thefictionvixens Page 20
Page 20
A drop of icy rain landed right on Tu Shan Ya Ya's cheek. She instinctively flinched before belatedly raising her head to look at the sky above, which was fragmented by branches and leaves.
The rain started again.
Just then, a pale white bolt of lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, instantly illuminating the dim forest as if it were daytime.
In the brief moment of light, Mu Qinghan's tightly furrowed brows were clearly visible, a deep furrow formed between his brows, and his jawline was taut and straight.
Clearly, he was having trouble calming down.
He was very annoyed, more annoyed than ever before.
His frustration almost turned into anger; he became somewhat irritable.
"You are not afraid of death?"
His voice broke the silence once again.
Tu Shan Ya Ya's ears twitched. "Of course I'm scared... I thought all the humans outside were like you. I never imagined the difference would be so big."
"I never expected them to try and arrest me the moment they saw me..."
Mu Qinghan's tone grew even more serious: "Then why not run? With your cultivation level, it wouldn't be difficult for you to escape if you really wanted to."
Tu Shan Ya Ya buried her face in his slightly cool clothes, her voice muffled.
"I...I didn't expect these Taoist priests to be so powerful. I thought...I was already quite skilled..."
“Running away is shameful, and I don’t want to embarrass my sister.”
Another bolt of lightning ripped across the sky, followed by a muffled clap of thunder.
Mu Qinghan swallowed hard, but ultimately remained silent.
A wisp of magical power condensed at her fingertips, enveloping Tu Shan Ya Ya like a thin veil, completely blocking the raindrops that were slanting towards her.
His own robes were already soaked through by the rain, the wet and cold fabric clinging to his back, the icy touch spreading along his skin, but he didn't care at all.
The turmoil churning in my heart was far more intense than the chill in my body.
He couldn't calm down for a long time.
"Why don't you... stay in Tushan?"
"You saved me, and so many Taoist priests saw it. You will be punished!"
"Don't you humans have inspectors specifically in charge of these things? I heard they punish those who 'communicate with demons' particularly severely..."
"Nothing to do with you."
Mu Qinghan interrupted her, his tone completely calm.
"How could this have nothing to do with me?!" Tu Shan Ya Ya exclaimed anxiously. "You got into trouble because you saved me, I can't just abandon you!"
“It’s none of your business,” Mu Qinghan repeated, his eyes as cold as ice.
"From now on, we have nothing to do with each other." He paused, his voice deepening. "Saving you was just to put an end to a matter on my mind and to put my mind at ease."
Tu Shan Ya Ya opened her mouth, but found that her throat was blocked by something, and she couldn't say a word.
Her eyes instantly welled up with tears, and she bit her lower lip hard as she stared into Mu Qinghan's cold eyes.
There was no trace of the previous reassurance left, only a cold indifference that kept people at a distance.
After a long silence, she sniffed, her voice trembling with barely perceptible sobs: "I...I understand..."
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of her drooping fox ears and her tightly pursed, pale lips.
Mu Qinghan frowned almost imperceptibly, as if something had gently stung his heart.
But this emotion was fleeting; he quickly regained his cold, hard demeanor, his gaze returning to the rain-blurred road ahead, and his pace quickened.
If it's unrelated, why did you save her?
Mu Qinghan...aren't you the one who hates trouble the most?
Mu Qinghan... what exactly do you want to do?
The rain intensified, with large raindrops pounding on the leaves and rocks, making a "pitter-patter" sound, as if it were about to submerge the entire forest.
The fog in the forest grew thicker, and Mu Qinghan's figure appeared somewhat frail in the rain.
The celadon bowls were stacked on a wooden tray, carrying a faint aroma of food.
Wearing a gray apron, Afu deftly cleared away the dishes.
Just as I was about to turn and walk towards the kitchen, a blindingly bright bolt of lightning suddenly struck across the sky.
With a loud "crack," the window frame trembled slightly.
He paused in his hand movements and subconsciously looked up at the sky outside the courtyard.
The leaden-gray clouds hung extremely low, and the fine rain had long since turned into slanted rain lines, pounding hard on the stone slabs and splashing up tiny droplets of water.
"Madam, the rain is getting heavier!" Afu's voice cut through the rain.
Grandma Mu looked up at the dark sky.
Raindrops rolled down the tiles of the eaves, forming a fine curtain of water that soaked the osmanthus trees in the courtyard.
“Yes,” she responded softly, her tone tinged with helplessness, “It’s the season, and the autumn rains are always like this; once they start, they never stop.”
"Young Master hasn't returned yet."
Afu carried the tray to the porch, looking out at the alley. The rain and mist had completely obscured the end of the road.
"The rain is getting heavier, don't get wet."
Upon hearing this, Grandma Mu's lips curved slightly, and a gentle smile appeared in her eyes.
"She said Qinghan will be back soon, so don't worry."
She paused, then couldn't help but chide him, "This kid, he deliberately got soaked in the rain last time too, has he gotten addicted to it?"
"Perhaps, madam."
Afu smiled and put the bowl and chopsticks into the food box under the eaves.
"After all, apart from swords, I've never seen the young master interested in anything else."
Grandma Mu sighed softly, her voice full of concern.
"Sigh, these two kids are such a worry."
"She's restless and always on the go, never still; Qinghan, on the other hand, is too quiet, spending all her time practicing swordsmanship and reading, never uttering a single unnecessary word. If only they could be balanced out."
No sooner had he finished speaking than another bolt of lightning ripped across the sky, followed by an even denser patter of rain.
Afu glanced towards the kitchen and said, "Madam, I'll go and warm up the ginger tea in the kitchen so that the young master can warm himself up when he comes back."
“Okay,” Grandma Mu nodded, her gaze still fixed on the path shrouded in rain and mist, and murmured softly.
"It's time to come back... Qinghan..."
Chapter 27 Sending You Home
The city wall stands tall and majestic.
The evening breeze, carrying autumn rain, swept across the city walls, gently lifting a strand of orange hair from Tu Shan Hong's temples.
She was dressed in a bright red dress and held an oil-paper umbrella in her hand, the umbrella slightly tilted to shield her from the falling rain.
Two beautiful figures stood still, their gazes fixed on the path leading to the human territory in the distance, their brows furrowed.
"Ya Ya... hasn't come back yet."
Tu Shan Honghong spoke first.
The demonic aura around her subtly shifted due to the fluctuations in her emotions, spreading out in a crimson hue.
Standing beside her was Tu Shan Rongrong, dressed in a green dress, holding a small oil-paper umbrella in her hand.
Her eyes, which were usually squinted, opened slightly at this moment, her bright eyes filled with worry, but she still tried to remain calm and comforted her.
"Sister, it's only been a day. Sister Ya Ya is playful by nature. Perhaps she saw something new in the human area and forgot about the time before she had enough fun."
Even so, her gaze never left the path.
Upon hearing this, Tu Shan Honghong took a deep breath, her worry deepening.
The silver bells tied to her ankles swayed gently in the cool evening breeze, making a soft and crisp sound.
"If she hasn't returned by tomorrow morning."
Her tone suddenly became firm, her pupils turned slightly red, and her demonic aura surged.
"I will personally go to the human territory to demand the demons. Anyone who dares to stop me, I will kill them."
Tu Shan Rongrong nodded silently, offering no further advice.
A pale bolt of lightning suddenly ripped through the dark sky, instantly illuminating the distant world.
At the end of the road shrouded in rain and mist, a white figure suddenly appeared, approaching Tushan at an extremely fast speed.
Tu Shan Honghong and Tu Shan Rongrong's pupils suddenly contracted.
The two leaned forward almost simultaneously, staring intently at the rapidly approaching figure.
On the path, Mu Qinghan lightly touched the ground with her toes, her figure weaving through the rain.
Before the splashing water could even land, he had already leaped several feet away, his robes billowing in the wind.
Tu Shan Ya Ya in his arms had curled up and fallen asleep at some point, her small chin resting on his clothes, her long eyelashes hanging quietly, and her breathing even and steady.
Perhaps she was dreaming of returning to the carefree Tushan, for the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and she unconsciously rubbed her cheek against his cool clothes, completely unaware of the storms outside.
Mu Qinghan glanced at the carefree sleeping face of the little fox in his arms out of the corner of his eye, his brows twitched almost imperceptibly, and then he looked up at the majestic Tushan City Wall not far away.
Two figures stood atop the battlements, clearly having been waiting for some time.
"Jingle Bell--"
A clear, silvery sound suddenly rang in his ears. Almost at the same moment, an extremely powerful demonic aura swept over him like a tidal wave, instantly enveloping Mu Qinghan.
The demonic aura carried an unparalleled sense of oppression, making the air seem to freeze. Raindrops falling on his shoulders seemed to be shattered by an invisible force.
Before he could react, a fair, jade-like hand, yet containing earth-shattering power, was already positioned in front of him.