After Cutting Off Love And Emotions, I Was Pestered By The Demon Sect’s Enchantress - Chapter 11

Zhuoyan Mountain Range (Part I)

The crackling of firewood sounded softly. As her consciousness returned, A-Xu slowly opened her eyes. Not far away, Zhu Shengxi sat by the fire, eyes closed in focused meditation.

The firelight reflected on her face, making her long, raven-feather lashes clearly visible. Perhaps due to the warmth of the flames, she seemed a few degrees less cold and distant at this moment, appearing somewhat more approachable.

“You’re awake?”

The sudden voice gave A-Xu a start. She quickly shifted her gaze away and, in a fit of inexplicable panic, spoke without thinking: “Why aren’t you asleep?”

The moment the words left her mouth, she instantly regretted them. Zhu Shengxi wasn’t supposed to be sleeping; she was meditating to regulate her internal breath.

Sure enough, Zhu Shengxi gave her a strange look. “I am regulating my breath, not sleeping.”

“Oh,” A-Xu’s gaze landed on the fire. “Can you move now?”

Zhu Shengxi gave a soft “mm” of affirmation, her expression calm. Seeing this, A-Xu smiled. “I told you, didn’t I? It will recover slowly. In just a few days, your spiritual power will return, and the cold poison will diminish significantly.”

Cold poison… Zhu Shengxi froze for a moment, lifting her eyes to look at A-Xu.

Was everything she had done intended to clear the cold poison from her body?

Meeting her questioning gaze, A-Xu explained in a gentle voice: “I flipped through medical texts and saw this secret technique. By sealing one’s entire cultivation and supplementing it with fire-type arts, the symptoms of cold poison can be dispelled after a few days. The only drawback is that during these few days, there is no spiritual power to protect the body; the person becomes weak and requires quiet rest.”

“The cold poison in your body wasn’t formed overnight, so it’s difficult to eradicate it all at once. This is the first time; it will take two more sessions later to completely remove it.”

Zhu Shengxi remained silent for a few seconds, looking at her with confusion in her eyes. “You… why go to such lengths for this?”

A-Xu said warmly, “Have you forgotten? We agreed back then that if you led me out of the Tianqian Realm, I would help cure your cold poison. I do not forget the things I have promised.”

It seemed there was such an agreement. Zhu Shengxi gave a slight nod and continued her meditation.

After a moment of silence, A-Xu tentatively called out her name: “Zhu Shengxi.”

Having her meditation interrupted again by this person, Zhu Shengxi knit her brows slightly. “What is it?”

“I’m a bit cold. Can I sit by the fire?”

Was there really a need to ask such a small thing?

Zhu Shengxi’s tone was cold. “Suit yourself.”

A-Xu walked over to the fireside and sat down. Before long, she spoke again: “There’s a cold draft over here. It must be warmer where you are. Is it okay if I sit next to you?”

Zhu Shengxi did not utter a word, acting as if she hadn’t heard. A-Xu waited a long time without hearing an answer and took it as silent consent, so she crept over and sat down beside her.

Zhu Shengxi shot her a glance and exposed her ruthlessly: “There is no cold draft right now.”

A-Xu stubbornly argued back, “There isn’t any on your side, but you should go try sitting where I just was.”

Zhu Shengxi couldn’t be bothered to argue with her. Unexpectedly, a moment later, the person beside her leaned in, pressing tightly against her.

That sweet fragrance wafted over as well. An inexplicable irritability rose in Zhu Shengxi’s heart, and she abandoned the idea of peaceful meditation. She took a deep breath and turned her head to look at A-Xu.

“If you feel cold, get closer to the fire, not me.”

A-Xu’s voice was low, sounding somewhat aggrieved: “That night when your cold poison flared up and you couldn’t stand the cold, I held you and slept through the night. Now that I feel cold, I can’t even lean against you for a bit?”

Held her… slept through the night. A-Xu’s words once again stirred up that not-so-pleasant memory. Zhu Shengxi rubbed her brow helplessly and said, half-commandingly, “Do not mention that again.”

A-Xu did not talk back, giving an extremely obedient “mm.”

Forget it, leaning against me isn’t a major issue, Zhu Shengxi thought to herself, trying her best to ignore the sensation of the closeness beside her.

The fire occasionally made soft popping sounds. After an unknown amount of time, the person beside her remained uncharacteristically still. Zhu Shengxi turned her head to look.

A-Xu’s eyes were closed, her sleeping face peaceful, with a few stray hairs falling across her forehead.

Is she asleep? Zhu Shengxi looked at her and couldn’t help but think: This person looks much more pleasing to the eye while asleep than when awake.

A-Xu’s body heat radiated through the thin layers of clothing, exceptionally warm. Listening to her shallow breathing, Zhu Shengxi unconsciously lowered her gaze to stare at her.

Looking closely now, she noticed a few wood shavings in A-Xu’s hair, likely fallen on her head when the immortal boat shattered.

She herself hadn’t been touched by a single shaving. A-Xu was usually so fond of cleanliness, yet she hadn’t even noticed the debris in her hair.

Zhu Shengxi’s gaze toward A-Xu became complicated. This person always said nonsensical, rambling things, yet at critical moments, she was strangely clever and reliable.

Just what kind of person was she?

At that moment, there was some rustling movement in the woods. Zhu Shengxi fixed her gaze on the source of the sound. In less than fifteen minutes, various snakes and venomous insects emerged from the ground. Small snakes wriggled their bodies as they gathered toward them, making the dry branches and fallen leaves rustle loudly.

Staring at the approaching insects and snakes, Zhu Shengxi nudged A-Xu. “Wake up.”

“Hmm?” A-Xu opened her eyes drowsily. Seeing the venomous insects and snakes spread across the ground, she sprang up instantly. “Hiss—when did these appear?”

Zhu Shengxi picked up a dry branch, lit it with the fire, and tentatively threw it into the swarm of snakes. The insects and snakes scattered quickly upon touching the fire, but they still did not retreat. The small snakes in the back consciously bypassed the fire and continued to gather toward their spot.

Seeing this, A-Xu knit her brows slightly. “It seems these are no ordinary venomous snakes.”

The snake swarm drew closer and closer, forcing the two of them to huddle toward the bonfire. Zhu Shengxi glanced at A-Xu and said calmly, “Aren’t you ‘impervious to a hundred poisons’? Are you scared too?”

A-Xu retorted, “What I meant before was that I am proficient in medicine and toxicology; don’t distort my words.” After speaking, she raised a jade flute to her lips. The melodious tune, infused with spiritual power, struck out at the venomous creatures.

Upon contact with the sound waves, the snakes and insects stopped in their tracks. It seemed to be working. A-Xu’s eyes brightened, and she injected a bit more spiritual power into the flute music.

Unexpectedly, the venomous creatures only paused for a brief moment. Soon, they were no longer affected by the flute’s sound and surged toward them at high speed.

Zhu Shengxi summoned the Chenque Sword, preparing to use a sword technique, but A-Xu stopped her. “You haven’t fully recovered; you cannot use spiritual power.”

“Leave it to me,” A-Xu said, taking a small bottle out of her storage bag. Just as she intended to sprinkle the liquid inside toward the snakes, a clear and resonant sound of a xiao (vertical flute) rang out.

The venomous insects and snakes stopped the moment the xiao music began, then slowly retreated.

A-Xu put away the small bottle and stared intently at the figure in the deep forest. Once the venomous creatures had all withdrawn, the figure became clear.

It was a woman dressed in ethnic tribal clothing. The woman stopped playing the flute. Her eyes appeared somewhat hollow as she spoke toward a certain direction: “My apologies. My younger sister is playful and accidentally let go of the venomous insects and snakes she raises. We have startled you.”

A-Xu observed her for a moment and asked directly, “You cannot see?”

The woman nodded slightly. “Yes, I was born blind.”

Seeing that she meant no harm, A-Xu temporarily lowered her guard. She turned back and found that Zhu Shengxi had her head slightly lowered, her face somewhat pale.

“What’s wrong?”

Zhu Shengxi shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

Looking at her state, she didn’t look like she was “fine” at all. A-Xu directly grabbed her wrist to check her pulse, and upon investigation, she couldn’t help but frown.

“What do you mean ‘nothing’? I told you that you haven’t fully recovered. Why did you secretly try to use spiritual power?” Her tone was laced with a hint of thin anger. Zhu Shengxi lifted her eyes to look at her, finding that A-Xu’s expression was more serious than ever before.

Zhu Shengxi was speechless for a moment, then lowered her eyelids.

“I’m sorry.”

A-Xu was stunned, then said crossly, “Who asked you for an apology?”

The woman not far away heard their conversation and spoke up: “The place where my sister and I live is not far from here. Your friend’s breath is unstable. If you don’t mind, you can come to our place to rest for a day.”

A-Xu looked at her, pondered for a moment, and responded, “In that case, I thank you, Miss.”

The woman nodded slightly and turned to walk deeper into the dense forest. “Please follow me, you two.”

A-Xu said to Zhu Shengxi, “Can you still walk? Do you want me to car—”

Zhu Shengxi pushed her hand away. “I can. No need.”

Seeing her act as if she couldn’t wait to avoid her, A-Xu curled her lip. She then followed behind the woman, no longer looking at Zhu Shengxi.

The woman did not walk fast. A-Xu walked diagonally behind her, observing her in secret. Her eyes had no focus, her gaze landing nowhere in particular; she truly did seem blind.

“My name is Zhinuo. How may I address you two?” Zhinuo asked calmly as she walked forward.

“A-Xu. The one behind is surnamed Zhu,” A-Xu answered, then suddenly halted her steps.

Did that person behind actually keep up? Just now, she had intentionally kept walking forward without turning back, and she had no idea how Zhu Shengxi was doing in the rear.

Zhinuo wasn’t walking fast, so logically Zhu Shengxi should have kept up, but her face had been so pale earlier…

A-Xu stopped for a moment and finally couldn’t help but turn her head.

Zhu Shengxi was just a few steps away, following at a steady pace. Seeing this, A-Xu felt slightly relieved and continued following Zhinuo forward.

Along the way, A-Xu stopped and started, pretending to casually glance back, only to immediately turn her head away before Zhu Shengxi could notice.

Though Zhinuo couldn’t see, her hearing was excellent. Hearing A-Xu’s very obvious stop-and-start movements, she smiled faintly. “Since Miss A-Xu cares about her, why not walk together with her?”

Having her little thoughts discovered, A-Xu was silent for a few seconds before saying calmly, “She wishes for nothing more than to be as far from me as possible; she has no desire to walk with me.”

Hearing this, the smile on Zhinuo’s lips deepened, but she said no more. Zhinuo seemed very familiar with the path here. Even though she was blind, she still walked steadily. The two followed her through many twists and turns, and before long, a house appeared before them.

“Sister!” A young woman, also dressed in ethnic tribal clothing, came out to greet them, her tone joyful and spirited.

Zhinuo: “This is my younger sister, Yue Xu.”

Only then did Yue Xu look at the two of them. “And you are?”

“My surname is Zhu,” Zhu Shengxi said, and then stopped there. A-Xu glanced at her sideways and supplemented for her: “I am Miss Zhu’s companion, A-Xu.”

Zhinuo said to Yue Xu, “Fortunately I arrived in time; the venomous insects and snakes almost attacked them. Miss Zhu is unwell, and staying in the forest at night might be dangerous for them, so I brought them over. Let them stay in the other room.”

After listening, Yue Xu looked at her with a smile. “I know, I know. You don’t have to explain so much to me.”

“You two come with me.” Yue Xu took some new bedding and led the two of them to another room.

Zhu Shengxi saw the bare bedstead and asked in surprise, “Does no one usually sleep in this room?”

Yue Xu placed the bedding on the wooden bed frame and answered quite naturally, “That’s right. My sister and I have always slept together.”

A-Xu said leisurely, “Fellow Daoist Zhu, don’t make a fuss. It’s not strange for biological sisters to sleep together.”

Hearing her words, however, Yue Xu chuckled and denied it: “She and I are not biological sisters.”