Lu Zhixing held himself back again and again. “Half an hour. Stop bargaining with me. It won’t take that long to heal his wounds. I’ll come looking for you in half an hour. If he’s still here, I guarantee he won’t live to see the thirty-first minute.”
“You…”
Lu Zhixing pressed his index finger against Xi Yu’s lips. “Half an hour. The countdown starts this very second.”
Xi Yu pushed Lu Zhixing away, his gaze dark and unreadable, then vanished from the spot in an instant.
Lu Zhixing put away the Prophetic Feather and walked expressionlessly toward the trash can. He picked up the bag containing the candied fruit, brushed away the invisible dust on it, and even blew on it gently. Then he opened the bag and looked at the three pieces of candied fruit remaining inside.
There should have been five pieces in the bag. It was obvious who had eaten the other two.
Lu Zhixing took out one piece and put it into his mouth, followed by the second and then the third. He stuffed all three palm-sized pieces into his mouth without even chewing, his cheeks bulging before he finally began to chew slowly.
Back when he was younger, Shizun had noticed how much he loved sweets, so he had coated the candied fruit with a thick layer of powdered sugar.
But with so much sugar on them, why weren’t they sweet?
Lu Zhixing clutched the empty bag and lowered his head. Two seconds later, a small damp patch appeared on the moon-white cloth.
When Xi Yu returned to the room, Jiang Yunzheng was sitting on the bone bed in a daze. The moment he saw Xi Yu, he hurriedly jumped down.
“Are you all right?”
Only when he ran up to Xi Yu did he notice his swollen, reddened lips.
“What happened to your mouth?”
……………………….
Xi Yu instinctively covered his somewhat swollen, numb lips, then shook his head at Jiang Yunzheng.
“I’m fine.”
When Xi Yu lowered his hand again, his lips had returned to their usual thin shape, though their vivid redness had not yet faded.
Jiang Yunzheng stared at Xi Yu’s lips, which no longer looked unusual, and blinked.
Xi Yu’s mind was in turmoil, and he did not notice Jiang Yunzheng’s gaze. Instead, he was looking at the marks around Jiang Yunzheng’s neck.
Jiang Yunzheng had very fair skin. At that moment, the deep purple strangulation marks stood out starkly against his neck, making for a rather horrifying sight.
Jiang Yunzheng covered his neck with his hand, then hissed in pain. He changed his grip, holding his hand loosely over the marks to keep Xi Yu from looking at them.
“I’m fine. Fortunately, you got here in time.”
Jiang Yunzheng was certain that Lu Zhixing had genuinely intended to kill him. If Xi Yu had not arrived in time, he would already be a corpse.
Jiang Yunzheng felt somewhat embarrassed. He had the impression that he had caused trouble for Xi Yu.
After all, Xi Yu’s expression was terrible, and all of this had happened because Xi Yu had given him those things.
Jiang Yunzheng was not stupid. Lu Zhixing had gone berserk over a bag of candied fruit.
The two of them were clearly not the kind of “good friends” Jiang Yunzheng had previously assumed them to be.
And then there were Xi Yu’s lips. Jiang Yunzheng had not noticed what was wrong at first, but if he still failed to understand now, he would truly have to be an idiot.
“I’m sorry,” Jiang Yunzheng said. “I seem to have caused you trouble.”
He should not have wandered around carelessly. If Lu Zhixing had not seen the things in his hands, none of this would have happened.
Xi Yu shook his head.
“It’s not your fault. If anyone should apologize, it’s me for dragging you into this.”
Xi Yu reached out. Golden light flowed toward Jiang Yunzheng’s neck, which was still covered by his hand. Wisps of spiritual energy slipped through the gaps between Jiang Yunzheng’s fingers and settled beneath his skin.
The dry, aching pain in Jiang Yunzheng’s throat eased. He lowered his hand, and the purple-red marks that had been there just moments earlier had already disappeared.
It was now past midnight. Xi Yu looked at Jiang Yunzheng, his voice somewhat hoarse.
“I won’t be able to see you again after this, so I may need to draw your blood one last time now.”
Xi Yu had always been straightforward in his actions. There were very few things that could make him feel something resembling shame.
But he genuinely felt sorry toward Jiang Yunzheng. He had drawn blood from him only a few hours earlier, and Jiang Yunzheng’s body was still extremely weak. Then Lu Zhixing had put him through such an ordeal.
Now Xi Yu was telling him that they could no longer meet, yet he still needed his blood.
It was practically the behavior of a bully who ate his fill, then patted himself on the backside and walked away.
Jiang Yunzheng was stunned.
“Is it because of Mr. Lu? He won’t let you see me?”
Xi Yu neither confirmed nor denied it. He simply stated a fact.
“If I see you again, you’ll be in danger.”
He could watch over Jiang Yunzheng day and night, but there would inevitably be moments when he looked away. He could not afford to take that risk, so he had to choose the simplest and safest solution.
Jiang Yunzheng pressed his lips together and looked at Xi Yu with some disappointment.
“Is it because of the things you gave me? I can explain it to him.”
The candied fruit and the bed behind him… At first, Lu Zhixing had wanted to take the candied fruit back. It was only after seeing the bed that he had tried to kill Jiang Yunzheng.
Xi Yu nodded, then shook his head.
“That’s not the whole reason. In any case, I didn’t think things through carefully enough. But don’t worry. Even if we can’t meet, I won’t let you suffer any lasting harm.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about. I…”
Jiang Yunzheng bit his lip and looked at Xi Yu sadly.
“Xi Yu, does he… does he like you?”
When Lu Zhixing had said he was taking the bag of candied fruit back, Jiang Yunzheng had initially thought it belonged to Lu Zhixing. But then he recalled how Xi Yu had repeatedly promised that he would not suffer any lasting harm after Xi Yu borrowed his blood.
Even though Jiang Yunzheng had repeatedly told him that Xi Yu had saved his life and that giving him a little blood in return was only right, Xi Yu had still tried every possible way to compensate him.
From their conversations, Jiang Yunzheng could tell that Xi Yu was the kind of person who really disliked owing others favors.
Someone like that would not use another person’s belongings to give him gifts.
That left only two possibilities. Either these things had originally been prepared by Xi Yu for Lu Zhixing, but Xi Yu had given them to Jiang Yunzheng instead, or they were things that Xi Yu and Lu Zhixing had shared.
Regardless of which possibility was true, Lu Zhixing’s madness over them, to the point of wanting to kill Jiang Yunzheng, was more than enough to prove that Lu Zhixing liked Xi Yu.
It also proved that the two of them had once been extremely close.
Apart from the first day Xi Yu returned, when Jiang Yunzheng had seen Lu Zhixing, he had not seen him again. Even on that first day, Xi Yu’s attitude toward Lu Zhixing could only be described as hostile.
Jiang Yunzheng had therefore mistakenly assumed that their relationship really was nothing more than friendship.
Now, it seemed he had been far too presumptuous.
When Xi Yu heard Jiang Yunzheng’s question, his back stiffened. After a moment, he gave an almost imperceptible nod.
Jiang Yunzheng pressed his lips together. After a long while, he lay down on the sofa.
“Go ahead. This is the last time.”
He really did like Xi Yu. But ever since he had witnessed Xi Yu’s extraordinary abilities with his own eyes, most of his hopes had already faded away.
He was not worthy of Xi Yu. Xi Yu was a god from Heaven, while he was merely a mortal.
Still, during their brief time together, he had fallen for Xi Yu. His words, his actions, his appearance, and his bearing had all captivated him.
But he valued his life more. If Xi Yu said that meeting again would put him in danger, then there would certainly be danger.
He still had family. He could not afford to take such a risk.
Silently, Xi Yu took out the half-bloomed Azure Radiance Green Lotus and cut open Jiang Yunzheng’s wrist.
The green lotus absorbed the crimson blood. This time, the process lasted longer than it ever had before.
There was not a trace of color left in Jiang Yunzheng’s face. His lips had turned deathly pale, and his body temperature was dropping rapidly. Even Xi Yu’s face before him was becoming blurry.
Unable to help himself, he reached out and clutched the hem of Xi Yu’s robe, doing everything he could to remain conscious.
Xi Yu’s lips pressed into a thin line. Cold sweat had already appeared on his forehead. The interval between the two blood draws had been far too short, and Jiang Yunzheng’s vitality was draining away.
After an unknown amount of time, the Azure Radiance Green Lotus began to emit a soft, luminous white light. At last, its tender flower core emerged.
The green lotus had finally matured.
Xi Yu put the lotus into his storage ring, hurriedly stopped Jiang Yunzheng’s bleeding, and infused him with spiritual energy.
Jiang Yunzheng’s icy body finally began to warm up. Xi Yu turned his hand over and conjured a crystal orb, holding it between his fingertips as he poured spiritual energy into it.
Once he had infused enough energy, Xi Yu shrank the orb and placed it in Jiang Yunzheng’s hand.
“This contains my spiritual energy. Keep it on you at all times.”
Jiang Yunzheng held the crystal orb, his tongue bitter and dry.
There was no more candied fruit.
As he held the orb, he felt threads of warmth seeping into his body from it, but it wasn’t sweet.
Jiang Yunzheng had not wanted to ask. He did not know whether he was delirious from losing too much blood or simply too unwilling to accept the outcome. With his last faint breath of strength, he asked Xi Yu,
“Xi Yu, do you… like him too?”
He should not have asked. This was Xi Yu’s own business. He had already given up on the idea of being together with Xi Yu, but this was the first time he had ever liked someone so much. He did not want things to end so abruptly.
…………………..
Xi Yu’s expression froze for a moment. He looked at the weakened Jiang Yunzheng and gently nodded.
A feeling of relief, as though everything had finally settled into place, spread through Jiang Yunzheng’s chest.
He had known it. Xi Yu must like him.
Xi Yu had been able to rescue him from Lu Zhixing, which meant he could at least fight Lu Zhixing to a draw, or perhaps even defeat him.
But Xi Yu had not done so. Instead, he had listened to Lu Zhixing and agreed not to see Jiang Yunzheng anymore.
Even the candied fruit was gone. It was because Lu Zhixing minded. Otherwise, Xi Yu could easily have given the fruit to Jiang Yunzheng without Lu Zhixing ever finding out. Yet Xi Yu had deliberately chosen the more troublesome solution.
All because Lu Zhixing minded.
Jiang Yunzheng thought that, at first, Xi Yu probably had not known Lu Zhixing would mind. Now that he knew, he was unwilling to give those things to Jiang Yunzheng anymore.
Jiang Yunzheng was not an exceptionally clever person, but he was pure-hearted and kind. He did not want to come between two people who loved each other, even if they seemed more like enemies.
If Xi Yu did not like Lu Zhixing, Jiang Yunzheng might still have felt sad. But since Xi Yu liked Lu Zhixing, he wished them well.
“I want to sleep,” Jiang Yunzheng said. “Please take me home.”
“Thank you,” Xi Yu said.
“You don’t need to thank me.” Jiang Yunzheng smiled gently. “Then we’re even.”
By the time Lu Zhixing arrived, Xi Yu had just teleported Jiang Yunzheng away.
Xi Yu was still sitting on the sofa. Lu Zhixing walked in slowly and sniffed the air in the room. The scent of a mortal made his gaze turn cold.
“It’s only half an hour, yet you even had to set up a barrier. You must have had something very important to tell him. What was it? Were you reminding him not to leave the house during these next seven days?”