By the time Shen Xuan arrived in the city of Nanqing, it was already afternoon.
Compared with Bixi City at the foot of Taiyi Academy, where people constantly came and went, this small city under the jurisdiction of the Second Divine Hall was clearly much quieter. With the gloomy weather, only a few scattered pedestrians could be seen outside the city gate.
Shen Xuan walked toward the gate at an unhurried pace. In his hand was a communication talisman he had finally managed to retrieve. He was explaining the excuse he had made to the person on the other end.
“Yes, Father. I left a note in the confinement room. I have some personal matters to deal with, so I temporarily can’t cooperate with you by wasting time locked up in there.”
A middle-aged man’s imposing voice came from the talisman.
“Is this how you speak to your father? With the way you’ve been behaving, where have you put the Academy’s rules? What happened to everything I’ve taught you?”
“What kind of questionable people have you been associating with outside to turn you into this?”
“You’ve always been a child who never made me worry. This time, I’m extremely disappointed in you.”
…
His father’s words became increasingly stern.
If those words weren’t being directed at him, Shen Xuan might genuinely have thought they were describing some hopelessly rotten person.
His gaze wandered aimlessly across the old city so close at hand and the leaden-gray sky. The scolding entered one ear and left the other, but his tone remained as respectful and obedient as ever.
“Father, I understand what you mean. I’ll accept whatever punishment you decide when I return. I still have something to take care of, so I can’t keep talking right now.”
After perfunctorily dealing with his own father, Shen Xuan didn’t wait for the lecture to continue. He simply crumpled the communication talisman and tossed it into the corner of his storage pouch.
Self-reflection was something the sixteen-year-old Shen Xuan would have done.
He had long since passed that age.
When Shen Xuan reached the city gate and was about to enter, a faint flash of spiritual light suddenly stopped him.
A barrier had been activated around the city.
The cultivation world was currently enjoying a period of peace. Aside from a few important cities, most places allowed people to enter and leave freely. It was rare for a city to activate its defensive restrictions, especially a remote little city like Nanqing.
Shen Xuan stood before the barrier for a moment, considering the possibilities, when a lazy voice came from nearby.
“Are you a cultivator from out of town? Please show me your identification. Nanqing is currently in a sensitive period. Foreign cultivators entering the city need to register. Sorry for the inconvenience.”
Shen Xuan turned his head.
In an inconspicuous corner beside the city gate stood a small table with a canopy over it to keep out the rain. Behind the table sat a young man around his age.
The young man had an ordinary-looking face. His eyelids naturally drooped slightly, giving him a lazy, listless appearance.
Shen Xuan glanced at the pale-blue outer robe casually draped over his body.
It was the standard uniform of the Divine Halls, with a ring of willow leaves embroidered around the sleeves.
A cultivator stationed here by the Second Divine Hall.
…Found him.
Shen Xuan stepped forward and handed over his identification.
“Sensitive period?”
Just like he did with every passing cultivator, the young man picked up his pen and began recording Shen Xuan’s name. His tone remained flat as he recited the standard warning issued by the Divine Hall.
“There has recently been a wanted criminal from the Second Divine Hall operating in this area. If you see any trace of him, you can report it to the Divine Hall’s local station. There is a reward for useful information.”
“Of course, speaking personally, for the sake of your safety, I wouldn’t recommend getting involved with a wanted criminal just for the reward.”
“Perhaps… whatever your reason for coming here, the safest thing to do would be to stop here and turn around.”
Shen Xuan seemed completely oblivious to the hint.
He sighed.
“Sounds like a vicious criminal.”
The young man defended the wanted criminal instead.
“Vicious? Well… I wouldn’t exactly say that. It’s not easy for him to evade pursuit either. But people like us who obey the law should at least have enough sense to stay away from trouble.”
Shen Xuan extended his right hand.
The young man put down his pen and lowered his gaze to the hand in front of him. A thin layer of calluses had formed over the palm from years of handling a sword.
A barely noticeable flicker passed through his eyes.
He smoothly concealed his momentary distraction and lazily raised his gaze.
“What?”
“The wanted poster.”
Shen Xuan looked directly into his eyes and smiled.
“The Divine Hall should have copies, right? Perhaps I’ll get lucky and claim the reward.”
It was, of course, a perfectly reasonable request.
The young man opened the drawer beneath the table, took out a wanted poster, and handed it to Shen Xuan.
Shen Xuan took it.
His eyes briefly passed over the three characters Lu Junheng printed at the side before settling on the portrait in the center.
The corners of his lips lifted.
It was an exceptionally young and handsome face—even on the crudely drawn wanted poster.
Seeing Shen Xuan smiling at such an inappropriate time, the young man dutifully asked,
“Do you recognize this person?”
“No.”
Shen Xuan shook his head.
He carefully admired the portrait on the wanted poster and sincerely praised it.
“But… that’s an incredibly pleasing face. If I were looking for a dao companion, I’d definitely choose someone who looks like this.”
“If he ever betrayed me, I could always cut off his head and keep it as a collectible.”
The young man raised his eyelids slightly.
He decided to offer an opinion befitting his position.
“Daoist, based on what you’ve just said, I’m afraid I have reason to suspect that you have some connection with this wanted criminal. I could invite you to the Divine Hall station for questioning.”
Shen Xuan remained indifferent.
“Is that so? But you don’t look like the hardworking type.”
“Whatever.”
The young man lowered his eyelids, returned Shen Xuan’s identification, and gestured toward the city.
“Although you speak like an evil cultivator, your identity is perfectly legitimate on the surface. I have no reason to detain you for now. You may enter the city.”
“You’ve come all this way. I assume your purpose isn’t to stand at the city gate and chat with an ordinary registration officer.”
Shen Xuan didn’t leave.
He temporarily put the matter of entering the city—and the wanted criminal—aside.
Instead, he abruptly changed the subject.
“When do you get off work?”
The young man looked up and frowned.
“Hm?”
Shen Xuan’s tone was as casual as if they were discussing the weather.
“I’ve heard that Pingjiang’s famous dew wine is excellent. I’ve never tried it. How about we have a drink together after your shift?”
The young man looked confused.
“No. First of all, although I’m from Pingjiang, this is Nanqing, not Pingjiang.”
“Second, aren’t you too young to be inviting strangers out for drinks?”
“I see.”
Shen Xuan nodded as though he hadn’t heard the rejection at all.
“How about Tianxiang Restaurant, then? I’ll treat you to fish.”
The young man raised his voice in protest.
“Hey, hey! Could you actually listen to what I’m saying? I’m an upstanding working man. I don’t do this kind of thing!”
Shen Xuan looked slightly disappointed.
“Looks like I’m asking too much, then…”
His voice remained gentle.
Yet the young man’s eyes suddenly sharpened.
He instinctively stood up and stepped aside—
In the next instant, Shen Xuan suddenly moved.
One hand seized his wrist and shoved him into the shadows. His other hand drew his spiritual sword and pressed the blade against the man’s neck.
A thin line of blood appeared on the young man’s pale skin.
The bamboo hat slipped from Shen Xuan’s head during the sudden movement, revealing his extraordinarily handsome face completely.
Rain dampened both their hair.
Shen Xuan gently moved the sword in his hand. His gaze fell upon the small red mole on the man’s neck.
With genuine concern, he said,
“Your reaction has gotten slower.”
“What have you been busy with lately? Practicing how to be useless?”
The young man raised his face and slowly backed away, lifting his hands in surrender as he tried to keep his vulnerable neck away from the blade.
“Careful, careful. Someone’s going to see us.”
“Threatening an employee of the Divine Hall right at the city gate? Even a wanted criminal isn’t this reckless.”
“If you don’t let go, I’m going to send a signal to the station.”
Shen Xuan curved his eyes, hiding the killing intent within them.
“That’s fine.”
“It’ll be interesting to see whether the Divine Hall cultivators arrive faster or my sword does.”
“Besides, you wouldn’t want me to call your name in front of them, would you?”
His gaze meaningfully landed on the wanted poster that had fallen to the ground during their struggle.
He tilted his head.
“This game of ‘the thief shouting to catch the thief’ must be fun.”
“I don’t know how you managed to infiltrate the Divine Hall’s stationed personnel, but I don’t mind doing a good deed and giving these fellow cultivators, who have been wasting their time searching for you, some useful information.”
“Right, Lu Junheng?”
The young man fell silent.
…
The two stared at each other for a moment.
The young man—or rather, Lu Junheng himself—slowly dropped the carefree expression from his face.
If someone else had come, he might have been able to keep acting.
But Shen Xuan…
Someone who knew him better than he knew himself.
There was no point pretending to be someone else—or pretending he hadn’t been reborn.
Considering how well the two knew each other, Lu Junheng really shouldn’t have expected to fool Shen Xuan with a few casual words.
Lu Junheng finally gave in.
He held up one finger.
“Fifteen minutes.”
“The person taking over my shift will arrive in fifteen minutes.”
“I’ll buy you dinner. Deal?”
Shen Xuan stared at him silently for a while before finally lowering his sword.
Lu Junheng put away his lazy demeanor and sat upright at his post, diligently continuing his duties.
Fifteen minutes later, a middle-aged man wearing the uniform of the Second Divine Hall approached.
For the first time in his life, Lu Junheng felt that working hours could pass incredibly quickly.
The middle-aged man greeted him as usual.
“I’m here to take over. Anything unusual happen?”
Lu Junheng stepped aside.
“Everything’s normal.”
Shen Xuan stood casually beside him, lowering his head as he wiped the blood from his spiritual sword.
The man glanced at the unfamiliar person beside his colleague and politely asked,
“And who is this?”
Lu Junheng glanced at Shen Xuan and calmly fabricated an identity for him.
“Ah… probably my cousin from my hometown. He came to borrow some money.”
“I don’t have a habit of lending money.”
Shen Xuan finished wiping his sword, slid it back into its sheath, and cheerfully corrected him.
“I’m not his cousin. I’m his dao companion from back home.”
He smiled sweetly.
“I came to collect a debt of love from this heartless bastard who disappeared without a word.”
He tilted his head toward the person beside him.
“What? You were shameless enough to do it back then, but now you’re too embarrassed to admit it?”
His tone was so gentle that it sounded as though he weren’t even one of the people involved.
Lu Junheng:
“…”
Their relationship was obviously nowhere near peaceful or affectionate.
But it was also extremely difficult to explain to an outsider.
So Lu Junheng silently shut his mouth, picked up the fallen bamboo hat from the table, and placed it directly on Shen Xuan’s head.
Shen Xuan laughed.
The atmosphere between them was far too strange to pass as a friendly relationship between relatives.
The middle-aged man looked between them, then paid particular attention to the fading blood mark on his colleague’s neck.
A wise man knew when to remain silent.
He immediately stopped asking questions and went to take over the post.
Who would have thought this normally quiet young man had such a… complicated romantic history?
Young people these days really were something else.
After completing the shift handover, Lu Junheng endured his colleague’s contemptuous gaze and led Shen Xuan away.
Two quarters of an hour later, Shen Xuan and Lu Junheng were sitting inside a private room at Tianxiang Restaurant.
“So let me get this straight.”
Lu Junheng rested his chin on his hand and looked at the man sitting across from him.
“You didn’t stay properly at the Academy. Instead, you ran all the way to this godforsaken place.”
“You could have come quietly, but the moment you arrived, you ruined my reputation.”
“How am I supposed to keep working at the Divine Hall station now?”
“I have a family to support, you know.”
“Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find a job these days?”
“Then quit. I’ll support you.”
Shen Xuan casually replied while continuing to study the menu.
“Someone like you probably only needs to be fed three times a day to survive, right?”
He happily pointed at the menu.
“And add a braised carp.”
Lu Junheng temporarily snapped out of his gloomy thoughts about his ruined career.
He instinctively raised his voice to remind the waiter,
“Put plenty of chili in the fish. My friend likes spicy food.”
Shen Xuan put on an exaggeratedly delighted expression.
“You still remember what I like?”
“Of course.”
Lu Junheng picked up the teapot and poured Shen Xuan a cup of tea. Then, pretending to be a caring older brother, he reached over and affectionately ruffled Shen Xuan’s hair.
“After all, we’ve been eating together for so many years.”
The two looked at each other and smiled.
The atmosphere was incredibly warm.
The waiter, completely unaware of the hidden hostility between these two seemingly friendly guests, took the marked menu and left for the kitchen.
Shen Xuan raised his hand and activated the soundproofing barrier around the private room.
Then he finally answered Lu Junheng’s original question.
His eyebrows lifted slightly.
“Before you killed me…”
“Didn’t you realize that I would come looking for you to take revenge?”