From the pavilion on the long street, Xue Ning could clearly see the three people not far away.
He watched Lin Shijin clinging to Sheng Rufei again, acting coquettishly, talking to someone. He glanced at him a few more times before finally looking away.
“Recently, many disciples have been saying that Feng Rugao’s youngest disciple is a good-for-nothing. Sheng Rufei is going to take him in. I wonder how many days they can survive in the Blood Tower.”
Su Lian raised an eyebrow slightly. In the distance, Buye City was shrouded in a thin, indistinct mist, as if the entire city was isolated, revealing a hint of crimson blood.
“How many days do you think he can survive? There must be many people eyeing their lives now.”
Xue Ning’s fingertips traced the carvings on the vermilion railing. He did not reply, knowing Su Lian’s tone was sarcastic.
Every action was part of their master’s plan. Without Sheng Rufei, that young man was nothing more than a fish on a chopping board, completely at their mercy. “What does it have to do with me?” Xue Ning glanced at Su Lian with a half-smile, finding it pointless. “You don’t need to keep reminding me; I will not overstep my bounds.”
Su Lian’s voice was gentle. “You had better not.”
“Shizun is willing to give you one chance, but there will not be a second. If there is a second chance, Shizun will not hesitate. Killing you will not affect Shizun in the slightest.”
Xue Ning was tired of hearing this. He scratched his ear, slammed down the teacup in his hand, and went straight downstairs.
A gaze fell on him from behind. Xue Ning turned his toes. The youth downstairs had already left. He stood by the long street for a while, finally arriving at the vendor’s stall where the youth had been.
The vendor was already packing up to leave. Xue Ning stood there, feeling a little foolish. He slightly twitched his lips and, after a long pause, carefully asked,
“What did that youth with the silver mask want?”
Lin Shijin held the eyeball in his hands. At first, he had only thought it resembled Sheng Rufei’s eyes, but now he liked it more and more. He warmed it in his palm, then held it up to the lantern’s reflection. The sand inside could be seen glowing.
“Shixiong, look, it looks even more like your eyes now.”
He showed the demon eye to Sheng Rufei, who glanced at it and said, “No, it does not.”
“I think it does,” Lin Shijin said, not expecting Sheng Rufei to agree. He wiped the eyeball clean and put it in his pocket. Night had fallen, and bright lanterns hung from the eaves; the night market was still bustling.
The incident with Mo Yan earlier was just a minor episode, which Lin Shijin quickly forgot. Anyway, the eyeball ended up with him, and Mo Yan had clearly been angry when he left.
He bought many pastries along the way and even made a sugar figurine exactly like Sheng Rufei. He was reluctant to eat it, carrying it with him the whole way. He even saw Cui Haoxue on the road.
Buye City was both large and small. Because many disciples were now there, the Scourge-Slayer Envoys acted as guards, temporarily cooperating with the city lord’s manor to maintain order.
Lin Shijin held the sugar figurine in his hand. He only took a bite when he returned to the inn, biting off Sheng Rufei’s head and leaving only the body.
The man next to him, Blockhead, glanced at the sugar figurine in his hand, his lips slightly twitching, but ultimately said nothing.
“Lin-shidi, the waiter went to your room just now.”
Lin Shijin had just returned to the inn when he encountered Shen Buyu. Even though they were wearing masks, Shen Buyu recognised him and said, “It seems someone ordered the waiter to deliver something to you.”
“Deliver something to me?” Lin Shijin asked, confused. While they were talking, the waiter had already come over and handed him the item.
“This was ordered to be delivered to the young master wearing the silver mask.”
The waiter was only responsible for delivering the goods; once delivered, it was no longer his concern. Shen Buyu, joining in the fun, said, “Shidi, quickly open it and see if it’s a male disciple who sent you fireworks.”
Fireworks were in full swing in the city today; fireworks deliveries were everywhere.
Lin Shijin did not understand why it was a male disciple. He did not dare ask because Sheng Rufei was nearby. He prayed it was not some vengeful spirit flower or anything like that, and his mind wandered. Perhaps it was a challenge from a disciple who admired Sheng Rufei.
The brocade felt heavy. Lin Shijin opened it directly. Inside was not a challenge, nor fireworks, but a pile of glass.
Each piece of glass was jet black and deep, looking like eyes. He took out the demon eyes from his pocket; they were almost identical.
Shen Buyu, having seen what it was but unaware of the reason, joked, “These days, people still give away eyeballs? What’s the point of giving away so many demon eyes?”
“What can you do with these?”
Lin Shijin secretly glanced at Sheng Rufei, whose aura was restrained and silent. He asked the waiter, who also did not know who had sent them.
“These demon eyes are all gilded with silver and can be connected to brocade wire. They should not be cheap,” Shen Buyu said, holding one in his hand.
At this moment, people began to return. Su Lian and Xue Dangui came back from outside and were talking to the waiter at the counter.
“Buyu-shixiong, do you like it?” Lin Shijin shoved the brocade into Shen Buyu’s arms. “Then it’s yours.”
“This was a gift from someone else. What’s the point of giving it to me?”
Lin Shijin moved it aside slightly, like a hot potato, and shook his head at Shen Buyu. “I already have one, and I don’t know who gave it to me, so I’m not returning it.”
“It will just get thrown away if it stays here.”
“Shixiong, please keep it.”
After saying this, Lin Shijin pulled Sheng Rufei upstairs.
“Are there only these few sect disciples here?” Su Lian was still asking the waiter when Xue Ning’s fingertip landed on the table with a bang, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the surface.
The waiter stared in disbelief and let out a soft “Oh!” Su Lian’s smile gradually faded. Hearing the commotion, Shen Buyu came over to join the fun. “What happened? Xue-shidi smashed the table?”
He touched the table. “You used quite a bit of force. This table must be worth a lot of money, right?”
Xue Ning slowly withdrew his hand, glancing at the demon eye wrapped in brocade in Shen Buyu’s arms. His expression darkened. “My hand slipped.”
“You brat, why did you smash the table for no reason? You have plenty of energy. Are all the disciples of your Medicine Peak this strong?”
Shen Buyu, still holding the demon eye and unsure what to do, chatted with the waiter about the table, not noticing that Su Lian and Xue Ning were gone.
“You said this table is made of ancient paulownia wood?” Shen Buyu chuckled, thinking he was being fooled. “My shidi knows these things. Let him take a look and he’ll know.”
Shen Buyu was about to call for Su Lian when he turned around and found the place empty. Su Lian was nowhere to be seen.
The waiter said tactfully, “Young master, look at this silver. It’s two hundred taels in total… We signed a contract back then, promising not to damage the inn’s property.”
Shen Buyu remained silent.
Lin Shijin and Sheng Rufei returned to their rooms. They had separate rooms. At first, Lin Shijin was reserved, but now that he knew Su Lian and the others were turning a blind eye, he simply stayed in Sheng Rufei’s room.
He was still holding the eyeball, tugging at Sheng Rufei’s sleeve and whispering, “Shixiong, I don’t know who gave it to me.”
Sheng Rufei hummed in agreement, not blaming him. He removed his mask and placed the materials they had bought on the table.
He waited a while to make sure Sheng Rufei was not angry, then moved a small stool and sat next to him. “Shixiong, do you need anything? I’ll help you.”
Sheng Rufei responded, “Take out your token.”
Without thinking, he took out his own token. All disciples who came to Wuxiang Mountain had this token. It was connected to the teleportation array of Wuxiang Mountain. When Wuxiang Mountain opened, the token could teleport them there.
He watched as Sheng Rufei also took out his token. The two tokens were connected by a thread, with wisps of spiritual energy linking them together.
“Shixiong, what’s this for?” Lin Shijin asked, slightly curious.
“Teleportation to Wuxiang Mountain is random. The time is uncertain yet. This is to prepare in advance. With the spiritual energy linking us, we won’t be too far apart.”
Sheng Rufei was thoughtful. They had teamed up beforehand. The trials at Wuxiang Mountain would not be simple, and there was a high chance they would be separated.
Lin Shijin said “Oh,” and a silver thread appeared on his token. He touched it. “Shixiong, are you really going to be in my group? Actually, I’m a little scared. It seems like being with you might implicate you.”
He looked up and met Sheng Rufei’s eyes. Sheng Rufei put the token away. “Why listen to what others say?”
Lin Shijin was taken aback by the question. He heard Sheng Rufei say next, “I do not care about those things.”
“Or do you want to find someone else to protect you?”
Lin Shijin was stunned by the question. Hearing the last sentence, he immediately shook his head. He had not thought of finding anyone else. “No, I just want to be with Shixiong.”
Perhaps it was because he cared that he was worried about implicating the other person.
As he thought this, his ear was pinched. Fuheng whispered in his ear, “Idiot, it’s him who will implicate you.”
Lin Shijin rubbed his ear, ignoring Fuheng.
His earlobe was touched, and Sheng Rufei’s voice was indifferent. “Do not think so much. I never felt you were a burden to me.”
“I do not like you going to find other people.”
Lin Shijin was slow to react and took a while to understand. He felt a sweet warmth in his heart and happily hugged Sheng Rufei, cuddling for a while and planting two kisses on his wooden face.
“I know, Shixiong likes being bothered by me.”
He hugged Sheng Rufei from behind, rubbing his reddened earlobes, and nestled against his back like a little mushroom.
Once he was lying there, he did not want to move. Sheng Rufei did not pay him any attention, and he just watched as he made a puppet with the materials he had bought.
He had initially thought he could help, but after watching for a while, he realised it was a technical job, and he could only watch. Soon, he felt sleepy and fell asleep on Sheng Rufei’s back.
Sheng Rufei felt a weight on his shoulder; the youth’s breath rested on his neck. He put down what he was holding, lifted the youth, and placed him on the bed.
He sat by the bed, gazing absently at the youth’s sleeping face. The candlelight illuminated the youth’s gentle profile. He looked for a while, then looked down at his fingertips.
The room was very quiet. Fireworks flickered faintly outside the window. Sheng Rufei looked down at his palm, a deep shadow falling from his eyelashes. He did not know how long he had been staring.
He drew a line on his palm with his fingertip. A drop of thick, dark blood fell to the ground.
Late at night, as a bright firework disappeared into the twilight, a voice transmission reached the ears of all the disciples.
The voice was clear and gentle, sounding like a soft murmur, like a gentle breeze.
“Mount Wuxiang is now open. You have a quarter of an hour to make your choice. The token formation has been triggered. Forfeiting at this time will automatically result in the cancellation of your spot. All those who enter the formation will automatically sign a life-and-death contract.”
“Welcome to the purgatory of Mount Wuxiang.”
