TSMITB Chapter29

Shen Que was nestled in Sheng Qixiao’s embrace, his breathing so light it felt like a feather, brushing intermittently against Sheng Qixiao’s neck.

His thoughts were scattered, unable to settle anywhere, and he could no longer tell whether he was fully awake or already muddled. His mind was completely filled with a single, disordered thought—he had drunk Sheng Qixiao’s blood.

He actually…

Shen Que gave a bitter smile in his heart, not daring to look at Sheng Qixiao.

The metallic, rusty smell still lingered in his nasal cavity. His tongue was bitter from the inside out. The lingering warmth of the blood continued to scorch his nerves. Every time his adam apple slid to swallow saliva, it carried an indelible fishy scent that traveled down his throat to his limbs and bones.

Silence settled once more inside the cave. Sheng Qixiao’s arms remained firmly wrapped around Shen Que, holding him steady. His chest rose and fell in a slow, powerful rhythm, the steady beat of his heart offering a strangely comforting presence.

“Sheng Qixiao.” Shen Que’s eyes were still closed, his lashes damp with a faint, crystalline sheen; he could no longer tell whether it was sweat or tears.

Sheng Qixiao looked down at Shen Que with a flicker of dark red light concealed in his pure, glass-like eyes. “What is it?”

Are you in pain?

Shen Que’s lips moved, but he finally didn’t ask the question. He continued to close his eyes and rubbed against Sheng Qixiao’s neck hollow with a hint of petulance he himself didn’t realize.

The corner of Sheng Qixiao’s mouth lifted slightly. He heard the question Shen Que concealed in his heart. He let out a sigh of contentment and moved his wrist. The wound that was still oozing blood healed at a visible speed. In the end, only a pale red, raised mark remained, like a slender, small snake coiled around his fair wrist, a privately held mark that Shen Que and he both knew but would never explicitly mention.

Time passed with agonizing slowness in the darkness. The pain from his wound was dulled and blurred by the dizziness of blood loss. Shen Que could smell the distinct scent on Sheng Qixiao’s body, faint yet unmistakable. His consciousness felt as though it were submerged in water, every stray thought drifting and sinking without anchor, too heavy to lift. Just as he was about to let himself sink, a piercing pain suddenly shot through his shoulder, making him snap his eyes open. Cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

“Don’t sleep.” Sheng Qixiao’s voice was right next to his ear, carrying an unmistakable firmness. His fingers were still pressing on the dislocated joint.

Shen Que gritted his teeth, his vision darkening from the pain. He wanted to push Sheng Qixiao away, but he didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger.

“Do you still want to sleep?” Sheng Qixiao’s movements were both fast and accurate with a kind of almost cruel gentleness. With a few snapping sounds, his dislocated shoulder and misplaced ankle were all popped back into place one by one. Each repositioning felt like Shen Que’s bones were being taken apart and put back together, torturing him to the point of almost fainting, yet the severe pain stimulated his consciousness to an abnormal clarity.

“Sheng Qixiao… you f*cking…” Shen Que cursed breathlessly, his voice trembling uncontrollably. The earlier feelings of gratitude and guilt vanished almost instantly without a trace.

Sheng Qixiao let out a low chuckle as he wiped Shen Que’s sweat-soaked forehead with his fingers. His tone softened again, “It’s good that you’re conscious.”

“You’re still laughing. You did it on purpose,” he said with a definite and furious tone. “If you wanted to kill me, you shouldn’t have f*cking saved me just now.”

“I was afraid you’d fall asleep. And, the fog outside is very thick. I was also afraid they might be delayed on the way, so I reset your joints first, to prevent any lasting consequences.”

Shen Que was so angry that he bit down on Sheng Qixiao’s collar and ground his teeth, picking out the loophole in his words: “Then why didn’t you reset them earlier when it was so long ago?”

“You were too weak earlier. I was afraid you’d pass out from the pain. You’re much better now.” Sheng Qixiao explained honestly, his tone subtly conveying a little proudness about his thoughtfulness.

“……” Shen Que rubbed the tears of pain onto Sheng Qixiao’s clothes as a small act of revenge.

After an unknown length of time, firelight and footsteps finally approached from a distance.

Ke Di’s voice penetrated the darkness: “Sheng Qixiao! Shen Que!”

Following him were three or four other villagers. Seeing Shen Que and Sheng Qixiao embracing, they immediately looked up at the sky and down at the ground while exchanging meaningful glances…

Sheng Qixiao lifted his head, the tenderness in his eyes instantly receding, leaving only calm indifference. He took the clean blanket offered by Ke Di and wrapped Shen Que tightly. When he lifted him sideways, his movement was so steady there was no wobble as if the person in his arms were a fragile treasure that could not endure any mishap.

In such a posture, Shen Que inevitably felt somewhat embarrassed. A rare blush stained his pale face. He quickly leaned in close to Sheng Qixiao’s ear and whispered, “Maybe I can walk myself.”

Sheng Qixiao lowered his eyes, giving him no reaction at all. He continued walking forward without stopping as the silver ornaments on his body jingled, creating faint echoes in the empty cave. He simply let Shen Que’s soft plea be drowned out by the sound of his shoes crunching the gravel beneath.

Shen Que had no choice but to relax and lean into his embrace, letting Sheng Qixiao carry him forward.

The firelight flickered in the rugged, dark passage, making their shadows alternately bright and dim.

Shen Que’s gaze uncontrollably swept over the surroundings. Everything within sight was a rough, uneven rock wall. Water was still seeping down in some places, dripping rhythmically.

After passing through a relatively flat path, the way ahead began to ascend and became more winding, eventually becoming so narrow that only one person could pass at a time. Cold water droplets dripped from overhead, hitting Sheng Qixiao’s forehead and sliding down the contours of his face, where they were wiped away by the person in his arms.

Shen Que was half-awake, his eyes wandering in the flickering firelight.

The footsteps of the tribesman leading the way ahead paused. He fumbled with his palm on the relatively flat stone wall directly in front. With a crisp click, the heavy stone wall actually split open in the middle. The few people immediately burst out of the gloom and into a sudden, wide expanse of brightness.

Sheng Qixiao steadily stepped onto the last stone stair. The sudden rush of light stung his eyes, and he subconsciously reached out to cover Shen Que’s eyesbut was stopped midway by Shen Que. “I’m fine.”

Once they were completely out of the stone door, they entered a spacious and solemn great hall with a peculiar, faint fragrance permeating the air. Rows of shelves and the ground were filled with pottery jars and silver jars of various shapes around the hall. White candles were lit around each jar, enveloped in firelight. That unfamiliar fragrance was emanating from those jars.

This scene looked familiar somehow. Shen Que pondered for a moment, and his breath suddenly hitched.

If he hadn’t guessed wrong, this was the scene described to him by Old Qiu and Gang Zi—the setting of the strange “illusion” they saw the night they sneaked into the temple, the place suspected to be where Gu insects were concentrated and raised.

Then, wouldn’t those jars contain…

Shen Que involuntarily swallowed, and his entire body was instantly enveloped by a bone-chilling coldness. His body stiffened uncontrollably for a moment.

“What’s wrong?” Sheng Qixiao’s voice sounded at the right time with just the right amount of concern and an imperceptible hint of probing. He looked down at the person in his arms while taking in Shen Que’s suddenly tense profile. “Are you cold?”

“Nothing. I’m not cold.” Shen Que quickly lowered his gaze to conceal the surging emotions in his eyes. He shook his head, his throat feeling tight, his voice sounding as weak as before. “It’s still a bit glaring.”

Shen Que cautiously concealed his emotions. Before the toxic fog dissipated, they couldn’t leave E’yun Mountain. During this time, he couldn’t act rashly.

Sheng Qixiao acknowledged him but didn’t press further. His gaze, however, lightly swept over the jars, finally resting squarely on Ke Di.

The look in his eyes held no warmth. Ke Di immediately felt a chill down his spine and subconsciously shrank his neck. He had been so preoccupied with saving people that he forgot to hide these things first.

Fortunately, Shen Que’s mind was unclear right now, so it should be fine, Ke Di silently comforted himself.

The group did not stay long and soon withdrew from the great hall. With a faint creak, the door closed behind them, cutting off the light and sound. Shen Que clung to Sheng Qixiao’s shoulder, his gaze dark and unfocused. Through the thick haze of his consciousness, he cast one final glance back at the cluster of flickering candlelight.

The way back was still enveloped in the toxic fog. The entire village was silent without a single sound.

Sheng Qixiao walked at the very front. The silver ornaments on his body gently clicked and clattered with his steps, making a crisp, faint sound that was particularly obvious in the midst of the dead silence. It added a sense of ineffable security when Shen Que heard it.

The silhouette of the small building gradually became clear in the fog. Ke Di and the others silently melted into the darkness. On the final stretch before reaching home, only Sheng Qixiao and Shen Que remained.

Shen Que leaned his head against Sheng Qixiao, quietly listening to his own heart, which was slowly regaining vitality, and yo the steady, powerful thumping in Sheng Qixiao’s chest. Two hearts, separated by different flesh and blood, beat together, influencing each other and falling out of sync as if speaking of the indescribable, ambiguous distance between the two of them.

The moment the door of the stilt house was pushed open, Shen Que was met at once by three anxious, tense faces staring back at him.

The three of them hesitated, words rising to their lips before being swallowed back down again. Whatever reproach or concern they had been ready to voice ultimately dissolved into a heavy, resigned sigh.

Sheng Qixiao bypassed them as he carries Shen Que straight into the room. As he placed the person on the soft bed and let go, Shen Que unexpectedly rolled over and was about to fall off the bed. Sheng Qixiao quickly pressed him back down. “What are you doing?”

“My clothes are filthy. Don’t get them on the sheets.”

Sheng Qixiao was momentarily speechless. “You’re not in pain anymore?”

The three people standing guard at the door with the medicine box supported Sheng Qixiao. “Don’t move carelessly ah. Listen to Xiao Sheng for everything.”

“If it gets dirty, I will wash it,” Sheng Qixiao said as he took the medicine box and squatting on the ground to prepare the medicine. “As for the rest, we’ll talk about it when you can stand steady.”

Perhaps because he had returned to a place subconsciously recognized as safe and warm yellow light filled the entire room, the injuries that had been numb from pain now felt as if something were gnawing at them, spreading in dense, stinging pain.

Shen Que lay back down and nestled his head on the pillow as he found a comfortable position. His consciousness began to drift again.

“Sleep,” Sheng Qixiao’s voice floated intermittently in Shen Que’s ear.

A familiar scent rushed in in the blur, immediately plunging him into a deeper vortex.

Shen Que closed his eyes peacefully, feeling someone wiping the bloodstains off his body with warm water. The movements were gentle but carried a certain sense of irresistibility.

He knew it was Sheng Qixiao, and he also knew that Old Qiu and the others were still standing at the door. Several scorching gazes lingered intermittently on his injuries, yet he couldn’t gather the slightest strength to open his eyes.

“How is he?” Someone asked.

Sheng Qixiao shook his head. “He needs to recuperate for a while.”

The voices faded away as the lamp was extinguished.

Icy fingertips brushed away the damp strands of hair from Shen Que’s forehead, and a soft kiss was imprinted there.