The intentions of Sima Zhao were obvious to everyone.
Beisi decisively answered, “No.”
Allow a show-off to ruin his private world with Qiqi? He wasn’t that generous.
Shi Junyan’s expression turned instantly dramatic, balancing right on the verge of tears as he whined, “Shi-xiong, you’re being way too stingy…”
“Hmph,” Beisi said. “That treasure I gave you earlier”
“Shi-xiong! Shi-xiong! I was just talking nonsense! I think you’re handsome, dashing, and extraordinarily romantic—you’re the absolute ideal match for sister-in-law!” Shi Junyan hurriedly cut Beisi off. “Ah, well, they don’t call you two a pair for nothing!”
Beisi casually flicked an item forward. Shi Junyan caught it, looked down, and was struck dumb wasn’t this the Obsidian stone he had been begging his martial brother for ages to give him?
It produced only half a liang every ten thousand years, and the piece in his hand was heavy enough—estimating it, it had to be at least three liang.
He was just handing it over to him this easily?
Truly, once you have a dao companion, you forget about your junior brother!
Overjoyed, Shi Junyan cradled the Obsidian stone and couldn’t help pressing a kiss to it. What a magnificent treasure! This would finally allow him to add some serious firepower to his blacksmithing grand enterprise.
Immersed in great ecstasy, he completely forgot his original purpose. By the time he raised his head again, his martial brother and the others had already walked far away.
“Qiqi, I’ll take you to see a grand show,” Beisi said mysteriously.
With a questioning look on his face, Chi Qiqi felt his curiosity piqued by the “grand show” he mentioned, but Beisi was being mischievous and refused to tell him, leaving him in suspense.
Suppressing his doubt, he asked about something else: “Who was that person just now?”
“Someone I saved inadvertently,” Beisi smoothed over his junior brother’s identity. Feeling a twinge of guilt for deceiving Qiqi, he reminded himself that since his junior brother constantly courted death and he practically always rescued him, how could that not count as being a lifesaver in some sense?
Beisi’s face remained completely solemn and upright, revealing not a trace of falsehood. Chi Qiqi observed him, finding zero difference from usual. Knowing that whenever Beisi felt guilty, he would exhibit extra clingy habits, like sticking close in an overly affectionate manner…
Today, however, he was exceptionally frank and proper.
Chi Qiqi thought to himself, Could I really be overthinking it? Even if he has secrets, it doesn’t matter. Either way, he can’t escape my grasp; he’s not allowed to leave for a whole lifetime.
A gentle breeze swept by, carrying the enticing aroma of food. Having tossed and turned all night, neither of them had eaten a single bite.
“Let’s go get some food first,” Beisi said. A mortal’s body certainly couldn’t endure fasting, and perhaps Qiqi had been hungry for a while without bringing it up.
“Food?” the storyteller asked instinctively. Having practiced the art of bigu (fasting through spiritual energy) for decades, he hadn’t even tasted snack foods. His brain’s very first reaction was: People actually need to eat?
As the words left his mouth, he remembered that Chi Qiqi was still a mortal. Fixing his gaze on Chi Qiqi, he wondered—this person possessed such abundant energy; did he really look like someone who needed to eat?
Chi Qiqi naturally caught that look. He knew he should probably be hungry by now, but it was a minor matter. Suppressing the internal flow of his energy, he spoke aloud, “I’m not hungry right now.”
The very next second, a clear rumbling sound echoed from his stomach. Beisi chuckled, noticing that Chi Qiqi looked slightly embarrassed, his eartips tinged with a faint red.
Actions spoke louder than words; he was clearly hungry yet insisted he wasn’t. Beisi said, “We have to eat on time.”
Chi Qiqi mused inwardly that ever since he gained sentience, he had never eaten a single meal. Food wasn’t a necessity for him, so how could he possibly remember it?
However, the moment he recalled his first experience with eating, he couldn’t help smiling.
Originally, he had simply assumed mortals were just weak beings lacking magical power. When he stayed with Beisi previously, as a mortal fasting for three straight days, his complexion had remained entirely normal, and his energy levels were terrifyingly high catching fish and diving into water were second nature.
Beisi hadn’t noticed the slightest thing out of the ordinary either, seeing as Beisi himself had only tasted food a handful of times in his entire life up to that point.
The two of them shared an eerie synchronization; not a single one of them remembered that mortals actually needed to eat.
Until, halfway along the road, they encountered a genuine mortal collapsed on the ground, pale-faced. After Beisi fed him a medicinal pill, the man finally managed to regain consciousness.
Upon questioning, it turned out his dried rations and silver had been robbed. Tearfully and snotnubbily expressing his gratitude, the man sobbed, “I haven’t eaten for three whole days! If I hadn’t run into you two, I would have starved to death and perished! You are truly living bodhisattvas relieving suffering!”
The other person who also hadn’t eaten for three days: “…?”
Chi Qiqi froze in place. Eat what? Do people actually need to eat?
Beisi asked, “Eat?”
Both of them stared blankly, failing to react for a moment. Seeing their reaction, the man looked astonished and uncomprehending. “Don’t tell me neither of you eats? If you don’t eat, people die!”
Beisi turned his head to look at Chi Qiqi—rosy-complexioned, eyes sparkling with bright intelligence, lips naturally red and thoroughly healthy—completely different from the feeble man collapsed on the ground.
Chi Qiqi kept his expression unchanged, deftly avoiding his gaze.
He lowered his head to study the mortal, pondering his condition: pale lips, weak, trembling hands, slurred speech, and he had even fainted just moments earlier.
After kindly handing the man some provisions and silver notes, the two of them departed.
Hesitantly, Beisi inquired, “Do you… feel any physical discomfort?”
Having known each other for only a few days, they weren’t particularly close. Noticing that Beisi possessed a strict sense of propriety, exceptional honesty, and deep familiarity with the mortal realm, Chi Qiqi had planned to stick by his side just long enough to get acquainted with the world before tossing him aside.
Chi Qiqi had already figured it out by now. With a smile, he replied, “I’m doing fine…”
As he spoke, his footsteps staggered a few times, and he blinked his eyes rapidly as if his vision was blurring.
Noticing the dusty patch of grass ahead, he had zero desire to tumble straight into the dirt. Making up his mind instantly, he faked a slight stumble and caught hold of Beisi’s sleeve.
Tossing his head back, his body listed sideways—he was clearly about to faint.
Before he could hit the ground, his shoulders were firmly encircled by a strong arm, while his waist was caught by another hand that burned with excessive heat. Chi Qiqi instinctively wanted to recoil from the scorching temperature, but remembering he was currently “fainting,” he suppressed the impulse.
Someone who has fainted loses motor control, but Chi Qiqi wasn’t actually unconscious. His sharp ears clearly captured the steady, rhythmic thrum of the man’s heartbeat against his chest, distinctly felt the blazing warmth of the man’s breath against the top of his head, and sensed the hand securely banded around his waist…
Yet right now, he could only keep his eyes closed and remain completely motionless, leaving his fate entirely in the other person’s hands.
Fortunately, he was gently lowered to the ground, his upper body resting against Beisi’s shoulder. Controlling his breathing, he mimicked the respiration of someone who had just passed out.
The hand finally lifted away from his waist, but the very next instant, his chin was pinched between fingers. The man’s hand was heavily calloused from holding a sword, causing a pleasant, mild tickle against his delicate skin.
His lips parted naturally under the gentle pressure, and a medicinal pill was popped into his mouth. Counting the seconds, he waited a moment before pretending to regain consciousness. As he opened his eyes, his pupils remained unfocused for a beat, hazy and shimmering with a thin layer of involuntary, watery moisture.
Chi Qiqi remained quite confident in his acting; his mimicry skills were top-tier. Gradually bringing his focus back, the blurry figure of the man before him sharpened, much like ripples on a pond settling into tranquility to reflect the shoreline. That face filled his vision entirely.
He gazed upward those deep, mesmerizing eyes resembled black obsidian, gleaming with brilliant inner light like a precious treasure. He was nearly sucked into their depths, almost forgetting his next line.
“I fainted?” Chi Qiqi took the initiative to speak, capturing Beisi’s full attention. He had already covertly drained the color from his lips, knowing precisely how to cultivate doubt in the other’s mind.
Appearing genuinely uneasy, he bit down lightly on his lower lip with his pearly white teeth. His naturally pale lips bloomed with a sudden flush of red from the pressure, and when he released them, the mark of his teeth lingered warmly.
Chi Qiqi didn’t think much of it; he merely wanted to demonstrate that his lips were naturally red because he had been biting them, wishing to convey that he had been enduring severe, agonizing hunger without daring to voice it to him.
Little did he know just how seductive this innocent, bewildered expression appeared. His lips were full and rounded; a gentle bite left a soft, tender indentation, looking incredibly soft and tempting, while his tongue darted out briefly against trembling lips.
Beisi never imagined he would stare at someone’s lips for this long. Until he met those bright eyes, feeling a sudden surge of guilty conscience—or perhaps something else—he lifted his chin, averting his gaze from the person in his arms, and let out a low hum from his throat as an acknowledgment.
Lifting his head, Chi Qiqi could only see Beisi’s well-defined jawline. A tiny trace of suspicion flashed through his mind could my acting really have been that unconvincing? Why isn’t he looking at me? That ruined his plan to properly demonstrate the “reason” behind his supposed boundless energy!
Tugging slightly on the other man’s lapel, Chi Qiqi let the chill of his own fingers transfer through the thin fabric, intentionally highlighting his feeble presence.
Beisi successfully lowered his head, meeting the gaze of the lovely-eyed young man who murmured, “Actually, I feel a bit unwell, it’s just that…”
Those eyes blinked pitifully, looking heartbreakingly vulnerable. “…I’m even more afraid that you’ll abandon me…”
Beisi answered almost instantly: “I won’t.”
The response came so fast that even he was startled by it. He had always despised troublesome burdens, particularly delicate, fragile people because they brought endless complications.
“You’re so nice,” Chi Qiqi blinked and smiled, mentally issuing Beisi a “Good Person” card. Turns out playing the delicate card is this effective? It seems manipulating Beisi is actually quite straightforward.
“No need to hide it; your life matters more,” Beisi said.
Seeing that he had successfully duped the man, Chi Qiqi cheerfully broke away from his embrace and pushed himself up to a standing position.
Beisi looked down at his empty hands, experiencing a rare sensation of hollowness. The person had left without the slightest hint of lingering attachment. However, he quickly suppressed the tiny wave of disappointment and said, “Let’s go eat.”
Little did Chi Qiqi know that from this moment onward, Beisi would remember this detail far more meticulously than he ever would.
Standing off to the side, the storyteller watched the two lovers exchanging lingering glances, completely clueless about what was running through their minds, though he could distinctly feel that the surrounding air had grown significantly stickier.
“I am indeed hungry,” Chi Qiqi patted his own flat stomach and asked, “Where are we eating?”
The storyteller had initially intended to remain completely out of it, but hearing Beisi turn to ask him, “Are there any good places to eat nearby?” he suddenly realized he wasn’t entirely treated like transparent air after all. Wasn’t he an expert on local cuisine here? He opened his mouth, fully prepared to rattle off a list of five or six fantastic spots to show off his expertise. Yet the moment he tried to speak, he realized he actually didn’t know a single one. Forget four or five; even naming one or two was proving difficult.
Crestfallen by his own ignorance, he instinctively reached out to stroke his beard, only to grab a handful of empty air. Attempting to laugh off the awkwardness, he offered, “Around here… every single place serves delicious food. Hahaha.”
Dead silence hung in the air.
Staring up at the three-story inn before them, Beisi mulled it over quietly. The food here during their stay had tasted genuinely good, and besides, since they had already paid the silver for the rooms, it made zero sense not to make use of them.
They could even head back up to rest afterward.
Following Beisi’s line of sight, the storyteller realized in horror that Beisi was planning to return to this exact inn to dine! They had literally caused a massive, destructive uproar here just a moment ago going right back in now required some serious nerves.
“Let’s go back in through the front door.”