After the few of them parted ways, Li Jingsheng lost all interest in wandering around the streets. He only thought about heading back to rest as quickly as possible, and ideally finding Elder Fang Xiuxian to examine Mo Yu once more.
He hoped it wasn’t some lingering side effect from the martial arts tournament.
However.
Li Jingsheng turned his head to glance at the bustling, vibrant street.
It was somewhat of a pity to leave before finishing the stroll.
Still, the streets could be explored another day, but if something was genuinely wrong with Mo Yu, it couldn’t wait.
Retrieving the Earth-Escaping Talisman, he tilted his head toward Mo Yu: “Let’s head back.”
Looking at Li Jingsheng, Mo Yu remained speechless for a moment. He had spent the entire evening in high spirits simply because he was able to go out alone with Senior Brother.
He could tell that Senior Brother had also been genuinely happy to come out today.
Yet now, solely because of his own condition, he had ruined Senior Brother’s mood.
Recalling the reluctant expression Senior Brother had worn just moments ago, Mo Yu felt a sudden, suffocating tightness in his chest.
Seeing that he didn’t speak, Li Jingsheng assumed he was still feeling unwell and immediately prepared to activate the talisman. But right at the instant he was about to trigger it, Mo Yu reached out and stopped him.
“Senior Brother, can we not go back today? Can we stay here for the night?”
In truth, Li Jingsheng didn’t want to go back either; he was only worried about Mo Yu’s current state.
He looked at Mo Yu with hesitation in his eyes.
Mo Yu seemed to read the thoughts running through his mind.
“Senior Brother, I really am fine now. We’ll just stay for one night and return tomorrow, okay?”
Seeing Mo Yu’s pitiful appearance and realizing that the boy rarely ever got to go out, Li Jingsheng figured that having finally made the trip, failing to enjoy it properly would genuinely be miserable.
After pondering for a long time, he reached out and pressed his hand against Mo Yu’s forehead.
Not hot, no fever; the problem shouldn’t be too serious then.
“Alright, but we must head back tomorrow.”
Watching him agree, Mo Yu smiled and nodded: “Thank you, Senior Brother.”
In the distance, the setting sun melted into gold, and before long, the veil of night crept up the edge of the sky.
To allow Mo Yu to rest earlier, Li Jingsheng found an inn nearby and prepared to check in, though he never expected such a coincidence.
“Eldest Senior Brother?!”
The person being called wore golden robes, the patterns outlined in gold thread shimmering faintly. Viewed from afar, he truly looked like a picture of graceful elegance.
Hearing someone call his name, Jin Yunhao turned his head, saw Li Jingsheng, and smiled. When he noticed Mo Yu following closely behind Li Jingsheng, a flash of surprise crossed his heart.
Even so, that warm, genial smile remained plastered across his face.
“Junior Brother, what brings you both here?”
Stepping forward, Mo Yu offered a greeting: “Eldest Senior Brother.”
Spotting Jin Yunhao in a place like this left Li Jingsheng thoroughly puzzled as well. The martial arts tournament was still ongoing, yet Jin Yunhao, who served as a referee, had appeared out here; no matter how one looked at it, something was off.
Suppressing his inner doubts for the time being, he answered Jin Yunhao’s question: “I brought Mo Yu down the mountain to pick up some extra clothing.”
Upon hearing this, Jin Yunhao’s face instantly lit up with an approving expression: “The seasons are changing, it is indeed time to stock up on some clothes.” Displaying his goody-two-shoes persona, he offered, “Are your funds sufficient? If not, Senior Brother happens to have plenty on hand.”
With that, he extended his money pouch right toward Li Jingsheng.
Li Jingsheng thought to himself: Truly living up to the goody-two-shoes setting, offering a helping hand and sacrificing oneself in every conceivable situation.
If this were modern currency, Li Jingsheng might have accepted it with a don’t mind if I do, but currency here didn’t hold much practical use for him. Besides, having won a decent amount from his bets a few days prior, his money pouch was already bulging quite nicely; he had zero need for anyone else’s sponsorship.
Just as he was about to voice his refusal, a painfully familiar voice rang out from behind him.
“Why do you keep haunting us like a ghost?”
The voice was far too familiar, meaning Li Jingsheng didn’t even need to turn around to know whose it was.
What incredible fate to run into them again today!
The next second, the person strode into view, prompting Li Jingsheng to flash a grin: “It seems our fates aren’t exhausted just yet today.”
Xi Feng’s handsome face instantly darkened as he snapped in exasperation, “Who shares any fate with you! Clearly, you’re stalking us!”
The moment Xi Feng appeared, Mo Yu instinctively tugged at Li Jingsheng’s sleeve, wishing to shield the other behind him. But remembering that Eldest Senior Brother was present and figuring the other party wouldn’t pull any stunts, he held his ground.
Sensing Mo Yu’s tug and assuming the boy was tired, Li Jingsheng patted the back of his hand soothingly.
He then turned back to reason with Xi Feng: “What is Young Master Xi saying? Clearly, we arrived first; if anyone is following anyone, it’s you following us.”
Xi Feng’s face flushed bright red: “Absolute nonsense! Who’s following you?! Why is your skin so impossibly thick?!”
Jin Yunhao had initially been confused by the talk of shared fate, but by now he had roughly pieced the situation together.
He inquired, “Did you all run into each other earlier today?”
Watching Xi Feng’s ashen face, Li Jingsheng chuckled: “Yes, Junior Brother Xi even helped us out earlier!”
That was a fact Xi Feng couldn’t refute, yet utterly unwilling to share a roof with that scoundrel Li Jingsheng, he yanked on Jin Yunhao’s arm: “Eldest Senior Brother, I’m tired. Let’s head upstairs to rest.”
Witnessing such discourtesy, Jin Yunhao sighed inwardly, took Xi Feng’s hand, and spoke in a gentle tone: “Now now, that’s not right of you. We fellow disciples should live in harmony with one another. Meeting by chance is a form of fate, and since we’re all from the same sect anyway, there’s no reason to leave Jingsheng and the others hanging here.”
Xi Feng felt as though he was having the worst luck imaginable today. First he ran into unreasonable family members while out on an investigation, running into Li Jingsheng along the way was bad enough, but how could he bump into him again right back here?
Lectured by his senior yet left with nowhere to vent his anger, Xi Feng could only stand awkwardly to the side with a suppressed expression, glaring malevolently at Li Jingsheng.
The latter pulled a funny face right back at him.
Xi Feng rolled his eyes up to the heavens.
He. He. He was literally about to be driven to an early grave by pure rage!
Ignoring the undercurrents swirling between the two of them, Jin Yunhao turned his attention back to Li Jingsheng: “Junior Brother, will you be staying here for the night as well?”
Li Jingsheng maintained his obedient junior brother persona in front of Jin Yunhao, partly because he didn’t want to listen to a lecture, and partly because the other genuinely had good intentions, making it difficult to object.
Therefore, he answered honestly: “Yes.”
Jin Yunhao’s face bloomed with a smile: “Then I’ll ask the innkeeper for four rooms right next to each other so we can keep an eye on one another tonight.”
Being completely unpicky about where he stayed, Li Jingsheng raised no objections and simply nodded: “Very well, I’ll leave the arrangements entirely to Senior Brother.”
Having finished dealing with Jin Yunhao and securing their room numbers, Li Jingsheng dragged Mo Yu upstairs.
Though he was curious why Jin Yunhao had descended the mountain at a time like this, and equally curious why Jin Yunhao was traveling with Xi Feng, he understood a fundamental rule of survival.
In novels, the more you know, the faster you die; even if it didn’t kill you, knowing too much never brought anything good.
Valuing his life dearly, he prudently refrained from asking, and judging by the other’s reaction, they probably had no desire to let outsiders know anyway.
Since everyone preferred keeping things unsaid, he was more than happy to play along.
Mo Yu’s room was right next to his. After settling the boy in, Li Jingsheng retreated to his own quarters.
Having spent the entire day bustling about, he felt bone-weary and slumped his face flat against the table to rest.
Having held its tongue all day, the moment they were alone Xiao Yu started yelling at him: “Don’t you feel like you’re treating Mo Yu way too well lately?!”
Too tired to lift a single finger, Li Jingsheng merely offered a perfunctory nod in response: “Mm-hmm.”
Furious at his nonchalance, Xiao Yu jabbed him with a wing feather: “Are you even listening to a single word I’m saying? You can’t be that good to him!”
Annoyed by the poking, Li Jingsheng straightened up and countered, “Did I complete the task you assigned?”
Taken aback, Xiao Yu blinked and nodded: “Completed.”
Li Jingsheng pressed further: “Does the accumulation of hatred points have anything to do with you?”
Pondering for a moment, Xiao Yu shook its head: “No.”
Spreading his hands wide, Li Jingsheng concluded: “There you go. I completed the task you demanded, and collecting hatred points has nothing to do with you anyway; whatever the final tally turns out to be, I’ll accept it.”
Truth be told, Li Jingsheng couldn’t quite figure out what was wrong with himself lately either. Whenever he saw Mo Yu, he couldn’t help wanting to treat the boy well, and whenever anything happened to the youngster, he felt completely out of sorts himself.
For the time being, he mentally categorized this as an instance of occupational hazard.
Having spent too long as a teacher, he simply possessed a natural, innate sympathy for pitiful, well-behaved children.
As for the hatred points, he had grown rather indifferent to them by now. If he couldn’t gather enough, so be it; it simply meant he couldn’t go back.
Besides, living quite comfortably right here while having zero attachments waiting for him back on the other side meant staying put wasn’t the end of the world either.
Prompted by Xiao Yu’s questioning, the knot that had lingered in his mind for days finally unraveled.
That was right: if he didn’t go back, he wouldn’t have to stress over those wretched hatred points, and he could complete his tasks at a much more leisurely pace.
With that realization, his mood lifted considerably, washing away a good portion of his fatigue.
Who would have thought that Xiao Yu would freeze right where it was, looking as though it had just been struck by a thunderbolt.
“You… you don’t happen to have fallen for him, do you?”
With that, it coiled itself around Li Jingsheng’s arm and burst into tears: “You can’t like him! You absolutely cannot like him!”
Those words from Xiao Yu left Li Jingsheng frozen in place.
Me. Liking. Mo Yu?!
The kid isn’t even fifteen years old yet!
Am I some kind of monster?!
The realization lingered in his mind for barely a fraction of a second; the mere thought of harboring romantic feelings for Mo Yu meant fancying a child eight or nine years his junior!
Even though his current body’s age wasn’t vastly different from the boy’s, his psychological boundary firmly rejected such a possibility.
He shot back a denial almost reflexively: “No, I don’t like him!”
“I just think he’s pitiful, that’s all!”
As if attempting to reassure himself, he repeated it once more.
“Right, I just think he’s pitiful, that’s all.”
Hearing this, Xiao Yu instantly cut off its crying, floated right up to his face, and demanded, “Really?”
Meeting its scrutinizing gaze, Li Jingsheng swallowed hard: “Really.”
Rarely showing a spark of intelligence today, Xiao Yu pressed on: “I don’t believe you, unless you swear an oath!”
Utterly exasperated by its unreasonable antics, Li Jingsheng sighed: “Fine, I swear. What do you want me to say?”
Thinking the little thing was merely joking around, Li Jingsheng never expected Xiao Yu to actually think it through and declare earnestly: “Swear that if you ever fall for him, you’ll listen to whatever I say from then on!” It emphasized the point: “I mean whatever!”
Finding the oath utterly absurd, yet watching how deadly serious the feather looked, Li Jingsheng had no choice but to repeat it word for word: “I swear that if I ever grow to like Mo Yu in the future, I will listen to Xiao Yu’s every command. If I break this oath, let me be struck by five bolts of divine lightning.”
The moment he finished the final line, Xiao Yu hurriedly zipped over to clamp a hand over his mouth: “You can skip the last part!”
Seeing the feather’s reaction, Li Jingsheng knew its anger had evaporated.
The creature’s temper had always been quick to flare and quick to fade.
“Well? I’ve sworn the oath, can you believe me now?”
Abandoning its usual playful grin, Xiao Yu maintained a solemn expression and let out a huff: “I suppose that’s barely acceptable.”