The Beautiful Pariah Thought He Could Be Loved - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: “Xin Qishu, do you have any sense of credit at all…?”

The spiritual boat glided steadily through the air.

By the window, Xin Qishu kept his head lowered. His smooth black hair cascaded down the side of his face, making his porcelain skin look fragile, almost transparent. He hesitantly stroked an envelope that bore not a single word on its cover.

Ye Yi had given him the letters on the way back—two in total. Both covers were clean of writing, but the second was twice as thick as the first. Ye Yi had said the thin one was from Yang Li to He Lvqing, while the thick one was written for him.

Xin Qishu had been right there when Yang Li handed over the mail. He couldn’t understand how Ye Yi knew the thicker one was for him when Yang Li hadn’t uttered a single word about it.

The weight in his hand felt heavy. After a moment of hesitation, he tucked both letters away.

The peach branches were now arranged in a vase, their small blossoms partially open. In the sunlight, the floating dust in the air became clearly visible.

Back when Xin Qishu first began wandering the world, He Lvqing was already a name known throughout the land. But the one Xin Qishu had actually met first was Yang Li.

Yang Li’s cultivation wasn’t as high as Ye Yi’s, and his spiritual roots weren’t particularly exceptional. He had fulfilled Little Xin’s childhood wish: he failed to recognize Xin Qishu’s demonic blood. When Xin Qishu eventually revealed it himself, Yang Li had been shocked. Unfortunately, ever since Ye Yi had pulled his “teeth,” Xin Qishu had lost interest in such things. He had merely glanced at Yang Li listlessly and asked, “What? Are you going to kill me?”

It was on a dry, sweltering night when Xin Qishu was tossing and turning on a hard inn bed, humming and whining incessantly. Yang Li, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor trying to cultivate, was so disturbed by the noise that he couldn’t enter a meditative state. He stood up and gave the bed a frustrated kick.

As if waiting for that very kick, Xin Qishu instantly bounced up, and the two began brawling with bare fists.

Yang Li had higher cultivation, but he was soft-hearted and couldn’t bring himself to really hurt anyone. Xin Qishu had lower cultivation, but he was a veteran of street fights. For a while, they were deadlocked.

Feeling the fight wasn’t satisfying enough, Xin Qishu suddenly lunged and bit Yang Li’s face. No matter how hard Yang Li shook, he couldn’t get him off. Finally, Yang Li stopped holding back and gave Xin Qishu a proper drubbing.

Half the night passed, and the two ended up falling asleep sprawled across the bed in a tangled mess. One slept soundly despite a bruised and swollen face; the other slept fitfully with a scowl and a clear set of teeth marks on his cheek.

The moon was so bright that night. Is the moon today any brighter than it was then?

Affection is born of memory; without memory, there is no heart.

…

The Treasure and the Secret

Upon returning to the Demon Abyss, Xin Qishu wanted to deliver the flowers immediately, but Fei Jia stopped him. “Young Palace Master, there have been some restless elements lately. Let’s return to the main palace first.”

Xin Qishu considered it. The flowers in his arms were already wilting, but he agreed. He wanted to find a protective treasure for He Lvqing.

The main palace complex was in the complete opposite direction of the manor. Many demons lived near the main palace. Xin Qishu even spotted a few “Fallen Ones” standing tall and proud; the moment he appeared, they glanced at him with predatory, lustful eyes.

Xin Qishu bypassed them with a look of disgust. Fei Jia’s blade unsheathed an inch in warning.

After hearing from a servant that his father was still busy, Xin Qishu stepped over a freshly severed head on the ground and turned into his father’s treasure vault.

The vault was magnificent, its shelves packed with curiosities. Xin Qishu was well-traveled and recognized most of the items, but no matter how he searched, he couldn’t find what he wanted. At that moment, Fei Jia handed him a pale green jade bracelet.

A dense spiritual aura swirled around the jade. Fei Jia said, “This bracelet can protect a cultivator from being encroached upon by demonic energy to the greatest extent possible.”

Xin Qishu smiled. “You understand me without me even speaking.”

He reached for it, but Fei Jia didn’t let go.

“He Lvqing’s cultivation has reached the Spirit Severing (Hua Shen) Stage. If he is no longer suppressed by demonic energy, he will be able to exert his full strength. If he suddenly decides to assassinate you, I might not be able to save you in time.”

Xin Qishu’s expression seemed to drift into the past. He smiled faintly. “If he wanted to kill me, he would have done it long ago.”

Fei Jia disapproved, but he let go.

…

The Message and the Rage

Back in his sleeping quarters, Xin Qishu had Fei Jia put the flowers away carefully. He dismissed the servants, blew out the lamps, and curled up on his bed. He buried himself in the blankets. The jade bracelet remained cold as ice, pressing a small dent into his cheek. He watched the flowing patterns within the jade at close range.

His mind was a mess. The large bed was empty; huddled up, he took up only a tiny corner.

Xin Qishu had an arranged marriage from childhood. During the internal demon power struggles, the Blood-Melting Palace had allied with the Di Ting clan; the marriage was the product of that alliance. His life had been planned out: wait until sixteen, marry over there, and live a peaceful, unremarkable life.

He knew his fate from a young age. But he didn’t like that person. And he didn’t like the Demon Abyss.

Yet his unusual eye color and special abilities reminded him of his identity at every turn. Following the tracks of fate, he would stay in the Demon Abyss forever—an outsider in his own home. He had met Ye Yi and brawled with Yang Li, but he always had a premonition that their paths would diverge.

But He Lvqing was different. Xin Qishu wanted to be with him forever.

He had threatened He Lvqing into marrying into the Blood-Melting Palace by holding the lives of a hundred civilians at the foot of Fayuting hostage. The moment they became Daoist companions, Xin Qishu had smiled happily. He had forcefully chosen love, but he didn’t dare look at the deep, hideous crack in his friendships. He had stretched a thin, transparent layer over the rift and stood on it stubbornly. Every time he looked down, the darkness within made his heart skip a beat.

As the crack grew wider over time, he cowardly closed his eyes, ignoring the terrain and the weather, simply trudging forward through the mud.

Xin Qishu didn’t dare read Yang Li’s letter. If he read it, he wouldn’t be able to lie to himself that they were still friends. He longed for the day the rift would heal and his friend would be kind to him again.

His longing for He Lvqing crawled out from the depths of his heart. The yearning felt physical. He wanted to see him right now… but he didn’t want to “sneak” into his bed again.

He took out the communication jade slip he shared with He Lvqing. The faint white light from the jade illuminated his face. At this moment, Xin Qishu possessed a kind of intellectual beauty; his black hair flowed like soft water over the bedding, his skin was like moist white jade, and his eyes were melancholic.

After hesitating, he sent a message.

Xin Qishu: Are you there? Come find me, and I’ll let you go.

The message was like a stone dropped into the ocean—no response.

Xin Qishu poked his head out from the blankets and sprawled out on the bed. He didn’t sleep all night.

…

The Blue Peaches

The next day, Xin Qishu arrived at the manor alone, holding the flowers. The gate opened with a gentle push, and his mood brightened instantly. He walked past the screen wall. He Lvqing was sitting on a stone bench, focused on carving a wooden sword.

In the courtyard, the Danmu tree in the northeast corner had been uprooted. The trunk was split into several sections, and the ground was covered in wood chips.

Xin Qishu touched the bracelet and sidled up to him. “Hubby, who are you carving that wooden sword for?”

He Lvqing didn’t look up. His voice was slightly hoarse. “Did you find out the contents of the manual?”

“No, my dad is busy. I haven’t seen him yet.” Xin Qishu pursed his lips. “I came to give you flowers today.” He held them up. “These are peach blossoms. You’ve probably never seen blue peach blossoms before, have you?”

The youth clearly hadn’t slept well. His apricot eyes were half-lidded with fatigue, and his brows were slanted downward. The faint dark circles under his eyes were prominent against his fair skin. He looked both weak and docile, yet there was an undeniable allure in his features.

The allure stung He Lvqing’s eyes. He turned away in displeasure, only for the blue-flowered branches to catch his sight.

Lvqing’s pupils dilated. In his pale green eyes, the blue flowers seemed to sway gently.

CRACK!

The blade of the nearly finished brown wooden sword was accidentally snapped by his grip. A wood splinter pierced his palm, and crimson blood snaked down his hand, dripping onto the ground.

Xin Qishu jumped in fright and hurriedly fumbled for a medicinal pill from his spatial ring.

He Lvqing slapped his hand away. His chest heaved violently as he took several deep breaths. He stared fixedly at Xin Qishu, forcing down his rage as he asked, “Where did you get these flowers?!”

Xin Qishu was still bent over, clutching the porcelain pill bottle, his eyes wide. He blinked in confusion. “Ye… Ye Yi. Didn’t you agree to make him pay…?”

His voice trailed off. Lvqing took his blinking as a sign of a guilty conscience.

“Don’t talk nonsense! Ye Yi hasn’t mentioned a word about coming to the Demon Abyss lately!”

“Did you go to Kuangjinjing?”

The heavy pressure in He Lvqing’s voice made it hard for Xin Qishu to breathe, but he truly didn’t understand why He Lvqing was suddenly so furious. “Yes…”

He Lvqing snapped the wooden sword completely, slammed the table, and stood up, grabbing Xin Qishu by the collar.

“Why?! I am right here! Why did you go back to Kuangjinjing?!” Lvqing roared at him.

Xin Qishu’s feet left the ground, and his neck was uncomfortably constricted. He looked up into He Lvqing’s eyes, unable to suppress his terror.

Lvqing’s handsome face was slightly contorted. “You wanted me to marry you, and I did. Now I’m trapped in this tiny plot of land, looking at nothing but the sky and the ground every day. Are you still not satisfied? Why go to Kuangjinjing to hurt people?!”

“Could it be… that my great sacrifice was for nothing?!” He Lvqing was almost breathless, stopping after every few words. “Xin Qishu, do you have any sense of credit at all?” He tilted his head, looking at the youth with disbelief.

Xin Qishu’s heart was trembling. “I… I do.” His voice was thick with tears. “I didn’t hurt anyone. I just went to get the flowers from Ye Yi and came back. Truly.”

Is he believable? He Lvqing stared at Xin Qishu and suddenly saw his own reflection in the youth’s eyes.

The surging anger boiled in his mind, yet He Lvqing’s thoughts drifted.

…

Flashback: The Road to Qinghuai

In the year 727 of the Heavenly Thunder Calendar, He Lvqing was invited by the Wang family to meet in Qinghuai Village. The normal route from Fayuting to Qinghuai passed through Mount Lizhi, which was currently experiencing a storm of snow and hail.

Mount Lizhi was a small mountain with only one village, called Chu Family Manor. However, a cultivator of modest achievement had once hailed from there. That cultivator was poisoned by an enemy and fled back to his hometown to hide, but the enemy followed. Thousands of civilians died overnight. The cultivator’s soul was extinguished.

Since then, the rain and hail that fell over Mount Lizhi carried potent spiritual power. These weather conditions were harmless to the locals, but foreign cultivators without sufficient cultivation usually couldn’t survive them. Most cultivators chose to take the long way around.

He Lvqing looked up at the snow-clad mountain. Snowflakes fell onto his dark brows, and his pale green eyes glowed faintly in the dim light. Carrying his cloth-wrapped sword, he stepped onto the snow-covered dirt path.