Chapter 3
Chapter 3
After that, Wei Xun began avoiding me, intentionally or otherwise.
Once the matter was done, he would leave with a flick of his sleeves.
He did not even provide basic aftercare.
As if I were some terrifying flood or beast.
As if staying with me too long would get him devoured clean.
His rules also began to multiply.
On the bed, I was not allowed to look at him, nor was I allowed to speak to him.
For him to say several sentences in a row, like today,
was already an exception.
By the time Wei Xun finished bathing and changing, I had already fallen asleep.
In a daze, I heard him say, “Yu Sui.”
“I will never like you.”
His tone was firm and decisive.
Yet he stood there for a very long time.
So long that when he left, he even forgot to put out the candle.
It was dazzling.
Far too dazzling.
I struggled to lift my hand and formed a spell.
With a pop, the candle went out.
Look, everyone.
This was the benefit of having spiritual energy.
On such a cold night, I did not need to climb out of bed to extinguish the light.
As for what Wei Xun had just said?
Oh.
He would not like me.
Heh.
Did I care?
What use was his liking me?
His liking me could not help me grow a spiritual root.
It was enough if he fed me well.
Early the next morning, I packed my bundle.
Standing in the courtyard, I activated the formation inside the jade pendant as usual.
Of the three men, Wei Xun had inexplicably started treating me coldly.
Yin Shanyu was an out-and-out lunatic.
Only Xuan Ci had a gentle temperament and attentive service.
The more I looked, the more satisfied I was.
Every time I saw him, I practically ran there.
This time, I had not even had breakfast.
When I lost my footing and fell out of the formation,
I happened to land in Xuan Ci’s arms.
The sound of the wooden fish stopped at once.
His long lashes trembled, and he opened his eyes to look at me.
“Hungry?”
The end of his words brushed past my ear, making it itch.
I shifted restlessly.
Staring at the veins raised on the back of his hand,
I said, “A little.”
Only after Xuan Ci carried me in his arms and gently set me on the lotus seat
did I realize that the “hunger” we were talking about was not the same thing at all.
The sash at my waist loosened.
My stomach gave two timely growls.
Grumble, grumble.
Xuan Ci froze, then laughed softly. “I misunderstood.”
He lifted his hand, and gauze wound around his fingertips.
The lovers’ knot he tied was neat and beautiful.
“Breakfast has already been prepared.”
A very light kiss fell behind my ear.
Perhaps because the weather was too hot,
his voice sounded scorched hoarse. “Eat breakfast first.”
“Then–”
“Eat me.”
The plump little soup dumplings had just come out of the steamer.
Their skins were thin, their fillings generous, and they glistened translucently.
Beside them, garlic slices and chili floated in the vinegar dish.
Exactly the kind I liked best.
After eating five in a row, I set down my chopsticks.
Perfectly content.
This was why, of the three, I liked Xuan Ci the most.
In his courtyard, apart from being myself,
I never had to do anything.
If I was tired, I could sleep.
If I was hungry, there was food.
Unlike Wei Xun,
Xuan Ci knew my preferences and tolerated my temperament.
Even on the bed, he would gently ask for my opinion.
We fit each other so well.
So occasionally, when my thoughts drifted,
I would have the illusion
that we were a true pair of Dao companions.
I fancied him.
And he especially liked me.
“What are you thinking about, to be distracted at a time like this?”
Xuan Ci’s gaze lowered.
He lightly pinched the tip of my ear.
His features were cool and aloof, like unmelted snow atop a high mountain.
Ordinarily, he looked difficult to approach.
Yet now, with his brows curved, he asked me softly, “What are you thinking?”
Too gentle.
So gentle I could hardly withstand it.
As if possessed,
I blurted out, “Can you not cover my eyes this time?”
Without my eyes covered,
I did not look so much like Song Zhiyin.
When I did not look like her, would that be all right?
Xuan Ci did not answer.
His kiss fell.
It was warm.
The silk ribbon descended, covering my eyes.
It was cold.