Estranged

“A fox spirit?” Sun Wuxia raised his eyebrows, “Where was it heading?”

Last night, rumors about spirits going on a rampage had given rise to much discussion in the guest house. The news about Old He being the only survivor of his trading caravan quickly spread, so of course, Sun Wuxia had heard of it too.

But his companions had neither been disturbed nor attacked, so it was natural that Sun Wuxia thought that Yun Weisi’s abilities were too poor to protect the He family’s caravan.

Daoyou Chi shook her head: “I’ve lost track of it. People say that fox spirits like wild places, so it’s better to check the outskirts of the town.”

This train of thought matched Sun Wuxia’s.

He was always amiable towards daoyou Chi. Unfortunately, as she was always accompanying princess Changning, Sun Wuxia could rarely speak even a couple of words to daoyou Chi in private. He was a gifted young man, yet, even though king Xiang was willing, the fairy did not dream of him. As such, Sun Wuxia could only resort to devising schemes that would create an opportunity to meet with her.

King Xiang was willing, but the fairy did not dream of him: unrequited love. From “Rhapsody on Gaotang” or “Rhapsody on the Goddess”. King Xiang of Chu dreamed of meeting the fairy of Mount Wu

“That’s fine! My shishu is protecting the princess, so she should be safe. Daoyou Chi, please.”

Sun Wuxia could not express his eagerness and happiness too obviously, so he tried to sound restrained.

Daoyou Chi smiled slightly.

She was not a peerless beauty that could bring down countries with her incomparable looks, but she had the sort of elegance that made other people forget about mundane things while looking at her. She was like a young leaf touched by rime, or a star shining upon a mountain.

Sun Wuxia knew little about her past—only the fact that she was probably a distant relative of princess Changning. In any case, if she was able to accompany the princess all the time, it was likely that she did not come from humble origins.

She did not speak much, but was not uncommunicative. If Sun Wuxia asked her anything, she would give him an answer.

Sun Wuxia recounted the rumors he had heard in the nearby towns to her. Some of these rumors said that it was a widow’s revenge, and others told about the return of an unfilial son. The common people always came up with fascinating backstories for the deceased to have more topics to discuss after dinner. However, after the news of the terrifying murder cases of last night had spread, everyone, including both local residents and travellers, was in panic. So, the rumors had quieted down a lot instead. The blizzard was too furious, and the caravans could not leave, so people could only continue to hide in guest houses, helping each other out.

Daoyou Chi sighed: “And we don’t know who orders these spirits around. So many things have happened that if I leave now, I won’t have a clear conscience.”

The Great Dao was merciless, and everything went according to the will of the heavens.

It was not that there were no cultivators who bemoaned the state of the world and pitied the ordinary people. However, if such people were not incredibly strong, the harsh reality of the path of cultivation would repeatedly harden and correct them until they turned into a person who refused to have their karma stained and never meddled into other people’s business.

Sun Wuxia thought otherwise, but still comforted her compassionate heart: “Don’t feel sad, daoyou Chi. Anyway, we’re staying in Hongluo for at least a few more days. Catching that fox spirit is a charitable deed we can afford to accomplish.”

The street in front of them was a vast expanse of whiteness, and there was no one else on it.

Given the season, this shichen should have been the brightest time of the day, but the sky above their heads was very cloudy, and not a single ray of the warm and radiant sun shone through to people.

While talking, the two of them quickly left Hongluo. The houses became scarce and were gradually replaced with a dense forest.

Sun Wuxia saw no traces of the fox spirit, but discerned a residence amidst the trees.

At first glance, it looked like a villa built by a rich family on the outskirts of town. Hidden behind the ice and the snow, it was wealthy and extravagant and seemed well-maintained, as if someone had been sprucing it up on a regular basis.

As expected, when they approached the villa, someone opened the doors and went outside. This person was probably a servant who was responsible for looking after the villa.

He was surprised to see Sun Wuxia and his companion. But he was well-mannered, and when he heard that they had come here to acquire some information, he turned around and left to report to his master.

After some time, the main doors were opened wide, and the owner of the residence appeared.

“Sir, Lady, you must have come from afar. Your presence graces the humble abode of this old man. Please, come in, drink some tea and rest.”

Sun Wuxia was impatient: “We didn’t come here to beg for food. Are you from Hongluo?”

The man answered: “Yes. This old man’s last name is Chen, and my family lives in the town. I was going to visit this place for a couple of days, but suddenly the blizzard began. My family told me they’ll come and pick me up when the snow stops.”

Sun Wuxia: “Have you encountered anything strange after living here for several days?”

The old man shook his head: “The blizzard was raging for the whole night, so I didn’t even open my doors. The snow in the yard is so deep that my feet sink into it.”

After the gates were opened, Sun Wuxia and daoyou Chi could also catch sight of two servants sweeping away the snow from the yard.

Elder Chen’s expression was alert, without a trace of a demonic qi. Sun Wuxia saw nothing suspicious about him for now.

“And you haven’t heard any strange noises?”

“No. When you arrived, I was engrossed in playing chess.”

Sun Wuxia raised his head. The sky had lightened for a moment, but soon darkened again.

A new snowstorm was approaching.

Elder Chen said: “It seems that it will snow again soon. Why don’t you drink a cup of hot tea and warm yourselves up before leaving?”

Daoyou Chi suddenly spoke: “What kind of chess is the Elder playing?”

Elder Chen laughed: “Go. I received a new chess manual recently, and thought that the Zhenlong problem in particular was entertaining. I was so absorbed in solving it that I lost track of time.”

Daoyou Chi seemed interested as well: “Can I take a look at it too?”

Elder Chen: “Of course you can. Please, come in.”

Since she had spoken, Sun Wuxia could only follow her.

Daoyou Chi was well-versed in playing chess and enthusiastically discussed the game with Elder Chen until the sky darkened. It started to snow outside, but it was warm in the residence. The fire was burning brightly, and a maid brought them tea with some light refreshments. Even though Sun Wuxia was not hungry, he still drank a cup of hot tea.

Seeing that it was getting dark, he was forced to remind daoyou Chi: “We should leave.”

As if waking from a deep sleep, daoyou Chi raised her head from the game of chess, blushing slightly.

“I’m sorry. I’ve always loved chess, so I easily lose myself when playing.”

She gave a charming smile, unconsciously revealing a sense of childishness.

Sun Wuxia’s heart softened, and so did his intonation.

“We still have other things to do, so we have to return. Otherwise my shishu and the others will worry.”

Daoyou Chi nodded: “You’re right, let’s go.”

She bid farewell to Elder Chen. He found it hard to part with a rare fellow chess player of equivalent banners and drums and gave them some freshly cooked food for the road. He also asked them to send a message to the house of the Chen family on Qipan street in the western part of the town, saying that their elder would return home several days later than expected.

Of equivalent banners and drums: evenly matched

Daoyou Chi did not decline the enthusiasm of the owner of the house. They bid farewell and left the villa at night.

After walking for some time, Sun Wuxia thought that this was strange.

Hongluo was not comparable to a capital. Even if the old man’s family was rich, there was no reason for them to build a villa on the outskirts.

He abruptly turned his head back. The snow had filled the scenery of the night, blotting out the sky and hiding the moon. But where was the beautiful mansion?

Sun Wuxia gasped in astonishment and turned back to ask his companion: “Have you noticed anything wrong?”

Daoyou Chi shook her head: “I felt no demonic qi on elder Chen.”

Sun Wuxia relaxed: “Give me the food container, I’ll open it and take a look.”

They opened the food box. There were steaming hot dishes inside.

Stewed pork balls in brown sauce, braised meatballs in gravy, and noodles with scallions.

The fragrance filled the air, but was quickly blown away with the snow.

These were authentic cooked meals, and not dead twigs or withered leaves that had been transformed by spirits.

Before Sun Wuxia could breathe out with relief, someone called for him from behind.

“Wuxia!”

His shishu He Bo had appeared here for some reason. He quickly approached them, stopping several steps away. His expression was cold and stern.

“Wuxia, quickly come here!”

“Shishu?” said Sun Wuxia. While he stood there, puzzled, daoyou Chi grabbed his hand.

She whispered: “Don’t go, there’s ghost qi on him.”

Just as she said these words, He Bo’s voice became even angrier: “Wuxia, hurry up! This demon is not daoyou Chi!”

But Sun Wuxia did not notice any ghost qi around He Bo, and sensed nothing demonic about the woman near him either.

However, surely, there was something wrong about one of them.

Who was telling a lie?

He could not be sure.

Sun Wuxia felt nothing last night when the spirits were going on a rampage. This time, he found himself in the desolate outskirts with two familiar people, who had turned into perfect strangers, and was actually frightened.

…

Changming leant back against a wall. His chest was heaving and falling, and he was breathing heavily.

This violent pain came not only from the burn left by the fox poison on the back of his hand, but also from his chest.

The further he stayed from Yun Weisi, the less scorching was the feeling.

The medicine shop employee and Jiang Li noticed that and helped him sit down. Changming felt that this pain he was experiencing was at the limit of what he could endure.

After it had happened several times, he vaguely understood this poison.

Fox spirits were adept at enticing, and the poison caused not only external injuries.

It penetrated into the bones and the blood, cutting though his flesh, piercing his mind and resonating with his primordial spirit.

The closer the infected person came to those that they were on intimate terms with, the stronger the poison was.

Did it mean he would never be able to be near Yun Weisi?

Changming’s pain had receded a bit, but his face was still flushed when he raised his eyes to look at Yun Weisi.

After letting Changming’s hand go, he did not come closer even by a step and stood at a distance. His eyes were brimming with emotions, as if he wanted to say many things, but instead, he stood there without taking action.

If it could harm Changming, Yun Weisi would rather repress his emotions and never come closer.

Changming suddenly understood his thoughts.

The way Yun Weisi probably felt was akin to lava on the verge of erupting from beneath a mountain of ice, but the mountain was suppressing the lava with difficulty and refused to let even the smallest drop seep out.

Changming did not know whether he had actually gotten along with Yun Weisi in the past, and did not know what he felt about Yun Weisi. However, after he regained consciousness, he had seen Yun Weisi from the moment he woke up in the morning to when he went to bed at night.Yun Weisi accompanied him even while eating.

Changming had already gotten used to having him around. When he saw the desolate look in Yun Weisi’s eyes, a kind of inexplicable feeling rose in his heart.

It was difficult to describe, but it was different from the pain caused by the fox poison flaring up.

For that reason, he took a deep breath, stood up, barely keeping balance. He then raised his hand, and suddenly took a step towards Yun Weisi. The latter subconsciously stretched out his hand to support Changming, and Changming grabbed his arm too.

The sharp pain struck again, but Changming refused to let Yun Weisi go this time. He even forced a smile towards Yun Weisi.

“Everything’s fine, see? I can handle it, you don’t need to run away.”

Yun Weisi trembled slightly. He wanted to distance himself, but Changming held onto him tenaciously.

“I don’t know what our relationship was in the past, but it’ll be this way from this day on.”