Xingchen went to the hall of the mortuary, opened an empty coffin, picked up a lot of the straw on the ground and laid it out in a thick layer at the bottom of the coffin. He said to A-Qing, “That person inside is injured, so the bed is given to him. You’ll have to sleep here instead. I’ve laid out the straw, so it shouldn’t be cold.”

A-Qing had been wandering since she was a child, and had slept in all sorts of places, so she didn’t care, “What’s the big deal. It’s good enough that there’s a place to sleep. It’s not cold, and don’t take off your outer coat for me again.”

Xiao Xingchen patted the top of her head, put away his horsetail whisk, slung his sword over his back, and stepped out the door. For safety, he never allowed her to follow him during night-hunts. A-Qing crawled into the coffin and laid there for a while, then suddenly heard Xue Yang calling her from next door, “Little blind girl, come over here.”

A-Qing poked her head out, “What?”

Xue Yang said, “I’ll give you candy to eat.”

A-Qing’s tongue tingled for a moment, and it seemed like she really wanted to eat the candy, but she refused, “I won’t eat it. I’m not going!”

Xue Yang said sweetly with a hint of threat, “Are you sure you won’t eat it? Are you not coming because you’re afraid? But do you think that just because you don’t come, I really can’t move, and can’t come to find you?”

A-Qing shuddered at the sound of his strange tone. Imagining the scene of that malicious smiling face suddenly appearing above the coffin, it was even more terrifying. After hesitating for a moment, she still picked up her bamboo staff and tapped it as she dragged herself to the door of the room. Before she could open her mouth, suddenly a small object flew towards her face.

Wei Wuxian wanted to dodge instinctively, worried that it was some kind of hidden weapon. Of course, he couldn’t control this body. Immediately, he was suddenly startled, and realized, “A trap!”

Xue Yang was testing A-Qing. If she was really blind, she wouldn’t be able to dodge this thing!

A-Qing deserved to be called a veteran at pretending to be blind. She was quick-witted. Seeing the thing flying over, she didn’t dodge it at all, and didn’t even blink her eyes, letting it hit her chest, before jumping backwards in anger, “Hey! What did you throw at me!”

Xue Yang, seeing that his test had failed, said, “It’s candy, I was inviting you to eat it. I forgot you were blind, and you couldn’t catch it, and it fell by your feet.”

A-Qing snorted, squatted down, and in a realistic motion, groped around for a while, and found a piece of candy. She had never eaten such a thing before, and she swallowed her saliva and picked it up, then wiped it off and put it in her mouth, happily crunching away. Xue Yang was lying on his side on the bed, propping his cheek up with one hand, saying, “Is it good, little blind girl?”

A-Qing said, “I have a name, I’m not called little blind girl.”

Xue Yang said, “You won’t tell me your name, so of course I can only call you that.”

A-Qing had always only told her name to people who were kind to her, but she didn’t like Xue Yang calling her such an awful name, so she said, “Listen up, I’m called A-Qing. Don’t you dare call me little blind girl, little blind girl anymore!” After she finished speaking, she felt that her tone was too harsh, and she was afraid of angering this person, so she immediately changed the topic, “You’re really strange, covered in blood, with such a heavy injury, and you still have candy on you.”

Xue Yang giggled, “When I was little I really liked eating candy, but I could never get any, and watching other people eat it made my mouth water. So I always thought, if one day I become successful, I’ll definitely carry an endless supply of candy with me everyday.”

A-Qing had just finished the candy in her mouth, and licked her lips, still wanting more. Her desire for candy had overwhelmed her dislike for this person, so she asked, “Do you have more?”

Xue Yang laughed, “Of course I do. You come here, and I’ll give it to you.”

A-Qing stood up and tapped her staff as she walked towards him. But who knew, halfway there, Xue Yang’s smile remained unchanged, and his eyes flashed with a strange light. He soundlessly pulled out a long sword with a sharp and cold edge from his sleeve.

Disaster.

He pointed the tip of his sword at A-Qing’s direction, and as long as she took a few more steps forward, Disaster would pierce her through. But, if A-Qing hesitated even for a step, the fact that she was not blind would be exposed!

Wei Wuxian, who shared his five senses with A-Qing, could also feel the tingling sensation coming from the back of her head. However, this little girl was exceptionally courageous and composed, and she still kept up the pretense of groping her way forward. Sure enough, when the tip of the sword was only about half an inch away from her lower abdomen, Xue Yang took the initiative to withdraw his hand, and put Disaster back into his sleeve. Instead, he produced two pieces of candy, giving one to A-Qing, and throwing one into his own mouth.

He said, “A-Qing, where did that Daoist of yours go in the middle of the night?”

A-Qing crunched on her candy, “Seems like he went hunting.”

Xue Yang chuckled, “What hunting, it’s night-hunting, right?”

A-Qing said, “Is that so? Aren’t the two words the same? What’s the difference. They both mean helping people fight ghosts and demons, and they don’t even charge money.”

But Wei Wuxian thought, she’s too shrewd.

A-Qing didn’t forget what Xiao Xingchen had said at all, she remembered it more clearly than anyone else. She had deliberately said the word for “night-hunting” wrong, and when Xue Yang corrected her, it was the same as admitting that he was also a cultivator. Xue Yang’s test failed, but instead he was tested by her. This little girl was so young, and she already had so many thoughts.

Xue Yang’s face showed disdain, but his tone was doubtful, “He’s blind, can he still night-hunt?”

A-Qing said angrily, “There you go again. So what if he’s blind, Daozhang is still really amazing even when he’s blind. That sword goes swoosh swoosh swoosh, in one word, fast!” As she was gesturing with her hands, Xue Yang suddenly said, “You can’t even see, how do you know his sword is fast?”

Quick to make a move, and even quicker to dismantle one. A-Qing immediately said stubbornly, “I say it’s fast, so it’s fast. Daozhang’s sword is definitely fast! Even if I can’t see it, can’t I hear it! What exactly do you mean, are you looking down on blind people like us!” It sounded just like a spoiled and admiring girl, praising a person, as natural as could be.

Up to this point, his three tests were unsuccessful, and the expression on Xue Yang’s face finally loosened up, and he must have believed that A-Qing was truly blind.

However, A-Qing had become very wary of Xue Yang. The next day, Xiao Xingchen found some wood, thatch, and tiles to repair the roof. As soon as he came in, she secretly pulled him out, whispering for a long time, saying that this person’s actions were suspicious, that even though he was a fellow cultivator with Xiao Xingchen, he was hiding things, so he definitely wasn’t a good person. Unfortunately, she might have thought that the missing little finger was unimportant, and she didn’t mention this most crucial detail. Xiao Xingchen consoled her for a while, saying, “You’ve already eaten his candy, so don’t chase him away anymore. He’ll naturally leave when he recovers from his injuries. No one would want to stay with us in this mortuary.”

That was the truth. There was only one bed in this broken place, and it was lucky that there wasn’t any wind or rain, or else they would have a hard time with this roof. No one would want to stay there. A-Qing wanted to say bad things about Xue Yang, but that voice suddenly came from behind, “Are you talking about me?”

He had actually gotten out of bed again. A-Qing wasn’t afraid at all, saying, “Who’s talking about you? How conceited!” She picked up her bamboo staff and tapped her way inside, sneakily hiding under the window and continuing to eavesdrop.

Outside the mortuary, Xiao Xingchen said, “You’re not healed yet, and you keep walking around and not listening, is that okay?”

Xue Yang said, “Moving around is how you get better faster, and besides, it’s not like both my legs are broken. I’m used to this kind of injury, I was beaten my whole life.”

Xiao Xingchen seemed to not know what to say, whether to comfort him or take it as a joke. After a moment, he said, “Oh…”

Xue Yang continued, “Daozhang, I saw you brought back all those things, are you going to fix the roof?”

Xiao Xingchen said, “Mm. I’ll probably be resting here for the time being. The roof is broken, and it’s not good for both A-Qing and you to heal your injuries.”

Xue Yang said, “Do you want me to help?”

Xiao Xingchen thanked him, “You don’t need to trouble yourself.”

Xue Yang said, “Daozhang, do you know how?”

Xiao Xingchen smiled and said in embarrassment, shaking his head, “I really haven’t tried it before.”

So, the two started to work together to fix the roof. One of them moved while the other directed. Xue Yang was good at talking and very good at saying witty things. He was humorous with a bit of uninhibited street-like charm. Xiao Xingchen probably had little contact with people like him before, so he was easily teased, and after a few sentences, he laughed. A-Qing heard them talking so happily, and silently moved her lips, listening carefully. It seemed that she was resentfully saying, “I’m going to beat you to death, you bad thing.”

Wei Wuxian and A-Qing shared the same feeling.

Xue Yang had suffered severe injuries, almost losing his life, and there was also an old debt on Xiao Xingchen’s part. They could be considered mortal enemies. Now, he must have wanted nothing more than to see Xiao Xingchen die a miserable and gruesome death, yet on the surface, he was still able to talk and laugh with him. If the real Wei Wuxian was lying at the window right now, he would’ve killed Xue Yang first without regard for anything else, to eliminate any future trouble. But unfortunately, this wasn’t his body, and A-Qing also lacked the power to do anything.

About a month later, with Xiao Xingchen’s meticulous care, Xue Yang’s injuries had almost completely healed. Apart from walking with a bit of a limp, he was mostly fine. But he didn’t mention leaving, and still squeezed into the same mortuary with these two people, not knowing what he was plotting.

This day, after looking after A-Qing until she had fallen asleep, Xiao Xingchen was about to go out night-hunting when Xue Yang’s voice suddenly came, “Daozhang, how about you take me with you tonight?”

His voice should have recovered long ago, but he was deliberately not using his original voice, disguising it with another one. Xiao Xingchen laughed, “That won’t do, as soon as you open your mouth I’ll laugh. And when I laugh, my sword won’t be steady.”

Xue Yang said pitifully, “Then I won’t talk, I’ll carry your sword for you, I’ll be your assistant. Don’t dislike me.”

He was used to acting spoiled and charming, and when talking to older people, he acted like a younger brother. And Xiao Xingchen, who seemed to have taken care of younger disciples under Baoshan Sanren, naturally saw him as a junior, and knew he was also a fellow cultivator, so he readily agreed. Wei Wuxian thought, “Xue Yang definitely wouldn’t be so kind, and actually help Xiao Xingchen night-hunt. If A-Qing doesn’t follow along, then she’ll miss something important.”

But A-Qing was indeed smart, and also understood that Xue Yang was mostly up to no good. After these two left the house, she also jumped out of the coffin and followed at a distance. She was afraid of being discovered, so she kept too far away. The two were fast, and she lost them after not following for very long. Luckily, Xiao Xingchen had mentioned a small village nearby that was being invaded by walking corpses when he was washing vegetables, telling the two of them not to go out and wander around. A-Qing remembered that place and headed straight there. She soon arrived, and crawled through a dog hole under a fence at the entrance of the village, hiding behind a house and sneakily poking her head out.

After sticking her head out, whether or not A-Qing understood what she saw, Wei Wuxian felt a chill run through his heart.

Xue Yang stood by the side of the road with his arms crossed, tilting his head and smiling. Xiao Xingchen was in front of him, calmly unsheathing his sword. Shuanghua’s silver light flew across, piercing through a villager’s heart with one sword.

That villager, was a living person.