Since Bai Ziyou had said as much, Ziqing and the others naturally didn’t press further. If Bai Ziyou said not to worry, surely there wouldn’t be a problem!
Nangong Jun was the first to turn and leave, with Xinyun immediately following. Jun Beiyue and the others were about to leave too, but noticed Ziqing hadn’t moved.
“Let’s go outside first, let the elder have some peace and quiet,” Jun Beiyue reminded her in a low voice.
But Ziqing said, “A’Li is also a spirit—can he leave with us? You sealed the exit, didn’t you—can it even be opened again? Will it affect the Lishang Illusion Realm? And what about Xinyun? Can Xinyun come with us? Can Xinyun even enter the Shang Li Illusion Realm?”
At these words, Xuanyuan Lige’s tightly pressed lips finally curved upward slightly, while Xinyun stopped in her tracks, whirling around sharply, as if she’d caught sight of hope.
“And if, in the future, we play Lishang together again, could we come back here?” Ziqing asked further.
She wasn’t so magnanimous as all that—she just wanted things clear.
She wanted to leave, but she wanted to bring everyone with her.
The Lishang Illusion Realm wasn’t a place without sorrow.
Ziqing’s string of questions left Bai Ziyou shaking his head helplessly. “Girl, don’t worry. As long as you play Lishang after you leave, you’ll be able to come back here.”
“Really?” Ziqing asked seriously.
“I wouldn’t lie to you!” Bai Ziyou nodded just as seriously.
“So we’ll first return to the Shang Li Illusion Realm? A’Li can come with us too, right? Can Xinyun?” Ziqing asked hastily again, like a greedy child.
Without Xuanyuan Lige, she couldn’t play Lishang at all.
She wanted Xuanyuan Lige, and Xinyun too, to return to the Shang Li Illusion Realm—that way, whenever she played Shang Li, she’d be able to see them.
“Go on outside. I’ll give you an answer tomorrow,” Bai Ziyou said, gently plucking the strings.
Ziqing was about to ask more, but Jun Beiyue stopped her, comforting her quietly. “Don’t rush it.”
Helplessly, Ziqing could only leave with Jun Beiyue.
As they walked back toward the cave entrance, Baili Weisheng was, for once, unusually quiet, his gaze never leaving Nangong Jun.
Bai Ziyou wanted Nangong Jun to leave, yet Nangong Jun had turned himself into a spirit, unwilling to go.
This whole matter seemed rather complicated!
No wonder Nangong Jun had asked him to keep it secret!
Baili Weisheng didn’t think too much about it—he simply felt it was probably for the best that Nangong Jun stayed, otherwise, poor Xinyun would have been left heartbroken.
What Baili Weisheng cared about more was his own Xiao Lili. He strode forward to catch up with Xuanyuan Lige and threw an arm around his shoulder like they were the best of buddies, laughing. “Xiao Lili, don’t worry—whether we stay or you come with us, we’re not leaving you behind alone!”
Xuanyuan Lige instinctively rolled his eyes and reached up to push Baili Weisheng’s arm off, but for some reason, just as he was about to push it away, he pulled his hand back instead, letting Baili Weisheng keep his arm slung over his shoulder.
Baili Weisheng was briefly stunned—he’d grown so used to having his hand pushed away that now, with Xuanyuan Lige not doing so, he almost felt a little awkward himself.
Awkward or not, though, he kept his arm affectionately around Xuanyuan Lige’s shoulder, chuckling, and then, lowering his voice, said with sudden seriousness, “Brother, back at Yuqiong Mountain, I thought we were both done for. Never expected we’d make it this far together.”
Xuanyuan Lige’s steps froze for a moment, but he quickly kept walking, ignoring Baili Weisheng’s sentimentality, even turning his head away to put some distance between them.
But Baili Weisheng didn’t mind at all—if anything, he pulled him in even closer. Looking as carefree and reckless as ever, his tone nonetheless dropped low and quiet. “Brother, you’re a spirit, I’m a yang gu. You won’t perish, and I’ll live forever—looks like you’re the only one who can stay with me for eternity.”
At these words, Xuanyuan Lige’s steps stopped again. He remained silent, seeming as if he wanted to say something but held back, though he didn’t walk any further.
Baili Weisheng, long used to his silence, didn’t notice anything amiss. He laughed, released his shoulder, and nudged him with an elbow. “So, it’s settled then. Give me ten years, a hundred years, and I’ll form a contract with Xuezheng myself—I won’t even need Xiao Qingqing, I’ll be able to play Shang Li on my own. Whenever I’m bored, I’ll come visit you in the Shang Li Illusion Realm, we’ll play some chess, drink some wine…”
At this point, Baili Weisheng chuckled to himself mischievously. “And I can even… bring you a few girls to look at!”
At this, Xuanyuan Lige, who had been lost in thought, finally snapped out of it. He shot Baili Weisheng a glare and walked off without a word.
“Hey, it’s a deal, remember!” Baili Weisheng called out with a laugh, not bothering to chase after him, sauntering along behind instead, thinking to himself that his idea wasn’t half bad.
Had he caught up, he would have seen that Xuanyuan Lige’s silent face had already grown irreparably sorrowful.
But Baili Weisheng would never see it.
They didn’t leave the cave area, but sat down at the entrance to wait.
Once seated, Ziqing turned back to look at Xuanyuan Lige, worry written all over her face. Xuanyuan Lige returned a faint smile, which somehow gave Ziqing strength.
Ziqing patted the spot beside her, waving Xuanyuan Lige over to sit.
Xuanyuan Lige sat down, and Baili Weisheng settled in next to him too. The four of them sat in a row at the cave entrance, while Nangong Jun and Xinyun, sensing they shouldn’t intrude, found their own spot inside the cave to sit.
Ziqing rested her chin in her hands and let out a long sigh.
Jun Beiyue, helpless, gently rubbed her back. “Don’t worry, we’ll know by tomorrow.”
“That guy is obviously hiding something!” Ziqing said, a little annoyed. Bai Ziyou had said that as long as they played Lishang, they could come back—but he wouldn’t say whether Xuanyuan Lige could leave at all. Without Xuanyuan Lige, how could they even play Lishang?
Clearly, if Bai Ziyou wasn’t hiding anything, then it must be that Xuanyuan Lige couldn’t leave this place—that was why he’d phrased it that way.
That was exactly what worried Ziqing.
Xuanyuan Lige turned his head, smiling helplessly. “Don’t worry. The elder didn’t say we couldn’t leave, just that he needed to think it over.”
“Do you think we’ll be able to leave?” Jun Beiyue asked. Jun Beiyue was no fool—sharper than most, he’d already picked up on the strangeness in Bai Ziyou’s earlier words.
Xuanyuan Lige seemed not to have expected Jun Beiyue to ask this directly. He paused before answering, “I don’t know either.”
“What do you think, though?” Jun Beiyue pressed again.
Xuanyuan Lige shook his head, not answering, instead lying back down with his arms pillowing his head.
To his surprise, Jun Beiyue’s tone was firm and resolute. “Xuanyuan Lige. Since we came together, we leave together.”
With that, Jun Beiyue slowly lay back as well, turning his head to look at Xuanyuan Lige, his gaze steady and decisive, carrying an air that brooked no refusal.
“That’s right, we came together, we leave together. If you’re not going, we’re not going either!” Ziqing said seriously, setting aside all thoughts of her son for the moment.
Xuanyuan Lige looked at Ziqing and Jun Beiyue, and for some reason, said nothing for a long while.
“Give us an answer!” Baili Weisheng said seriously.
“Give us your word,” Jun Beiyue said too, just as seriously, wanting a promise from Xuanyuan Lige.
“Say something!” Ziqing frowned, pressing just as hard.