Yuan Xiuzhu’s eyes remained locked onto Wen Xu’s neck. Reaching out directly, he pulled Wen Xu’s hand away and froze the instant he caught sight of those two distinct red marks gracing the fair skin.
“These bite marks look as though they were left by a bat or a snake… But our Wuji Sect is a picturesque paradise filled with pristine springs and fragrant flowers, resembling an immortal realm; where on earth would bats come from?”
Wen Xu immediately spoke up to cut him off. “They were bitten by a snake! In any case, it has nothing to do with Shizun!”
“They were?” Yuan Xiuzhu wore a look of puzzlement, feeling that something about those words didn’t quite add up. “But I recall that snakes only inhabit the small wooded area behind the mountain, and since that place is a forbidden zone, Shizun never allows anyone to approach it. Could a snake have somehow slipped out from in there?”
At this point, Yuan Xiuzhu’s expression abruptly turned serious. “Then I must quickly have someone catch that snake, just in case someone else gets bitten…”
“There’s no need to go catch it, Senior Brother, calm down!” Wen Xu offered a soft, gentle smile as he replied, “I was bitten yesterday, Shizun already took care of the matter, and the snake was captured and promptly disposed of on the spot! So Senior Brother, you don’t need to worry at all.”
“Oh, is that so? Then I can rest easy.” Yuan Xiuzhu nodded. Just as he was about to release Wen Xu’s hand, he suddenly noticed a remarkably clear red ring around that slender, fair wrist looking precisely as though someone had grasped it tightly with considerable force.
The expression of gentle warmth that had taken so much effort to return to his face instantly hardened and grew grim once more.
“What is the meaning of this? Who did this?” Yuan Xiuzhu demanded in a cold voice.
Wen Xu parted his lips. “Er…”
Yuan Xiuzhu suddenly recalled the scene he had witnessed during the day, his expression turning sharp as he stated, “These marks wouldn’t happen to have been left by Shizun, would they? I distinctly remember that you didn’t have these red marks on your wrist earlier, and besides Shizun, there is no one else.”
“Er…”
Wen Xu hovered in hesitation, weighing whether he should tell the truth, before realizing upon a second thought that this hardly seemed like an unspeakable secret.
And so, giving a small nod of his head, he admitted, “Yes. Didn’t Senior Brother see it during the day? I accidentally tripped and fell onto Shizun, and at the time, Shizun instinctively grabbed my wrist.”
“Is that all? Then how could it leave such a heavy red mark?” Yuan Xiuzhu’s gaze sharpened considerably. “Ah-Xu, is there something else you are keeping from Senior Brother?”
Wen Xu blinked twice, tilting his head slightly. “No? What could I possibly be keeping from Senior Brother? You’re overthinking things!”
Yuan Xiuzhu paused for a moment before reaching out, unable to stop himself from lightly pinching that soft, squishy cheek. He thought to himself: It’s genuinely soft.
Wen Xu’s long, delicate eyelashes fluttered twice. Why on earth does everyone and their mother love pinching his cheeks so much?!
Gazing intently at Wen Xu’s face, Yuan Xiuzhu mused thoughtfully, “You’ve certainly grown much livelier lately, and your speech has become a lot more frequent.”
“Mhm…” Wen Xu bit his lower lip, offering a faint, gentle smile a moment later. “Probably because I received such a massive fright when I was captured by the Xuanshuang Sect last time. Once I finally calmed down, it felt as though someone had unblocked my meridian channels, leaving my entire mind completely enlightened. Doesn’t Senior Brother think I’m doing well like this?”
As Yuan Xiuzhu looked at the sweet smile blooming across his little junior brother’s palm-sized face and those bright, sparkling round almond eyes—so unlike the past, when even his smiles had been timid and sheepish with lowered brows, his gaze never once holding such radiance—
It was undoubtedly wonderful this way, yet somehow, he felt as though something essential was missing.
Compared to this Wen Xu, whose smile radiated with the brilliance of the sun, he actually preferred the little fellow from before, who resembled a sensitive mimosa plant that would instinctively curl inward at the slightest touch.
Yuan Xiuzhu suddenly felt that he might be harboring a touch of selfishness. The gaze he directed toward Wen Xu grew profoundly complicated, and after a long silence, he let out a soft sigh, offering a muted, gentle smile. “You are doing very well right now.”
“Then Senior Brother… can let go of my hand now?” Wen Xu glanced down at his slender wrist, which was still firmly enclosed in the other’s grip, feeling that his poor wrist had truly suffered a trial by fire today.
Hearing this, Yuan Xiuzhu hastily released his hold. “My apologies; Senior Brother got a bit carried away just now. I didn’t squeeze too hard, did I?”
“Not at all.” Shaking his head, Wen Xu rubbed his wrist before walking over to pour a cup of tea. “Would Senior Brother like some tea?”
He had spent the entire afternoon sleeping away in Feiyu Palace and hadn’t touched a single drop of water since waking up, leaving him parched with thirst.
Yuan Xiuzhu shook his head, his attention rapidly drawn right back to Wen Xu’s gait. “Ah-Xu, what is wrong with your legs? Why does it feel like your walk is rather unnatural?”
“Huh?” Wen Xu swallowed half a cup of tea in one go, blinking in surprise before replying, “It’s nothing much… It’s just that my knees are a bit sore, which makes walking feel a bit stiff.”
Yuan Xiuzhu frowned. “Why would your knees be sore?”
Wen Xu blinked. “From kneeling for too long, so they ache a bit. It’s nothing serious, Senior Brother doesn’t need to worry.”
“Kneeling, kneeling until they ache?!” Yuan Xiuzhu’s volume instantly spiked in shock. “Shizun made you kneel?! How long did you kneel for?”
Seated back down, Wen Xu picked up a piece of osmanthus pastry to nibble on, speaking with his mouth half-full. “For an hour or two, I suppose… It damn near exhausted me to death…”
Frowning deeply, Yuan Xiuzhu stood there in absolute silence, his lips pressed together into a rigid straight line.
His little junior brother’s wrist had been bruised red by Shizun, and his knees were aching because Shizun had forced him to kneel for too long. Though his little junior brother had offered an explanation for the former, he found it rather difficult to fully believe.
For reasons unknown, Yuan Xiuzhu suddenly recalled the few romance storybooks Second Senior Brother Xihang had brought back from outside a couple of days prior, which happened to include two pictorial volumes featuring human illustrations.
Only, the protagonists depicted within were two men, and they were purely romantic picture-books.
Yuan Xiuzhu had accidentally caught a glimpse of a few pages. The illustrations featured two figures: one with both hands and knees planted firmly on the ground, his upper body pressed forward, while the other stood directly behind him, supporting his waist.
Another illustration portrayed the two of them face-to-face, with the person of higher status gripping the subordinate’s wrist, accompanied by suggestive text printed alongside.
Yuan Xiuzhu knew very well that he had no business entertaining such scandalous fantasies about his own Shizun and junior brother, but the scene he had witnessed earlier that day kept replaying unbidden in his mind, merging seamlessly with those suggestive illustrations.
He could only blame his own impure affections toward his little junior brother for tainting his view of everyone else around them.
Besides… Shizun had indeed always treated his little junior brother with exceptional, distinct partiality.
Take the incident with the Xuanshuang Sect, for example. Normally, Shizun would never have personally left the sect to rescue someone, yet he had personally led them all in a direct assault on the Xuanshuang Sect’s branch outpost to bring the little junior brother back safely.
“Senior Brother?”
Yuan Xiuzhu snapped back to reality. “What is it?”
Wen Xu looked up with an innocent expression. “I should be asking you that, Senior Brother. What’s wrong with you? Your complexion looked rather terrible just now.”
Pressing his lips together, Yuan Xiuzhu lowered his gaze. “It’s nothing. Seeing you eat osmanthus pastries, are you hungry? Sit tight and wait a moment; Senior Brother will go whip up something for you to eat.”
With those words, Yuan Xiuzhu turned and strode out the door.
He had originally intended to voice his lingering doubts and get clear answers, but looking at Wen Xu’s completely naive and clueless expression, he figured the boy likely still understood nothing of these matters. If he ended up exposing it and inadvertently awakening the boy’s romantic sensibilities prematurely…
It was probably far better to leave things as they were, keeping him pure and untouched.
Tilting his head in absolute bafflement, Wen Xu muttered to himself: What on earth has gotten into Yuan Xiuzhu?
Hehe, the Shizun in this chapter only exists entirely within the dialogue of the senior brothers~ The next chapter will feature the long-awaited heavy spotlight on Shizun! Stay tuned~!