Yun Cuo seemed to sense his evasive attitude, so he didn’t want to stay any longer and just left without saying anything.
The back of the lonely, tall, and majestic figure seemed to be walking along the wind, and as the breeze passed, all that was left was the fragrance of bamboo and snow.
Xue Huai glanced at the ugly shoes on his feet, rose up, and stepped on them. They’re unexpectedly warm.
Back at the Xue family mansion, he took off the shoes, cleaned them thoroughly, packed them up, and sent them along with fifty golden melon seeds and a thank-you letter to the Yun family.
He intends to test the water: Most people can just offer money and letters as a simple way to show gratitude. But if you want to indicate that you want to distance yourself, then return the shoes in their original condition.
He sent both of them together, just wanting to see which one Yun Cuo would leave.
After all, he hasn’t figured out why the perfect Yun Cuo would run to embrace him the moment he laid eyes on him. In his previous life, he took the initiative, and it was not surprising that Yun Cuo approached him. However, in this life, he deliberately avoided it, but Yun Cuo found him even faster. This thing is really a bit scary.
He received a reply from the Yun family the next day. Yun Cuo returned the shoes and the money, leaving only his thank-you letter. There is nothing else.
Yun Cuo briefly wrote four words: “It’s a small matter, there is no need to be polite.”
Both sides were very polite, and he couldn’t find anything wrong with Yun Cuo’s attitude. So for the time being, Xue Huai decided to put this matter aside.
*
Xue He only returned home the next morning after Xue Huai returned. The hundreds of ghosts wandering at night this time were different from what Xue Huai remembered. It seems like Xue He was scared out of his wits and was brought back by Yun Cuo’s group of brothers in the end.
Mrs. Liu looked at him in confusion. She appears both heartbroken and had an appearance like she had been bullied. She’s been stewing soup and searching for spiritual medicine every day. And every time she stewed soup, she would bring a bowl to Xue Huai’s place as well. However, Xue Huai fed all of the soup to the gluttonous ghost he’s raising in the room as if it was a trash can.
In addition, he even began to pay attention to his father’s food as well. In the past, Mrs. Liu was responsible for cooking and sending it to Shenhua Terrace, where he smelted weapons. To ensure that there were no problems. Xue Huai asked the old man to replace his father’s food without alerting Mrs. Liu.
It’s not that he thinks all grasses and trees are all soldiers1All grasses and trees are all soldier is a Chinese idiom, originating from ‘Jin Shu Fu Jian Zai Ji’ by Fang Xuanling and others from the Tang Dynasty. The meaning of this idiom is to describe suspicion, fear and uneasiness.. But the battlefield changed rapidly, and he died suddenly in his previous life. It’s not impossible to say he is running out of luck. However, he couldn’t feel at ease after he saw the way Xue He and Mrs. Liu behaved after his death.
In addition, after he left home and followed Yun Cuo to Northern Xianzhou, after several years of not coming back, his always energetic father mysteriously became very ill, unable to recover, and was bedridden. Later, when he went out for a walk, he fell on the ground and has been unable to move around since then.
Looking at it now, there seem to be too many doubts.
After Xue Zong finished his work, he also came back the following day.
“Your younger brother said you were with him, so why did you come back first? He was so scared.” He talked to Xue Huai, his expression serious, but his tone was very soft, with a hint of caution. “Xiao He cried and told me that you didn’t care about him, saying he didn’t expect you to be this kind of big brother. Xiao Huai, tell Father, what was the situation at that time? Your aunty had already made a fuss with me.”
Xue Huai called Mrs. Liu Aunty Liu.
He calmly said. “At that time, I suggested we kill them and come out, but he refused. So I thought I would come out first and ask for assistance, and then go fetch him later. The situation is urgent, and I don’t have time to talk to him in detail.”
He picked up the tea cup and brought it to his lips, smiling slightly, and said. “Well, whatever. That’s what Little Brother thinks of me. Father, why don’t you send him to go and pay respects to a good master if you have the time to ask me if I have put any effort into looking after him? He’s already fourteen or fifteen years old, yet he doesn’t even dare to lift a sword. It would embarrass our Xue family if we said it out loud.”
Xue Zong coughed a few times, still trying to show the dignity of a father. “Alright, you should let him be. You must tell Father about any grievances you may have. You don’t need to take these little things seriously. After a thousand years, Father will be dead. Then you two brothers can be companions. This is a long-term consideration.”
Xue Huai smiled and said. “En, you don’t have to worry, I have a sense of propriety.”
“It was Yun Cuo’s people who sent Xiao He all the way back. Our family should treat them to a meal.” Xue Zong said “Thanks to them this time, the people of Xianzhou did not encounter any danger. I will go to the neighboring city of Xianzhou tomorrow to handle affairs. You have to give them a good thank you on behalf of the Xue family.”
Xue Huai hesitated for a moment and said, “Father, the Yun family is complex, and Yun Cuo is not an ordinary person. It may not be a good thing to get involved with him. Just write a letter to thank him.”
Xue Zong thought seriously for a while and said, “You’re right, but Yun Cuo has a remarkable future ahead of him, it’s still good to give him a good impression. In the future, he may become our big customer. What kind of people have our Xue family never dealt with? We even dare to do business with the Abyss Ghosts, there’s no reason to be afraid to do business with a living person.”
Xue Huai feels a bit of a headache. After pondering for a moment, he said, “Since that’s the case, it would be best to let Xue He do it. In addition to being our Xue family’s Second Young Master, the Yun family saved his life. I don’t need to intervene in all these things. I’ll thank them when the time comes, and the rest will be used as training for Little Brother.”
Xue Zong didn’t find anything wrong with it and agreed with his statement.
*
Three days later, Xue Huai saw his father off Xianzhou. Xue He excitedly sent an invitation to the Yun family the next day, hoping that Yun Cuo could come to the banquet.
In fact, it was a group of guys who have a good relationship with Yun Cuo who brought him back that day. Yun Cuo himself was chasing after Xue Huai and didn’t even pay attention to him.
“Young Immortal Lord, are you going?” In Xunxian Pavilion, the young men put out the invitations they received one after another, with a playful smile on their faces. “That Second Young Master of the Xue Family is the one who insists on claiming to be the biological child. He is truly courageous. As soon as he sees you, he dares to invite you to dinner. Is he interested in you?”
They all know Yun Cuo’s temper. If he likes it, he likes it. If he doesn’t like it, he doesn’t like it. People he doesn’t want to please; even if he had his head bashed, he still wouldn’t please them. He just doesn’t even want to act.
This is the reason why this Young Immortal Lord, who’s almost seventeen years old, still has no partner. A very well-known family had once approached him for marriage, but he turned them all down and didn’t even look at them.
He is this kind of person who never compromises in his actions, and there will always be only the extreme option. He has this principle.
Everyone was constantly chatting, and Yun Cuo said “Go.”
An astonished gaze was cast over, but Yun Cuo did not respond. He picked up the invitation, and a dark cloud sealed up the spiritual letter. The names of the family members appeared on it one after another. At the end, the words “Xue Huai” came out, and the handwriting was elegant and clear, which was really beautiful.
*
Yun Cuo would come to visit. Thus, Xue He and Mrs. Liu were so excited that they almost fainted.
Coincidentally, Xue Zong is not here these days, and Xue Huai has also been strolling around the street all day. And the huge mansion is in chaos as the mother and son decorate it day and night as though they are preparing to celebrate the Chinese New Year. They only refrain and dare not make too much noise when Xue Huai returns.
Xue He noticed that he was not at home all day, so he came over to coax him and said “Brother, Young Master Yun will come tomorrow. Will you be at home? Don’t you want to see him?”
Xue Huai said in a gentle voice “I have some things to do and won’t come back. As an elder, I should have originally thanked them on behalf of father, but this time I can only trouble Aunt Liu. As for that Yun… I’m not very interested, you can go and welcome him.”
Xue He quickly said “Brother, you don’t have to worry. I can do it this time. You can just do your things.”
Xue Huai smiled but remained silent.
Although he is not sure how Yun Cuo and Xue He got together in his previous life, seeing this younger brother’s desperate appearance, it is probably Mrs. Liu’s plan to make use of the family’s reputation for her own benefit. This is a good opportunity to please Yun Cuo.
He doesn’t like Xue He, nor does he think that Xue He deserves Yun Cuo, who could move the nine continents with a single sword. However, emotions have always been a matter of self-awareness, and fate cannot be stopped. Therefore, he is in no position to speak.
He went to his father’s Shenhua Terrace these days to help bind a weapon manual, which was said to have been requested by Fuli Heavenly Lord. His father struggled to find a good painter and tried many times and made numerous attempts, but he was never satisfied. Xue Huai planned to try it out himself.
At the beginning of the banquet, he was slowly wandering around the immortal market with no followers. He casually sat down at a study stall and chatted with the shop owner for a cup of tea. He also witnesses the store owner pulling out a jade carving brush and his hidden snow-wave paper. The elegant young man sat there motionless, like a peaceful painting, shining brightly in the warm winter afternoon sun.
*
“It’s really fancy; this is the famous Xue family? Why is it like a mortal’s wedding? The party is too big, boss, don’t you think so?” The young people whispered to each other through secret techniques, smiling as they stepped over the threshold of the Xue family.
Yun Cuo scanned around but couldn’t find the person he wanted to see.
The servants and front hall attendants were waiting in groups, and at the door stood the reserved Xue He and Mrs. Liu, both grinning brightly and excitedly greeting the guests.
During the feast, except for Yun Cuo, the other youngsters slowly became lively with Xue He. This group of youngsters doesn’t mind taking Xue He as an extra playmate since they have been held high since childhood. And Mrs. Liu is quite handful, after all, you can’t hit the smiling person 2毕竟伸手不打笑脸人 is a chinese proverb, which means that after the other person admits their mistake, you can’t bear to hit them anymore..
Only the young man who praised Xue Huai’s appearance that day poked his head and asked “Where’s your big brother? Why isn’t Young Master Xue here?”
“What’s wrong, Zhu Xing? You already can’t forget him after seeing him once?”
The boy named Zhu Xing didn’t hide it and scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed. “What’s wrong? I’m not allowed to make friends anymore?”
Xue He hurriedly said in soft voices “My brother has been very busy lately. If you guys want to see him, I’ll find time for him to come.”
Zhu Xing smiled and curled his eyes. “That’s nice.”
Yun Cuo’s voice coldly interrupted the crowd’s uproar—“Where is he now? Why didn’t he come?”
Xue He raised his eyes and sneaked a peek at him, then whispered “He went to the market to help father buy atlas paper. At that time, I asked him if he wanted to come too, but he didn’t remember you anymore and even forgot your name.”
Mrs. Liu coughed and deliberately amplified her voice, as if blaming, “Impudence, your brother is already very busy. What’s there to say about this? Why don’t you go pour wine for Young Master Yun?”
The pair of mother and son, one playing “the hero” and the other playing “the villain” blend in and out. The other people’s eyes immediately became unfriendly—according to this statement, the young master of the Xue family still looked down on their group of people.
No wonder he can walk away without saying a word in the Xunxian Pavilion. They’ve always been the only ones who look down on others. If other people are not trying to please them, then they at least admire them somewhat. This is the first person who doesn’t even give Yun Cuo a face.
With darkened eyes, Yun Cuo swept his gaze over the mother and son without much expression.
He got up halfway through the feast to bid farewell, only saying that it was inconvenient to continue because there was still an urgent matter to attend to.
He had already brought great joy to Mrs. Liu by coming here. Seeing that it was impossible to keep him, she had to send him off with a smile on her face and remind Yun Cuo to come often in the future.
Yun Cuo politely said, “I will.”
*
In the evening, the number of people coming and going in Xianzhou gradually decreased.
Xue Huai was still testing the paper and brush, and the brush tip was making a rustling sound. His handwriting was graceful and clear, as moist as the exhaled heat.
“How’s it? This kind of paper is good, isn’t it? It’s just right for making maps.” The boss smiled and took a sip of tea, bending over to watch him write. He was about to get closer when he turned his head and then choked. He saw a young man with a cold and solemn expression. Like a ghost of Shura standing there.
Xue Huai was concentrating on the paper and didn’t notice that the boss had already left under the youth’s signal. He only replied “It’s not urgent, I’ll write a few more words to see.”
The brush paused, and the other hand fell from the sky, gently grasping his hand before he could finish writing.
Warm breathing comes from behind him.
That was a very cautious posture, where the body did not touch him but bent down from behind and grabbed his hand. The other hand wanted to be placed on his shoulder, but in the end just slid down, using the edges of the table as support.
The ink stains the paper one stroke at a time. It was a bit crooked due to the two people holding hands together.
One cross, two crosses, then the dark ink moves downwards, encountering the first bend, followed by an almost continuous ending, following the convergence force point.
It’s the word “Yun”.
Xue Huai looked back in surprise, and what caught his eye was Yun Cuo’s face, which was close to his.
“What’s my name?”
Yun Cuo asked.
Xue Huai looked at him and then at the paper and brush on the table. The tea cup is a dark green water glaze color, reflecting his situation of being trapped in a small world built by his embrace.
He finally reacted and said angrily, “How could it be you again? Are you crazy?”
Yun Cuo finally let go of him, but his eyes were still on him. A person who has always had a murderous aura now has a gentle smile in his eyes. “My name is Yun Cuo, Xue Huai, you must remember it.”
The author has something to say: Student Yun’s triple links:
I passed by
I have no other intentions
What a coincidence
Xue Huai: don’t touch Laozi (▼皿▼#)
