Mo Xi was stared at so openly by Gu Mang with that half-smiling expression, and unexpectedly found himself experiencing a sense of awkwardness he had not felt in a long time. He pressed his lips together and turned his face away.
Murong Chuyi naturally would not actually take the initiative to ask the other two about keeping Gu Mang’s secret. But since he had already nodded and agreed to Gu Mang’s request, he had made his position clear, and that made it something worth considering for both Mo Xi and Jiang Yexue.
Gu Mang folded one arm across his chest, leaned against the stone wall, and spun the stiletto in his hand.
“Well? Are we cooperating or not?”
Helping a criminal conceal his circumstances was a serious crime of deceiving the sovereign. But Gu Mang’s proposal at this moment was not unreasonable either. They were indeed all in the same boat now.
Jiang Yexue glanced at Murong Chuyi and said, “Since Uncle is willing… then I won’t say anything either. As long as you don’t do anything troublesome afterward, I’ll help you keep the secret.”
Gu Mang smiled and cupped his hands toward him.
“Good judgment. Thanks.”
Having said that, he turned his head toward Mo Xi, and that smile faded.
“What does Lord Xihe say?”
Mo Xi was silent for a moment.
“…I won’t hand you over to His Majesty.”
“That’s wonderful.” Gu Mang smiled lazily. “You gentlemen are all true gentlemen. A word spoken by a true man is as good as four horses. I help you with your affairs, and you keep my secret. Neither side owes the other anything.”
Murong Chuyi asked, “Are you planning to go capture someone on the island right now?”
Gu Mang sat down.
“No rush. I expended too much spiritual power escaping from Wuyan earlier. Let your elder brother here eat a meal first, then we’ll talk.”
After saying that, he turned the meat roasting on a branch over the fire twice more.
Only then did Mo Xi realize that what Gu Mang was roasting over the campfire was a plump goose.
Mo Xi was proud by nature, but after seeing Gu Mang’s suffering in the past, he felt terribly distressed and still wanted to reconcile with him. Thus, he quietly asked,
“…Where did you get a goose?”
Gu Mang ignored him.
Mo Xi: “…”
Seeing the awkwardness, Jiang Yexue gently answered, “It’s something I stored aboard my core boat.”
As he spoke, he brought out the core boat they had ridden when they first came to the island.
He placed the core boat on the ground and tapped it with a fingertip. The vessel immediately stretched from the size of a thumbnail to more than ten times its original size, becoming about as large as a wooden basin.
Jiang Yexue said in his elegant voice, “Boatwoman, could you trouble yourself to bring out some more tea and snacks?”
“Coming!”
A crisp, pleasant voice came from inside the wooden-basin-sized core boat, carrying the soft local accent of Jiangnan. It giggled as it said, “We have fresh fruit and pastries. For tea, we still have Lingshan Miaoyu and Wudong Dancong. Which would our master like?”
“A few of each.”
The bell-like voice laughed.
“All right, coming right up.”
With that, the curtain of the boat’s cabin lifted and fell. Behind the bamboo curtain emerged a lifelike clay boatwoman.
When she was aboard the boat, she was only half a palm tall. Once she stepped onto the ground, she immediately transformed into a clay servant nearly half a person’s height. She held a wooden tray filled with berries, pastries, and two pots of hot tea.
Mo Xi watched the clay boatwoman cheerfully set the tray beside the fire and asked, “Why didn’t I see this puppet when I was aboard the boat?”
“She’s smarter than the other puppets. I spent quite a bit of effort making her. When we were aboard the core boat, she was responsible for piloting and flying the vessel, so she didn’t show herself.”
The boatwoman raised a face with willow-shaped brows and phoenix eyes. It was indeed obvious that Jiang Yexue had poured considerable effort into creating her.
Although she was merely a clay figure, she possessed a delicate face extremely similar to that of a real person. Her cinnabar and colored lacquer had been applied with exquisite care, and her movements were also far more agile than those of the other clay figures.
The boatwoman bowed to everyone and said prettily, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back aboard the boat first.”
“Hey, hey, don’t rush off, miss.” Gu Mang found her interesting and stopped her, smiling as he asked, “Do you have lychee wood aboard your boat?”
“The mast is made of lychee wood, but unfortunately, I can’t give it to you.”
Gu Mang was surprised.
“You know what I want lychee wood for?”
The boatwoman giggled and pointed toward the crackling campfire.
“Roasting meat with lychee wood has the most unique flavor. Young master, aren’t you just thinking about satisfying that craving of yours?”
“…” Gu Mang looked at Jiang Yexue in astonishment. “How does she even know that?”
Jiang Yexue lowered his eyes and smiled.
“When I refined her, I fused a copy of The Records of the Nine Provinces’ Cuisine into her skull.”
“Not bad.” Gu Mang could not help clapping twice. “It’s been a few years, Brother Jiang, and your artifact-refining skills have gotten better and better. Not only are the things you make lifelike, they’re smart too.”
Jiang Yexue, however, glanced at Murong Chuyi.
“Still not as good as Uncle.”
Murong Chuyi completely ignored Jiang Yexue’s praise. He simply folded his arms and leaned against the stone wall without saying a word.
Despite this attitude, Jiang Yexue still smiled faintly. He ordered the boatwoman to return to the cabin, then reduced the vessel back to the size of a walnut and put it into his Qiankun pouch.
Afterward, he warmly praised Murong Chuyi.
“My uncle is the greatest artifact-refining grandmaster there is. He can turn a flower into a boat and a drop of rain into a tower.”
There was actually a hint of coaxing in his words.
But Murong Chuyi was not susceptible to this. He simply closed his phoenix eyes, as though he found it extremely annoying.
Mo Xi: “…”
Gu Mang: “…”
Mo Xi thought to himself that this Idiot Immortal must have some kind of extraordinary ability. Both of his nephews were always rushing to praise him.
Yue Chenqing praised him with the fiery enthusiasm of a fanboy, boasting about him to anyone who would listen. Jiang Yexue rarely mentioned this uncle of his to outsiders, but unexpectedly, when the two were actually compared, Jiang Yexue, the academy’s foremost artifact-refining elder, had also unhesitatingly placed Murong Chuyi on a pedestal.
However, Jiang Yexue’s self-deprecating praise was ultimately different from Yue Chenqing’s wild boasting.
When Yue Chenqing was ignored by Murong Chuyi, it only made people think Yue Chenqing was amusing.
But when Jiang Yexue sincerely praised him without hesitating to make himself a supporting character, only to be ignored by Murong Chuyi, it made people feel sorry for Jiang Yexue.
Perhaps Gu Mang also sensed the awkward atmosphere.
“Mr. Murong is your elder, after all. It’s normal that you can’t compare with him, Brother Jiang. Come on, the roast goose is almost ready. Let’s eat first. You’ve never had my crispy roast goose before, have you? Give it a try.”
Although Gu Mang had a grudge against Chonghua, Jiang Yexue had never been able to truly hate Gu Mang, while Murong Chuyi had no particular attachment to any nation. Moreover, they currently shared a common objective, so none of them bothered to argue with him over trivial matters.
The roast goose was ready, its fat dripping down drop by drop.
Gu Mang took it off the rack and selected the plumpest breast meat. Using a small knife, he swiftly sliced it into thin pieces.
The aroma of meat and rendered fat rushed toward them.
The golden, crisp skin remained attached to firm, steaming-hot meat. He arranged the crispy slices on a banana leaf, sprinkled a little coarse salt over them, and divided the portions into exactly two servings, handing them to Murong Chuyi and Jiang Yexue respectively.
Jiang Yexue took a bite.
Gu Mang smiled.
“How is it?”
“I didn’t expect you to have this skill.”
Gu Mang laughed heartily.
“It’d taste even better if it were roasted over lychee wood. If you stuffed some berries inside while roasting it, the flavor would be absolutely incredible.”
Jiang Yexue asked, “When did you learn this?”
“Self-taught. No teacher, just natural talent.”
As Gu Mang spoke, he went to slice some more roast goose.
“Getting your fill yet?”
Jiang Yexue said, “How come I never saw you make this before?”
Looking at the warm campfire, Mo Xi suddenly said softly,
“He made it before too.”
Jiang Yexue froze slightly, then smiled warmly.
“That’s true. You two had a good relationship back then. I remember Gu Mang really did always take care of you…”
But Gu Mang seemed unwilling to have too much to do with Mo Xi. He immediately waved his hand.
“It was just a small favor. There was nothing special about taking care of him.”
After saying that, he smiled at Mo Xi, but the smile was somewhat perfunctory.
“How long has it been, and you still remember that roast goose? As I recall, I didn’t control the heat very well when I roasted that one back then. It tasted like chewing wax. Lord Xihe, no matter how much you hate me, don’t expose my shortcomings at a time like this.”
As he spoke, he rubbed his nose, accidentally leaving a little gray-black ash on its tip.
“I have my dignity too.”
Across the firelight, Mo Xi looked at Gu Mang’s expression, which seemed both playful and heartless.
There were too many words caught in his throat, but he knew that asking them would ultimately lead nowhere.
And he himself could not find the right tone to use when speaking to Gu Mang.
He felt that with even the slightest push, he might do something extremely impulsive. The moment he opened his mouth, the moment he released his emotions, there would be no taking them back.
So he simply stopped speaking.
Whether Gu Mang deliberately wanted to distance himself or genuinely wanted to remain his enemy, Mo Xi thought that as long as he could endure it, he would endure it for now.
Another banana leaf was filled with tender, crispy, fragrant goose meat. Gu Mang put away his knife, picked up the leaf, and sat down to eat.
Jiang Yexue was exceptionally perceptive. He sensed the subtle awkwardness and stopped eating.
Gu Mang had sliced meat for him.
He had sliced meat for Murong Chuyi.
But he had deliberately not prepared any for Mo Xi.
That was awkward enough.
On top of that, Mo Xi was a pampered young master who had never lifted a finger in his life and obviously had no idea how to carve and slice roast goose.
The awkwardness simply piled upon awkwardness.
Just as Jiang Yexue was about to say something to smooth things over, Gu Mang raised his head.
“I remember now. I forgot Lord Xihe’s.”
Mo Xi: “…”
“Want me to slice some for you?”
Before Mo Xi could say anything, Gu Mang continued smiling as he held the banana leaf, saying with absolutely no sincerity,
“Oh, forget it. I’m a man with blood all over my hands. Lord Xihe is so righteous and noble. How could you possibly want to eat something cut by me? Better do it yourself.”
Mo Xi said, “…No need. I’m not hungry.”
Jiang Yexue knew how stubborn Mo Xi could be and could not bear to see this.
“Lord Xihe, your body has only just recovered. You should at least eat a little—”
“I’m fine.” Mo Xi stood up. “You eat. I know my own body.”
“But…”
“He says he knows, so let him know.” Gu Mang grabbed Jiang Yexue and smiled. “Lord Xihe isn’t some fifteen- or sixteen-year-old kid who just joined the military anymore. If he says it, you should believe him. By the way, Brother Jiang, want another leg?”
Jiang Yexue: “…”
After finishing the roast goose and having some tea and pastries, Gu Mang made some brief preparations. Then he summoned the demonic weapon Yongye and prepared to leave.
“You three meditate here and recover your spiritual power. Wait for me for one hour. If I still haven’t found a suitable demon to bring back after an hour, I’ll inform you using the old method. Everyone clear?”
The old method he referred to was communicating through spirit butterflies. In the past, when they had been on the battlefield, scouts would use this method to transmit information from the front lines to their comrades in the rear.
Jiang Yexue said, “All right. Don’t worry.”
Gu Mang concealed the stiletto in his sleeve.
“Then I’m off.”
With that, his figure shot forward and swiftly disappeared into the night.
Mo Xi stood at the cave entrance.
When Gu Mang left, the two passed shoulder to shoulder. Neither of them turned to look at the other.
But after Gu Mang had gone some distance, Mo Xi immediately turned his gaze toward the direction in which Gu Mang’s back had disappeared.
Jiang Yexue came to Mo Xi’s side.
“What’s wrong?”
“…” Mo Xi’s soft, down-like eyelashes lowered. He did not answer.
“You’ve been acting strange ever since you came out of the Temporal Mirror. I asked Gu Mang just now why, and he only said that the mirror had stimulated him and restored most of his memories. He didn’t say much else. I figured someone like him couldn’t be forced, so I didn’t ask further.”
Jiang Yexue paused.
“Now that he’s gone, can you tell me what you saw inside the mirror?”
Mo Xi said, “…We returned to eight years ago.”
Jiang Yexue’s eyes widened slightly.
“Was it after Gu Mang’s betrayal?”
“No. Before.” Mo Xi said, “I returned to the eve of his betrayal.”
Seeing Mo Xi’s ashen expression when he mentioned it, Jiang Yexue hesitated.
“Did you… try to persuade Gu Mang inside the Temporal Mirror?”
“Mm. I did, but it was useless.” Mo Xi sounded exhausted. “That’s not the most important thing. The most important thing is… I saw some things from the past that we never knew about.”
Jiang Yexue’s hand resting on the armrest of his wooden wheelchair curled slightly. His concern was obvious.
“What things?”
Mo Xi was silent for a moment.
“I can’t say yet. I can’t sort out a clear thread right now, and many of the circumstances are only the tip of the iceberg. So I want to wait until we return to the city and investigate the old case from eight years ago again.”
Jiang Yexue was about to say something more when he suddenly heard a weak, tearful voice from deep inside the cave.
Yue Chenqing murmured,
“Fourth Uncle…”