Still Secretly In Love With My Enemy Today - Chapter 39

Chapter 39: 

 

In the morning, Xie Huaishuang was practicing his sword again.

 

This courtyard was much more spacious than the one in Hengzhou, and he was clearly able to move with more freedom. Watching his silhouette, he seemed to be enjoying himself.

 

His control over the sword’s momentum had reached a level of extreme precision. Every movement carried a biting chill, yet the sword energy consistently stopped half an inch away from the blades of grass, leaving them entirely unharmed.

 

As I walked out, a fleeting glance made these moves seem familiar. When I came to a halt outside the gate, I recognized them instantly—he had used these moves against me several times, twice even leaving me in quite a pathetic state.

 

Xie Huaishuang caught sight of me from the corner of his eye but didn’t stop, leaving a flurry of sword shadows scattered across the ground.

 

I had no intention of walking into his sword energy. Standing outside the gate, I recalled how I had countered these strikes the last time, only to realize with a start that the last time we had faced each other with genuine, murderous intent was already late autumn of last year.

 

—It was when the leaves were falling. From sunset until nightfall, both of us had been exhausted. Separated by the autumn waters, that dark green silhouette vanished again, leaving only a ripple where his toes had touched the surface, quickly swallowed by the misty waves.

 

Gripping a notched sword, I had stood by the water for an entire night for reasons I couldn’t explain. The stars were blurred, hiding behind a crescent moon in the lonely fog of the river and sky.

 

“What are you thinking about?”

 

I snapped back to reality to find that Xie Huaishuang had already sheathed his sword at some point. With a flick of his wrist, he held it behind his back, standing at the bottom of the steps. He looked up at me, his eyes bright.

 

“Nothing.”

 

I reached out to tidy the stray hairs on his forehead. He tilted his head slightly to make it easier for me.

 

“What are the names of these moves?”

 

Xie Huaishuang stood on his tiptoes and patted my shoulder, shaking off a stray leaf.

 

“Flowing Wind, Returning Snow.”

 

“With such heavy killing intent, why give it such a poetic name?”

 

Xie Huaishuang slid his sword fully into its scabbard. “My master named it.”

 

He usually seemed reluctant to mention his master, but this time he added a few more words: “Nominally, I am the Great Shaman’s disciple, but he didn’t spend much time with me. My sword techniques were taught by my Master; he was… quite good to me, and he told me many things about the world outside.”

 

“Is he still at the Temple?”

 

Xie Huaishuang didn’t answer. He just looked at me with a deep, unreadable gaze.

 

“Did the City Lord run into any trouble?”

 

He changed the subject, and I didn’t press further. “Not for now. Senior Brother He sent a letter this morning saying the Temple’s attitude is actually quite decent.”

 

Xie Huaishuang nodded, his gaze falling on his snow-white scabbard before looking up again. “Are you not angry with me?”

 

“Why would I be angry with you?”

 

“I didn’t mean to hide things from you,” he said, gripping his sword. “This matter… it’s just impossible to speak of it rashly. I haven’t figured certain things out yet. Saying it now might actually cause more trouble.”

 

“If you don’t want to say it, then don’t.”

 

“I don’t need to know everything; you can handle things yourself.” I took his sword from him as I usually did. “I never planned to treat you like a three-year-old child.”

 

Xie Huaishuang fell silent for a moment, then laughed softly.

 

“Back at the Temple, every single thing I did, every single word I said, someone recorded it and reported it to the Great Shaman.” He repeated it: “Every single thing, every single word. I asked them why. They told me that only by being completely transparent can one be trusted.”

 

“That isn’t trust,” I corrected him. “That is control.”

 

Xie Huaishuang looked into my eyes for a long time before speaking.

 

“Then… don’t you want to control me?”

 

I denied it immediately. “I don’t.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because I like you.” I thought for a second. “I like you as a person.”

 

If a person is controlled, they become a puppet. Why would I want to like a puppet? A puppet wouldn’t be able to like me back.

 

Xie Huaishuang didn’t say anything for a long while. Just when I thought he wasn’t going to speak, I suddenly heard him murmur, “I knew they were lying to me. Next time, I’ll definitely deal with them along with the rest.”

 

“…How exactly do you plan to ‘deal’ with them?”

 

Xie Huaishuang didn’t smile this time, but I got the distinct feeling that someone at the Temple was going to have a very bad day.

 

I still remembered the Linlang Pavilion incident clearly. When facing the Temple’s people, Xie Huaishuang was faster, more accurate, and more ruthless than I was. Recalling his sword moves just now—I doubted anyone at the Temple could actually stand after taking them.

 

“I’ll deal with them all together regardless.”

 

Xie Huaishuang nodded to himself, looking quite satisfied. He lifted his hem and headed inside to find some red bean cakes.

 

He’s always like this.

 

…

 

In the afternoon, I was summoned by Senior Sister Chen.

 

“Since you’re back, don’t just idle around.” She tossed a stack of letters at me. “Get to work.”

 

I glanced at them. “Why are there so many?”

 

“I was afraid that after being away for so long, you’d forget who you are. I told everyone that Vice City Lord Zhu is back, so they shouldn’t send everything to me. No need to thank me.”

 

“…I wasn’t planning on it.”

 

Senior Sister Chen didn’t look up. “Stop talking nonsense. Hurry up; these all need to be processed today.”

 

As I dipped my brush in ink, I heard her speak again. “The City Lord is still negotiating.”

 

“What’s the word?”

 

“They say the Temple seems willing to make concessions this time. The incident with the High Priest has had a massive impact on them.” She shook her head. “I think it’s just a stalling tactic from those old men, but easing the situation is still a good thing. It’ll make things easier for us when we eventually move against them.”

 

“Do they not need us there?”

 

“Not yet.” She looked up briefly. “Where’s Xiao Xie?”

 

“At home.”

 

“Take him out to see more of Iron Cloud City when you have time.” She lowered her head back to her files. “To go through such suffering and not have his personality twisted… I like the lad. Does he want to stay in Iron Cloud City in the future?”

 

Xie Huaishuang seemed to have a very good impression of the city so far. I paused my brush and speculated optimistically, “I believe he is willing.”

 

“That’s good.” Two more files were tossed my way. “Check these two as well. If you’re free tomorrow morning, both of you should come over.”

 

“For what?”

 

“If you both don’t come, how am I supposed to have people measure you for your clothes? Although the date has to wait, wedding clothes aren’t tailored in a day or two.”

 

My hand holding the page trembled. “Is there… is there such a rush?”

 

“Since when did I become the one in a rush?” The sound of flipping pages stopped, and Senior Sister Chen stared at me. “What has been wrong with you since you got back?”

 

When I returned home that evening, Xie Huaishuang was in my armory doing his own research. I saw several sheets of paper on the desk, carefully noting issues with certain weapons and how they could be improved. The ink on the last line wasn’t even dry yet.

 

“It might not be right, take a look.”

 

It was just something I had mentioned in passing. I scanned it quickly and realized his disclaimer was pure modesty.

 

“There are some parts I’m not sure about… what are you doing?”

 

Xie Huaishuang reached back to steady himself against the rack. He always did that when I kissed him—searching for something to hold onto.

 

When we pulled apart, his voice was lower than usual. “Are you going back there tomorrow?”

 

“Did you miss me?”

 

Xie Huaishuang didn’t answer, but his eyes cast down, his lashes throwing long shadows under the lamplight.

 

“Senior Sister wants us both to go over tomorrow morning.”

 

Xie Huaishuang became visibly nervous. “What for?”

 

“Nothing bad.” I touched his earlobe, and he gave another slight shiver. “She said she needs to take our measurements for the clothes.”

 

Xie Huaishuang froze. “Isn’t this… a bit too fast?”

 

To be honest, I didn’t understand either. But I felt that Senior Sister must have her reasons.

 

Besides, getting married seemed to be about making sure everyone else knew that Xie Huaishuang and I were the best of friends in the whole world. Moreover, I couldn’t imagine any other possibility for my life other than him.

 

I just didn’t know what he thought. Perhaps to him, marriage was something very solemn that required much time to consider.

 

“If you don’t want to, I’ll tell her tomorrow and we can talk about it later.”

 

Xie Huaishuang remained silent, thought for a moment, then looked up. “What does one do for a wedding?”

 

It was actually quite troublesome. I recalled things like the Three Letters and Six Rites—sending a matchmaker, exchanging genealogies, betrothal gifts… I’d forgotten the rest, but it was a long list.

 

However, sending betrothal gifts to the Temple was absolutely out of the question. I asked Xie Huaishuang, but he couldn’t remember anything from before he was taken to the Temple. I sat down to discuss it with him. “What should we do?”

 

Xie Huaishuang was indifferent. “Skip it all.”

 

But I felt the betrothal gifts couldn’t be skipped. Since I didn’t know who to give them to, I would just give them all to Xie Huaishuang. My savings were meant for him anyway, but just money felt boring. I asked, “What else do you want?”

 

Xie Huaishuang thought seriously for a long time and concluded, “I can’t think of anything.”

 

“…”

 

Fine. He could think about it slowly, and I’d ask some of my married senior brothers and sisters what they had sent.

 

“And then?”

 

“Then we pick an auspicious day,” I counted them off. “The procession, the bowing to Heaven and Earth…”

 

I trailed off at the end. Xie Huaishuang was listening with great interest and asked, “Why did you stop?”

 

“…And then the bridal chamber.”

 

Xie Huaishuang nodded. “Then I want to get married. To you.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“I’m sure. But…”

 

“But what?”

 

“Give me a little time.” He made a small gesture with his hands. “I need to prepare betrothal gifts for you, too.”

 

“You don’t really—”

 

“You wouldn’t dare refuse?” Xie Huaishuang was being unreasonable now. If I said no, I’d likely be on the receiving end of his sword.

 

“…I wouldn’t dare.”

 

“Speaking of which,” he suddenly stared at me again. “As agreed, when do you plan to teach me? Do you really plan to wait until the wedding night?” Xie Huaishuang leaned in closer.

 

“…Is it not a bit late today?” I wished I hadn’t brought it up. There was only an hour left before sleep. What could be done in one hour?

 

Self-control. Self-control.

 

“Wait until—”

 

“I saw you put something in the compartment by the headboard today.” Xie Huaishuang had a way of saying things in a flat tone that left me utterly shocked. As if fearing I hadn’t heard, he repeated, “I saw it.”

 

Under the lamplight, his lashes fluttered, and his gaze wavered as he looked at me.

 

…Zero self-control.

 

The moment my right hand touched the back of his knees, he reached out and hooked his arms around my neck, as if he had been waiting for me to pick him up.

 

“What exactly did you… mmm, put in there?”

 

“You’ll find out in a moment.”