Lu Junheng’s residence was not far from the Divine Hall outpost. A willow tree grew beside the entrance, and the bricks and roof tiles of the house looked rather old. Surrounded by ordinary houses, it was so inconspicuous that it was easy to overlook.
Lu Junheng watched helplessly as Shen Xuan walked straight into his home without the slightest trace of restraint. Shen Xuan casually found a place to sit, took out Lu Junheng’s tea leaves, and began making tea.
He looked completely at home.
The rain had stopped halfway through their journey, and the dim evening light had already covered the entire sky.
Leaning against the doorway, Lu Junheng stared blankly at a small puddle in front of the house and lazily shook the water from his umbrella.
…How had things become like this after only a few hours since their reunion?
When they met at the city gate, he had clearly been thinking about how to fool Shen Xuan into leaving.
There was no denying that Shen Xuan’s initiative and ability to put his plans into action were always astonishing.
When the tea was almost ready, Shen Xuan turned around and called out,
“Lu Junheng.”
Lu Junheng hung up his umbrella and answered as he walked into the kitchen.
“Okay, okay. I heard you. Just wait.”
Forget it. It was fate.
Shen Xuan had been born specifically to bring him trouble.
After a while, Lu Junheng came out of the kitchen, muttering, “When are you going to break this bad habit? You’re wasting my good tea.”
He tossed the sugar jar onto the table beside Shen Xuan.
Shen Xuan added two spoonfuls of sugar to his tea and happily took a sip.
Lu Junheng turned around and went to prepare the guest room.
He took the bedding out of the cabinet and made the bed. Then he went into the courtyard and put away the things that had been soaked by the rain.
He kept himself busy until there was finally nothing left to do.
Only then did he stop and wander back inside, choosing the chair farthest away from Shen Xuan.
Shen Xuan reached out and pushed a cup of tea at exactly the right temperature toward him.
Lu Junheng lazily curled up in his chair and rejected his rare act of kindness.
“Forget it. I’m tired. Tea will keep me awake.”
Shen Xuan looked genuinely disappointed.
“Really? You won’t drink it? I added a top-grade poison that kills instantly. You definitely won’t have to worry about staying awake.”
Lu Junheng immediately moved farther away from the cup, bristling.
“Isn’t the problem that I won’t wake up again? Do you hate me that much?”
“Just kidding.”
Shen Xuan picked up the cup and took a sip.
“But you’re right. I really do hate you, just like you hate me.”
Lu Junheng said nothing.
He quietly settled down again, resting his chin on one hand as he glanced toward Shen Xuan.
It was too dark for Shen Xuan to make out his expression.
A small flame of spiritual energy appeared at Shen Xuan’s fingertips, lighting the candle on the table.
But Lu Junheng had already looked away.
Still that vague and evasive attitude.
But it didn’t matter.
He had plenty of time to wear down Lu Junheng’s defenses slowly.
For now, Shen Xuan let him off and asked,
“Where am I sleeping?”
Lu Junheng pointed toward one of the rooms.
“The one on the west side. I’ve already made the bed. Go there yourself. If you don’t like sleeping there, go sleep on the street.”
Shen Xuan placed his cup on the table and left.
Lu Junheng covered his eyes with one hand and let out a long sigh.
When Shen Xuan wasn’t in front of him, he could still firmly stick to his own principles.
But the moment Shen Xuan appeared, even the strongest resolve inevitably began to waver.
Some people simply had the ability to influence your judgment just by existing.
…Why did he have to come looking for trouble?
He had always been the one causing trouble for Shen Xuan. Now he had to restrain himself from following his instincts and dragging Shen Xuan into the mess with him.
It was exhausting.
*
Perhaps because he was sleeping in an unfamiliar place, Shen Xuan did not sleep well. He kept drifting in and out of dreams.
When he suddenly woke up, the night was only halfway over.
The contents of the dream had already become blurry.
It was probably another collection of meaningless memories from his previous life.
After the rain, the clouds remained thick and heavy. The moon, already high in the sky, appeared as a hazy shadow. Dim moonlight filtered through the clouds.
It was already very late, yet the candlelight in Lu Junheng’s room was still burning.
…He had thought that after rebuilding his Heartless Dao, Lu Junheng would have been able to handle their reunion with ease.
Shen Xuan stared at that small patch of light for a while before slowly getting out from under the covers.
A sudden thought occurred to him.
This was probably good weather for admiring the moon.
So Shen Xuan put on his clothes, walked out of his room, found a stool, and openly sat beneath Lu Junheng’s window, looking up at the hazy moon.
After a while, there was a sound from inside the room.
Lu Junheng’s shadow appeared clearly on the paper window.
The candlelight flickered violently, as though the person inside intended to blow it out.
But in the end, Lu Junheng didn’t.
He sat down beside the window instead.
The candle remained lit.
Neither of them spoke.
Neither of them reached out to open the window between them.
They quietly remained there for a long time.
…The moon was almost setting.
Shen Xuan wearily yawned and pulled his outer robe tighter around himself.
What a meaningless night.
A complete waste of time.
He stood up and returned to the guest room.
The light in the guest room came on, then went dark.
Shen Xuan had gone back to sleep.
A quarter of an hour later, the shadow behind the window moved.
Lu Junheng bent down and blew out the candle in his room.
*
The next morning, both of them had dark circles under their eyes.
Shen Xuan was easily irritable when he didn’t get enough sleep. He wrestled with his blanket for a while, then climbed out of bed with a sour expression and casually threw a clean outer robe over himself.
As cultivators became stronger, their basic physiological needs, such as sleep, gradually decreased. During the final period of his previous life, it was perfectly normal for Shen Xuan to go ten days or even half a month without sleeping.
It had been a very long time since he had experienced the splitting headache caused by merely going two or three days without proper rest.
Sure enough, nothing good ever happened whenever Lu Junheng was involved.
Shen Xuan rubbed his aching temple and pushed open the door.
Lu Junheng was standing in the courtyard. Hearing the guest room door open, he silently turned his gaze toward him.
Because of the strict upbringing he had received since childhood, Shen Xuan was accustomed to maintaining a proper appearance whenever he met someone, regardless of his attitude toward them.
But this clearly did not apply immediately after waking up from sleep.
Especially when the person standing before him was Lu Junheng.
Shen Xuan stood in the doorway with his robe loosely draped around him, expressionless as he stared at Lu Junheng.
His long hair was messy and spread down his back. There wasn’t even a trace of his usual smile on his face.
He looked as though the entire world owed him a huge amount of money.
Lu Junheng was already accustomed to this side of him, so he merely glanced at him before looking away.
The chilly morning wind brushed against Shen Xuan’s exposed skin.
He lazily yawned before belatedly remembering something.
Sixteen-year-old Lu Junheng was still cultivating the Heartless Dao.
Whether out of respect for the Heartless Dao that Lu Junheng had rebuilt after his death, or because of the subtle distance between them since their reunion, perhaps they should behave a little more properly around each other.
Shen Xuan’s eyes gradually became clearer.
What a hassle.
He turned around and pushed open his door again.
When Shen Xuan appeared in the courtyard once more, he was fully dressed, and his hair had been neatly tied back as usual.
Lu Junheng didn’t understand why he had gone back and forth, but he had little energy to care.
“Breakfast is in the kitchen. If you’re hungry, help yourself. Of course, if you plan on starving yourself to death, I don’t mind either. Leave after you eat. There won’t be any lunch for you here.”
Shen Xuan ignored his dismissal.
He went into the kitchen, grabbed a sweet pastry, and came back with it between his teeth.
By then, Lu Junheng had already finished getting ready and looked as though he was about to leave.
Shen Xuan asked,
“Where are you going?”
Lu Junheng answered matter-of-factly,
“To work, of course. That’s how inconvenient life is when you have a job.”
Shen Xuan ignored his muttering about having to find a way to explain the rumors Shen Xuan had started the previous day.
As though he had only just remembered, he said,
“Right. There’s another important reason I came this time. I’m taking you back to Bixi. If we leave early enough, we can still make it in time for this year’s academy entrance examination.”
“Huh?”
Lu Junheng froze.
Once he realized what Shen Xuan was talking about, his face immediately filled with disgust.
“Going through school, exams, and graduation once is enough. Doing it several times will ruin whatever good qualities a person has left.”
Shen Xuan didn’t care about his nonexistent “good qualities.”
He casually explained,
“I have some inside information. The Yuqing Secret Realm is about to open, probably in two months. Without the identity of an academy student, getting a spot inside will be troublesome. At this point, I assume you don’t have time to secure a place anymore, right?”
Lu Junheng’s pupils contracted slightly.
The Yuqing Secret Realm.
The beginning of the tangled fate between the two of them in their previous life.
The atmosphere between them briefly grew cold at the mention of its name.
Lu Junheng forcibly shifted his attention back to the matter itself and frowned.
“Wasn’t this damned secret realm supposed to open next year?”
Shen Xuan carefully studied the genuine shock on Lu Junheng’s face and sighed.
“Yes. Strange, isn’t it? I thought you would know why something abnormal happened to this secret realm.”
After their reincarnation, things that had originally been fixed on the timeline had suddenly begun to change.
No one could say whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Lu Junheng managed to remain serious for less than a moment before immediately clutching his head in frustration and muttering,
“Why didn’t you tell me something this important earlier? Damn it, damn it. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have…”
Shen Xuan’s eyes curved pleasantly.
“You didn’t ask.”
He leaned closer to Lu Junheng.
“Also, if you’d known, you wouldn’t have what?”
Lu Junheng casually came up with an excuse.
“…If I’d known, I wouldn’t have gone through all the trouble of coming to Nanqing.”
Shen Xuan gave him an unreadable smile and didn’t pursue the subject.
He stepped back and announced their plans.
“We don’t have much time. Go resign from your job. Then we’ll deal with whatever trouble you’re currently involved in. Once that’s settled, come back to Bixi with me. I’ll personally make sure you register for this year’s entrance examination.”
Lu Junheng protested,
“I have an objection.”
Shen Xuan respected his right to object.
“Go ahead.”
Lu Junheng raised the obvious question.
“…Setting everything else aside, why do we have to act together?”
Shen Xuan thought the question was completely meaningless.
“Isn’t it only natural for us to act together?”
Lu Junheng explained seriously, “That was before. We’ve already severed all our ties now. We’re neither dao companions nor superior and subordinate anymore. Shen Xuan, in what capacity are you making arrangements for me now?”
Shen Xuan looked up at him in confusion. “Isn’t being myself enough? You’ve always been within the reasons behind my actions. Am I not within the reasons behind yours?”
Lu Junheng: “…”
The logic was undeniably strange, yet somehow, it fit the two of them perfectly.
The connection between them had never been built upon titles or relationships.
Shen Xuan studied Lu Junheng for a while before suddenly frowning. “Something doesn’t seem right.”
Lu Junheng took a step back, sensing trouble. “What’s wrong?”
Shen Xuan slowly voiced his impression, genuinely puzzled. “You seem to be bluffing a little. Is it just my imagination?”
The two of them had always been evenly matched in strength, whether during their youth or before their deaths in their previous lives.
…But now, something seemed different.
What exactly was wrong?
As Shen Xuan pondered this, he raised his spiritual sword and pressed it against Lu Junheng’s neck, forcing him back against the wall.
He did not draw the sword, nor did he hold back. The hard scabbard quickly left a rough mark on the skin of Lu Junheng’s neck.
They stared at each other for a moment. Slowly, the careless expression on Lu Junheng’s face disappeared.
Leaning against the wall, he sighed. “I was actually planning to become a peaceful, law-abiding citizen in this new world. But you can’t keep provoking me like this. Still, not here. I paid good money for this house. Let’s find somewhere else to fight.”
Shen Xuan stared at Lu Junheng silently for a moment. His fingertip subtly hooked around Lu Junheng’s belt before he suddenly withdrew his sword, once again putting on his refined and gentle smile.
“Forget it. There are quite a few problems between us that may need to be solved with force, but this isn’t the time.”
The tension in Lu Junheng’s expression eased again. He rubbed his temples with a deeply troubled look and took another step back.
“Fine, fine. I’ll go resign. As for the rest… I’ll give you an answer when I get back, all right?”
Maybe I should just run away once I leave the house.
He halfheartedly began calculating the routes out of the city in his head.
Shen Xuan seemed to have heard his thoughts. He tilted his head, and his voice suddenly rang out like a ghost behind him.
“I’ll wait here for you to come back. But if you happen to get lost while you’re out, I’ll still come looking for you. No matter how many times it takes.”
Lu Junheng: “…”