Lu Junheng tried to defend himself. “You can’t keep judging people based on the past. Since then, have I ever gone anywhere without telling you? Besides… I never planned to leave you and go off somewhere this time.”
Shen Xuan made no comment. Seeing that the medicine on Lu Junheng’s wounds had already dried, he found a clean set of clothes in the wardrobe and tossed them to him.
“Change yourself.”
Lu Junheng turned his head away and refused. “No. Your clothes are too small. What if I wear your clothes and end up staying short like you?”
Who knew how he had somehow managed to distinguish sizes in clothes that could automatically adjust to the wearer’s body?
Shen Xuan took a deep breath and asked with a smile, “What did you just say? I didn’t hear you clearly. Could you say it again?”
Lu Junheng thought for a moment. Taking advantage of the fact that he was still injured, he boldly provoked him.
“…Shorty?”
Shen Xuan rolled his wrist.
Lu Junheng gave him a pitiful look and weakly said, “My wounds hurt so much. Am I about to die?”
Shen Xuan: “…”
Considering that Lu Junheng was still injured, Shen Xuan decided not to hit him and instead walked over to the table to drink some water.
After waiting for a while and realizing that Shen Xuan was genuinely ignoring him, Lu Junheng reluctantly reached for the clothes and quietly put them on himself.
Unable to get any attention, he started whining again to attract Shen Xuan’s notice.
“I’m thirsty. I want some water too. If I don’t get any soon, I’m going to die of thirst.”
Shen Xuan was merciless. “Then go ahead and die.”
Lu Junheng was utterly shocked.
“Is this how you treat an injured person?”
Unable to stand his incessant complaints any longer, Shen Xuan walked over and placed the teacup in front of him.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed that Lu Junheng had tied his belt crookedly. He bent down, untied it, and retied it properly for him.
After getting his water, Lu Junheng finally quieted down for the moment. He sat on the edge of the bed and let Shen Xuan do as he pleased.
His eyes lowered to Shen Xuan’s hand resting around his waist. Something seemed to catch his attention, and his gaze shifted slightly.
Just as Shen Xuan was finishing the knot, his hands suddenly stopped.
Lu Junheng reached out and grabbed his wrist.
Shen Xuan lowered his head and met his eyes.
His gaze shifted to Lu Junheng’s hand, and he asked impatiently, “What now?”
Lu Junheng didn’t let go.
“Nothing. It just seems like you have something in your hand. I’m worried. You must be planning to ambush me, right?”
He rambled on about this and that while subtly tightening his grip.
The object Shen Xuan had been holding between his fingers was finally exposed.
It was a folded tracking talisman.
There was not the slightest hint of embarrassment on Shen Xuan’s face at being discovered. Instead, he asked matter-of-factly,
“Do you have a problem with that?”
“Of course I do.”
Lu Junheng calmly took the talisman from between his fingers and tucked it into his sleeve.
“Don’t hide it in your belt anymore. It isn’t secure and can easily fall out. It nearly fell out last time.”
Shen Xuan tilted his head slightly, his eyes moving over Lu Junheng’s face before he smiled sincerely.
“I see. I’ll be more careful next time.”
Lu Junheng pretended to object.
“Once or twice should already be enough, right? Should there even be a next time? And even if there is, isn’t it strange to announce it directly to the victim?”
Shen Xuan thought for a moment before handing him an entire stack of tracking talismans with a sweet smile.
“No next time is fine too. I also think it’s troublesome. So take these. Whenever you leave my sight, carry one yourself.”
Lu Junheng: “…”
Seeing that he wasn’t taking them, Shen Xuan pulled out another stack. His smile became even sweeter.
“Not enough? Then take these too.”
Lu Junheng: “…”
Shen Xuan looked directly at him, sounding somewhat helpless.
“I don’t want to go through all this trouble either. But what can I do when you’re capable of moving around? If you were a corpse, that would be great. You wouldn’t make me angry, and you wouldn’t wander out of my sight.”
Sure enough, it would probably be better if someone like Lu Junheng were dead.
Lu Junheng’s thoughts took a strange turn.
“What do you need a corpse for? Can’t I just be buried in peace?”
Shen Xuan seemed to have genuinely considered the question before answering seriously,
“A dead person would no longer be useful for anything. But I want to keep watching you.”
Lu Junheng always managed to bring out the darkest emotions in him. Logically speaking, the best outcome for the two of them should be to stay apart.
Yet whenever Lu Junheng truly disappeared from his sight, Shen Xuan would feel that everything had become too quiet, as though some vivid part of his life had disappeared along with him.
Shen Xuan looked at Lu Junheng and smiled, his eyes curving slightly.
“This is clearly your fault. If you hadn’t initially accepted that I had the right to know where you were going, I wouldn’t have developed such a strong desire to control your whereabouts.”
He sighed.
“So troublesome. Why don’t we just die together?”
He seemed to genuinely think it was a good suggestion, and a trace of anticipation flashed in his eyes.
Lu Junheng studied his expression before suddenly reaching out and placing his hand against Shen Xuan’s face.
The cool touch of his fingertips against his skin caused a faint shiver.
Shen Xuan snapped out of his dark thoughts. He looked at the person in front of him and slowly blinked.
“Can you feel it?” Lu Junheng sighed, unusually serious. “This is what being alive feels like. Shen Xuan, I told you a long time ago that you need to understand the boundary between life and death. The end of life isn’t eternity. You won’t find anything you truly care about there, including me.”
He withdrew his hand and resigned himself to taking the two stacks of tracking talismans from Shen Xuan, carefully putting them away.
What is wrong with him?
He had gone through so much trouble to arrange for the two of them to be reborn. Was it really so that Shen Xuan could waste his life like this?
After a moment of stunned silence, Shen Xuan suddenly laughed.
“I was joking. I know life is precious. There are still many things I want to do. I’ll only tell you to die. Why would I die with you?”
Seeing that Shen Xuan had recovered, Lu Junheng relaxed again and returned to his usual careless manner.
“Whatever. Shen Xuan, you’d better really think that way. Otherwise, even if I become a ghost, I’ll make sure you stay alive.”
If everything Shen Xuan said all day long was true, then on this matter, the two of them had unexpectedly reached the same conclusion.
Within Lu Junheng’s values, Shen Xuan had always held an incomparable position. If necessary, he would not hesitate to trade his own life for Shen Xuan’s.
Shen Xuan checked the time. He had no time to continue their pointless conversation.
“The examination is almost over. I’m going to handle the remaining matters. Stay here and rest properly.”
He turned around to leave.
Lu Junheng tugged at him from behind.
Shen Xuan turned back.
Lu Junheng held out a sword.
“Here. Your sword. I’m returning it to you.”
Shen Xuan took the sword.
An amber-colored crystal core had been embedded in the hilt. Under the light, it reflected a warm, gentle glow.
Shen Xuan wrapped his hand around the hilt and slightly curved his lips.
It really was beautiful.
Just as beautiful as he had imagined.
As expected, Lu Junheng’s performance during the examination caused a huge stir throughout the academy.
A new student with absolutely no cultivation had defeated a Golden Core-stage demon beast. This was already beyond the realm of simply calling someone a genius. It was practically impossible.
But Lu Junheng himself remained inside Shen Xuan’s residence, recuperating behind closed doors. No matter what suspicions other people had about him, no one could come and disturb him.
On the fifth day, Shen Xuan returned from outside and tossed the miscellaneous supplies for new students, along with the first-place prize he had collected on Lu Junheng’s behalf, to him.
Lu Junheng sorted through everything and pretended to be surprised.
“Huh? Is something missing? Wasn’t I assigned a place to live?”
Shen Xuan looked equally sympathetic.
“That’s right. You weren’t assigned a residence. You’re about to become homeless and sleep in the wilderness. How pitiful.”
Lu Junheng looked at him pitifully and hinted,
“Surely some kind-hearted person will take me in, right?”
Shen Xuan smiled.
“Nope.”
Lu Junheng thought for a moment and quickly made a decision.
“Then I’ll reluctantly stay here and refuse to leave.”
Shen Xuan was too lazy to continue playing along and exposed him directly.
“Didn’t you already steal the spare access jade token to my residence?”
Unlike the other disciples, Shen Xuan’s family home was in the academy, so he naturally didn’t need to stay in the dormitories assigned by the academy.
His residence was private property belonging to the Shen family on the outskirts of the academy. After he moved out of his father’s residence, it had been transferred to his name, making it very convenient for him to enter and leave the academy.
With all the trouble Lu Junheng was currently involved in, living in the public dormitories could easily lead to problems at any time. Naturally, staying at Shen Xuan’s residence was much safer.
Lu Junheng looked genuinely surprised.
“Oh, is that what happened? I left it on the table because I thought nobody wanted it.”
Shen Xuan decisively kicked him out of the main house.
“Go to the room on the west side. Clean it up yourself.”