Lin Shijin felt that Sheng Rufei was being rather unreasonable. Why was it unacceptable to kiss him just because he was poisoned? Last time, when Xue Ning had drugged Sheng Rufei, he had still kissed him… though that was partly because he had been injured by a demonic beast.
From the look of things, Sheng Rufei was now even less willing to try easing the soul-bond through a kiss.
He gave a half-hearted “Oh,” barely a response at all, and wilted like a flower left in the sun.
Sheng Rufei said to him, “Read fewer of those little storybooks.”
As soon as the words fell, the youth beside him bristled at once, glaring in silent accusation, clearly unwilling.
Sheng Rufei paused, then coldly amended, “Don’t read the improper ones.”
“What counts as improper, and what counts as proper?” Lin Shijin asked.
In Sheng Rufei’s view, they were all improper, but if he said that outright, the youth would certainly argue with him. His lips tightened slightly; he really didn’t like quarrelling with him.
“The book you were reading in the library last time. That was improper.”
All that business about monks and fox spirits: it was obviously not a respectable book and would only corrupt children.
“That was an accident. I just happened to flip to it.”
Mentioning it made Lin Shijin recall the scene he’d seen: the monk and the fox spirit together. He had no idea what the later plot was.
He always finished his books, unless the story was truly intolerable. The monk-and-fox one, though explicit, actually had quite a decent plot, and he had rather enjoyed it.
Sheng Rufei said no more. They were parting ways at Luoyun Bridge: he was heading back to Changgao Peak, while Sheng Rufei was going to Luoyun Peak.
Standing by the bridge, Sheng Rufei waited a moment, but Lin Shijin was still drifting off in thought. He called, “Shixiong, farewell,” and walked towards Changgao Peak.
He didn’t notice Sheng Rufei lingering in place for a long time.
His thoughts had not yet settled from earlier. Asking Sheng Rufei had yielded nothing; he had been clearly unwilling to answer. Lin Shijin fretted a little, but he had to put it aside for now. The secret-realm trial would begin in three days.
The random groups would be announced that afternoon at Luoyun Peak, the main peak where Sect Leader Feng Wuping resided. Curious about his teammates, he went over early.
By afternoon all the disciples had gathered. Su Lian and Sheng Rufei were also there. Each person received a token. The front was engraved with the floral pattern of Sword Immortal Fuguang, and the back bore the disciple’s own name, with the names of two teammates below.
Lin Shijin collected his token from Sheng Rufei. Turning it over, he saw his own name boldly carved at the top. The two names beneath were both two-character names.
One was Su Lian; the other, which he found a little hard to read, was Ye Lang.
He didn’t know Ye Lang. Although he was disappointed not to be grouped with Sheng Rufei, being placed with Su Lian-shixiong was hardly a bad outcome. Su Lian’s cultivation was extremely high.
He spotted Jing Qiuhong in the crowd with his own token. Jing Qiuhong waved, and Lin Shijin went over, clutching his token.
There were many disciples gathered, all dressed in Fuguang Daoist robes. The sect’s robes came in black or white; white was the more common, black the rarer.
He noticed someone in black, gold-patterned cuffs catching his eye. He looked for a moment longer, and when he turned back, he caught sight of a black robe and an iron-black sword.
“Do you not watch where you’re going?” A low voice, amused, sounded by his ear. He turned, and his wrist had been caught. The person had appeared out of nowhere.
They hadn’t been there a moment ago. He wasn’t blind; this person had clearly materialised right in front of him.
The youth wore a black Daoist robe. His features were fine, especially his eyes and brows, which held a faintly exotic sharpness and a trace of wicked charm. Yet his overall refinement seemed oddly dulled, leaving him merely average-looking, though with an unmistakably unusual bearing.
Feeling his wrist held, Lin Shijin instinctively tried to pull free. The nearby disciples were muttering about someone bumping into people. Perhaps he really had nearly knocked into him.
Perhaps because of the lingering psychological shadow left by Jun Yewu, he felt a sudden suspicion of anyone who approached him too readily. Maybe he was simply being too sensitive.
“Thank you.”
He backed away two steps without thinking. The black-robed youth strode past him, and Lin Shijin continued on towards Jing Qiuhong.
Not far behind, Su Lian and the youth in black briefly met one another’s gaze, pausing almost imperceptibly. Su Lian frowned faintly before looking away.
Sheng Rufei noticed Su Lian’s reaction and followed his line of sight, but his attention was immediately drawn to the boy bounding about in the distance. He didn’t notice the youth in black.
“Your shidi is… rather different from your other shixiongs and shijies.”
Su Lian said thoughtfully, “This should be the last disciple Sword Master accepted.”
Sheng Rufei listened silently. They often undertook important duties together and were accustomed to working side by side.
Knowing his temperament, Su Lian continued without waiting for a reply. “Your shizun left Changming Hall two days ago, reportedly for Jinyue Temple. The sect leader was furious.”
Many disciples of Fuguang knew this particular secret: Feng Rugao almost never left Changming Hall. Each time he did, the sect leader would be enraged, and smashing a hall was routine.
The last time he’d stepped outside was when he took Lin Shijin as a disciple.
At these words, Sheng Rufei’s fingertips trembled slightly. Looking at the boy in the distance, he noticed a jade pendant at his waist. It had been given to him by Feng Rugao. Ordinary disciples wouldn’t notice anything unusual about it, but Sheng Rufei, who had studied the ancient texts, recognised it immediately.
Long ago, when Feng Rugao had been famed across the world as “Lord Changming,” he acquired an ancient spiritual jade in the Unclean Mountain. This jade, named Changnian, allowed the owner to sense the wearer’s location and even emotions at all times.
The owner of the Changnian jade was Feng Rugao.
That had been a millennium ago, in the era of the Three Lords: Fuheng, Changming, and Shouque. Many ambiguous rumours surrounded the jade. It was said that Feng Rugao had originally meant to gift it to Immortal Lord Fuheng.
Yet now it was in his shidi’s hands.
And his shidi, who never understood the value of things, had used the jade to flatten pastries, crack walnuts, and even to fish. He rarely wore it, only occasionally tying it to his belt in a neat knot when he happened to remember.
It was a miracle the jade had not shattered.
Lin Shijin went to Jing Qiuhong, and they compared their tokens. Jing Qiuhong, too, had been paired with two shixiongs from his own sect.
“You’re actually with Su Lian-shixiong!” Jing Qiuhong was practically green with envy. “Shall we swap?”
Lin Shijin edged away, clutching his token protectively. “Unless your team has my shixiong, I’m not switching with you.”
“Fine, then show me who your other one is.”
Lin Shijin leaned in. “I don’t know him. A disciple called Ye Lang.”
“Ye Lang?” Jing Qiuhong thought for a moment. “He’s from Jiannan Peak. I remember him. He sneaks down the mountain behind the elders’ backs, gambles away spirit stones, always looking for trouble. He’s apparently fought with his fellow disciples several times. His reputation isn’t good.”
There was truly nothing Jing Qiuhong didn’t know. Lin Shijin simply said “Oh,” deciding he’d just stick close to Su Lian-shixiong.
“We’re only completing a task together; it should be fine.”
“Best if it is,” Jing Qiuhong said thoughtfully. “Su Lian is close to Sheng Liuguang. He’ll look after you. No need to worry.”
Lin Shijin replied, “I can look after myself. I don’t necessarily need Su Lian to.”
He had been practising diligently in recent days. The secret realm wasn’t especially dangerous. It was ideal for real combat and he was keen to try. With luck, he might even catch two demonic beasts to bring back for Feng Rugao.
After receiving their tokens, they each returned to their own peaks. Lin Shijin didn’t wait for Sheng Rufei; Sheng Rufei had tasks to handle at Luoyun Peak, and with Feng Rugao away, Lin Shijin stayed alone in his courtyard.
On the day of their departure, Sheng Rufei came to his courtyard to inspect his luggage. Lin Shijin didn’t know what to bring, so he had only packed a few familiar items.
Besides his sword, he had only snacks and a luminous night-pearl, nothing else.
Sheng Rufei checked through his things, while he obediently sat beside the soft couch. There truly wasn’t much to inspect. The final item was a pale little handkerchief embroidered with a lamb. It was a gift from Feng Rugao.
“For the trip to Yixiu City, you’ll need to prepare human-skin masks. You didn’t collect any?”
Lin Shijin’s eyes widened slightly. “We need human-skin masks?”
He remembered the elder mentioning nothing of the sort. He’d only said that luminous pearls and tinderboxes were used frequently, and that they should bring extra, along with medicine and fasting pills.
Sheng Rufei said nothing. Each group’s assignment had been distributed to one person. In Lin Shijin’s case, it was Su Lian. The task allocated to Su Lian’s group required concealment; human-skin masks were essential. He hadn’t expected Su Lian not to mention this to his shidi.
“Do you even know what the mission is?”
Lin Shijin looked embarrassed. He shook his head. “Jing Qiuhong said we’d only know once we reached the city… Su Lian-shixiong also said we’d find out when we entered the secret realm.”
“I asked Su Lian-shixiong, and he said he didn’t need my help. It’s just that I should wait.”
Lin Shijin’s lips pressed together; perhaps Su Lian feared he would cause trouble and didn’t want to tell him early.
Usually, the mission was issued to every disciple in advance. Otherwise, once inside the secret realm, there would be no time to prepare.
Sheng Rufei knew the youth was gentle by nature and inexperienced. For a first venture into the secret realm, it was natural for him to know nothing. It should have been the responsibility of the one handling tasks to inform the team. But Su Lian hadn’t even told him the mission?
If that were so, then without a human-skin mask, Lin Shijin would be eliminated the moment he entered.
He lowered his gaze. They were supposed to assemble at the back mountain soon. It was now less than half an hour until departure.
“Come with me.”
Lin Shijin hurriedly packed away his things. Because he was slow, Sheng Rufei tugged the red thread on his wrist; as soon as Lin Shijin stepped outside, Sheng Rufei caught him by the wrist again.
“Shixiong, I can walk by myself.”
Sheng Rufei’s palms were calloused and warm; Lin Shijin didn’t want to be led by him. Seeing him struggle, Sheng Rufei released him at once.
“We’re going to the back mountain?”
Lin Shijin sensed Sheng Rufei seemed displeased… likely because he hadn’t known anything about the task. Feeling guilty, he tugged lightly at the corner of Sheng Rufei’s sleeve.
His voice lowered; whenever Sheng Rufei grew cold, he shrank at once.
“Shixiong, don’t be angry. I thought we’d only learn the task inside the secret realm. If we go to collect the masks now, we should still make it.”
Then he muttered under his breath, “Do we have to put the masks on before going in?
“I’ll make sure to ask properly next time.”
Sheng Rufei’s lips tightened. He stopped walking and looked back at the youth trailing behind him.
In the youth’s clear eyes was a trace of embarrassment. Perhaps because he knew his cultivation wasn’t strong and feared becoming a burden.
“You needn’t be like this,” Sheng Rufei said at last, his cool voice stiffening slightly. “I’m not blaming you. None of this is your fault.
“It’s their fault. They didn’t tell you the mission, nor did they notify you. That was their failure.”
At these words, Lin Shijin froze, then joy lit his dark eyes. Brightening all over, he bounded forward and flung himself onto Sheng Rufei.
When he was happy, he always acted spoiled.
“Shixiong, you’re so good.” Lin Shijin looked genuinely moved. Hugging Sheng Rufei, he rubbed his head against him. Clutching at Sheng Rufei’s white hair, he practically radiated hearts. “I thought you’d blame me.”
Sheng Rufei didn’t think he was stupid, didn’t scold him, and even bothered to explain things.
No wonder everyone liked him. He was truly a protagonist shou.
Like sticky rice cake, Lin Shijin clung to him. He had noticed that every time he hugged Sheng Rufei, Sheng Rufei would go completely still. Finding this amusing, he rubbed against him again.
The moment he did, Sheng Rufei went rigid from head to toe, unsure where to place his hands. He half-raised his fingers to push him away, touched his waist… then froze.
One was bubbling with affection; the other’s expression cracked. As they stood stuck together like glue, a sudden noise sounded from afar.
Lin Shijin turned towards it and saw a familiar figure in red.
Feng Qing had arrived at some point, staring at them in shock, the items in his hands falling to the ground.
