Chapter 56
Chapter 56 – A Shared Cot
Jiang Xunyi was next . Before testing, the middle-aged Taoist wrinkled his forehead at the mask . “You’re a whole man, what is there to hide? Even if you are ugly, does that mean you can’t even face people? Take it off, take it off!”
Jiang Xunyi hesitated slightly, and the middle-aged Taoist reached out and yanked his mask off roughly .
As soon he took the mask off, he froze, holding the mask in one hand and pressing Jiang Xunyi’s shoulder with the other hand . He did not react for a long time . Fortunately, there were many people who were astonished to see Jiang Xunyi’s appearance, so his dumbfounded look was not out of place .
Yun Xie frowned and took a step forward, but he was stopped when Jiang Xunyi secretly gestured at him . Fortunately, the middle-aged Taoist did not further toe at Yun Xie’s bottom line . He quickly recovered and put his hand on top of Jiang Xunyi’s head . After a quick inspection, he waved . “Yes, you can stand behind, too . ”
It wasn’t until Jiang Xunyi walked past that Yun Xie whispered in his ear, “I don’t like how that orange peel looked at you . ”
Jiang Xunyi glanced back at the Taoist and noticed that he really did have large pores and wrinkles all over . He suddenly felt that Yun Xie’s description was very accurate and couldn’t help laughing .
Yun Xie saw that he hadn’t grasped the key point and felt stifled . He reached out and pulled Jiang Xunyi’s head back . “Hey, I’m being serious right now, why are you laughing? I think the reason why he looked shocked when he saw you is definitely not that he was enchanted by your appearance . You see, if we are discussing appearance, although, according to the rumors of the jianghu[1], I may lose to you in terms of appearance, as second place, I can still be said to look dignified, right? But the orange peel did not even spare me a second glance . This shows that he doesn’t care much about the appearance of men, therefore it was absolutely abnormal how he stared at you for so long and was careless when checking your qualifications . ”
Jiang Xunyi felt that it was interesting and smiled . “Yes, he doesn’t care about the appearance of men . You have very keen observation skills . ”
In fact, he has also seen the clues, and after teasing Yun Xie, he also lowered his voice . “Just now, you were standing behind him, so you didn’t see . I felt like the Taoist looked at me as if he has met me before and was a little surprised, and also… aiya, I can’t express it . But don’t have any recollection of meeting him . ”
He didn’t know whether or not Du Heng has met him before . However, Du Heng was born with dementia, and it is certain that he would not leave the family house . He probably wouldn’t have any chance to meet people, so Jiang Xunyi silently swallowed this sentence .
Yun Xie said, “In short, you have to be careful and never take any risks . I don’t know where he is going to take us – hey, look, isn’t that Rou Rou? Turns out she was also selected . ”
Jiang Xunyi followed Yun Xie’s line of sight . Sure enough, he saw Rou Rou standing there, coincidentally right next to Qi Shijiu . She seemed to see Yun Xie and Jiang Xunyi too but was too scared of the fierce Flame Gate members to step forward and talk .
The middle-aged Taoist had recruited enough people . Without stopping to give the children time to say goodbye to their parents, he immediately set foot on the way back to the Flame Gate . Yun Xie and Jiang Xunyi walked silently, mixed into the crowd . Yun Xie looked at the roadside scenery and suddenly laughed . “This group of people is really obedient; they’re saving us time and energy . ”
Jiang Xunyi: “?”
Yun Xie said, “Look at the mountain in the distance, and then look at the wreckage on the side of the road . I estimate that they are going to find the village that was uncovered after being buried . ”
He was right; the Taoist did take people to the village, but contrary to Yun Xie’s expectations, he didn’t delay in the village for too long . He only ordered the newly recruited people to stand in a row while the rest of the disciples guarded beside them . He ordered three people to follow and left in a hurry .
Jiang Xun instructed, “See what he wants to do . ”
Yun Xie had originally secretly posted a surveillance rune on the middle-aged Taoist, but he didn’t expect it would be discovered by Jiang Xunyi before he even mentioned it . He couldn’t help laughing . “Nothing can be hidden from you . ”
His right hand hid in his sleeves with two fingers tightly held together . He performed a few incantations and a faint blue light ignited on the tip of his fingers . The scene in front of him immediately shifted to the location of the Taoist and the view of his real surroundings faded away . Besides, Jiang Xunyi was by his side, so Yun Xie didn’t worry about anyone plotting against him at all .
Jiang Xunyi was guarding at his side when he suddenly felt someone coming over . His head turned immediately, but it was just Rou Rou .
Jiang Xunyi nodded to her and did not speak . Rou Rou looked at Yun Xie, who was standing beside him, then looked at Jiang Xunyi’s clothes . Finally, she recognized him . Shocked, she exclaimed, “You’re the person who talked to me just now? It turns out that you are so handsome after taking off your mask!”
Jiang Xunyi turned his head and smiled lightly . When he checked to see that no one was paying attention to them, he suddenly stepped forward, leaned towards Rou Rou, and closed the distance between the two .
Rou Rou was shocked, but Jiang Xunyi’s lips moved slightly, and he spoke softly . “Is that enough? You’ve acted for so long, you must be tired . Miss Rou Rou, we are free after all, so why don’t you talk about your relationship with the Flame Gate? Is it fun to dress up as a peasant girl?”
Although his voice was very light, they were like a thunderbolt to Rou Rou . She violently whipped her head around to look at him . Even though she faked her obsession with Yun Xie and Jiang Xunyi’s appearance, when she looked closely at Jiang Xunyi’s beautiful profile, she couldn’t help but feel dazed, freezing for a moment .
Jiang Xunyi’s face was frosty, but when he glanced down, his long and curled feather eyelashes were clearly visible and the cold fragrance diffusing from his sleeves was even more noticeable . His expression was difficult to describe .
He saw that Rou Rou’s face was stiff, ambiguously refusing to speak . He suspected even more that the other’s heart bore ill-intentions . His tone was cold when he spoke . “Do you know why I stopped you? Because in the beginning, you walked by Yun Xie and I no less than five times . I thought you were fascinated by Yun Xie’s appearance, but if that was the case, when you refused me and promised him, you should have been staring at his face, not his waist . ”
Jiang Xunyi stared at her face without blinking . His sleeves lifted slightly and he slipped the sword handle of the Extinguished Flower sword out . “Are you looking at this sword? Then for your information, although the sword was hanging by Yun Xie just now, it is mine . So now…why don’t you talk about your purpose?”
Rou Rou was speechless . She thought she had done a good job of covering up, so she didn’t expect that the facade would be seen through . When she heard Jiang Xunyi interrogating her in this manner, her eyes reddened, and with her sweet appearance, she looked even more pitiful . “I’m sorry . You are right . I really was only looking for a cultivation master to go with to the Flame Gate . I know that the sword is a rare, top-grade weapon, which is why I talked so much . But you have to believe me, I don’t have malicious intentions towards you! Everything I said was the truth, and it’s all the real things experienced by the family of the girl I am pretending to be . ”
Jiang Xunyi turned a blind eye to her appearance and said lightly, “If you had malicious intentions, you would have already been killed on the spot . But still, since I don’t like others using me, I have to directly say this . ”
Rou Rou had believed that he was just a dumb, honest man earlier, but now, she realized that she was wrong after seeing Jiang Xunyi’s heart of stone . Just as she opened her mouth to speak, Yun Xie suddenly opened his eyes .
Jiang Xunyi looked back . “How is it?”
Yun Xie didn’t answer and glanced at Rou Rou’s panicked expression with a smile . “You confronted her so soon?”
Jiang Xunyi nodded . “She came up to me herself . ”
Rou Rou was terrified and pointed at Yun Xie . “You also know I am not…”
Yun Xie chuckled . “If we didn’t even have this ability, the two of us would have just been wasting all of these years . But now is not the time to talk . The Taoist is coming back . You go first, I will find you when I need you . ”
His tone right when he began speaking to her was condescending, and instead of asking, he naturally commanded Rou Rou as if she was his servant . He completely lost the gentle appearance just now . Fortunately, Rou Rou was sensible enough and, after freezing from shock, she actually went back silently .
Jiang Xunyi immediately asked, “What did you see?”
Yun Xie was afraid that the Taoist would come back soon and spoke quickly . “You’ll definitely be surprised when you hear . A’Xun, do you remember that Rou Rou said that people dug out three large boxes with corpses in it??”
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Jiang Xunyi nodded . “He went to find that?”
Yun Xie continued, “He didn’t go find it; I suspect that it was the Taoist himself who placed it there . After he arrived at the back of the mountain, he didn’t look for anything and all and instead walked up to an empty area . I looked at it and the ground has obviously been dug at before, as the soil was not even . After re-digging, the box that Rou Rou mentioned was still there, although the body had already been taken away . ”
Jiang Xunyi said in surprise, “So the reason he took three people there was…”
Yun Xie’s face was serious, and he nodded slowly . “He found the three boxes, stunned the three of them without killing them, and sealed them alive in the box before painting a seal on the top of the box . After the seal was signed, the boxes were buried again . I suspect that this is a formation, and a bloody evil formation at that . ”
Jiang Xunyi said thoughtfully, “It appears that this matter is not simple . There really is a problem with the Flame Gate . Hey, Yun Xie, if things are really like you said, I think there must be more than three boxes . This amount of evil qi is not enough to support the entire formation . There should be more in other places . ”
As soon as Yun Xie was about to answer, he saw that the middle-aged Taoist had returned and immediately swallowed back his words . Jiang Xunyi understood and immediately stood obediently .
The middle-aged Taoist returned, and his eyes swept over Jiang Xunyi’s face . When he saw that his head was down and his appearance was weak and thin, he didn’t comment and instead called out, “Let’s go . Everyone hurry up!”
When he left, he was in a group of four . Now, he was alone . It was really strange, but no one dared to ask . After hearing his words, they all scrambled to catch up, fearing that they would fall behind and get their heads chopped off .
Not only was the Flame Gate shady, they also lacked virtue . All the Taoists who came originally flew on their swords, but they recruited a group of rookies who knew nothing, which of course affected their flying . The middle-aged Taoist bought a horse for each disciple at the market in front but did not allocate any to the newly recruited mortals . While they were riding their tall horses in front, Yun Xie and Jiang Xunyi had to follow with their own two legs .
Du Heng’s physique was not good, and his physical strength was even worse . Yun Xie saw that Jiang Xunyi was having a hard time and felt distressed . “A’Xun, why don’t you pretend to be dizzy? Then I can carry you on my back . ”
Jiang Xunyi sneered . “It’s also possible that the Taoist will think that I am too burdensome and cut me down with his sword . Come on, I’m a grown man; this is nothing to me . Quietly go your own way . ”
Yun Xie sighed and whispered, “You care about me and are afraid that I would be tired . I understand . ”
Jiang Xunyi: “…”
As he tried his best to chase the horses with their tails flicking in front, he simultaneously thought about what harsh words to use to counter Yun Xie . Suddenly, he felt that the corner of his clothes seemed to have been pulled by someone .
Jiang Xunyi looked back, and was surprised to find Qi Shijiu .
“What’s up?”
Qi Shijiu had seen him take off his mask from afar, but this was still the first time he saw his face clearly . His face could not help but redden, and he stuttered, “I, I see you have trouble walking . Are you hungry? This…this is for you . ”
Having said that, he took out a paper bag from his arms and stuffed it in Jiang Xunyi’s hands before fleeing .
Jiang Xunyi: “???”
Yun Xie stuck his head over . “Yo, what good stuff did you get? Open it and let me see . ”
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Jiang Xunyi carefully squeezed the paper bag in his hand, then carefully unwrapped the layers of paper wrapped around it . It was two pieces of rose cake .
Qi Shijiu’s words were incoherent just now, and Jiang Xunyi didn’t understand what he was saying at all . He peeled the layers of paper off as if he was unpacking explosives . He didn’t expect it to be such a thing . “Why did he give this to me?”
Yun Xie would rather he not understand . He took the opportunity to stretch out his hand and easily grabbed the paper bag from Jiang Xunyi’s hand . Lifting his head, he poured the two rose cakes into his mouth . “It’s a waste for you to eat it . It’s better to give it to me . ”
Jiang Xunyi was taken aback, but it was too late to try and stop it . He quickly grabbed Yun Xie’s neck and said angrily, “You’re gluttonous to death! What if it’s poisonous! Spit it out!”
Yun Xie smiled . “Tch, wood pimple . You can rest assured, poison will not kill me . ”
As they made trouble along the way, they felt that the time passed faster, and the group seemed to reach the Flame Gate Sect in no time .
The Flame Gate was not well-known, but it was situated on land with remarkable feng shui and extremely strong spiritual energy . When they were about to reach the front of the mountain, Jiang Xunyi found that the surroundings were lush and green, with the fragrance of plants filling his nose . The towering peaks seemed to break through the sky, and the mountains were surrounded by colorful clouds, gorgeous and beautiful .
Yun Xie gradually retracted his hippy smile and whispered, “The owner of the land is not simple . I am a little curious . ”
Jiang Xunyi said, “What’s the hurry? We’ll see them soon . ”
However, he didn’t expect that he was overestimating his worth . It didn’t matter if they were children with good roots . Although they have already built a foundation, Yun Xie and his aging had stopped in their twenties . When it comes to learning, according to their age, they have already missed the best period . They could only stay outside at the foot of the mountain . At this point, not only were they unable to meet the owner, it was even difficult to meet the orange peel .
Moreover, the so-called arrangements were very unacceptable .
Jiang Xunyi had barely stepped into the place where they were assigned to stay and raised his head to look around when he immediately took a step back . He silently looked at Yun Xie behind him .
Yun Xie was confused and poked his head out from behind Jiang Xunyi . He couldn’t help but laugh – the small room had long shared cots on each end, leaving only a tiny aisle that a thin man could only pass through sideways . The bedding should be years old . It was difficult to see the color, and it was all piled up in a mess . A basket of buns and a basket of pickles were placed on the window sill as a meal . The smell of feet slowly wafted through the room .
Jiang Xunyi, who was blocked by Yun Xie at the door, could not bear it anymore . “Don’t block me, let me go!”
Yun Xie put his hand on Jiang Xunyi’s shoulder and turned around, pushing his back and walking outward while still laughing . It’s not that the run-down place was interesting, but Jiang Xunyi’s hard face was really entertaining him .
Jiang Xunyi obviously understood Yun Xie’s laugh, and gritted his teeth . “If you laugh again, I will kill you and eat you!”
Yun Xie came forward shiftily with an ambiguous smile . “Do you want to “eat” me? A’Xun, how do you want to eat? Do you want me to take a bath first?”
Jiang Xunyi slapped his hands and said coldly, “The left half is roasted and the right half is cooked and eaten . After eating, the skeleton is thrown out and fed to dogs . ”
At this time, a young man who had come with them hurried besides them and shouted, “Hey, where are the two of you going? Just now the immortal leader said that we have to stay in our rooms, we can’t run around, and it is time to rest . ”
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Jiang Xunyi couldn’t take it when he heard the word “rest” and waved his hand . “We’re going out to get some air . ”
The young man reached out and seemed to want to pull him, anxiously saying, “No, the immortal master said there might be other inner disciples coming here, and we can’t run into them . You will involve us . ”
One of Yun Xie’s arms laid bonelessly on Jiang Xunyi’s body, but his left hand blocked the other’s hand unambiguously . “You can rest assured that as long as you go back to the room and lie down, nothing we do will involve you . A’Xun, let’s go . ”
As soon as he turned his head, he bumped into someone .
Jiang Xunyi: “…”
Yun Xie raised his head . Jiang Xunyi grabbed him and pinched Yun Xie’s waist . The disciples were already yelling angrily, “Don’t you have eyes? You even dare to run into Senior Brother Zhuo!”
Opposite to them were a few young men wearing black robes with flames embroidered on . They were surrounding someone person in the middle . When they scolded Yun Xie, he uncharacteristically did not retort and only smiled modestly .
Jiang Xunyi said with a fake display of respect, “This senior brother, I’m really sorry, we didn’t see you . ”
The man stared at him fixedly, then turned to look at Yun Xie again . He raised his hand to stop the dog-like people behind him who still wanted to scold them, his face sinking like water . “You two come with me . ”
Amidst the stares of the crowd that screamed “You are dead,” Yun Xie and Jiang Xunyi followed the handsome young man alone to a hill in the distance .
After escaping everyone else’s line of sight, the man’s face changed suddenly, laughing and stepped forward to give Yun Xie and Jiang Xunyi a fierce hug each . “We haven’t seen each other in 20 years . Who could’ve known we would meet here!”
Jiang Xunyi smiled and said, “Zhengfan, hello . I was also pleasantly surprised to see that you were still in the world . ”
The man turned out to be an acquaintance of Jiang Xunyi and Yun Xie, a man with the surname Zhuo . He was the only beloved son of the “sword god” Zhuo Feihong, and was an outstanding figure in the younger generation . Jiang Xunyi and Yun Xie were both very close friends with him . However, he disappeared suddenly 20 years ago and no one knew where he went . Jiang Xunyi also searched for him for a while, but it was a fruitless search . He did not expect to meet here .
Zhuo Zhengfan had been isolated from the world for so many years . He didn’t even know that Yun Xie and Jiang Xunyi had once turned against each other, so instead of asking Jiang Xunyi how he was alive, he joked, “I listened to a few of my brothers today and heard that Martial Uncle San took in many mortals to be workers in the outer sect . How did the two heroes also mix in? When I first saw Brother Yun, I dared not admit it . ”
Yun Xie was also initially startled when he saw him . If it weren’t for Jiang Xunyi pinching his waist, he might’ve revealed something to the people around them . He smiled slightly . “I’m also wondering the same thing . Zhengfan, your family is very large . If there is any conflict, do you have to come to this little school to live?”
Zhuo Zhengfan smiled slightly and looked around with caution . Yun Xie clapped his hands together then spread his hands, slightly yelling . “In the name of the Lord of Prosperity, every living thing must listen to my order and be silent!”
Two white lights flew out of his palm and circled around the three people . It would appear to have disappeared quickly in the eyes of ordinary people, but Zhuo Zhengfan and Jiang Xunyi both knew that Yun Xie had set a silencing curse . Although this mantra is simple, it became extraordinary when made by him . Zhuo Zhengfan would not be heard by outsiders even if he yelled .
“You are very careful . ” Zhuo Zhengfan smiled . Despite saying this, he still lowered his voice . “I have always believed in the character of you two brothers, and I don’t wish to hide the truth . I am actually undercover . ”
[1] 江湖 – the community of martial artists