"Actually, I didn't want to come back to Qingqiu. Qingqiu's indeed safe, but I didn't want to come back. There's nothing and no one here worthy of nostalgia. I don't think the matriarch wanted me here either. But Lin Yong's so worried, he's worried that I'll get hurt. I really can't defeat him, so I can only watch him bow his head to the clan leader. He owes a huge favor," Rong Dan looked at the moon, lost in thought, and said in a daze.
"You've never been to the human world, so you don't know how interesting it is. Even though the human life span is short, maybe it's because of their short life that they look so bright. They aren't like monsters and fairies who waste years before they're willing to open their mouths for love. Humans can't wait, they only have a few decades, no one is willing to wait, if you don't ask, you'll miss it, and you may never get another chance again."
For many days, Rong Dan looked forward to meeting Xuan Jie. It's not that she had any bad thoughts towards the young man, but that she finally had someone to talk to, so she cherishes him very much so. In such a cold and lonely place, she couldn't help but miss Lin Yong. However, she sadly realized that the long time passed was only a blink of an eye for him.
Compared with these, Xuan Jie actually liked hearing more about the customs and habits of the outside. Rong Dan mixed past experiences together and narrated them, firstly to prevent Xuan Jie from getting impatient, and secondly, to recall her past.
After being initially punished by the Emperor of Heaven, Rong Dan had planned to go home to see her mother. She's been away from the world for too long, the experiences of the past few years had made her exhausted. The more she experienced, the more clearly she realized that she was incompatible with both humans and monsters. Her heart felt so tired. She just wanted to meet her only relative, and rest in her mother's arms like she did when she was a child.
What's more, a human's lifespan was short. If she didn't go back, she might not get a chance again.
It's just that Rong Dan was flustered at the time, suffering from the pain of being betrayed, and confused from being punished by the Emperor of Heaven. Moreover, she was afraid that this would involve her mother, so she followed Lin Yong's arrangements and returned to Qingqiu.
But every day she spent with Xuan Jie, the more Rong Dan thought about the world, the stronger the joy in her memories became, the longing for her mother almost surged out of her chest.
"For you, a hundred or maybe even a thousand years might just be a blink of an eye, but this isn't the case for humans. One year is enough for many things to happen. Ten years is already a very long time. Twenty years half a lifetime. "Rong Dan spoke softly. She looked at Xuan Jie's calm expression and smiled slightly, "You don't understand, right?"
"Do they celebrate festivals every day?"
"It's not like that," Rong Dan laughed, "In fact, there's only a few specific festivals that we really have to celebrate, most of the time women aren't allowed to show up. The only thing women can really celebrate is the New Year. During the festival of the New Year, everyone will make many delicious sugar cakes, there's a lot of rich food. My mother and I depended on each other, and our family is poor. Sometimes we can only eat a little meat during New Year, my mother is reluctant to eat it and just leaves it all to me."
"When I was a child, I was ignorant and always clamored for the candied haws and puppets when I saw them being sold on the road. Later, when I grew up and became more sensible, I still occasionally coveted rouge, gouache, and beautiful clothes," Rong Dan said calmly, "My mother always have me the best. Even if there's nothing at home, she knows that I want new clothes to wear, so she works overnight to weave cloth, and in exchange for some money, she buys a piece of cloth to make me some new ones."
"Those in charge asked us to be very careful with our hands, and kept reminding us about the price of cloths all day long. What I heard most at that time was that if there's something found wrong with the cloths, even if we sold them, we wouldn't be able to afford the compensation."
"Then your mother must be sure. I'm very good to you." Xuan Jie said, and then frowned slightly, "Qianniang said that Cangyu is not good to me, is it because he doesn't care about me as much as your mother does to you?"
Rong Dan was startled for a moment. , shook his head and said: "I don't know, I can't give you the answer, Xuan Jie, you don't understand what feelings my are. I feel very guilty for Cang Yu, not to mention whether there's anything wrong with him, even if there is, I can't tell whether it's true or false, because I can't and don't want to condemn him. Even if you ask me if he did something wrong, I'll find many excuses for it. This is guilt."
Different from those years ago, Rong Dan has matured a lot now. She's become much calmer, and her energy while still a girl faded a little. After being with Lin Yong, her inferiority and self-confidence have grown, and she's become more capable in dealing with the world. However, her heart sank a little bit. No matter how much Rong Dan wanted to control her own life, fate pushed her to rely on men, and she was unable to resist.
Being unable to resist the loneliness and fear, Rong Dan was patient and gentle towards Xuan Jie, the only person willing to talk to her.
Xuan Jie seemed to want to laugh a little, but didn't really laugh. His handsome and overly charming face looked mocking to Rong Dan.
Rong Dan did misunderstand it at first, but later she realized that Xuan Jie just didn't understand, or maybe just didn't care at all.
This is also the reason why Rong Dan speaks straightforwardly now.
"Really," Xuan Jie responded calmly, "Then let's not talk about him. Please tell me about Jiangnan."
Jiangnan...
Jiangnan has many things worth talking about, including the ladies fluttering and laughing in the bright spring light, vendors walking along the streets, various jars of pickles, clothes being washed, endless songs, sweet candies and cloud cakes, continuous spring rain, and all kinds of colorful paper umbrellas...
In those fragmented memories, there's always a beautiful and gentle woman holding a little girl, walking slowly along the long bluestone alley.
After Rong Dan finally recovered from her memory, she realized that she had said many irrelevant things. She nodded slightly apologetically to Xuan Jie: "I'm sorry, these are trivial matters. You probably don't want to hear it."
Xuan Jie shook his head and said, "It's nothing, Qian Niang told me that missing something is normal, not to mention that I want to listen to the affairs of the mortal world, you're not wrong."
"By the way, I always hear you talk about Qian Niang and Cang Yu, why don't I hear you talk about your parents?" The more Rong Dan talked, the more she missed her hometown and relatives. She was afraid that if she continued talking, she'd overwhelm herself. Asking Xuan Jie to take her away to Qingqiu, she hurriedly changed the subject.
Xuan Jie replied: "I don't have parents."
Rong Dan was surprised. She stared at Xuan Jie with her eyes wide open, and said guiltily for a while: "I... I didn't know. I'm sorry, did I trouble you, Xuan Jie? You're sad."
"What are you apologizing for?" Xuan Jie said calmly, "Because you have them but I don't, was it your fault? In terms of strength, I'm far superior to you, should I feel guilty for this for the rest of my life?"
Rong Dan said dumbly: "That's... that's not what I mean. Well, let's not mention this again. I never asked, why you are so interested in the human world?"
"I want to go to the human world and see it," Xuan Jie explained to her. He said, "It's like catching prey. The deeper you understand it, the greater the chance of success. Even monsters have their own habits. I think there's a big difference between the human world and the demon world. Making more preparations to go there now will save trouble later."
Rong Dan's heart moved: "You... you want to go to the human world?"
Can you take me with you?
Rong Dan swallowed these words hard, but her desire to go home burned like a raging flame.
"Yes."
...
Cang Yu thought, Qian Niang really is the boy cried wolf. He regretted not listening to her in the first place and given Xuan Jie more care.
Otherwise, this child wouldn't be in need of love and chatting up the heroine!
Cang Yu felt his heart beating out of his chest, watching Rong Dan and Xuan Jie having a happy conversation. Seeing that the first step of the crime was about to happen, he had no choice but to watch. He wasn't prepared to reveal the truth without masking. Although Cang Yu didn't think Xuan Jie would do anything extreme, adolescent children need patient guidance.
What's more, in his world, children who are callous and depressed can lead to suicide, but this callous young man was in a reverse harem novel, and these traits only serve to make heroine's capture more difficult!
Cang Yu squatted in that corner of the ivy forest for a long time. The fox wasn't feeling well, his soul was close to collapse.
Family, the past, and a prosperous world that he's never seen before. What a good bait, even Cang Yu was tempted to take it. If there were entertainment activities like a hundred-year tour of the world, he'd pick up the bag and get on the bus now.
Rong Dan on the other end heard Xuan Jie's purpose and began to purposely talk to Xuan Jie about the details, such as liars and cons in the world and trivial matters such as the cost of buying things. She wasn't bad at eloquence. She said some bad things and some good things. It was no longer just about her own affairs, but expanded to describe the whole world. It could be seen that the current emperor was more or less useful.
Not to mention Xuan Jie, even Cang Yu, who's been sitting at home for so many years, was almost tempted.
Rong Dan's family was poor, she's been in frequent contact with traffickers and bad people since she was a child. Most of the time, she'd buy some necessities that wealthy families didn't need at cheap prices. People from all walks of life had these, and her mother was a rare literate woman. Her ears and eyesight have been put to use since she was a child, and she's developed her wisdom early. She's smarter and more sensible than ordinary children. She's also naturally sweet-tongued. Occasionally, the sour scholar at the tea stall would be willing to teach a few things to her.
Cang Yu felt like he's entered a cross talk venue combined with a travel promotional video. He was fascinated by it. He stood still until they moved on to the next topic. He had never wanted to see the human world as much as he did at that moment.
It's not that Qingqiu it's good, it's just... It's just that Qingqiu is like a beautiful fantasy. If possible, Cangyu would rather live in a place where flowers fade, grass wither, and the weather changes like a baby's face. Saying good morning, good afternoon, and good night to a group of people who'll die within a few decades.
It's best to go out for a drink worrying about whether you'll gain weight, have a bit of a mid-life crisis, miss the past, etc...
Be an ordinary person.
Cang Yu turned around in despair. Three green vines and three demons suddenly hung from the treetops. Chi Shuishui, Qian Niang and Tang Fu were staring at him with expressions like "Your credit's in hell"
"What are you doing here?"
Cang Yu was startled.
"We are worried about Xuan Jie, what are you doing here?"
The three demons almost said in unison.
Cang Yu looked at them, very sincerely: "If I said I was also worried about Xuan Jie, would you believe it?"
The three of them smiled, "Do you think I'd believe that?" was written on each face.
So Cang Yu thought angrily: Fate isn't just a criminal, it's simply the confrontation of the century between Zhao Ritian and Ye Liangchen, and the judge is Long Aotian! This isn't the normal script of a side character!
(T/N: Basically big shot martial artists, and Long Aotian is a dragon emperor if I remember correctly)
...
Qian Niang really, really wanted to believe in Cang Yu.
After all, Cang Yu in Qian Niang's heart was a big devil, but this big monster who's obsessed with his ex-wife doesn't sound powerful or domineering at all. If other monsters knew that she's following such an lovesick person, she'll be laughed at, right? If Cang Yu could show off his usual nonchalant attitude— six points, no, even using three points of that to face Rong Dan, Qian Niang wouldn't worry at all that the two of them might get into a fight.
After all, the firewood has become damp, it's useless to use True Fire to burn it.
To relax some standards, if Cang Yu didn't have that heartbroken and lonely face when they bumped into each other, Qian Niang would actually be willing to sincerely believe that Cang Yu had let go of Rong Dan.
She simply believed that Cang Yu just realized became more conscientious now and was ready to start caring more about Xuan Jie's life because of her words, instead of focusing on taking Xuan Jie to the Fire Spirit Earthline to bully various little monsters every day.
The question is, does caring about Xuan Jie require such a lost look?
Even from the perspective of Qian Niang, who's severely focused on Xuan Jie, one has to admit that there's almost nothing strange between Xuan Jie and Rong Dan. After all, no matter how you look at it, their dialogue is normal. Almost a little abnormal— Xuan Jie's group of cub "friends" still think he's mute.
Throughout the whole process, Rong Dan didn't cause any harm to Xuan Jie, nor did she try to seduce him.
So why the tears?
Qian Niang really wanted to believe in Cang Yu, but she also really couldn't convince herself.
Cang Yu looked at the three faces with similar expressions in front of him, feeling a little desperate, just a little bit.
Perhaps because he had experienced too much misfortune over the years that he shouldn't have endured at his age, Cang Yu's mind was strangely much tougher than when he lost his memory and stayed on that big rock for several days. Perhaps facing the end of his world isn't enough, but facing consecutive doubts from friends and being wrongly accused of lingering feelings for his ex-wife is more than enough.
Of course, the four big monsters wouldn't be so stupid as to stay in the vine forest and talk like a group of gossipers. It was too inappropriate, not to mention the risk of being exposed.
So they almost dragged Cang Yu hostage and returned to his residence. Along the way, all the demons were worried and hesitated to speak, as if the words were about to come out, but there was a sinful transparent little hand that forced those words back into all the demons 's stomachs. The atmosphere was very solemn.
The only thing worth celebrating was that the cold wind along the way made Cang Yu wake up.
The plan to rescue Xuan Jie failed immediately at the beginning, and it had nothing to do with anyone else except Cang Yu himself.
Cang Yu's dilemma was created by himself, although it wasn't about that and he had no idea. However, he was caught by them in front of Rong Dan's house. His behavior was similar to that of a criminal suspect, sneaking to the scene of the murder and caught red-handed. Not much difference, even if he isn't the murderer, he's probably involved.
Rather than telling the three monsters in front of him that he wasn't interested in Rong Dan at all, and that his expression of lost just now was entirely because he was originally a human and suddenly felt homesick after listening Rong Dan... Sometimes it's easier to lie than face reality.
At least if you lie, you'll only get a few hateful looks. Telling the truth might endanger your life!
Furthermore, leaving aside the part about losing control of expressions, it's hard to explain why Cang Yu would be so worried about Xuan Jie. Transformation is just a stage of maturity for the cubs. Xuan Jie is only twenty years old. He's a complete monster, not a half-demon. He's completely different from Rong Dan in his maturity stage. Speaking of types, Cang Yu actually doubted whether this book includes a running with the ball scene. (T/N: Running from home/place when pregnant) It might actually be because of reproductive isolation, let's not ignore that.
All in all, Xuan Jie was still a baby. Even if he looked like an adult man, this didn't prevent him from being a twenty-year-old baby in the demon world.
This was as normal as the neighbor girl chatting with the five-year-old child sending some housewarming gifts to your house. You follow behind and say to everyone: "I suspect that the neighbor has bad intentions with this boy."
How ridiculous!
It's better to just admit that his love for Rong Dan is still there. At least this lie sounds more normal!
Otherwise, Cang Yu would have to take turns explaining why he thinks Xuan Jie would fall in love at such an age. He believed that Qian Niang and the others would be more willing to think this than understand that this is a novel and that all handsome and capable men will eventually fall under Rong Dan's skirt. Cang Yu finally collapsed and went crazy after decades of reconciliation.
Not to mention anyone else, Chi Shuishui alone would immediately rush up and beat Cang Yu to death— after all, he was a handsome and capable man who was not infatuated with Rong Dan.
Oh yeah, why was Chi Shuishui able to survive? ? ?
In short... everyone can just think that Rong Dan is good, it's just that Cang Yu can't move on. In addition to collapse of character, this is also very lacking in self-cultivation.
After a breakup or divorce, it's really disrespectful to go around stalking your ex.
Two flowers bloom, one on each side.
When Cang Yu was discovered in the ivy forest, Xuan Jie was about to leave. He was only interested in the human world described by Rong Dan, and had no enthusiasm for those memories, but not disgusted either.
Just as Xuan Jie was about to get up and leave, Rong Dan suddenly called him: "Wait a minute... Xuan Jie."
Xuan Jie turned to look at her with doubts in his eyes.
Rong Dan looked a little hesitant, but finally she mustered up the courage and said: "I want to ask you something, Xuan Jie, if you're planning to leave Qingqiu in the near future, can you take me with you? I once told the clan leader about this, and she... she just responded with a sneer. I know she hates me in her heart, and I'm afraid she won't let me go in the near future. I don't know when Lin Yong will return. I really want to see my mother."
"Why are you begging me?" Xuan Jie asked.
"Who else can I turn to except you?" Rong Dan said with a sad smile, "No one in Qingqiu would be willing to say a word to me except you. They either feel contempt or bored when they see me. If I could leave Qingqiu alone, I would've left long ago. My mother is old, I haven't been able to serve her in the past twenty years. My heart longs for the far distance. I don't want to regret arriving too late."
Xuan Jie said: "I mean Cang Yu."
This name seemed to be a taboo, Rong Dan held her breath for a moment. She opened her beautiful eyes and looked at Xuan Jie, like she was frozen in place, turning into a beautiful portrait in time.
For a moment, Rong Dan felt almost suffocated. If she hadn't been quite familiar with Xuan Jie, she would've almost thought that the young man in front of her was deliberately trying to hurt her heart.
"I have no choice," Rong Dan said painfully, "I can't beg him. The only person I can't beg in this world is him. Xuan Jie, you don't understand... you don't understand."
Xuan Jie said lightly: "Why not? He treats you well, and promised your father to take care of you. Nothing can change this promise."
"That's not the case," Rong Dan looked at him sadly. She looked at the young man's handsome face under the moonlight, dark and cold. His clothes swayed slightly in the wind. He was arrogant and indifferent. He knew nothing about worldly etiquette. He wasn't an ordinary demon. He had rugged and aloof thorns hidden in his body.
"If Cang Yu just promised my father, then I'd shamelessly beg him no matter what, no matter if he'll agree or not," Rong Dan shook her head and whispered, "The phoenix. The phoenix returns to her hometown after travels all over the world. If I don't fly, I will perish."
Rong Dan showed a sad look on her face: "I know how painful it is to like someone. If I talk to Cang Yu about this, it's not a request, but a threat. I can't and shouldn't use his feelings to achieve my purpose. I'm afraid that he'll reject me, but I'm more afraid that he'll agree. I've already done something wrong that I'm sorry about, I don't want to hurt him again."
"Why?" Xuan Jie asked.
Cang Yu was once surprised by Xuan Jie's curiosity, but it was a pity that he had too little contact with Xuan Jie at the spiritual level, otherwise he would've discovered early on that Xuan Jie liked repeatedly asking different people questions that's already been answered.
Unlike what Cang Yu thought, Xuan Jie wasn't analyzing, he was simply curious about everyone's different thoughts.
Just like when Xuan Jie wanted to explore the weaknesses of each prey.
The moon goddess hung in the air, the fragrance of the distant ivy forest quietly permeated the night, the green mountains in the distance were like a woman's eyebrows, and her words appeared in the deep mist.
Qingqiu is so beautiful. It'll flourish forever. It's like the fairyland that mortals can't even imagine, and it's freer and more comfortable than heaven.
The great elder of the Qingqiu Tianhu is even more refined and pure.
Rong Dan sighed deeply and said: "Xuan Jie, no one is kind without asking for anything in return. If someone likes you and treats you well, but you don't want to be with him, you shouldn't give him anything, even any hope, you know?"
"So what," Xuan Jie's voice was very cold, his words were as heartless as his appearance, "He has thoughts about you. Isn't that the most convenient advantage? You'll make the same request for anyone. Only he can't resist the temptation and want more. It's all his own obsessions and ideas. For you, it's just asking someone to do something. No matter who this person is, he's just your benefactor."
Rong Dan hesitated, before finally shaking her head.
Xuan Jie smiled slightly, he said calmly: "You think that I don't understand anything, right?"
"I don't..." Rong Dan was silent for a moment, she shook her head and said, "It's just what you said, it's too cold. It's so heartless."
"People who are emotional but can't control themselves are prey that accidentally exposes their weaknesses. They deserve to be killed," Xuan Jie turned around and said, "In my first class after being born, Chi Shuishui taught me I have to identify the weakness of the prey. The weakness of a female after giving birth is her cubs. Males hate having their territory invaded the most."
Chi Shuishui could've gotten cubs seriously injured!
For a moment, a thought couldn't help but flash through Rong Dan's mind, "What the hell do you monsters in Qingqiu teach children?" and what followed was a chill that chilled her bones.
"After all, it's you who's moved by emotions, thoughts, and desires and cannot stand the test. If you don't even know what you're doing, then your life up to now is just a ridiculous thing. How can you blame others for playing with it and applauding."
Xuan Jie said calmly: "You haven't reached the point where you are desperate. When you're really desperate, you'll no longer be bound by this ridiculous shame. What's more, to you, what's the difference between me and Cang Yu? He and I live together, won't your situation flow to Cang Yu's ears from my mouth? If he's willing to do something for you, how can you even know? What you're now is just a cover-up, you don't know anything, naturally you can only go with the flow, and take whatever others give you."
"All you want is a clear conscience."
This stimulated Rong Dan greatly. Her body shaking and she looked at Xuan blankly. Xuan Jie opened and closed his lips, speaking without stopping.
"You... you are so mean to say that. Could it be that you've been sent by him?"
"He doesn't know," Xuan Jie suddenly restrained his somewhat aggressive attitude. He said calmly, "He never mentions you, you don't have to blame yourself so much."
Rong Dan felt a little at ease, and watched his back gradually disappearing. After a while she chased him out and asked, "What about the mysterious solution you promised me?"
"What can you give me?"
Xuan Jie's response came with the wind, just like the first time they met.
...
Just when Cang Yu was about to admit that he just went to visit because of Rong Dan, Xuan Jie walked in from the door.
"He's worried about me."
Xuan Jie had almost no expression when he said this. His sharp eyebrows looked even colder under the candlelight. There were teapots and teacups on the table. He poured a cup of tea and took a sip, his eyes swept over the other monsters, and said calmly: "Isn't it the same for you."
After hearing this, Tang Fu and Chi Shuishui looked at each other. Qian Niang smiled dryly: "Yes... yes, hahahaha... Like Cang Yu, we were just worried about you as Xuan Jie."
It's one thing for elders to care for their juniors, but it's another thing to be caught gossiping red-handed.
"I want to say a few words to Cang Yu."
Xuan Jie poured himself another cup of tea and spoke again, still expressionless. Qian Niang hurriedly pushed Chi Shuishui and Tang Fu out by the shoulders and left, saying with a smile: "Alright, alright, you two chat, I, Chi Shuishui and the Great Witch will go out to watch the moon. The moon is so beautiful today. You can chat, chat for as long as you want, don't worry about us being outside, if you don't like the noise, just shout!"
A bird and two foxes chirped and went out. Chi Shuishui held on to the doorframe not wanting to give up, but was forcefully pulled away by Qian Niang.
"Thank you for helping me out," Cang Yu smiled, sat down again, and cheered up, "What do you want to ask me? If it's about tonight, let's not get too entangled. I did go there for Rong Dan."
Xuan Jie's eyes were dark black with a bit of scarlet. He said coldly: "Stop lying. Qian Niang said that lying isn't something a good person does. In the past twenty years, you've never even thought about Rong Dan, and you've mentioned her only a handful of times. I can count. You didn't go there for her, but for me, but I don't understand why. Were you worried about me?"
Cang Yu was startled, he picked up a teacup on the table and hit Xuan Jie. The teacup wasn't big. It's not small, it's too blunt when to be a concealed weapons, and it's too cruel simply for a joke. The tea cup pierced the wind. Xuan Jie stretched out his hand and caught it firmly. He poured a cup of tea for Cang Yu and handed it to him.
The tea was still hot, Qian Niang used magic to warm it before leaving, so that Cang Yu or Xuan Jie wouldn't drink cold water. This was a habit developed over many years of taking care of Xuan Jie. A cub even after transforming still needs careful care.
"You're so alert, you have good skills, why should I worry about you?" Cang Yu looked into Xuan Jie's deep eyes under the candlelight, and remembered the embarrassing result of messing with the cat that day. He suddenly felt uncomfortable, and sarcastically said, "Can Rong Dan, who has no power to catch a chicken, hurt you?"
In fact, Xuan Jie said it well. Cang Yu was indeed worried about Xuan Jie, but it was too strange for Xuan Jie to say this. It was as if the person he fell in love with wasn't Rong Dan, but Xuan Jie.
"I don't know," Xuan Jie said, "That's why I'm asking you."
He saw the helpless and tolerant smile on Cang Yu's face when facing the three monsters Tang Fu, Chi Shuishui, and Qian Niang disappear. His dark brown eyes were bottomless, like two pieces of amber placed together, beautiful and cold.
Everyone has weaknesses. Chi Shuishui is afraid of the anger of the friends he cares about, Chun Ge is afraid of not being able to protect Qingqiu, Tang Fu is tolerant by nature, Chi Luo and Bai Shu easily restrain each other, Qian Niang is always too worried about him...
Only Cang Yu is like an iceberg that's difficult to peer into. He climbs too high and gets too cold when he goes deeper.
Almost everyone in Qingqiu talks about Cang Yu's unrepentant love for Rong Dan, the little foxes even made it into a song. Even Qian Niang believed it, but Xuan Jie didn't.
Xuan Jie knows what love is.
Qian Niang tried her best to pamper him like a mother, feeling for every wound on his body and racking her brains for his favorite food. She was restrained in this small house. The winner was the king and the loser was the bandit. She lost to the Chi Shuishui and followed Cang Yu from then on. She's never had a free and carefree life and was forced to accept the responsibility of raising him, she tried her best to make Xuan Jie grow up like a normal cub.
Chi Shuishui cared about him like a teacher, worried that he'd work too hard, and was angry about his "risks".
Care.
Even though these feelings are different, there are some similarities. They all care.
And Cang Yu will take Xuan Jie to the Fire Spirit Earthline to face all kinds of monsters. He'll watch cats and other obscene things twitching at Xuan Jie. He'll lay out this vast world in front of Xuan Jie, so vast that Xuan Jie should've taken such a lesson long ago.
It's bloody, chaotic and confusing.
Cang Yu cares in another sense. He doesn't care about the rules of age and status like Chun Ge does. He's not as protective as Chi Shuishui, and he's not as meticulous as Qian Niang.
He just never saw Xuan Jie as a cub.
But Cang Yu never cared about Rong Dan.
Emotions are difficult to conceal and will be revealed in a creature's behavior, eyes and even expression. Rong Dan feels extremely guilty for Cang Yu, but full of love when she mentions Lin Yong.
Cang Yu didn't.
When he mentioned Rong Dan, there was nothing, but now he's afraid.
Seeing him like this, Xuan Jie slowly realized in his heart: Cang Yu is afraid of the question I asked.
Why, is he afraid of admitting to caring about me?
"You're different from Qian Niang. Qian Niang has always felt pity for me. Even though Rong Dan's cultivation isn't as good as mine, she can't help but worry in her heart. It's not surprising at all that she came," Xuan Jie said, "But you're different. It's been like this since I was a child. You leave me in a group of monsters without a care. How could you be worried about Rong Dan hurting me?"
Cang Yu blushed when he heard this. He felt that he was just too careless before, but now he thought about it there was an argument for mistreatment and child abuse. He said, "What you're saying is that I don't treat you as well as Qian Niang?"
"I don't blame you," Xuan Jie said, "You're not related to me, but you're very patient. You answer me when I ask questions. I can still learn from Chi Shuishui, but I'm extremely grateful."
Xuan Jie said this sincerely, but Cang Yu was so embarrassed that he didn't know what to say, he stood awkwardly. When he got up, he realized that he had indeed ignored Xuan Jie too much.
Three meals a day, Qian Niang help Xuan Jie take care of all his injuries. This girl was inexplicably captured by Chi Shuishui and almost turned into chicken soup. In the past twenty years, she's been inexplicably used as a proxy mother to take care of Xuan Jie. However, she was more dedicated than the caregiver who just casually let Xuan Jie live without putting much thought into it.
When Xuan Jie grew up, Cang Yu was only happy that he had an extra teammate. He never thought about how Xuan Jie had grown up over the years. Could it be that just with a few words of his life philosophy and a few words of support, he could be safe and peaceful? Grow into the handsome young man he is today? At that time, teasing Xuan Jie with hermaphrodite cats was just funny and interesting, but now that he thought about it, it was no different from bullying on a young man.
Cang Yu carefully looked at Xuan Jie's eyes and saw that he had a very cold expression, still obedient and sensible. He was at a loss for a moment and whispered: "I'm not as good as you said I am."
He said this with an expression that was extremely exhausted, "I can't even take care of myself. If Qian Niang hadn't been taking care of you, I'm afraid you wouldn't be alive today."
"Even if that's true, it's my destiny," Xuan Jie said, "Since I survived, there's nothing to be afraid of. You've cared about me more than anything else."
"You're quite easy to coax," Cang Yu smiled slightly. At this moment, he felt a lot more pity for Xuan Jie in his heart, and his guard was loosened a lot. He said warmly, "I did go for you. It's easy for a man and a woman together to incite gossip. Rong Dan's reputation in Qingqiu isn't very good. She and her husband have a very close relationship. I'm afraid that outsiders will misunderstand."
Xuan Jie saw Cang Yu's demeanor change drastically, he didn't know what kind of mental journey he went through in just a few sentences. He just felt that Cang Yu looked more pleasing to the eye at this moment than usual. His head went blank, and he paused. After a while, he slowly said: "Why did they misunderstand that you like her?"
Death is like a light going out. His ex didn't regret his infatuation with Rong Dan. Cang Yu didn't completely deny it. He took over his body and inherited this green hat, no matter what it was cemented as a character setting.
"I once loved Rong Dan, but I don't love her anymore," Cang Yu said softly, "Except for the parties involved, others always think that passion will rekindle and will never fade away. In fact, it's gone. It can just be gone. From the day I reconciled with her, I let it go."
This was Xuan Jie's blind spot. He hadn't tasted love yet, so he nodded noncommittally and accepted this answer.
"Speaking of which, you seem to be very curious about the human world?"
"Yeah," Xuan Jie said casually, "I want to go and see the human world."
From the moment he gained consciousness, Xuan Jie knew that he was looking for something. Withered grass, eager to burn to its heart's content. Fighting once brought him endless fun, but as he honed his skills to a higher level, the cat-and-mouse game completely lost its attraction.
Qingqiu is naturally beautiful, evergreen all year round, without any worries, and occasionally surrounded by dangers.
It's just that Xuan Jie doesn't need such comfort. He wants to find something that can completely burn him.
It's not that Qingqiu doesn't have opponents worthy of Xuan Jie, but how can Xuan Jie tear open Cang Yu's throat with sharp teeth, let alone drink the blood of Chi Shuishui.
His emotions were indeed much weaker than those of ordinary creatures, but after all, he's not a purely crazy beast, ungrateful and unfeeling.
Fighting wasn't enough, there was something else, something that could completely set him on fire.
Xuan Jie didn't know the answer to this, so he wanted to find out.
A Zhuzhao's birth was rarely as strange as Xuan Jie's. He was born too early and grew up too fast. Just like a human, he grew with the monsters that lasted nearly two thousand years.
But there's a gap. Naturally, you have to walk step by step and taste it bit by bit, in order to understand the ups and downs of life.
"You want to go to the human world..." Cang Yu was stunned, chewing this sentence over and over between his lips and teeth. He suddenly felt happy, "You want to go to the human world!"
He looked up and down Xuan Jie, feeling like at this moment, Xuan Jie looked so handsome and extraordinary!
"Well, Rong Dan's also coming with me," Xuan Jie said coldly, "She's lived in the human world and can save me a lot of trouble."
These words felt like a bucket of cold water pouring on Cang Yu's heart.
Xuan Jie, you hate me!!!
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I am late, but I was so tired and it was so long so please forgive me :3