Just as Xiaoman was getting used to this daily chase scene, one day, suddenly, no one came after her anymore. They returned to their carefree lives, strolling and enjoying the scenery.
After arriving in Huayin, Mount Taihua came into view. Xiaoman bought a bunch of local snacks on the street and shared them with Zexiu back at the inn.
"Do you think Tian Sha Shi Fang is up to something? How can anyone be so stupid as to keep going even though they know they can't win?" Xiao Man stuffed her mouth full of dried dates, and was still practicing the dice-throwing cheating method that Ze Xiu had taught her, becoming more and more adept at it.
Zexiu squatted down beside him, wiping his sword, and said casually, "Who knows? Maybe there really is some trickery involved. They sent some lackeys to lower our guard first, and then stopped for a few days to make us think they were scared and wouldn't come back. They're probably waiting for us in the dark."
Upon hearing this, Xiaoman turned around and asked, "What's so scary?"
He shrugged: "Yeah, it's probably like kidnapping you when I'm not around, whipping you until your skin is torn and bleeding, or something like that."
Xiaoman threw the date pit at his head: "Go to hell! They're looking for you, why are you whipping me!"
Zexiu raised an eyebrow and smiled: "You're my girl. Only by taking you away can I lose my composure. Isn't that how it's always portrayed in operas?"
Xiao Man threw the dice at his head again: "Who's your girl! You're so vain!"
Zexiu continued wiping the sword, trying to scare her: "Maybe they won't use a whip to catch you, they might burn your face with a red-hot iron, tattoo words on your body, shave your head and make you bald. Hmm... anything is possible."
Xiao Man finally couldn't hold back and kicked him: "I'll capture you! I'll skin you and make a big drum from your skin!"
She remembered the terrifying threat from Hong Gu Zi and used it without thinking.
"Skinning? Then skin a young girl, her skin is smooth and delicate, it's top-quality. Nobody would skin a man."
Xiaoman knew he was deliberately trying to scare her, and she was seething with anger. This man was ruthless when he wanted to be; she must have been out of her mind to call him gentle recently. Damn it, if he knew how to spell "gentle," she'd walk backwards from now on!
She turned away from him, pulled out the beaded thread and began to weave patterns. Halfway through, she suddenly felt someone climb onto the bed and squat behind her, watching her. She said lazily, "What, you want to learn this again? It's useless. Your hands are only good for wielding a sword to kill people. You can't do anything else well. You're an idiot."
He laughed from behind and whispered, "Who said that? There's something else I'm very good at."
"What is it?" She turned to look at him, not believing him at all.
He patted her face and just smiled.
Xiao Man glared at him, pretending to be mysterious, then turned her back and continued weaving. In no time, she had woven a small Qilin. She held it in her hand and looked at it for a long time. Then she turned back and took out a bunch of jingling things from his chest to examine them, trying to figure out where it would be best to hang them.
Suddenly noticing a piece of plum blossom-shaped beaded thread already tied around his neck, she asked in surprise, "How come you have this on you?"
Zexiu smiled and said, "You gave it to me, have you forgotten?"
Xiaoman pondered for a moment before remembering that she had indeed casually woven a piece of cloth and hung it on Mr. Xue's wrist back at his residence. She smiled slightly and said softly, "So you've been wearing it all this time. This isn't good; let me get you a different one."
She carefully untied the beaded thread from her neck and replaced it with a newly made small Qilin. Looking at it from side to side, she said, "It's a pity it's not as fierce as the Qilin on your body. I can't exude that kind of aura."
She touched the beaded unicorn, as if she were touching his tattoo. He loved this little gesture of hers and couldn't help but take her hand and gently kiss it.
"When did you get the Qilin tattooed on your body?" she asked softly.
Zexiu thought for a moment: "It was around fourteen or fifteen years old."
Why does he look so fierce?
"Oh, that's how you attract women to watch," he joked. Xiaoman glared at him, and Zexiu laughed. After a while, he said, "Because that's how you vent your anger."
Xiao Man stared at him blankly, then suddenly sighed, turned her head away, and said softly, "I should also get a tattoo of flowers or birds on my body to vent my resentment."
Zexiu's eyes lit up: "You want a tattoo? I'll help you. First, take off your clothes and tell me where you want it tattooed..."
"Go to hell!" She blushed again. "Do you think I'm a shameless scoundrel like you? Your Qilin tattoo has been touched by countless women, it's worthless now. If I'm going to get a tattoo, I'll have my husband do it, he's worth way more than yours."
"Can this be measured by its monetary value?" He chuckled, then rolled over and propped himself up next to her head. "Your husband will be no one but me."
Xiao Man's heart nearly jumped out of her throat. She stared blankly into his eyes and murmured, "You...you're so sure..."
Zexiu stroked her hair, brushing the bangs away from her forehead to reveal her smooth, full forehead, and whispered, "Besides, my Qilin belongs to you. Only you can touch it; no other woman has ever touched it. So, it's very valuable." Her mind seemed to have been burned to mush by someone's alluring eyes, unable to react at all. She only felt him guiding her hand close to the hot skin on his chest, his heart beating fast and powerfully.
"Did you touch it? It's yours."
Xiaoman unconsciously traced her hand up his chest, all the way to his shoulder. He leaned down so she could easily lift her hand, and his robe slipped down, revealing the unicorn with its blazing eyes, glaring at her fiercely, still as menacing and majestic as ever.
She looked for a while, then suddenly seemed to realize something and hurriedly withdrew her hand: "I...you, you should put your clothes on!"
Crimson Butterfly Scroll, Chapter Seventeen: Deathly Curse (Part Two)
Updated: 2008-10-24 17:05:28 Word Count: 4008
Second update.
She seemed to be cursing him in her heart for being so sharp-tongued and rude, and for not knowing anything about gentleness.
But she realized that she had been arbitrary again.
For example, she used a playful and smiling face to hide her harsh nature, while he used a sharp tongue and ruthlessness as a pretense. In reality, he was very gentle with her; whether it was the deep entanglement of their lips or the caress of their fingers, it was all extremely tender and affectionate.
Xiaoman felt that she was about to be drawn in by some force again, not a hurricane, but a gentle tide, which would swallow her up and bury her at the bottom.
The candlelight still flickered on the table, the wind outside the window blew in waves, and there were sounds of men laughing and talking in the next room and the waiter's greetings in the lobby downstairs. These sounds suddenly seemed very distant. She was trapped in an iron-like embrace that completely blocked her out, and could only hear her own heart pounding as she was about to collapse.
Whether to turn it around or the other way around, that was the question. She couldn't calm down for a moment; a completely unfamiliar feeling suddenly seized her, and without even needing to resist it, she instinctively accepted it and anticipated something happening.
In the midst of the struggle, something tugged at her hair, breaking off a clump. The pain made her cry out, instantly waking her up. The person whose hand was deeply inside her clothes, groping her, seemed to have also woken up, remaining motionless.
Their breathing was disordered and rapid, as dry as a summer desert.
"Now..." they both began at the same time, then realized at the same time, and said at the same time, "...You go first."
Xiao Man couldn't help but laugh. She turned her head away, a blush still lingering on her face. She whispered, "Now... let's not... let's not."
Zexiu mustered all his willpower to pull his hand out of her clothes. He grasped her disheveled collar, almost tearing it open, but ultimately didn't. He simply tidied it up quickly.
"If this happens a few more times, people will die." He lay on the bed, forcing a bitter smile.
Xiao Man coughed twice: "I'm sorry..."
Zexiu let out a long sigh of relief. He got up from the bed and said, "Alright, you go to sleep. I'm going back to my guest room."
As if some monster lurked in the room and was about to devour him, he ran faster than a rabbit and disappeared in a flash. Xiaoman rolled around on the bed, sighing repeatedly. She regretted stopping him, yet was also relieved that she had. However, she was mostly filled with regret. Even if she had the courage of the world, she wouldn't dare to go to Zexiu's room and bother him again.
Zexiu next door must also regret not being bolder.
Both of them tossed and turned in bed, their minds racing, sighing and lamenting, and it was unclear how long it had been before they finally fell asleep.
The next morning, Xiaoman nervously pushed open her bedroom door. Peeking out, she saw that Zexiu's door seemed closed; was he still asleep? Hesitantly, she walked over. She raised her hand to knock, but didn't know what to say. She was struggling with this alone when the door suddenly opened, and the two stared at each other for a long time. Xiaoman exclaimed, "I was just about to call you..."
Zexiu nodded and said, "Let's go downstairs for dinner. Let's get going early."
His attitude was very natural, ordinary, and calm. Xiao Man followed behind him, puzzled. Was this the difference between someone who had experienced many women and someone who was a blank sheet of paper?
A few children were playing downstairs, kicking a beanbag around. Zexiu found a seat and asked naturally, "What would you like to eat?"
Before Xiaoman could answer, there was a "thud" as a sandbag hit the back of his head. She was stunned for a moment.
Zexiu was hit on the back of the head. Zexiu was hit on the back of the head. Zexiu was hit on the back of the head… Please repeat this sentence ten thousand times, and then ask yourself, is it possible? Xiaoman burst out laughing, laughing so hard she almost cramped up. This damn man, he was just pretending to be serious!
Zexiu looked embarrassed, bent down to pick up the sandbag, and glared back fiercely: "Who threw this?!"
The child who was about to pick up the sandbag was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he burst into tears. He abandoned the sandbag and ran back, crying, "Mommy! There's a very fierce uncle!"
Zexiu coughed and had no choice but to toss the sandbag to the other terrified children. Turning around, he saw Xiaoman laughing so hard she was rolling around on the table, about to fall over. He said coldly, "Laugh, laugh all you want."
Xiaoman finally stopped laughing, rubbing her sore cheeks vigorously; if she kept laughing, she'd definitely develop facial paralysis. Zexiu glared at her: "Have you laughed enough?"
She nodded cautiously: "Yes, that's enough."
"Then let's eat quickly, and get going as soon as we're done."
"...Zexiu, do you often scare children to tears?"
Not answering means you agree.
Xiaoman suppressed a laugh, quickly ate breakfast, and the two rode their adorable steeds south towards Mount Taihua.
It was early spring, February, with new greenery everywhere and glimpses of golden light, a sight that soothed the soul. The two of them neither cracked the whip nor pulled the reins, letting the little horse roam freely on the mountain path. The little horse sang softly, its voice delicate and melodious, a sound that delighted the heart and soul.
"Spring is half over in Jiangcheng today, and I am still here, deep in the chaotic mountains, by a lonely stream bridge..."
Just then, they passed a stream, and Zexiu frowned slightly: "You're not allowed to sing such mournful lyrics."
Xiao Man ignored him and continued singing: "Who sewed my torn spring clothes? Tears stain my clothes. I dismount at sunset on the fragrant grass bank. No one wears the flowers, no one offers me wine, and no one cares if I get drunk."
When the last three lines were sung, Zexiu fell silent, lost in thought. After a long while, he whispered, "Good lyrics."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a voice chuckled from the treetop opposite, "What excellent lyrics! What a beautiful voice!"
Both of them were taken aback, but Zexiu was probably the most surprised. There was someone in front of him, and he hadn't noticed at all.
In the blink of an eye, a man dressed in a dark blue robe jumped down from the tree. He was about forty years old, with delicate features and a refined scholarly air. He stepped forward and bowed slightly: "My name is Ji Moli. I have come to Mount Taihua specifically to await the arrival of you two distinguished guests."
"Lonely Li?" Xiao Man glanced at the man a few more times because of this strange name. She felt his gaze was calm and profound, yet for some reason, it sent chills down her spine. Ze Xiu's body stiffened slightly. He said calmly, "So it's the Heavenly Fiends of the Ten Directions again, pressing on relentlessly. What's the reason?"
Ji Moli smiled and said, "Mr. Zexiu is naturally aware of the reason. Tiancha Shifang has never given up until he achieves his goal. Your skills are superb, and you are not someone that ordinary people can subdue. Even Yelü Wenjue's arm was broken by you. I am being presumptuous and would like to ask you to teach me a few moves."
Ze Xiu coldly replied, "Sorry. I won't play along."
He turned his horse around to go up the mountain, but in a flash, he stopped in front of the horse again, reached out and touched the horse's nose, and sighed, "Good horse, I really can't bear to let it die in my hands."
Judging from his expression, if they tried to ride away again, he was going to kill the horse.
Xiao Man panicked, but Ze Xiu had already jumped off his horse. He said, "Xiao Man, you ride up the mountain first. Don't stay here."
She wanted to refuse, but then she thought that staying would only be a burden to him. His master was supposedly on the mountaintop; perhaps she could help by going up to deliver the message. So she nodded. She gave her little darling a light pat on the bottom and chided, "Hurry up!"
Good girl, good girl, you're really good. She immediately took off galloping, but after only two steps, Ji Moli suddenly reappeared in front of the horse's head. Good girl, good girl, was startled and suddenly reared up, neighing. Xiao Man cried out and was about to fall off the horse's back when Ze Xiu caught her and protected her behind him.
Ji Moli smiled and said, "I'm sorry, young lady, you can't leave. My master wants to meet you. He heard that you are the granddaughter of the master of Lianfang City. What an extraordinary background you have."
Xiao Man was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "I'm not, you've got the wrong person."
Ji Moli took it as an excuse and didn't speak to her. Instead, she extended a hand to Zexiu and said, "Mr. Zexiu, please."
Zexiu squeezed Xiaoman's hand and said quickly in a very low voice, "I'll go stop him, you hurry up and ride your horse up the mountain!"
She nodded silently, her palms sweaty.