The wind and snow grew heavier and heavier. She was nearly blinded by the snowflakes and could no longer see her surroundings clearly. The small silver moon hung at the edge of the sky, reflecting the snow filling the heavens—it felt particularly unsuitable.
Xuan Yi tried to use wind and snow to cover it, but felt somewhat powerless. For some reason, even raising her hand seemed especially laborious.
After this trip back, she should have her teacher impart some techniques to her. She wanted to see the entire universe covered in heavy snow.
However, given Baize Dijun’s lazy temperament, he would surely find many excuses to delay. Perhaps she should change teachers instead. Otherwise, seeing Fucang every day at Mingxing Hall—looking up and seeing each other constantly—would be quite awkward for everyone.
If she were to change teachers, she probably wouldn’t see Senior Sister Zhi Xi and Senior Brother Gu Ting for a long time either. She quite liked those two. Compared to her belly full of dark clouds, those two were simply bright and upright from inside to out. Although they had gotten off to a somewhat rocky start, they still treated her with tolerance. She could never become that kind of noble person in this lifetime.
After pinching out the last horn on the white snow loach, Xuan Yi swept her long sleeve and placed all these small white snow figurines on top of the huge stone tablet, giving them all to him. She was truly generous enough.
She had to go back. Qi Nan would surely worry. If she lingered too long in the mortal realm, it would seem as if she had come specifically to wait for Fucang. She wouldn’t do that—it would make her seem so pitiful.
But she felt so tired, her head heavy and feet light. She tried to stand up, but her body went increasingly soft instead, tumbling into the snow and getting a face full of thick accumulated snow—it was truly bitter to the core. She was made to shiver from the bitterness of her own Zhuyin white snow. She wanted to retract the falling snow but was powerless to do so.
Her consciousness began to drift away. That fuzzy mass that had troubled her for so long seemed to have extended into her brain. Her head felt dizzy, her mouth full of terribly bitter Zhuyin white snow. Yet she couldn’t move even a single finger, and breathing was becoming difficult. It couldn’t be this bad, could it? It shouldn’t be this serious, right? She felt she was still doing fine—she could tidy herself up and return to Zhongshan. What was the meaning of this now?
In her daze, a figure seemed to be approaching through the wind and snow. Xuan Yi squinted to look carefully but couldn’t see clearly.
Could it be…? Her heart suddenly began racing wildly, followed immediately by a tearing pain in her chest. She couldn’t help but gasp, and with that gasp another mouthful of white snow entered her mouth, so bitter she nearly cried.
“I told you not to get injured again. This little loach just won’t listen. It really makes me angry.”
A sweet and familiar voice drifted thinly through the wind and snow. Xuan Yi was suddenly stunned. How could it be him? With such strict restrictions on divine beings descending to the mortal realm, how had he come down?
The figure drew closer and closer. Shao Yi held a light paper umbrella in his hand, even painted with pretty flowers and birds. This type of umbrella was suitable for blocking gentle spring drizzle at most, yet he was actually using it to block such heavy Zhuyin white snow—and blocking it quite well at that. His crimson-purple robes were torn and fluttering wildly by the wind and snow. He walked through the snow all the way to her side, lowered his head, and looked at her with a smile.
“The wound on your chest has reopened, hasn’t it?” He draped the paper umbrella over his shoulder and crouched down beside her. “I never imagined you could torment yourself to this extent.”
The wound on her chest? Did he mean the injury she suffered in childhood? So she had been wounded in the heart? How did he know? Could it really be that he was the one who saved her from that childhood injury? How did he know she was injured in the mortal realm? So the ice and frost that overflowed the courtyard and the current wind and snow were because her heart wound had relapsed?
Xuan Yi had a bellyful of questions, but she didn’t even have the strength to speak. She could only gaze quietly at the jewel swaying on his forehead.
Shao Yi looked at her for a while, sighed, then scooped her up horizontally and sat on Bi Xi’s back. His movements didn’t look as smooth as last time—they seemed rather laborious.
“This life was something I exchanged for using two of my own phoenix heart feathers. Throughout the four wilds and eight wastelands, the most precious life is none other than yours. Please take better care of it.”
Shao Yi cradled the back of her head and leaned down, about to press his lips to hers. Xuan Yi somehow summoned a surge of strength from nowhere, raised her hand to block him, and stared at him coldly.
He smiled slightly: “I’m saving you. Move your hand away.”
She didn’t move, her palm firmly pressed against his chin.
Shao Yi drew in a breath and began frowning again: “Ah.”
He grabbed her wrist with one hand, yanked it aside, then lowered his head and forcefully pressed his lips over her half-parted ones. Xuan Yi only felt a surge of breath spray from his mouth, flowing down her throat. The sensation was actually like the wine she had drunk at Qing Di Palace that day—that unfamiliar burning pain, a hundred times stronger than wine.
This flame-like breath ultimately coiled at her chest, seeping in thread by thread. Those fuzzy feelings that had made her so uncomfortable earlier eased countless times over. The tearing pain in her chest also gradually calmed down.
“…So bitter.” Her mouth was full of the bitter taste of Zhuyin white snow. Shao Yi licked away the bitter taste from his lips with the tip of his tongue, his brows knitting even tighter as he casually tossed her onto Bi Xi’s back. “Little loach, there won’t be a next time. Better remember that.”
He stood up and grabbed the paper umbrella from the ground again, actually planning to just leave like this.
Planning to leave?
With some strength returning to her limbs, Xuan Yi swiftly grabbed his sleeve. Shao Yi was actually pulled by her into a stumble, tumbling crookedly into the snow. The paper umbrella was blown by the wind and snow, spinning wildly on the ground. The jewel on his forehead also swayed chaotically, the bright red color becoming somewhat murky.
He sighed faintly, leaned against Bi Xi’s body, and laboriously shook the sleeve she was clutching death-tight: “Is this how you treat a senior brother who saved your life?”
Xuan Yi waited a long while before she could finally speak: “…How did you come down?”
Shao Yi hadn’t expected that when she finally opened her mouth, she would actually ask such an inconsequential question. Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, he said: “Naturally, I asked Senior Sister Zhi Xi for help. From the moment you descended to the mortal realm, your heart wound began stirring restlessly. I was also suffering extremely, so I had no choice but to come down and take a look.”
If it weren’t for the fact that her heart wound had relapsed this time with the danger of perishing, he wouldn’t have come. This little loach was too troublesome—he didn’t want to be tormented by her again.
She said again: “So last time when you dealt with Immortal Maiden Wujiang, you also came down because I was injured?”
She had been somewhat suspicious for a while. Given his temperament, why would he seek out trouble for himself?
Shao Yi raised an eyebrow and smiled sweetly: “Very clever. Since that’s the case, why did you make yourself like this again? Once you get injured, it causes me to suffer along with you. Knowing this would happen, I shouldn’t have asked Junior Brother Fucang to take care of you on my behalf.”
Xuan Yi said flatly: “If you wanted to take care of me, why didn’t you come yourself? You even had to entrust it to another divine lord—clearly you had no sincerity.”
Shao Yi was both amused and exasperated: “At a time like this, you still want to be evasive with me. Right now I don’t want to take care of you at all—instead I want to spank you.”
Xuan Yi took a deep breath. She felt much better now, and the wildly dancing wind and snow filling the sky was also beginning to dissipate. She sat up straight and looked down at him: “I’ve heard of phoenix heart feathers. They’re as renowned as Zhuyin dragon scales. I never imagined that Senior Brother Shao Yi expended two heart feathers to save me back then. This life-saving grace is unforgettable for as long as I live. I wonder what wish Senior Brother has that he desires to fulfill? The Zhuyin Clan always repays their debts.”
Every ten thousand years, each member of the Qingyang Clan would grow one heart feather from their heart. By the time they reached a hundred thousand years old, each Qingyang Clan member would have only ten phoenix heart feathers in their lifetime. The heaviest injuries under heaven, the most endangered lives—phoenix heart feathers could save them all instantly. She hadn’t imagined they could even save a Zhuyin Clan member for whom ten thousand methods were useless.
Shao Yi spoke unhurriedly: “You want to ask what I’m seeking? You and Xiaolong Jun truly are siblings—even the words you say are exactly the same.”
“I imagine that it was precisely because of saving me back then that Senior Brother Shao Yi came to know my elder brother?” However, why did it seem that Qi Nan and Father didn’t know about this matter? She thought for a moment, then said again: “Senior Brother Shao Yi used heart feathers to save my life but didn’t sever the connection with those heart feathers. Could it be you were afraid we wouldn’t repay the favor, so you could take the heart feathers back later?”
So whenever she got injured, he suffered along with her. As long as he didn’t sever the connection for even a single day, they were essentially sharing two heart feathers. The regenerative divine power within the heart feathers wouldn’t heal her injury, but could preserve her life. No wonder when she descended to the mortal realm this time, her heart wound relapsed due to emotional fluctuations. This life-saving grace was actually using a life to coerce—what did he want the Zhuyin Clan to do?
Shao Yi laughed: “Just remember this life-saving grace. There’s no need to say more about anything else. This little loach—why must you entangle yourself with Junior Brother Fucang to this extent? A clever loach should do clever things. He caused your heart wound to relapse—what’s the point of all this suffering? If you want to pass idle time, you should seek out your own kind.”
“My own kind?”
Shao Yi blinked: “For example, someone like me?”
But it would be best if it didn’t include him.
Xuan Yi looked him up and down. This fellow had always been fickle and fickle-hearted, causing Yan Xia to weep day and night with worry. He had the same character as her father who left his affections everywhere.
Yet he said they were the same kind.
She said coldly: “Senior Brother Shao Yi, this is the greatest insult I have received in my entire life.”