Chapter 34
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“Want kiss,” Gong Wei earnestly and with all his might tried to pronounce the words clearly.
Xu Shuangce’s expression had actually darkened a bit, but because he always had an inscrutable expression, Gong Wei, with his innocent mind, couldn’t perceive it. He only heard him ask, “Who taught you that?”
Gong Wei looked at him blankly, puzzled.
There was no way to trace the origin of this word because Gong Wei was too quick to mimic others. Anything that appeared within his sight could be randomly memorized and then suddenly blurted out one day, startling everyone.
Xu Shuangce calmly slowed down his tone a bit and asked, “Do you know what it means?”
This time, without hesitation, Gong Wei nodded immediately.
“Why do you want to kiss?”
Gong Wei smiled and leaned towards Xu Shuangce’s face.
But he was still a bit short at this time. Before he could reach his lips, Xu Shuangce pressed his forehead back with two fingers, saying, “You can’t kiss. Focus on writing properly.”
Gong Wei was given back the pen, but he still refused to continue copying the Washing Sword Collection properly. He struggled and turned his head to ask, “Why not?”
Xu Shuangce didn’t answer.
“Why… why can’t I kiss?”
At this moment, Gong Wei could barely form a complete sentence, indicating that he was really not going to give up. But Xu Shuangce remained unmoved. From Gong Wei’s perspective, he could only see the lower half of his face, with his clear jawline disappearing into the shadows, and the warm breath as he spoke brushing over his scalp.
He said, “Because you have to wait until you grow up.”
Gong Wei was definitely not going to grow up in just one day, so he was angry. That day when Xu Shuangce bid farewell and left for Cangyang Sect, Gong Wei ran over from the end of the corridor and, right in front of Xu Shuangce, pounced, “Smack!” He planted a loud kiss on Alliance Leader Ying Kai’s face.
“…?” Alliance Leader Ying Kai was dumbfounded, his reaction was the same as Xu Shuangce’s: “Who taught you that?!”
Gong Wei turned his head and made a face at Xu Shuangce with a mischievous smile.
But what he didn’t expect was that Xu Shuangce didn’t say anything or show any expression. He just stood there quietly, staring at Gong Wei with a distant look in his eyes, then turned and walked away.
Gong Wei was stunned, a sudden fear rising inexplicably. Before he could figure out what to do, he was already in a panic, chasing after Xu Shuangce and grabbing his arm to stop him from leaving. He tiptoed and tried to kiss him, but was ruthlessly pushed away by Xu Shuangce’s two fingers pressing against his forehead, saying, “Let go.”
Gong Wei grabbed his sleeve and forcefully leaned forward again, but Xu Shuangce rebuked, “Let go!”
Ying Kai, standing at a distance, was completely confused and hadn’t reacted to what had happened.
Gong Wei stumbled and almost fell. He had never been scolded so severely by anyone before, and he was engulfed by an unprecedented fear. But no matter what, he couldn’t stop Xu Shuangce from leaving. In the chaos, he grabbed Xu Shuangce’s clothes, forcing him to bend down slightly and look at him, trembling eyelashes blinking, and suddenly, his right pupil turned blood-red!
Xu Shuangce’s pupils contracted.
Everything in the world seemed to stop at this moment.
Desperately tiptoeing, Gong Wei tried to bring his lips closer to Xu Shuangce’s, but just before they could touch, an even more terrifying surge of spiritual power burst out from Xu Shuangce’s soul, forcibly pulling him out before he fell into the illusion. The surging impact pushed Gong Wei back several steps!
With a thud, Gong Wei’s lower back hit the railing, and he was caught by Ying Kai, who had rushed over, shocked, “What’s going on?”
Xu Shuangce’s voice was stern, “Are you using such inhumane tricks against me?”
Ying Kai’s face also changed, and he looked back at the cowering Gong Wei, only to see that his right eye had returned to normal. “I’m… I’m sorry…”
“Gong Wei!”
Xu Shuangce’s voice resonated with spiritual power, causing the air to tremble. Gong Wei scrambled over, wanting to grab his belt, but was once again pushed back by the force, stumbling!
Ying Kai quickly separated the two, angrily asking, “What are you doing!”
The tension in the air was palpable. Xu Shuangce, standing still, closed his eyes for a moment, then finally let out a long breath.
Opening his eyes, he said indifferently, “I’m leaving.”
Ying Kai wanted to discipline his junior brother, but tears were streaming down Gong Wei’s eyes; he wanted to persuade his friend, but Xu Shuangce had already summoned his sword and left without looking back, quickly disappearing from sight.
***
In the end, Gong Wei never did kiss Xu Shuangce.
Because after that day, he was disciplined. Ying Kai couldn’t understand why Gong Wei was so insistent on kissing Xu Shuangce, and he was afraid that he would kiss everyone he saw from now on, so he decided to put a stop to it once and for all, forbidding Gong Wei from doing anything except talking and eating with his mouth.
Gong Wei was very resentful, but he had no choice. He didn’t know why Xu Shuangce was angry, so he could only draw a simple conclusion from his reaction: before a person grew up, kissing was strictly prohibited, and could only be done when they were older.
—But what if I grow up and Xu Shuangce is already dead? What should I do then?
Gong Wei really wanted to ask someone, but such a long sentence exceeded his language expression ability at the time, so he had to give up.
No one noticed that from that day on, Gong Wei seemed to grow a little faster.
When he was first picked up by the Immortal Alliance, he couldn’t even stand on his own two feet. After observing Ying Kai for several days, he learned to walk, stand, and sit properly with a serious demeanor. Later, when the Old Sword Sect Immortal passed away and his youngest son, Yuchi Rui, was sent to be raised and educated at the Chengshu Palace, Gong Wei quickly became close friends with this new companion. He swiftly learned to run wildly, get into fights at the drop of a hat, and, when bored, join forces to wreak havoc around the house.
Before Yuchi Rui arrived, even after half a year of Xu Shuangce teaching him, Gong Wei couldn’t memorize a single page of the Washing Sword Collection. After Yuchi Rui came, one day Gong Wei found out that Yuchi Rui could actually recite the entire Washing Sword Collection. Immediately, he was amazed.
So, he quickly learned it too, and no one knew how he suddenly managed to do it.
This boy of unknown origin seemed to have been constantly observing the world around him, using every person he came into contact with as a measuring stick, constantly adjusting and calibrating his behavior and performance.
At this rate, he might soon meet his own definition of “growing up.”
But he didn’t expect that conflicts would evolve even faster than growing up, revealing cracks before he learned to conceal them.
It all started with the yuhua of the Old Master of the Iron Sect.
**
Yuhua was actually just a euphemistic term in the Immortal Alliance’s etiquette, meaning that one failed to ascend and passed away instead. The Old Master of the Iron Sect came from the Changsun family, one of the six major families in the Immortal Alliance. He left behind two sons. The eldest, Changsun Chengfeng, was barely twenty years old and ordered a simple funeral to avoid extravagance. Therefore, only prestigious sects like the Chengshu Palace, the Cangyang Sect, and the Old Sword Sect sent representatives to pay their respects. Ying Kai was extremely mindful of etiquette and thought that Gong Wei seemed to have grown up a lot recently, no longer like an immature child. Therefore, he decided to take him to the Changsun family to pay his respects, instructing him not to run around, to remain quiet, especially not to play the suona, and even taught him a few words to respond before feeling at ease.
Little did Ying Kai know that even with meticulous planning, after paying respects at the funeral hall, when the bereaved family invited the esteemed guests to the front hall for tea, Gong Wei slipped away. Shortly after, a hurried disciple from the Changsun family came to report with a crying tone, “Please, Master, uphold justice! Young Master Gong is disrespecting the honored deceased!”
Ying Kai dropped the teacup in shock.
Xu Shuangce suddenly stood up, his brows furrowed tightly, and strode out of the main hall.
Ying Kai hurriedly followed, and as they approached, they could see that the heavy coffin lid had already been opened. Gong Wei sat alone on the ground, facing the remains of the Old Master of the Iron Sect. Between them was a chessboard, and Gong Wei was casually manipulating it with his spiritual power to play against himself.
Xu Shuangce’s expression changed abruptly. Ying Kai rushed forward with a quick step, forcefully pulling Gong Wei out of the funeral hall. “How dare you be so disrespectful? Stand properly!”
Gong Wei was startled, looking back and forth between the two of them in confusion.
Ying Kai scolded, “Life and death matters should be treated seriously. Moreover, the relatives of the deceased are full of grief, and yet they see you acting frivolously. How can you face yourself?”
“…?”
Gong Wei’s lips moved a few times, but he couldn’t say anything, so he could only look to Xu Shuangce for help.
Xu Shuangce coldly said, “Go stand in that corner and behave yourself.” Then he signaled to Ying Kai and the somewhat conflicted Changsun Chengfeng not far away. “I’ll go talk to him with you.”
Ying Kai’s anger still lingering, but he had no choice but to turn around and apologize to tidy up the mess. However, as the two of them turned around, they heard a clear but inexperienced voice from behind:
“——Life can be joyful, death can be celebrated, naturally reincarnating into the heavens and the earth, eternal alongside all things in the world. Why mourn?”
Both turned back simultaneously, Ying Kai bewilderedly asked, “What did you say?”
Gong Wei replied, “The life and death of mortals in this world are as fleeting as mayflies in the vastness of the heavens and earth, trivial matters. Why worry? Why shed tears?”
Although his pronunciation was awkward and stuttering, Gong Wei had never spoken such a long sentence before, leaving Ying Kai completely stunned. “What are you saying, Gong Zhiyu? We are both ordinary mortals on this earth. How can you speak like this?”
He had never been so stern before, and Gong Wei instinctively recoiled, but he couldn’t help but argue, “I…”
Ying Kai angrily said, “Go stand over there!”
“… This is outrageous!” “How can Alliance Leader’s Junior Brother be like this?” “No manners, no manners!”…
Surrounding whispers of accusation grew louder and more oppressive. Gong Wei trembled slightly amidst the hostility from all directions, taking a half-step back. He cast a pleading glance at Xu Shuangce for the last time, but Xu Shuangce’s expression felt like a bucket of cold water poured over him.
Xu Shuangce looked down at him, squinting imperceptibly, his gaze hiding some kind of scrutiny.
Gong Wei’s teeth chattered as he stammered, “Life and death are fated, glory and decline have their time, such is the natural order. If the death of mortals warrants mourning, then why does no one grieve for the arrival of spring and the departure of winter, or for the withering of flowers and leaves?”
He raised his voice, “What difference is there between these two?”
The murmurs suddenly rose in volume, everyone’s gaze shocked as if they had seen a monster. Ying Kai angrily grabbed Gong Wei, “Come back with me!”
Gong Wei struggled desperately, “I don’t want to, I’m not wrong! I…”
Suddenly, Xu Shuangce’s icy voice sounded from above, “Are you truly human?”
Gong Wei froze abruptly, timidly lifting his head to look.
In his eyes, the varied expressions of everyone in the distance blurred into the background, leaving only Xu Shuangce’s cold and deep pupils staring at him, as if assessing something unfamiliar. “—Where did these non-human thoughts come from?”
“What are you, Gong Zhiyu?”
***
That was the first time Xu Shuangce had uttered those words.
Though Gong Wei had grown accustomed to them later, when he first heard them, his heart tightened suddenly, as if pierced by something sharp.
Later, Gong Wei thought that should have been the beginning of all the fractures.
He had forgotten how he left the Changsun Family that day. He only remembered returning to the Chengshu Palace, where he was locked in a side hall for reflection. Full of fear and anxiety, he fell asleep slowly, not knowing when the sourness in his nose subsided.
When he woke up hungry, it was already late in the day. Most of the side hall was shrouded in darkness, with only a faint candlelight casting Xu Shuangce’s serene face in a book, sitting straight and reading. On the table beside him was a plate filled with silver pastries.
“Awake?” He acted as if nothing had happened, closing the book. “Eat.”
It was a plate of chicken pastries.
Gong Wei’s mind was still young, and he sat up with widened eyes, cautiously looking at the pastries and then at Xu Shuangce. When he hesitated to reach out, Xu Shuangce picked up a pastry with his fingertips and brought it to Gong Wei’s lips, indicating he could eat.
“…?”
Gong Wei hesitated, then took a bite from his hand. The familiar sweetness filled his mouth instantly.
Xu Shuangce often wore a main robe embroidered with ivory and gold patterns, with a black fitted armor underneath, making his shoulders appear very straight. The warm orange candlelight softened the harsh details of his features, leaving only beauty and correctness, especially the clear lines from his nose to his lips and chin, sculpted like a sculpture.
Gong Wei sat cross-legged on the couch, eating from his hand while watching him, unable to take his eyes off him. The night wind howled outside, but this small space illuminated by candlelight felt intimate and warm. The last trace of resentment during the day was forgotten, and the instinct to get close took over again. Gong Wei couldn’t help but move closer, hearing Xu Shuangce ask, “Want more?”
Gong Wei shook his head.
Xu Shuangce took out a digestion pill, and Gong Wei ate it from his palm.
He still had a subtle translucent feeling to his skin, but it wasn’t clear under the candlelight. There was a naive, carefully restrained curiosity between his eyebrows and eyes. As long as his strange right pupil didn’t appear, he looked no different from a junior disciple of the Immortal Sect. Xu Shuangce quietly watched him, a hint of indescribable emotion surging in his eyes. After a while, he whispered, “Don’t take what I said during the day to heart.”
Gong Wei raised his head blankly.
“I won’t say that to you again in the future.”
The two of them stared at each other at close range. Gong Wei blinked and, affectionately, leaned forward.
Xu Shuangce’s throat moved slightly, and his fingertips curled slightly downward, as if trying to control something. But the momentary breath of the youth’s robe had already come over him, as if he had been enchanted, his fingertips lightly touched the youth’s lips.
Just then, the door creaked open, and Ying Kai poked his head in and asked softly, “Is he awake?”
Xu Shuangce’s arm tensed slightly.
If one were to observe carefully, Sect Master Xu’s face could almost be said to be unnatural at this moment, but the change was so subtle and rapid. The next moment, he leaned back and sat up straight, lowering his eyes to drink tea.
Gong Wei, who was unaware of what had happened, leaned over and looked past Xu Shuangce’s shoulder towards the door of the hall. “Senior Brother!”
Ying Kai coughed and entered, holding a plate of pastries in his hand. When he came closer and saw, he wondered, “Already eaten?” Then he quickly put the plate behind him. “Then you’re not allowed to eat anymore. You’ll have to fast in the future. Otherwise, do you plan to rely on digestion pills for the rest of your life?”
Gong Wei smiled and called out cheerfully, “Senior Brother!”
Ying Kai sat at the edge of the couch, his face stern. “Do you know what you did wrong?”
Gong Wei was the type to flatter shamelessly when he was scared, and he dared to say sweet words when he was happy. Without hesitation, he immediately said, “I know I was wrong!”
Ying Kai asked, “Where did you go wrong?”
Gong Wei said, “A person should follow the crowd. Since everyone is mourning, I should also mourn. I shouldn’t have played chess with Old Iron Sect Master.”
Ying Kai couldn’t help but cry and laugh at the same time. “That’s not the point. Not only did you not cry, but you also came up with such a twisted reason. You simply…”
Gong Wei quickly promised, “I will definitely cry next time.”
“….” Ying Kai asked, “What if you can’t cry?”
“Gonna fake it!”
The logic was flawless and reasonable — no one understood better than Ying Kai the situations of the juniors from various major families when attending funerals. Many young heirs were forced by etiquette to help each other fake tears using magic spells; otherwise, where would they get so many heartfelt tears to cry for the deceased they had never even met in their lifetime?
Ying Kai could only shake his head, feeling both amused and exasperated, as he admonished, “You must not do it again next time.”
Gong Wei nodded solemnly, “Got it!”
Suddenly, Xu Shuangce asked, “Still hungry?”
He had already asked this question once before. However, Gong Wei’s attention was immediately drawn back, shaking his head to indicate he wasn’t hungry anymore. Then he smiled and looked at him, seemingly very relaxed in the harmonious atmosphere surrounding the couch, with the candlelight reflecting a sparkle in his eyes.
Xu Shuangce whispered, “What are you smiling at?”
Gong Wei, filled with contentment, whispered back, “Xu Bai.”
Ying Kai leaned forward to scold, raising his hand as if to hit him, “Why aren’t you calling him ‘Sect Master Xu’?”
But Gong Wei dodged his head to the side, still looking up at Xu Shuangce, his face hopeful as he said, “I promise, when the day you die comes, I will truly cry.”
Xu Shuangce suddenly froze.
The air seemed to freeze for a moment. Ying Kai opened his mouth several times before managing to squeeze out, “….What did you just say?”
Gong Wei’s face was half bathed in candlelight, while the other half was hidden in shadow. He leaned closer to Xu Shuangce, his expression joyful, and said clearly, word by word:
“When the day you die comes, I will definitely cry.”
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Thank You for the chapter ❤٩(•౪•٩)
I guess that’s the equivalent of kids saying creepy stuff?