Sheng Jiao walked out from the inner room.
Xi Jianlan greeted him with smiles, enthusiastic as if it were their wedding day. He even handed over the already-cold sobering soup, fawning greatly: “Good morning, Sect Master Sheng! Come drink the sobering soup—I personally received it from Yudu’s hands.”
Sheng Jiao: “…”
Sheng Jiao didn’t even need to think to know this little swindler was up to no good. Expressionlessly accepting the sobering soup, he said casually: “Caused trouble again?”
“What are you saying? I’m as good as can be.” Xi Jianlan moved forward to ingratiatingly kiss the corner of Sheng Jiao’s lips, saying innocently: “You were drunk last night and I behaved myself, didn’t even take the chance to kill you. That’s love, Sect Master Sheng.”
Sheng Jiao snorted and drained the sobering soup in one gulp.
Xi Jianlan grinned as he sprawled on the table telling him about Heng Yudu’s visit, finally testing: “I really can’t come along?”
Sheng Jiao wiped his hands, saying indifferently: “If you don’t want to return to Xiezhi Sect, stay at Zhuxing Zhai with Heng Yudu.”
Xi Jianlan deflated, listlessly sprawling there and wheedling: “I also want to go play in the secret realm. A new secret realm definitely has fun things—maybe I could even find opportunities.”
Sheng Jiao ignored him and stood: “I’m going to find Yudu. Don’t run around.”
Xi Jianlan obediently said: “Okay, I promise I won’t go anywhere—I’ll just wait here for your return.”
Sheng Jiao glanced at him, seeming not to believe he’d be this well-behaved.
But in the end he said nothing and turned to leave.
Sensing through the Heart-Binding Silk that Sheng Jiao had left the osmanthus courtyard, Xi Jianlan immediately jumped up, chewed and swallowed his promise, and ran off happily to find Feng Yu to play.
Since Fu Man broke the technique, Feng Yu hadn’t slept all night, racking his brains but unable to figure out who exactly had discussed slaughtering the Xi family with Wen Gubai that night.
Seeing Xi Jue approaching, he looked at the foolishly radiating Xi Jianlan with indescribable feelings.
Xi Jianlan pulled him up: “What are you doing? Let’s go out and play.”
“Still playing?!” Feng Yu was frustrated at his inability to see the bigger picture. “You’re about to be plotted to death, yet you still think about playing all day. Play, play, playone day you’ll play your little life away!”
Xi Jianlan was confused: “What’s wrong? Who upset you?”
Feng Yu closed his eyes and tested: “Did Sheng Jiao tell you about last night?”
“What about it?”
Feng Yu hesitated. Unlike Heng Yudu who could keep things to himself, and completely unlike Sheng Jiao’s keen judgment of right and wrong, in his understanding, the person in his memory who discussed slaughtering the Xi family with Wen Gubai definitely wasn’t Xi Jue.
Someone must have possessed or attached to frame Xi Jue.
“The technique on the ‘Bone-Gazing Mirror’s’ glass orb was broken.” Feng Yu said seriously. “Do you know who was inside?”
Xi Jianlan said casually: “Wen Gubai.”
Feng Yu glared at him: “After breaking the technique, there was no Wen Gubai in Xi Minghuai’s memory at all! It was…”
Xi Jianlan looked confused: “Was what?”
Feng Yu thought: You big fool!
“Jue’er, remember this.” Feng Yu patted Xi Jianlan’s shoulder heavily, covering his mouth as he sobbed: “Even if you’re framed and wrongly accused in the future, with everyone pointing fingers at you, Papa me will still stand firmly by your side, shielding you from wind and rain.”
Xi Jianlan: “…”
Xi Jianlan’s lips twitched as he looked at him with indescribable feelings. After a long silence, he said dryly:
“Oh, that… there’s really no need. You actually don’t have to stand by my side either…”
“Nonsense!” Feng Yu hooked his neck and said seriously: “If Director Wen… oh right, he should be called Dean nowif he really frames you, the Feng family will turn against him!”
As he said “turn against,” he flipped his palm back and forth twice, looking extremely serious.
Probably the Xi Jue from his memory and the crazed “Xi Jue” from the “Bone-Gazing Mirror” shocked Feng Yu so much that even his always-respected director slaughtering the Xi family didn’t horrify him too much.
Xi Jianlan suppressed a laugh: “Can you represent the Feng family?”
With Feng Chongyang’s temperament, he’d probably sit on the mountain watching tigers fight alongside Heng Qinglian. He probably wouldn’t get involved in this secret realm business either.
“Of course I can.” Feng Yu slapped his chest. “Someone framed and plotted against you, causing your family’s destruction. Anyone would stand firmly by your side, you poor little thing.”
The poor little thing surnamed Xi cooperatively wiped non-existent moisture from his eye corners, saying affectionately: “Gege, seeing how pitiful I am, could you help me with something?”
Feng Yu immediately became alert: “Not really possible. Don’t think about scamming me.”
What happened to standing firmly by my side?!
***
Sheng Jiao was busy all day, finalizing tomorrow’s secret realm trip with Heng Yudu. Only when night fell did he return to the dormitory.
Xi Jianlan had already returned to his small courtyard to sleep, with a small osmanthus branch still stuck in his hastily tied hair bun, curled up in a small ball on the couch.
His sleeping face was truly well-behaved, completely hiding his usual swaggering, swindling, and lying nature.
As soon as Sheng Jiao arrived, Xi Jianlan drowsily opened his eyes, squinting because of the candlelight: “Sheng Jiao?”
“Keep sleeping.”
Xi Jianlan yawned and closed his eyes listlessly: “What time do we set out tomorrow?”
“Hour of Chen.”
“The phantom realm has been open for two days. Do we know what’s inside yet?”
“Rang Chen says it’s probably a phantom secret realm left by the long-ascended ‘Dream of Yellow Millet’ xiangwen.”
Xi Jianlan perked up slightly: “‘Dream of Yellow Millet’ ascended hundreds of years ago. All secret realms left behind are registered in the Tianyan Xiangwen Registry. How could a new secret realm suddenly appear?”
Sheng Jiao shook his head.
He reached out to pull a strand of hair from under Xi Jianlan’s pillow, saying quietly: “Someone is muddying the waters.”
Xi Jianlan opened his eyes drowsily: “What?”
Sheng Jiao had always thought everything was deliberately guided by someone wanting him to investigate the Xi family matter in Xi Jue’s direction. But only today did he suddenly realize it wasn’t so.
Probably more than two groups had joined forces against the Xi family back then. Now others didn’t want their crimes exposed, so they wanted to push all the blame onto Xi Jue.
The Tianyan Pearls never made wrong judgments.
Even if this matter wasn’t Xi Jue’s doing, it was connected to himprecisely because of this, those people could so brazenly dump all the blame on Xi Jianlan.
No matter how much Sheng Jiao thought, he didn’t say a word to Xi Jianlan, only saying: “Stay at Zhuxing Zhai tomorrow.”
“Okay, I’ll be good.”
Xi Jianlan agreed so readily that Sheng Jiao felt uneasy instead, looking down at the Heart-Binding Silk on his little finger.
Xi Jianlan stretched out his little finger with a muffled smile: “Sect Master Sheng, when you return from the secret realm, let’s change this Heart-Binding Silk to a dao companion contract.”
Sheng Jiao’s hand trembled.
Xi Jianlan loved making empty promises. From their reunion until now, he’d made a huge pileenough for Sheng Jiao to eat until next year.
Rain began pattering outside again, accompanied by faint thunder.
Sheng Jiao, who had intended to leave, stopped and got on the couch after removing his shoes. He was about to use spiritual power to block Xi Jianlan’s ears but decided not to reveal he’d recovered his spiritual power.
Otherwise Xi Jianlan would probably be too angry to sleep.
As soon as Sheng Jiao lay down, Xi Jianlan skillfully rolled into his arms, mumbling: “Thunder?”
“Mm.” Sheng Jiao raised his hands to cover Xi Jianlan’s ears. “Sleep.”
Xi Jianlan lifted his head slightly, looking at him in confusion.
Sheng Jiao: “What?”
Xi Jianlan tilted his head to look at him for a while, then suddenly hooked his neck and leaned forward, his voice low and faint with the huskiness of sleep.
“Sheng Wuzhuo, let’s dual cultivate.”
Sheng Jiao’s dark eyes stared straight at him, saying nothing.
Xi Jianlan burst into laughter, pushing away his hands to remove his earrings, trembling with laughter as he rolled into Sheng Jiao’s embrace.
Thunder rumbled, crackling and popping.
Rain beat against the carved wooden windows like gentle knocking on a door.
During the day, Xi Jianlan had picked several osmanthus branches to plant in his courtyard’s flower bed, seemingly wanting to grow an osmanthus tree there. The rain made the branches lean sideways, and tiny yellow flowers fell onto the soil.
Dawn broke and the thunderstorm finally ceased.
In the layered bed curtains, Xi Jianlan carefully knelt by the bed’s edge, tentatively lowering his voice: “Sheng Wuzhuo?”
Sheng Jiao lay with closed eyes on the disheveled couch, showing no response.
Xi Jianlan checked the time and finally breathed a silent sigh of relief. He carefully climbed down from the bed, hastily grabbing an outer robe to wrap around himself.
In the outer room, Spring Rain took human form, frowning as he watched him tiptoe out like a thief.
Seeing Spring Rain, Xi Jianlan frantically mouthed: “Let’s go, let’s go.”
Getting caught would be terrible.
Around Xi Jianlan’s little finger, which should have been bound by the Heart-Binding Silk, golden spiritual power was now wrapped, temporarily hiding the Heart-Binding Silk.
The Heart-Binding Silk’s range allowed mutual sensing even a hundred li apart. As long as they stayed within Central State, he could escape without cutting it.
By the time Sheng Jiao realized, he’d probably already be enjoying himself in the secret realm.
Thinking this, Xi Jianlan felt secretly delighted, his knees going weak and nearly falling down the steps.
Spring Rain caught him, frowning: “You really want to go to the secret realm?”
“Of course, why wouldn’t I go?”
Xi Jianlan didn’t want to chat with Spring Rain here. He pulled him along as they quietly left the dormitory. Sheng Jiao seemed still deep in meditative sleep with no intention of pursuing.
This escape went too smoothly—so smoothly Xi Jianlan felt flattered.
He’d never had such good luck before.
Carefree Xi Jianlan didn’t think much about it, happily leaving Zhuxing Zhai with Spring Rain.
Only when his feet touched the ground outside Tianyan Academy did Xi Jianlan look back in disbelief for a long time. Confirming Sheng Jiao really hadn’t followed, he nearly jumped with joy.
Heng Yudu’s “Exchange for Bright Moon” was indeed useful. Next time he’d have to ask Old Mother Hen Heng for more.
Xi Jianlan raised his hand to tidy his long hair and headed toward Central State City’s main street with Spring Rain.
Spring Rain asked again: “Going to see him?”
“Mm. This ‘Dream of Yellow Millet’ xiangwen phantom realm was probably also his doing. I need to ask him about it.”
Having gained complete freedom and no longer being managed by Sheng Jiao, Xi Jianlan happily put on Lan Jiaojiao’s courtesan face and strolled the early market streets in crimson robes.
After leisurely wandering half a circle, Xi Jianlan’s gaze fell on a wonton stall.
A person wearing a skull mask was eating his seventh bowl of wontons, with bowls already stacked high on the table while the stall owner stared in amazement.
Xi Jianlan: “…”
Xi Jianlan’s lips twitched as he was about to walk over.
But Yu Tuishan didn’t look up, only sending over a strand of Tianyan spiritual power.
“If you want to die, go by yourself. Don’t drag me along, thanks.”
Xi Jianlan: “?”
Xi Jianlan was stunned and confused when a faint osmanthus fragrance drifted from behind.
Spring Rain had already transformed back into a spirit sword hanging at Xi Jianlan’s waist.
Xi Jianlan’s whole body stiffened.
The early market street bustled with people, noisy and chaotic. Though the night’s rain hadn’t extinguished summer’s heat by half—if anything, it was more sweltering.
Amid the rising heat, Xi Jianlan felt a chill slowly crawl up his spine to his scalp, making him shiver.
That familiar, domineering aura completely enveloped him. Xi Jianlan’s heart pounded wildly as he tremblingly turned around.
Sheng Jiao had been following from who knows when, standing calmly behind him.
Xi Jianlan: “…”
Seeing Xi Jianlan’s face turn green as he looked over, Sheng Jiao said with a half-smile: “You came out just to eat wontons?”
Xi Jianlan: “………..”
**
T/N: appologies for the delay ಥ﹏ಥ
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152