The Beautiful Pariah Thought He Could Be Loved - 10

Chapter 10: Tears Glistening in the Fox-Demon’s Eyes

Everyone’s gaze shifted toward the two from the Fayu Pavilion—Elder Han and Yang Li.

Elder Han exchanged a look with Cheng Fei.

A servant rushed up and whispered into Cheng Fei’s ear. Cheng Fei’s expression flickered slightly. The Glazed Lamp is still in the high tower, so what is that in Xin Qishu’s hand? He looked closely at the blue bowl but couldn’t spot a single difference from the genuine article.

Elder Han gave a slight nod. Cheng Fei stepped forward. “Then, let the verification proceed.”

He wanted to see exactly what was in this fox-demon’s memories!

Elder Han produced a bronze mirror—the Mirror of the Sinful Sea.

Sense of impending doom, the fox-demon began to struggle violently. Caught off guard, Xin Qishu was nearly pulled off his chair, a red welt forming on his wrist from the rope. Seeing this, Yang Li walked over and took the rope, whispering, “Let me handle it.”

Xin Qishu sat silently.

Using the mirror wasn’t as simple as a single drop of blood; while the mirror absorbed the blood, the owner would experience intense pain. This fox-demon’s cultivation was low; it was unlikely he would endure it.

Xin Qishu pursed his lips. Locking eyes with the fox-demon’s tearful gaze, he silently mouthed a few words.

Yang Li’s mouth fell open in shock.

BOOM—

The crowd looked up. The sky had suddenly filled with dense, heavy layers of clouds. The daylight vanished, replaced by dark purple lightning flickering through the clouds. A violent, prolonged roar of thunder tore through the air—

“…My wife!” “…My wife!” “Do not hurt him…!”

A raspy male voice squeezed out from the clouds, which were swirling in a grotesque, unnatural pattern.

“This is bad! A vengeful spirit has manifested!” Yang Li let go of the rope. The fox-demon instantly lunged, snatched the Glazed Lamp from Xin Qishu’s hand, and smashed it onto the ground!

A streak of pale green light flew up into the clouds…

Cheng Fei’s jaw dropped. “NO—!”

As the howling wind whipped past, Xin Qishu stood on the platform, seemingly frozen. A bolt of lightning descended like a phantom. CRASH!

Lüqing flashed to Xin Qishu’s side, raising his scabbard to take the strike head-on. He shouted, “Go, quickly! The vengeful spirit has absorbed the Immortal Soul; he’s about to condense a human form!”

“MY GLAAAAAZED LAAAAAMP—!”

Lüqing grabbed Xin Qishu and flew away from the main battlefield.

Yang Li’s cold, clear voice rang out from the ground: “Was that lamp… actually the real one?”

“IT REALLY WAS!!!”

Xin Qishu felt something hit him and instinctively caught it—it was a withered yellow flower.

“How did you…” Lüqing asked, his heart racing with adrenaline as they flew through the air. He was so caught up he almost forgot they were supposed to be “estranged” and acting; he barely caught himself before blowing their cover.

“The Cheng family’s gates are hard to enter. It took quite a lot of effort!”

Several more lightning strikes hit the ground with ear-piercing cracks, sending up plumes of white smoke and leaving charred, electrified craters. Amidst the chaotic screams of the crowd, Lüqing only had time to roar “Don’t move!” before turning back to assist.

“Little Bai’s husband is so fierce, though He Lüqing isn’t bad either,” Xin Qishu hummed a tune, nonchalantly plucking petals from the flower.

Eventually, the thunder subsided under the combined defense of the cultivators, and the sky cleared.

Xin Qishu was leisurely whistling when he heard the sound of breaking wind behind him. He let out a yelp as he was hoisted up again. He turned to find Cheng Fei’s weathered face contorted with rage: “How did you instigateLüqing to steal my sect’s treasure?!”

“Senior Cheng, you must be mistaken. I never—” He Lüqing stepped forward, his robes slightly disheveled.

Cheng Fei gnashed his teeth and cut him off. “He Lüqing! I’ll admit the brat’s innocence—I only just learned,” Cheng Fei looked down at Xin Qishu. “You were the person Cheng Mo once tried to marry after gifting you the Glazed Lamp of his own accord. I believe that since you returned it back then, you have no interest in it.”

“I also believe that someone as weak as he is could never enter the place where the lamp is kept.”

“But you…” Cheng Fei glared at Lüqing. “That’s a different story. You visited the Cheng family frequently in the years before you went to the Demon Abyss. What were your intentions?”

The sudden shift in his logic was jarring. Now he remembers Xin Qishu is weak? Why didn’t he think of that when he first accused him?

The idea of He Lüqing plotting for the lamp was even more laughable. Back when He Lüqing was at the height of his glory, the Cheng family was practically throwing gifts at him to gain his favor. If he had truly wanted it, they would have offered it up the moment he hinted at it.

But this was a matter between two major powers. The voice of those without a background goes unheard, and the prominent must protect their own reputation and that of their sect. The scene fell into a tense silence.

“Do you even hear yourself? Don’t you find it funny?” Xin Qishu struggled out of Cheng Fei’s grip and pointed at his nose, scolding him. He had orchestrated this entire scene specifically to clear both his and He Lüqing’s names.

“You think He Lüqing would care about your broken bowl? You saw it yourself—the fox smashed it. Go find the fox.”

“The fox smashed it, but the fox didn’t necessarily steal it!”

“You refused to search his memories just now, and now you’re throwing blind accusations again.”

Cheng Fei was so livid the wrinkles on his face deepened. “I simply suspect He Lüqing! He’s been fooling around with you; who knows what he’s capable of?”

Xin Qishu was stumped and looked back at He Lüqing for help. He saw He Lüqing staring blankly at Yang Li and Elder Han. Neither spoke; Yang Li even turned his head away to avoid eye contact.

Lüqing gently pulled Xin Qishu’s hand and said in a very low voice, “Let’s go.”

“Go where? There’s no explanation for today’s—”

The two vanished like a streak of lightning. Before they disappeared, Xin Qishu buried his head in He Lüqing’s chest, crying, while He Lüqing whispered comforting words.

Yang Li watched them leave with a look of resentment. The words he spoke years ago echoed in his ears.

“This disciple admires Xin Qishu. This disciple wants to become his Daoist partner.” “This disciple admires Xin Qishu. This disciple wants to become his Daoist partner.” “This disciple admires Xin Qishu. This disciple wants to…”

No. Stop thinking. I told you to stop thinking! Can’t you hear me?!

Yang Li shed tears, though it was unclear exactly what emotion they held.

…

Duan Shi asked, “Did they head toward the Demon Abyss?”

“Uh… seemingly, maybe…” The top-knot youth had been hit directly by lightning and was now a charred, conspicuous mess.

“Maybe what?”

The youth scratched his head, soot falling to the ground. “Maybe I don’t actually know where the Demon Abyss is.”

Duan Shi sighed softly once more.

…

Lüqing had intended to take Xin Qishu straight back to the Demon Abyss, but the boy was crying so hard he had to return to the inn in Little Qinghe.

When they pushed open the door, a black fox was curled up on the table. Lüqing hesitated; he had assumed the fox was just an actor Xin Qishu had picked up along the way.

“He’s my friend,” Xin Qishu sobbed, leaning into He Lüqing’s arms. “How could they be like that? You clearly saved them! When Cheng Mo was kidnapped as a child, you were the one who rescued him.”

As Xin Qishu revealed this secret, He Lüqing helped him into a chair. “How do you know that?”

Xin Qishu and Cheng Mo were roughly the same age.

“He saw me on the street, thought I was pretty, and tried to kidnap me to be his wife. I refused, so he spent the whole time beating me and telling me his sob stories. I was nearly beaten to death when Yang Li sensed something was wrong, and I was rescued.”

“He said the kidnappers specifically broke his legs. I think his head was the thing that was broken.”

The fox on the table suddenly let out a yapping laugh.

Xin Qishu shuddered. “Xiao Bai, can you turn back into a human before you laugh?”

The fox shook its head, a very human-like expression appearing on its animal face. Xin Qishu shivered again.

He Lüqing picked it up by the neck and set it on a chair. With a flash of white light, the fox turned back into a human.

“Thanks for the spiritual energy, big brother. You’re the best,” Xiao Bai said perfunctorily before turning to talk to Xin Qishu, leaving He Lüqing to stare silently at the soot on his hands.

“So how was that Glazed Lamp real? Didn’t we agree I’d sneak into the Cheng house to steal it during the chaos when the ghost appeared?”

“Oh. I just grabbed it while I was there. I forgot to tell you,” Xin Qishu wiped his tears.

He Lüqing sat to the side and finally put the pieces together.

That day, Xin Qishu feared He Lüqing wasn’t actually going to chase the lamp, so as soon as He Lüqing left, he returned to the Yunzi River. Finding no clues, he returned to the inn, where Xiao Bai—who had followed him to Little Qinghe—knocked on his door.

Xiao Bai had a lover. When they were alive, they were “Demon and Human.” Now that the lover was dead, they were “Demon and Ghost.” The lover, unwilling to move on, wandered as a vengeful spirit. He wasn’t evil, but a soul cannot stay long. Xiao Bai wanted him to stay; the lover, not wanting Xiao Bai to fall into darkness, hid from him.

Xiao Bai had lived a long time and knew the Cheng family’s lamp contained an Immortal Soul—a great tonic for spirits. Xiao Bai used his shapeshifting to confirm the soul was inside, then turned into Xin Qishu to draw attention away.

He didn’t expect to be seen and have Xin Qishu framed. When he heard the news, he went back, and the lamp was still there.

Lüqing’s lip twitched at this part.

Xiao Bai apologized to Xin Qishu and suggested they steal it together. Xin Qishu agreed on the condition that Xiao Bai helped him confront Cheng Fei at the festival to clear He Lüqing’s name.

Xiao Bai planned to use a tuft of his tail hair to create a fake lamp to fool everyone until the confrontation.

But things changed; the Cheng family’s security suddenly tightened, and Xiao Bai couldn’t get back in. They had to take a fake one to bluff Cheng Fei.

Xiao Bai told Xin Qishu to demand the Mirror of the Sinful Sea from the Fayu Pavilion to prove his innocence; he knew his lover wouldn’t stand by and watch—he would manifest! During the chaos, Xiao Bai would sneak in and grab the real lamp.

On the platform, just as Xiao Bai was about to have his blood tested, Xin Qishu suddenly whispered to him: Actually, the one I have is the real one.

And so, the moment the illusion broke—Xiao Bai stood up and smashed the bowl!