TSMITB Chapter22

As Shen Que retreated from Sheng Qixiao’s room, he met everyone’s expectant gazes.

 

“Could it be your illusion? I checked, he’s sleeping soundly right now. Did you see anyone else on your way back?”

 

Old Qiu shook his head.

 

Gang Zi put his hands on his hips: “Impossible, I wouldn’t be mistaken. I can tell it’s your favorite type at a glance with that profile along with the shape of those lips. I’d recognize him even if he were ashes. How could I be wrong?”

 

“Gang Zi, you’re wrong about that. I have to say something fair, don’t mix in private jabs at Young Master Shen at a time like this.” Ah Chao pointed out.

 

Shen Que didn’t have time to banter with them, his forehead ached faintly. It was too eerie. If that back was really Sheng Qixiao, wouldn’t that mean he already knew? But if it wasn’t him, how could it be explained?

 

His thoughts were tangled in a mess, nothing made sense.

 

Old Qiu got up before waving his hand, interrupting their contemplation, “Forget it, who cares? We’ll go again tomorrow night. The things in those containers are probably those evil artifacts.”

 

Shen Que could only nod, no matter what, they really couldn’t stay here any longer. “Are there many of those things? Can the two of you handle it? If not, I’ll go too.”

 

“We can handle it, we can handle it. All you have to do is just stay put and wait for our signal. Those things can’t be touched casually, we’ll have to take protective measures then and wear seven or eight layers of gloves.”

 

Old Qiu turned to look at Ah Chao, who was quietly stretching his limbs on the side, and asked, “Ah Chao, you’ve memorized all the route and layout details we’ve told you these past few days, right? Tomorrow night, after we succeed, we’ll leave immediately while it’s dark.”

 

“No problem, I’ve got it all memorized.”

 

Gang Zi gave Shen Que a pat, then opened his hand to reveal a pill bottle in his palm. The usual joking look on his face had completely disappeared as he spoke in a serious tone, “Tomorrow, we can’t wait for him to fall asleep before leaving like today, it’ll be too late. I’m afraid we won’t make it in time. I have a strong feeling he’s likely the one behind it regarding the incident today. Tomorrow, you have to figure out a way to get him to take this.”

 

“What is this?” Shen Que took it, unscrewed the cap, and glanced inside.

 

“It’s a type of sleeping pill; don’t worry, it won’t be enough to make you a murderer. Do you think I’d tell you to kill someone?”

 

The instant the words “sleeping pills” were spoken, Shen Que’s expression shifted, and only after a long pause did he nod and say, “Okay, how much should he take?”

 

Gang Zi knew he had spoken inappropriately and quietly said sorry.

 

Shen Que waved his hand.

 

For so many years, Shen Que couldn’t bear to hear those three words. His mother had passed away right in front of him, having swallowed an overdose of sleeping pills.

 

Shen Que was still young then, only four or five, leaning on the headboard with his mother as they competed to see who could eat more. He fell asleep while eating, genuinely drowsy. The pills were too hard and bitter; he didn’t want to chew hard nor could he swallow them, so he secretly spat them out.

 

His mother had always doted on him since he was little, but this time she set him aside, she didn’t even check whether he had taken any and swallowed nearly a hundred pills on her own. Then, she held him and quietly lay down under the covers. The half-asleep Shen Que couldn’t figure out why the bedcovers felt increasingly cold as he slept.

 

When dawn broke, Shen Que realized he had lost the final contest with his mother and became a child without a mother. And downstairs in the living room, a boy slightly older than him was clutching his father’s trouser leg, also calling out “Dad”. That was the illegitimate child his father had brought home, one of an unknown number.

 

After this, Shen Que rebelled against his father for more than ten years.

 

Shen Que shook his head as he suppressed the sudden surge of melancholy before putting the pill bottle into his pocket, and as he was about to leave, Gang Zi called out to him again, “To be safe, giving him three pills is enough. Don’t worry, nothing will definitely happen.”

 

Old Qiu patted his shoulder, “If you really can’t bring yourself to do it, I’ll knock him out and force-feed him. Anyway, we’re leaving soon, we don’t have to be afraid of him.”

 

“It’s fine, I’ll figure it out.”

 

Shen Que leaned back against the headboard, his thoughts in turmoil, unable to fall asleep no matter how hard he tried.

 

The small lamp Sheng Qixiao prepared for him on the first day he moved into this room was quietly burning on the cabinet. The wick, whose material was unrecognizable, was now only the size of a grain of rice.

 

The light grew dimmer and dimmer until it completely extinguished, and the room plunged into total darkness.

 

Outside the window, however, the sky slowly grew brighter, and through the semi-sheer curtains, the room was split into two faintly defined halves of light and shadow.

 

He couldn’t describe how he felt inside, Shen Que’s last thought before falling asleep was that it would be quite nice if Sheng Qixiao was willing to leave with him.

 

In his drowsy haze, a thought shifted within him: the best way to repay him was not to be emotionally consumed by him.

 

The new day was shrouded in overcast skies with the sun concealed behind dense layers of cloud.

 

Today, Sheng Qixiao’s small herbal room was open, and the “sign” on the door forbidding Shen Que’s entry was also gone. Shen Que consciously followed Sheng Qixiao’s steps and entered the room.

 

He had originally intended to circle around the topic to find out whether the person who had mysteriously appeared in the temple the night before was him, but the words were swallowed back before they could leave his lips. Would Sheng Qixiao tell the truth? Shen Que silently drew an ‘X’ in his heart.

 

Sheng Qixiao had moved the wooden ladder in the corner to an unknown spot within the small building, leaving behind only the scratches on the wall and the white light seeping through the skylight gap as proof of where it once stood.

 

The medicinal herbs that had been picked and dried a few days earlier were gathered into a cloth bag. Sheng Qixiao stood before the table, meticulously measuring them before grinding them in a stone mortar.

 

Shen Que pulled a chair up to the window and sat down, holding the album Sheng Qixiao had given him, the papers rustling softly as he turned the pages. His gaze lingered subtly on Sheng Qixiao; from this angle, he could clearly see the entire outline of his profile.

 

His slightly long bangs partially shadowed his eyes and brows, and as he pounded the medicine, his moist lips pressed together unconsciously, making them appear even redder.

 

Shen Que unconsciously changed his sitting posture by resting his elbow on the armrest with his fingers slightly curled supporting his cheek. The pill bottle in his pocket jostled with each movement, striking the armrest and producing a soft, hollow knock.

 

Sheng Qixiao’s eyes flickered, but the movement of his hands didn’t stop. Shen Que couldn’t tell if he had noticed anything unusual.

 

Just as he was about to let out a sigh of relief, Sheng Qixiao suddenly looked up, and their eyes met unexpectedly. Shen Que didn’t have time to hide the conflict in his eyes. He thought Sheng Qixiao would press for details yet he merely lowered his eyes and said lightly, “Your expression tells me that, you don’t want me to ask you any questions right now.”

 

Shen Que scoffed, “You can read minds now?”

 

“You’re just expressing it too obviously.” Sheng Qixiao unhurriedly put the powdered medicinal herbs into the jars. “You are always very conflicted, Shen Que. You are always fighting with yourself. That night, you said my affection was not what you wanted, but your eyes were saying that, you actually needed it very much.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Actually, I was a little angry, you rejected me, but then the next day you proactively came and spoke to me. Such capricious behavior, is a manifestation of you not valuing me. I originally intended to remain angry, but I can sense that you are leaving here soon, and I am reluctant to see you go, so I stopped being angry.”

 

Sheng Qixiao spoke without emotional fluctuation as if calmly stating someone else’s experience, but to Shen Que’s ears, it turned into a distorted accusation, with an indelible grievance permeating every syllable.

 

Shen Que opened his mouth, wanting to explain something, but had no way to refute it. He had to admit that almost every word Sheng Qixiao said was correct.

 

He was conflicted from the very beginning.

 

He clearly knew that E’yun Mountain could not foster truly kind people yet his frequent interactions with Sheng Qixiao gradually softened this realization. Even though he was fully aware that Sheng Qixiao was caught in a muddy whirlpool and that this tribe harbored many secrets never revealed to outsiders, he still couldn’t treat him with complete insincerity.

 

He knew full well that everything Sheng Qixiao showed carried some degree of performance, to one extent or another. Sheng Qixiao was not as innocent and flawless as he seemed on the surface, just as he knew that his own words and actions were never completely honest or dependable. It was like two people with poor acting skills, each clutching a different script, stubbornly trying to lure the other into their own “trap,” yet strangely caught in a loop of mutual deception, reluctant cooperation, concealed truths, and simultaneous distrust.

 

But Sheng Qixiao was sufficiently forthright; he wasn’t afraid to expose his intentions to Shen Que. He liked Shen Que and also wanted Shen Que’s acknowledgment and affection, but Shen Que could not be equally honest.

 

Thinking of this, Shen Que couldn’t help but sigh: if Sheng Qixiao hadn’t grown up here, he might genuinely like him. What a pity.

 

“Don’t be reluctant, if you ever leave E’yun Mountain in the future, you can always contact me if you need help, we can meet again.”

 

Sheng Qixiao turned his head away, no longer paying him any attention.

 

The sky was heavily overcast, pressing down on the roof, making people’s mood gloomy as well.

 

Shen Que carefully served the meal to Sheng Qixiao, setting it steadily before him but nearly knocked over the vase as he pulled his hand back. The flowers in the vase were a bit wilted; Sheng Qixiao usually replaced them daily with freshly picked ones but for some reason, he seemed to have forgotten today.

 

Sheng Qixiao naturally reached out to steady Shen Que and only after he was settled did he look down at the porridge in front of him. Perhaps the cooking heat hadn’t been managed perfectly today; small, uneven bubbles dotted the surface, and tiny milky-white granules had congealed along the edges.

 

Shen Que rubbed his nose and, as a cover-up, picked up a dish and chewed it slowly in his mouth. It felt soft and mushy on his tongue, yet he couldn’t discern the flavor for quite some time.

 

“I thought you didn’t like eggplant, I haven’t seen you eat it before.”

 

Shen Que’s heart was already fluttering so without much thought, he immediately replied, “It was fine, I think it tastes pretty good. Maybe I forgot before.”

 

“Ah, I looked wrong, this is winter melon.”

 

“……” Only then did Shen Que have time to glance at the dishes on the table, where there was no sign of eggplant at all, so how could he not know Sheng Qixiao was being deliberate?

 

Sheng Qixiao watched Shen Que with a smile in his eyes, yet the porridge before him remained untouched. His gaze was unexpectedly sharp as if he had seen through everything long ago.

 

Shen Que dared not guess if he had noticed anything and could only feign casualness in reminding him, “Why aren’t you eating yet. It will get cold soon.”

 

“Do you want me to drink it?” His voice was very soft, it was unclear whether he was asking himself or soliciting a definite answer from Shen Que.

 

The sound of the bowl sliding on the tabletop drew back Shen Que’s attention. The faint smile in Sheng Qixiao’s eyes had disappeared long ago, leaving behind only a serene calm that seemed entirely inevitable. He tilted his head back, swallowed the gruel, and finally licked the corner of his mouth, “It’s a bit bitter, today.” It was unclear whether he was talking about the porridge or his feelings.

 

Seeing the relief on Shen Que’s face, Sheng Qixiao felt a taste in his heart that he couldn’t put into words. He had originally wanted to spend a few more days with Shen Que, but Shen Que was too anxious.

 

That’s fine too.

 

Coincidentally, he also didn’t want to wait anymore. Just like the half-second of hesitation he had waited for but never received, he no longer needed to dwell on whether to hold back or grant him another chance.

 

Before the sky was completely dark, Sheng Qixiao fell into a coma. Gang Zi and Old Qiu did not hesitate to sneak towards the temple again under the cover of night.

 

Shen Que stayed in the small building, restless and uneasy while pacing back and forth as he waited.

 

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

 

Shen Que’s heart involuntarily paused for a moment. He quickly walked to the door and pulled it open, his pupils instantly contracted—it was Sheng Qixiao.

 

“What’s wrong with you?” Shen Que quickly supported him.

 

Sheng Qixiao was covered in sweat, almost the moment he saw Shen Que, he weakly slumped towards him: “I don’t know, I feel so uncomfortable, help me up to the third floor.”

 

Shen Que didn’t dare waste time; he quickly turned, slung Sheng Qixiao’s arm over his shoulder, and half-carried, half-dragged him up to the third floor.

 

Under the pitch-black night sky, there was no trace of pain on Sheng Qixiao’s face at all, he gently rubbed Shen Que with his furry head as his eyes flashed with a sinister cold light.

 

In a place Shen Que did not notice, Ah Chao, who was originally just as restless in his room, waiting for his companions to return, was now lying prone on the bed with his entire face buried in the bedding and completely motionless.

 

The author has something to say:

A certain Shen: Let me get you some sleeping pills, enjoy a smooth, good sleep.

A certain Sheng: Watch me add some strong ingredients for myself, you should have some too.

After eating and drinking his fill without incident, a certain Sheng: Thank you for the gift……