Chapter 242
Chapter 242
In the dim Boulder Cavern, Ren Fengjue leaned against the rock wall, his voice weak.
Even in these circumstances, what occupied his mind was asking her name.
Xia Ximo turned to look at him, then hastily looked away before their eyes could meet.
“Does it matter?”
Ren Fengjue nodded. “It does.”
He gave a quiet cough. “If I never make it out of here and do not even know your name, would all the time we have known each other not have been… for nothing?”
Xia Ximo was silent for a moment before answering coldly, “Mo as in Xia Ximo. Gu is the character for bone.”
The corners of Ren Fengjue’s lips lifted slightly. “A good name.”
“…”
She vaguely remembered that it had not been her original name.
Perhaps “Mo” had once been part of her real name.
But “Gu” was connected to the Bone Art she practiced.
She could remember nothing more.
Xia Ximo’s tone remained indifferent. “It is only something to call me.”
Ren Fengjue smiled. “Even so, it is yours alone.”
Then he asked, “May I call you Mo… Miss Mo from now on?”
Xia Ximo almost thought he meant to imitate Wuyou, and her heart gave a jump.
Hearing “Miss Mo,” she actually felt relieved.
“As you please.”
Ren Fengjue seemed delighted and immediately called, “Miss Mo.”
“…”
Xia Ximo did not answer, but looked up at him. His eyes shone as though two points of starlight had been scattered through them.
In the dimness, they were especially bright.
Then he said, “Thank you for risking yourself to save me.”
“…”
Xia Ximo quickly looked away. “You saved me before. We are even.”
Ren Fengjue pretended to ponder this. “True. I remember the first time I saw you, you were dead drunk in the ship’s cabin. If not for me…”
Xia Ximo interrupted with a frown. “Drunk?”
Ren Fengjue looked surprised. “You have forgotten?”
“You were lying helpless on the floor, with wine jars piled beside you and the whole cabin reeking of wine.”
“And the assassin was right there…”
Xia Ximo immediately explained, “I had only just arrived in the mortal world. My soul and body had not yet merged. It was a lack of yang qi that caused…”
Suddenly realizing she had said too much, she held back the rest.
But Ren Fengjue understood at once.
“So that was also the reason the next few times?”
“Yes.”
Ren Fengjue looked enlightened. “No wonder you asked me to hold you at Brocade Garment Manor…”
“…”
Xia Ximo gave him a strange look, as though about to say something, but merely answered, “I do not remember.”
Having expected that answer, Ren Fengjue smiled again.
“Very well.” There was even a hint of indulgence in his voice.
Xia Ximo found the atmosphere strange and quickly stood. “I will see whether there is another way out.”
She was about to leave when Ren Fengjue reached out and gently caught her.
“Can you really leave an injured man here alone without worrying?”
Xia Ximo could clearly feel the piercing cold in his fingers. Something immediately occurred to her, and she asked, “Are you cold?”
Ren Fengjue feigned ease again. “Not too badly.”
Xia Ximo had long grown accustomed to the cold of the Nine Abysses. She had forgotten that Ren Fengjue was mortal flesh and might not be able to bear it.
The cold here first seeped from the spaces within the bones.
Once it spread through the whole body, the limbs gradually stiffened and the mind sank into confusion. After that, warmth could no longer be felt.
Ren Fengjue was probably already close to that state of rigidity.
She began to fear he would freeze to death here…
Xia Ximo no longer dared leave. She moved closer to him of her own accord, even though it might not bring him any warmth.
She warned him again. “Do not let yourself fall asleep.”
Ren Fengjue understood. “Then keep talking to me.”
For someone who had always guarded her words so closely, this was a somewhat difficult request.
She was no conversationalist, but did not hesitate. “What do you want to talk about?”
Ren Fengjue considered it. “There was so much I wanted to say, but now I cannot seem to find a starting point.”
Xia Ximo said, “Then I will ask questions, and you answer.”
Ren Fengjue readily agreed. “Very well. Ask.”
In truth, Xia Ximo did not know where to begin either, so she asked the first thing that came to mind. “How old are you?”
The very first question made Ren Fengjue pause before he laughed. “I have just passed my twentieth birthday, so I count as twenty-one.”[^nominal-age]
“Mm.”
Again, she asked in perfect seriousness, “Do you have brothers or sisters?”
Ren Fengjue smiled again. “No full siblings. As for cousins, I doubt I could count them all.”
Without a change of expression, Xia Ximo said, “Then count them.”
“…”
Ren Fengjue looked at her. “Miss Mo, are you deliberately making this difficult for me?”
“No,” Xia Ximo answered truthfully. “I was only asking whatever came to mind.”
That was taking casual conversation rather far.
Ren Fengjue smiled helplessly. “Perhaps I should ask you instead?”
“You may.” Xia Ximo agreed just as readily. “Though I may not be able to answer.”
After a little thought, Ren Fengjue asked, “Miss Mo, do you have any wishes?”
“No.”
“Anything you particularly want to do?”
“No.”
“Anyone you respect?”
“No.”
“Anyone you like or admire?”
“…No.”
Helplessness filled Ren Fengjue’s face again, and he could not help giving her a long look.
But Xia Ximo then explained, “I have no memories of my past. There are many things I truly cannot remember.”
Her gaze was lowered and her tone calm. No emotion was visible in her eyes.
Yet for that instant, a hint of loneliness showed through.
“I borrowed someone else’s body to walk through the mortal world again, merely to complete certain tasks.”
“And those tasks are not things I can say I want to do.”
She suddenly narrowed her eyes slightly. “As for the ‘people’ you mention, I only find them troublesome. I want no entanglements, much less respect or affection.”
Ren Fengjue listened to her carefully, then gave a soft sigh.
“Then am I… ‘troublesome’ to you too, Miss Mo?”
Xia Ximo’s thin lips parted. “You do not count as troublesome.”
Ren Fengjue broke into a smile. “It seems I already stand above many people in your heart, Miss Mo.”
“…”
Xia Ximo did not understand his meaning. “Anything else you want to ask?”
“Yes. A great deal.”
…
They kept talking, while unseen currents surged within the cavern.
After an unknown length of time, even Xia Ximo began to feel her awareness grow faintly blurred.
Realizing with alarm that she had to remain awake, she turned toward the man beside her, only to be startled.
A thin layer of frost covered Ren Fengjue’s face.
She reached out and touched him. He was frighteningly cold.
“Ren Fengjue!”
She pushed him, but his mind had clearly sunk into confusion. He gave no response.
Xia Ximo felt a jolt of alarm. At that moment, a strange movement suddenly came from inside the cavern.
[^nominal-age]: Traditional Chinese nominal age counts a newborn as one year old.