“Afraid I’ll poison you?”
Chen Chang’an was speechless.
For once in this lifetime, he was genuinely treating someone well, yet the other party refused to appreciate it?
Jia Jiyou glanced sideways at Chen Chang’an. “Tell me honestly. Is there some trap waiting for me? I’ve suffered so many losses at your hands that I can’t even count them anymore.”
Chen Chang’an sighed. “I’m about to die. This tea won’t be of any use anymore.”
About to die?
Jia Jiyou’s eyes instantly filled with disdain.
“You’re dying, huh? Fine then. Give me all the remaining tea leaves. Do you dare?”
Chen Chang’an casually tossed a packet of tea leaves toward him.
Jia Jiyou froze.
He could hardly believe it.
This stingy iron rooster had actually plucked out a feather!
A conspiracy!
A massive conspiracy!
You’ve tricked me for nearly three hundred years already. Do you think I’m still the same naïve child from back then?
“I don’t want it!”
Jia Jiyou immediately threw the tea leaves back at Chen Chang’an.
Chen Chang’an was rendered speechless.
“Unless you tell me your real purpose.” Even while speaking, Jia Jiyou’s eyes remained fixed on the packet of tea leaves.
He wanted it so badly!
Seeing the undisguised longing in Jia Jiyou’s gaze, Chen Chang’an shook his head with a smile.
This fellow had remained simple-minded his entire life. If Chen Chang’an hadn’t stayed by his side all these years, he probably would have been cheated to death long ago.
“I really am going to die,” Chen Chang’an said with a helpless smile.
Jia Jiyou rolled his eyes at him. “Then tell me, who could possibly kill you? That fool Wu Jianchi? Didn’t you once tell me that the so-called second strongest on the continent was nowhere near your level? You only pretended to barely defeat him every time because you wanted an opponent to keep entertaining you and give him motivation to improve.”
“You could beat the continent’s second strongest with one hand. Even if every expert on the continent joined forces, they still couldn’t kill you.”
Jia Jiyou was more than happy to expose Chen Chang’an’s so-called scheme.
It made him look wise and calculating.
Chen Chang’an was momentarily speechless.
He truly could not think of any more believable excuses.
“If you don’t believe me, then forget it. I’m not giving it to you anymore.”
Chen Chang’an deliberately put the tea leaves away.
“No! I… I’ll take them! But let’s make this clear first. You can’t trick me!”
Seeing the tea leaves about to disappear from his grasp, Jia Jiyou instantly panicked.
Looking at Jia Jiyou’s innocent expression, Chen Chang’an shook his head.
Thankfully, this fool had at least become a top-tier expert. After Chen Chang’an died, even if others tried to trick him, he probably wouldn’t end up getting killed because of it.
The tea was boiling hot, yet it still could not warm Chen Chang’an’s sorrowful heart.
After drinking tea, Chen Chang’an thought for a moment before looking at Jia Jiyou. “We’re good brothers, right?”
Jia Jiyou’s face darkened immediately. “Is the next sentence going to be asking me for a favor?”
“You’re really smart.”
Jia Jiyou fell silent.
“It’s not even a big favor. Your sister-in-law has been away from home for some time now, and I’m about to die. Send her a message for me and ask her to come back. Just let me see her once.”
Jia Jiyou’s mouth twitched.
What kind of ghost would believe such a ridiculous excuse?
“Your wife has always had a bad impression of me. She sees me as one of your worthless drinking buddies. Though honestly, it’s your fault too! You were obviously the one who led me astray, but somehow every time you tell the story, it turns into me leading you astray instead!”
The more he spoke, the more indignant Jia Jiyou became.
Chen Chang’an looked at him pleadingly. “Little Ji Ji, I’m begging you this time.”
Hearing the childhood nickname Chen Chang’an had given him once again, Jia Jiyou’s lips twitched violently.
He had always felt there was something wrong with that name.
Yet Chen Chang’an constantly insisted it was perfectly normal and that using it only showed how close they were.
“Fine! Since I already accepted your tea leaves!”
Jia Jiyou could only take out his sound-transmission stone and relay Chen Chang’an’s message into it.
Very quickly, the sound-transmission stone trembled.
“Worthless drinking buddies.”
Jia Jiyou instantly fell silent.
Honestly… that sounded even worse than fox friends and dog friends…
“See? Who would believe such a lousy excuse? Just keep waiting. Anyway, you still have 5,000 years of lifespan left, so you can afford to wait.”
Jia Jiyou put away the sound-transmission stone and clicked his tongue bitterly, feeling deeply wronged.
Chen Chang’an could only smile bitterly.
Forget 5,000 years. He did not even have one full year remaining.
Chen Chang’an stopped asking Jia Jiyou for help.
“Want to wash our feet?”
After finishing the tea, Chen Chang’an suddenly became interested in the idea.
Jia Jiyou recalled the past and asked, “Where? The last time we washed our feet together was over a hundred years ago in the imperial palace.”
Chen Chang’an led Jia Jiyou outside and eventually stopped by the crystal-clear pond.
He sat down beside a large rock. “Take your shoes off.”
Jia Jiyou looked puzzled.
Chen Chang’an removed his shoes and lowered his feet into the pond. Immediately, a group of unintelligent longevity fish swam over and began circling around his feet excitedly.
“So comfortable. I’ve wanted to do this for ages, but your sister-in-law was around, so I never dared.”
This was called fish therapy. It felt unbelievably good.
Jia Jiyou stared in shock.
“If your wife finds out about this, won’t both of us lose our heads?!”
“She’s not here, so why care? Besides, when have I ever tricked you?”
Jia Jiyou’s mouth twitched.
Never tricked me?
How shameless can you possibly be?
He was convinced Chen Chang’an was currently setting him up again.
If this matter were discovered by his wife later, Chen Chang’an would definitely claim Jia Jiyou was the mastermind behind it!
“No! I’ll just watch from the side!”
Chen Chang’an nodded, his face full of blissful enjoyment.
Fifteen minutes later.
The two of them sat on the rock together, both wearing extremely satisfied expressions.
“Comfortable, right?”
“It really is!”
The two soaked their feet in the pond for a full four hours.
They only stopped once there was not the slightest trace of odor left on their feet.
Both felt refreshed and invigorated.
Jia Jiyou was smiling from ear to ear.
As evening approached, Chen Chang’an looked at Jia Jiyou. “Want to take a bath together?”
Jia Jiyou looked at Chen Chang’an with utter disdain. “Do you think we’re still children? Bathing together? Aren’t you embarrassed?”
“Now that you mention it, it really has been over two hundred years since we bathed together. Hahaha, I still remember the first time we bathed. I even flicked that thing of yours.”
“If you keep talking like this, I’m really going to fall out with you!”
“Come on, come on. Join me. Help scrub my back.”
“No!”
Fifteen minutes later, the two of them were soaking beneath a waterfall, both wearing expressions of complete enjoyment.
Stars glittered across the night sky.
Inside the room, Chen Chang’an lay on the bed and patted the space beside him. “Come up here. Let’s sleep together.”
Jia Jiyou increasingly felt that something was wrong with Chen Chang’an.
Could this guy really have suddenly developed a preference for men?
He had heard that some married men, after arguing with their wives too much, suddenly lost interest in women altogether!
“If your wife finds out I slept here, you’re dead,” Jia Jiyou warned.
“That’s true. She’d probably replace the entire bed. Too troublesome.”
His wife had an extremely serious cleanliness obsession.
After thinking for a moment, Chen Chang’an walked outside and flew onto the rooftop.
“Then let’s sleep on the roof. We used to do this all the time when we were young.”
Chen Chang’an laughed.
Jia Jiyou’s lips twitched. “You liked staring at stars, but I never did! Yet every single time, you dragged me along. I woke up soaked by frost every morning, and my father beat me countless times because of it!”
Despite his complaints, Jia Jiyou still obediently lay down beside Chen Chang’an.
Chen Chang’an waved one hand, and a spiritual Qi barrier appeared above the courtyard, preventing the frost from falling.
Looking at the countless stars filling the sky, Chen Chang’an sighed softly.
“Time passes so quickly. In the blink of an eye, the people who left are gone, and the ones who stayed have all grown old.”
Jia Jiyou also sank into his memories, suddenly missing the father who used to beat him every day.
His eyes grew slightly red.
When people grew old, their hearts truly became more sentimental.
“They say the older people get, the more they love remembering the past. Seems it’s true. Almost everyone from back then is gone. Thankfully, you’re still here beside me.”
Jia Jiyou smiled faintly as he finished speaking and glanced at Chen Chang’an beside him.
Chen Chang’an quietly fell silent.
As for me… I’ll soon be leaving you too…