After Cutting Off Love And Emotions, I Was Pestered By The Demon Sect’s Enchantress - Chapter 22

The Xie Family (I)

It was a very strange feeling.

Everything was merely a pretense, a social play-acting. It was reasonable enough for Zhu Shengxi to say she didn’t truly like her. However, why was there this senseless surge of anger rising within her heart?

A-Xu looked at the person before her, whose brows were slightly knit. For some reason, her heart throbbed with a dense, spreading pain. Amidst her cluttered thoughts, she couldn’t help but ask:

“Then what about you? Do you like me?”

Zhu Shengxi’s lips moved slightly, but she found she could not give a definitive answer.

Seeing her silence, A-Xu’s eyes brightened slightly. Not offering an immediate denial suggested that, to Zhu Shengxi, she was at least somewhat special.

At this thought, her anger quickly subsided. A-Xu smiled and said, “Tell me after we get out of here.”

Zhu Shengxi glanced at her. Just a moment ago, she was full of fury, and now she was smiling; she truly changed her face quickly.

However, this person was always somewhat inexplicable. Zhu Shengxi had grown used to it and didn’t bother to delve into the reasons behind the change.

Zhu Shengxi stood up, her expression indifferent. “You’ve rested for a long while; I see you’ve regained your strength. Let us go find a way out.”

A-Xu nodded and followed her. “Alright.”

The rain outside had stopped at some unknown point, and the thick mist had dispersed, revealing the original appearance of the forest.

The trees were tangled and chaotic, and there were faint threads of deathly aura in the air. A-Xu scanned the surroundings, her gaze suddenly freezing on a certain spot.

“Zhu Shengxi, come look at this.”

Hearing her call, Zhu Shengxi walked over and discovered several corpses on the ground—they were the very same cultivators who had accepted the Xie family’s wooden tokens that day.

Their deaths were gruesome. Each had a massive bloodstain on their abdomen. A-Xu frowned as she examined them, her voice sinking. “Their golden cores were taken. That is how they died.”

Zhu Shengxi: “As expected, other cultivators came to this place. Because of the obstruction of the mist earlier, we didn’t notice at all.”

A-Xu pondered for a moment, circulated the spiritual energy within her body, and found that her power had returned.

“My spiritual energy has recovered. Now that the mist has cleared, we should be able to follow the original path back out.”

Upon hearing this, Zhu Shengxi reached out and condensed a hand seal. The Chenque Sword rose in response. She leapt onto the blade and said calmly, “Mmm, we can fly by sword now. Let’s head back first.”

The wind whistled past their ears. In mere moments, they returned to Jiyu City. A-Xu looked at her surroundings, feeling somewhat dazed.

Not long ago, they were fleeing from a stampede of beasts. Only after the mist cleared did she realize that their so-called “escape” might have just been running in circles in that one area.

“What are you thinking about?” Zhu Shengxi asked softly, seeing her lost in thought.

A-Xu suppressed her stray thoughts and answered her, “Today seems to be the Lantern Festival in Jiyu City. I was wondering if you would accompany me to the streets.”

The Lantern Festival… Zhu Shengxi had heard of it, but she rarely left her sect, let alone participated in such festivities.

She shook her head and refused: “Go by yourself.”

Not expecting such a blunt rejection, the smile on A-Xu’s lips stiffened. She gave a small huff. “Fine. If you won’t accompany me, someone else will.”

Hearing this, Zhu Shengxi lifted her eyes to look at her.

“Who?”

“Xiao Hua. Tonight, I can go to the streets with it. I even want to buy it some candied haws to eat,” A-Xu said, a smile floating in her eyes.

Zhu Shengxi looked at her for a few seconds, said nothing, and turned directly to walk into the house.

The person behind her did not follow as usual. Zhu Shengxi frowned slightly, a touch of inexplicable irritability rising in her heart.

A-Xu’s smile just now was as bright and beautiful as ever, like a spring breeze, yet she was smiling because of someone else.

Strands of bitterness rippled in her heart. Zhu Shengxi closed her eyes slightly.

Claiming to like her… it really was a lie.

If A-Xu could smile like that for others, then… would she kiss others as well?

At the thought of this possibility, the hand hanging at her side tightened instinctively. Zhu Shengxi sensed the other person approaching, but she kept her eyes closed, refusing to open them.

A-Xu walked slowly to her side and asked knowingly, “Are you angry?”

“No.” Though she denied it, her tone was extremely cold.

A-Xu let out a soft laugh behind her hand and asked again, “Are you willing to go to the streets with me?”

Zhu Shengxi opened her eyelids and gave her a cold glance. “Why ask again? Don’t you have Xiao Hua to accompany you?”

A-Xu’s gaze suddenly turned tender. “But someone is angry.”

“I am not angry. Go with whomever you wish; it has nothing to do with me. You don’t need to tell me.”

Hearing her say this, A-Xu’s brow arched. She said, “How is it ‘nothing to do with you’? I only want to be with you.”

The words were gentle yet firm. Zhu Shengxi’s breath hitched slightly, and she stared intently at A-Xu.

A-Xu met her gaze with a beaming smile. “Since you aren’t speaking, I’ll take it as an agreement.”

As night fell and the first lanterns were lit, the streets of Jiyu City were packed with people for the festival. Lanterns and decorations were everywhere, creating a scene of extraordinary bustle.

Walking through the streets, Zhu Shengxi felt uncomfortable in such a crowded environment and instinctively leaned toward the side.

Sensing her stiffness, A-Xu took her hand.

This was the second time the two had held hands. Zhu Shengxi looked at her sideways. A-Xu smiled and said, “It’s crowded. Holding hands prevents us from getting lost.”

Zhu Shengxi said tonelessly, “You have already used that reason before.”

Furthermore, there was no danger here, and their spiritual powers were intact; even if they were separated, they could find each other quickly.

Her little scheme exposed, A-Xu stopped hiding it and said directly, “Then, I just want to hold your hand. Is that not allowed?”

The light from the lanterns on the nearby stalls reflected on A-Xu’s face, casting a warm glow. Looking at her, Zhu Shengxi’s heart beat a few fractions faster.

“Do as you wish.” She retracted her gaze and did not pull her hand away.

But A-Xu was clearly not one to stay still. One moment she wanted to buy a lantern at this stall, the next she was shouting to eat the pastries from that shop.

The streets were noisy. Zhu Shengxi usually disliked clamor, but at this moment, looking at the smile blossoming on A-Xu’s face, she suddenly felt that this seemed quite nice.

The two came to a mask stall. A-Xu suddenly took an interest again, picking up a tiger mask and looking it over.

Zhu Shengxi glanced at the pile of food she was now carrying and reminded her with some helplessness, “Have you calculated how much silver you’ve spent today?”

At her reminder, A-Xu felt her purse and realized she was indeed running low on money.

A-Xu gave a light sigh and held the tiger mask loosely against her face, asking Zhu Shengxi, “Does it look good?”

The tiger mask wasn’t the least bit fierce; instead, it looked strangely comical.

Zhu Shengxi’s lips curved slightly. “This mask suits you well.”

There was a hint of laughter in her voice. A-Xu moved the mask away and indeed saw the faint smile on her lips.

“What’s so funny?” A-Xu bit her lip and put the mask back on the stall.

“Why aren’t you buying it?”

“I’m out of money.”

Seeing her about to walk away, Zhu Shengxi took out a silver ingot and bought the tiger mask, then handed it to A-Xu. “Put it on.”

“You… you have money?” A-Xu was somewhat surprised, but then realized that Zhu Shengxi was a disciple of the Guyun Sect after all; how could she be penniless?

Zhu Shengxi raised an eyebrow slightly. “Of course I do. Since you like this mask, wear it.”

She wants me to wear it so much just to make a fool of me, right? A-Xu took the mask, paused for a moment, and then turned her hand to press the tiger mask onto the other woman’s face.

“I want to see you wear it.”

A-Xu let go, waiting expectantly to see Zhu Shengxi’s reaction. She thought the other would coldly remove the mask, but to her surprise, Zhu Shengxi remained silent for a moment, let out an almost imperceptible “Mhm,” and reached up to tie the mask strings.

A-Xu was stunned for a moment, a sense of disbelief rising in her heart.

Just because she said she wanted to see her wear it, she actually agreed and put on such a ridiculous mask.

Along with her amazement, a sliver of sweetness spread through a corner of her heart. A-Xu gripped Zhu Shengxi’s hand tighter and smiled.

By the hour of the Ox (midnight), the pedestrians on the street had thinned out. A-Xu found a quiet stall and spoke to the woman busy boiling tangyuan (glutinous rice balls):

“Two bowls of tangyuan, please.”

“Coming right up!”

A-Xu paid the money, and soon, two bowls of steaming tangyuan were placed on the wooden table.

She looked at Zhu Shengxi and asked, “Have you ever eaten tangyuan?”

Zhu Shengxi gave an “Mhm.” “At the end of the year, the sect sometimes cooks some. Before I reached the stage of Inedia (fasting), I tried them once.”

A-Xu looked at her with a hint of expectation. “Then try a bowl of these and see if they are different.”

They are all tangyuan; how could they be different?

With this thought, Zhu Shengxi took a bite. Unprepared for the black sesame filling, she poked the filling lightly with her chopstick and murmured in a low voice, “So sweet.”

A-Xu ate her own tangyuan, but her eyes frequently drifted to the woman beside her.

Hearing her murmur, A-Xu asked curiously, “Does the taste in the Guyun Sect differ?”

Zhu Shengxi was silent for a moment. In truth, she had long forgotten what those tangyuan tasted like; she only remembered they were nowhere near this sweet.

“They didn’t seem to be this sweet,” she replied.

A-Xu gave an “Oh,” a trace of fatigue appearing between her brows. “Let’s head back in a moment.”

After eating the tangyuan, the two returned to the small cottage. A-Xu clamored to bathe. The room was only so large, so Zhu Shengxi lifted her foot to head outside.

But A-Xu pulled her back. “The wind is strong outside; don’t go out.”

Zhu Shengxi looked hesitant. “Aren’t you going to bathe?”

A-Xu then pulled a screen out of her storage bag, which happened to block the bath bucket perfectly.

Most people’s storage bags contained medicinal pills or life-saving treasures; hers always seemed to be filled with strange, mundane items.

Zhu Shengxi no longer insisted on leaving and sat to the side. Soon, she realized how big of a mistake this decision was.

A cultivator’s hearing was excellent. The rustling of clothes being removed and the splashing of water both fell into her ears; it was difficult not to hear them.

Zhu Shengxi unconsciously gripped the hem of her clothes, reciting the Heart-Cleansing Incantation to try and settle her mind.

Just then, the splashing water stopped, and A-Xu’s voice came from behind the screen:

“Zhu Shengxi, I seem to have forgotten to take clean clothes. Could you… help me get them?”

Hearing this, Zhu Shengxi looked around and saw several pieces of clothing on a wooden chair. After a moment of silence, she picked up the clothes and walked toward the screen.

Zhu Shengxi kept her eyes closed, reaching out her hand to pass the clothes to the person behind the screen.

But in the next instant, her wrist was grabbed and she was pulled behind the screen.