Chapter 89: The Calm Before the Blizzard
The “Gift Pack” sounded a bit unreliable.
However, Feng Shi didn’t go back to the mall to buy more things. In a truly life-threatening moment, those small gadgets probably wouldn’t be useful anyway; he might as well save his points for something big.
Qingqing didn’t say anything more. Having finished its routine check-in, the system went quiet.
Feng Shi refined pills for a while, but feeling that it was difficult to make progress, he exited his personal space, intending to seek some guidance from Xiao Yuhui.
Xiao Yuhui’s path of alchemy wasn’t taught by Shen Songhe. Instead, during an expedition, he had obtained the inheritance of an old alchemist who was about to transcend. It couldn’t be called top-tier, but it was more than enough to give some pointers to a “little rookie” like Feng Shi.
When he opened his eyes, the room was as warm as spring.
The bed was spacious, and Shen Songhe was lying on his side behind him, taking a light nap.
Feng Shi placed the “Shushu” (little mouse) from his arms onto the spot where he had just been meditating. He pressed his index finger to his lips, gesturing for it to be quiet, and then took out a yellow talisman, sticking it onto the mouse.
With a faint poof…
An extra, slightly silly, low-budget version of Feng Shi appeared on the bed. Aside from the front teeth being a bit long, there were no major flaws.
Feng Shi gave the mouse a meaningful look.
The mouse nodded obediently, sat up straight, and began to meditate with great poise.
Feng Shi suppressed his aura and tiptoed out of the door. Right up until the moment he closed it, Shen Songhe on the bed hadn’t moved.
Feng Shi let out a sigh of relief.
“Sister Shen” gave too many instructions; his ears were practically growing calluses. Even if he could only fool him for a moment, it was better than nothing.
Outside the room, the temperature dropped sharply, and wind and snow lashed against his face.
Xiao Yuhui’s room was on the floor above. Feng Shi made his way up the stairs.
One side of the staircase was open, allowing him to see the large empty space in the middle of the inn.
Because of the blizzard, the sky was heavy and dark, hanging extremely low. The wind was strong, and a thick layer of frost had condensed on the wooden railings. Very few people were moving about in the inn; almost everyone was staying in their rooms to cultivate.
Feng Shi casually took in the view from halfway up the stairs. Just as he was about to step forward again, he suddenly felt a prickling chill on his back, as if someone were staring at him. For a moment, his hair stood on end.
This kind of cold was completely different from the chill brought by the weather. Feng Shi’s brow furrowed as he turned around abruptly.
Within his line of sight, a streak of dense black mist flashed rapidly along the eaves, crawling into a visual blind spot.
Feng Shi felt a chill on the back of his neck. His first thought was Pei Qi.
But the door opposite was suddenly pushed open, interrupting his thoughts.
That room was where Cao Ni was staying.
At this moment, the door was wide open, and the two of them locked eyes across the wind and snow.
Feng Shi hid his expression in time. His gaze lingered on the eaves for a couple of turns before finally landing on Cao Ni’s inscrutable face.
The two of them hadn’t had much contact over the past two years, as the other was mostly away on expeditions. However, Feng Shi always felt that he was too quiet—quiet in a way that didn’t quite suit him.
Usually, when a “stagnant” villain like him behaved this way, without fail, they were brewing something bad.
Feng Shi kept this in mind but didn’t linger. He turned and went upstairs, knocking on Xiao Yuhui’s door.
Behind him, a flash of malice crossed Cao Ni’s eyes. He curled his lips into a smirk as he watched the direction Feng Shi had left. A moment later, with a bang, he closed the door.
/
On this side, as soon as Feng Shi closed the door, Shen Songhe on the bed opened his eyes.
Hearing the rustle of fabric behind it, the mouse was so scared its scalp went numb. However, it still did as Feng Shi had instructed and sat obediently on the bed.
A hand reached out from behind and pressed down on its shoulder.
The mouse’s fur puffed out instantly. Panic-stricken and unsure of how to respond, it then heard the person behind say indifferently:
“The tail.”
“You’ve been exposed.”
As soon as he spoke, the mouse felt a surge of spiritual energy injected into its body. Its entire form immediately shriveled. In the blink of an eye, it reverted to its original form and was picked up by a hand with distinct knuckles.
It didn’t dare look directly at Shen Songhe’s face. Terrified, it quickly curled into a ball of meat, tucked its tail, and buried its head in its belly, shivering uncontrollably.
Looking at its reaction, Shen Songhe thought of Feng Shi’s sneaky appearance when he left and couldn’t help but chuckle.
He wouldn’t actually restrict Feng Shi. The boy was naturally free-spirited and unrestrained; he shouldn’t become his cage. It was just that sometimes he wanted to see such an interesting reaction.
Shen Songhe pinched the mouse with two fingers and lightly flicked its head. He then released his grip, having no intention of making a fuss. “Go on.”
The moment its feet hit the floor, the mouse scrambled out of the door, following the scent to find Feng Shi.
Inside the room, Shen Songhe got out of bed and pushed open the window.
Outside, there were gray clouds and white snow. He could faintly see the giant bell atop the distant city tower, standing firm amidst the fierce wind.
This kind of weather always made people feel uneasy, as if it were a herald of something major about to happen.
Shen Songhe’s gaze fell upon the storm-cloud-covered sky. His light-colored pupils lost focus for a moment.
Despite having a precious artifact protecting his body, his hands and feet were still ice-cold. There was a faint pain in his Dantian, making it difficult to circulate his spiritual energy on a large scale.
A moment later, he lowered his eyes again, pressing his lips tightly together as he looked at his own hands.
Having lost his Jindan, he was destined to never make further progress in this life. If it weren’t for the immortal pills and artifacts that maintained his youth, he probably wouldn’t even be able to keep this physical appearance.
And if he didn’t have this appearance, would Feng Shi still like him?
At this thought, Shen Songhe’s hands began to shake slightly. A drop of warm, light-red blood landed on the back of his pale, lean hand with a splat.
Then came a second drop, and a third.
Shen Songhe frowned slightly, his eyes filled with irritation. He raised his hand and wiped away the blood dripping from his nose.
He wiped it completely clean, wrapping the blood in a handkerchief, as if these signs—which indicated that his time was running out—had never appeared.
On the other side, Feng Shi was listening absent-mindedly as Xiao Yuhui explained the purification techniques for various medicinal herbs. After a long while, he hadn’t managed to learn anything.
Xiao Yuhui gradually noticed his poor mood, so he stopped talking and asked, “Does Shidie have something on his mind?”
Feng Shi was startled and touched his own face.
Was it that obvious?
“Um… I’m just a bit worried about entering the secret realm in a few days…”
Feng Shi found a random excuse. He looked out of the window restlessly. “How about we call it a day, Shixiong? I won’t be able to learn anything like this.”
Xiao Yuhui nodded and didn’t say anything more.
Feng Shi pulled open the door. He hadn’t even stayed at Xiao Yuhui’s for the time it took to drink half a cup of tea.
As soon as he stepped out, his hem was caught. Feng Shi looked down to see the mouse hugging his leg, squeaking and gesturing wildly, pointing its paws downstairs.
Feng Shi understood. He leaned down, picked up the mouse, and hurried downstairs.
Opening the door, a faint scent of blood lingered in the warm air. Feng Shi’s heart tightened as he quickly closed the door and called out for Shizun.
Shen Songhe didn’t respond.
Feng Shi’s blood felt like it was boiling with panic. He quickened his pace to the bedside.
Fortunately, Shen Songhe was lying properly on the bed, his breathing steady.
The coldness in Feng Shi’s body dissipated. He checked the room and found nothing unusual. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, marveling at how he was overreacting.
After this, Feng Shi had no heart to wander around anymore. He stayed in the room, sitting and cultivating.
Not long after, there was movement behind him again, and a pair of hands climbed onto his waist.
Feng Shi opened his eyes. Shen Songhe had already sat up behind him, resting his chin on his shoulder.
“Sleep with me for a bit, okay?”
The other’s voice was languid and a bit raspy, with a flow of warm air blowing against his ear.
Feng Shi’s ears were sensitive to tickling. He shifted his body slightly and frowned.
But when he saw Shen Songhe’s bloodshot eyes and the slight downward curve of his lips, the words of refusal somehow couldn’t be spoken.
It wasn’t until he was lying in the same bed with Shen Songhe again after many days, being hugged tightly from behind without a single gap, that Feng Shi thought to himself: this isn’t right.
Something was very wrong.
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