When I Mistook My Arch-Rival for My Dao Companion - Chapter 26

Chapter 26

This question was not unfamiliar to Wenren Qian, but previously he had chosen to refuse. After all, it was truly strange for the two of them to be hugging. However, this time, Wenren Qian found himself somewhat unable to bear rejecting the other.

Fu Guzhou looked far too pitiful right now; that appearance of forcing himself to act as if nothing were wrong was truly uncomfortable to look at.

Wenren Qian frowned.

He had not yet spoken, but Fu Guzhou, not receiving an answer, already understood the meaning implied by the lack of response.

Fu Guzhou was quiet for a moment, seemingly wanting to speak to ease the embarrassment—to say, for instance, that he was just asking casually and had no other intentions.

“I…” Fu Guzhou tried to start. The words were at the tip of his tongue, but in the end, he chose to give up. As he had said, he was tired, even a bit sad and disappointed in himself. Under these circumstances, putting on a forced smile was too difficult for him, and he didn’t want to force himself anymore.

“Come closer.”

Before Fu Guzhou’s sadness could even begin to fester, he heard these words. He was slightly stunned. “Eh?”

“This Seat said, come closer.”

Fu Guzhou obediently moved a bit closer as told, and was then pulled into a warm embrace. Unlike Wenren Qian’s cold words, his embrace was truly warm; the excessively hot body temperature even made Fu Guzhou feel a bit scalded. The familiar, faint scent of cedar wafted from the man—it was a cozy, comfortable feeling that made one feel warm and fuzzy, as if Fu Guzhou hadn’t fallen into someone’s arms, but was basking in the sun on a warm afternoon.

Being held, Fu Guzhou was at a loss. Gradually, his face turned red. “I, I…”

“Be quiet,” Wenren Qian said coldly, appearing extremely irritable.

Fu Guzhou was very obedient and shut his mouth. He stealthily rested one hand on the other’s shoulder, seemingly very fond of this intimate feeling. The hand that was just stealthily resting there then crept up a little further, and his other hand, which hadn’t known where to go, also found an extremely suitable place.

The other’s waist looked quite thin, a very suitable place to rest a hand. Surely he wouldn’t notice?

Fu Guzhou, whose head was already groggy, had no idea how obvious his cautious movements were to Wenren Qian. His fingers poked forward surreptitiously, and upon finding no resistance, he quickly increased his speed to reach his desired destination.

Fu Guzhou stood there with one hand on the man’s shoulder and the other on his waist. Once both hands had reached their intended spots, the person who had just looked disappointed in himself immediately revealed a joyful smile, even squinting his eyes slightly like a comfortable little animal.

Wenren Qian, who had been annoyed by this bit of indulgence toward Fu Guzhou, became surprisingly calm, and even felt a slight urge to rub Fu Guzhou’s chin.

Wenren Qian was not a demon who would forcibly restrain himself; he wanted to do it, so he did.

He rubbed Fu Guzhou’s chin, and when Fu Guzhou subconsciously nuzzled against him, he didn’t push him away, allowing Fu Guzhou to express his closeness this way.

After maintaining this position for a while, Fu Guzhou became a bit embarrassed. He quietly rested his head on Wenren Qian’s shoulder, seemingly terrified that his movements would disturb Wenren Qian and cause this benefit to disappear, so his actions were extremely careful.

That cautious manner actually reminded Wenren Qian of a young deer he had seen before—looking elegant and noble, but actually a bit silly. Upon seeing a stranger, it would look at them inquisitively, then approach carefully, but would run away in fright if the other made any sudden movement.

The current, cautious Fu Guzhou looked exactly like a pure and harmless little deer; he just wanted to find someone to lean on.

After successfully completing this small movement, Fu Guzhou let out a heavy sigh of relief. He tightened his hands contentedly, throwing himself completely into the other’s embrace. This was a gesture that appeared extremely vulnerable, quite unlike Fu Guzhou’s youthful arrogance of self-supremacy, but for a frightened little deer, such a gesture made him feel even more comforted.

“Fu Guzhou,” Wenren Qian called out.

Fu Guzhou had his whole face muffled against Wenren Qian, and hearing this, he gave a muffled “Mm.”

“You don’t need to put so much pressure on yourself. You’ve done well enough as you are.” After brewing for a long time, Wenren Qian only managed to squeeze out this rather useless sentence.

Unlike typical demons, Wenren Qian had no interest in building his own power base. In the past, he preferred to be footloose and fancy-free on his own. How could such a Wenren Qian have any experience in comforting people? With zero experience, he was immediately faced with a Fu Guzhou full of self-doubt; one could say Wenren Qian was completely stumped.

Fu Guzhou clearly didn’t realize this problem. Hearing such a useless sentence, he instead buried his head even tighter.

Hmm, it didn’t seem like sadness, but rather embarrassment.

Wenren Qian brushed back Fu Guzhou’s hair and carefully observed the other’s ear. With a flash of insight, he said: “Fu Guzhou, are you shy?”

After resting for a bit, Fu Guzhou felt his mind becoming slightly clearer, but this was definitely not a good thing. Because once his mind cleared a little, Fu Guzhou felt shame—yes, shame.

Although he and Wenren Qian were Dao companions and the other must have seen him in many wretched states, such self-pity could in no way be associated with the legendary Qingchen Immortal Venerable. His companion wouldn’t laugh at him for this, would he? His behavior was truly immature, just like a child who had been wronged seeking comfort from an adult. For the Fu Guzhou who had a bit of an ego, this was truly an embarrassing matter. It had felt natural to say at the time, but now he was filled with all sorts of regret.

Fu Guzhou didn’t speak. It was only after Wenren Qian poked his ear that the Fu Guzhou who had intended to play dead said stubbornly: “I-I’m not embarrassed.”

Wenren Qian couldn’t help it and laughed quite unkindly. He tried to pull Fu Guzhou’s face away from his shoulder, but to his surprise, the first attempt failed. Fu Guzhou pressed himself firmly against Wenren Qian’s shoulder, refusing to come off.

Wenren Qian sighed. “Not embarrassed? Then it seems you’re crying.”

Fu Guzhou remained silent.

“Are you really crying? Come, let This Seat see.”

Fu Guzhou offered a weak resistance. “Not crying.”

“Must be close to it.”

“I’m really not crying!”

“This Seat doesn’t believe it. Why don’t you let me see? Only then will I know if the Immortal Venerable is actually crying.”

As a youth who valued face above all, how could Fu Guzhou let someone have such a misunderstanding? Even though he was unwilling, he revealed his face to prove he truly wasn’t crying.

He—he wasn’t that fragile, okay?

A sturdy sword cultivator couldn’t stand this humiliation.

As soon as his face was revealed, Wenren Qian lifted his chin to look him up and down. After looking for quite a while, Wenren Qian said: “The rims of your eyes are red. It seems you were crying.”

“No, I wasn’t! I really wasn’t crying!!”

The Wenren Qian who had been so serious just now couldn’t hold back and started laughing. Under the little beauty’s shocked gaze, he said slowly: “A young lad has nothing else, but his self-esteem is truly strong.”

How could Fu Guzhou not understand by now? The man was teasing him. The person who had just insisted he wouldn’t cry was now truly on the verge of having red eyes.

Wenren Qian only made fun of Fu Guzhou for a short while, soon habitually stroking the other’s hair twice. “Why are you so cute?”

Cu-cute!!!

Bullied by his companion and already on the verge of tears, Fu Guzhou’s eyes suddenly widened. His face immediately flushed a deep red, bringing out a beautiful hue.

Wenren Qian admired it for a moment. Hmm, very much like delicate peony petals.

Wenren Qian had finally found a bit of fun in Fu Guzhou’s amnesia. The amnesiac Fu Guzhou was truly fun to play with; that near-pure shyness was even greater than that of a young girl. Teasing him was truly interesting.

Embarrassment aside, Fu Guzhou remembered their primary mission. He soon said to Wenren Qian almost dejectedly: “Wenren Qian, we can’t get out now.”

Speaking of this, Fu Guzhou was truly apologetic. Their entry into Wujian was largely because of him. Fu Guzhou had been a bit too confident in his own strength; a true expert could never have made such a mistake. Even with the influence of the Nine-Turn Yin Fiend Formation, it should have been impossible to teleport themselves into a place as dangerous as Wujian. However, due to his lack of skill, Fu Guzhou had not only brought the man into Wujian but had also nearly failed to protect him.

“If we can’t get out, then we can’t get out.”

Fu Guzhou looked at Wenren Qian in shock, seemingly finding these words inconceivable.

“Does the Immortal Venerable want to leave that badly? Since This Seat and the Immortal Venerable are Dao companions, the two of us staying here together isn’t something to be sad about, is it? Although Wujian is a prison, it doesn’t mean one can’t ascend. Once the Immortal Venerable and I have the strength to ascend, can’t we leave whenever we want? Or is it that the Immortal Venerable actually doesn’t want to stay here with This Seat?”

Fu Guzhou got anxious upon hearing this. “I definitely want to be with you, but…”

“But what?”

Fu Guzhou seemed very hesitant about whether to say it, but in the end, he spoke truthfully: “But besides my Dao companion, I have other people who are equally important to me. I cannot completely give up the chance to return just because of your existence.”

These words were far too direct. If a regular lover heard this, they would certainly feel uncomfortable. But precisely because the other was his Dao companion, Fu Guzhou didn’t want to tell lies to make him happy; Dao companions should be more honest with each other.

Hearing this, Wenren Qian narrowed his eyes dangerously. “So the Immortal Venerable means…”

“I mean that while you are very important and the person I’ve decided to spend my life with, besides you, there are other very important people in my life. They can’t accompany me forever, but they are an inseparable part of me. I can’t completely cut off my family and friends just because I have a Dao companion, nor can I give up on returning to the cultivation world because of the difficulties before us.” Fu Guzhou said it all in one breath, then began to cautiously observe Wenren Qian’s expression. “Are you… angry?”

“Why would you think This Seat is angry?”

“Because Senior Brother said when two people are together, the other party definitely prefers to hear sweet words,” Fu Guzhou said weakly.

Actually, the Senior Brother’s original words were: “Which female cultivator doesn’t love hearing sweet words? Miss Fu, with your blunt way of speaking, you won’t find a Dao companion even if you read more storybooks.” To prevent the other from getting angry a second time, Fu Guzhou very considerately modified Gongsun Chen’s words.

Wenren Qian acted as if he were truly curious and asked further: “Since you think This Seat will be angry, why say it? We still have old grudges between us. Shouldn’t the Immortal Venerable be using sweet words with every breath to coax This Seat?”

Fu Guzhou was a bit nervous; his action was like a fool who knew it was wrong but insisted on doing it anyway. But, but…

Fu Guzhou’s hands unconsciously twisted together. “Because we are Dao companions!”

“Oh?”

Knowing his actions had likely successfully angered Wenren Qian, Fu Guzhou threw caution to the wind. “Precisely because we are Dao companions, I should be even more honest. I know I shouldn’t say such things, but I truly can’t bring myself to say I’ll stay with you in Wujian forever. Before I came out, Senior Brother was very worried about me. If I disappear for no reason like this, Senior Brother will definitely blame himself. And Xiao Jingyu, I’m his only friend. Even that disciple of mine—though I haven’t spent much time with him, he trusts me.

If I don’t return, and Senior Brother doesn’t understand his progress, wouldn’t that be misleading him? And Master… I haven’t confirmed with Senior Brother if anything happened to Master yet. Even Wangxu Cave is a part of me I can’t let go of. I’m sorry. Although the pre-amnesia version of me must have loved you very much, the current me indeed has many other things I can’t bear to leave behind.”

Wenren Qian listened. After Fu Guzhou finished, he wasn’t angry but instead laughed. The smile was somewhat meaningful. “So the Immortal Venerable is not actually cold and detached!”

“Eh?” Fu Guzhou didn’t quite understand how a matter that almost tested the relationship between them ended up being summarized by Wenren Qian with such a sentence.

Fu Guzhou immediately realized something. His head, which had finally stopped spinning so much, started spinning again. “I did I use to.”

Before Fu Guzhou could finish, Wenren Qian habitually flicked Fu Guzhou’s forehead. “Immortal Venerable, don’t overthink it. Thinking back on what you said, the only one you’re ‘cold and detached’ toward is me.”

Covering his forehead, Fu Guzhou truly panicked now. His companion was so duplicitous! He was clearly angry, yet he insisted he wasn’t.

“Wenren Qian, please don’t be angry, okay?”

Wenren Qian glanced at Fu Guzhou. “This Seat said This Seat isn’t angry.”

Fu Guzhou had a bitter face, absolutely certain that the man was indeed angry.

Fu Guzhou used his current, far-from-clear mind to think of a way to make Wenren Qian forgive him. Even if he didn’t think he was wrong for what he said, he should still coax him if he was angry.

He leaned a bit closer to Wenren Qian. Wenren Qian thought he had something important to say and leaned his head down slightly.

Lips were close to the ear—a position very suitable for whispering secrets, even though Wenren Qian felt there was no need for secrets since it was just the two of them.

After leaning in, and once the warm breath sprayed onto his auricle, Wenren Qian realized this gesture was perhaps a bit too intimate. Just as he was about to pull back a little, that hot breath moved even closer. Then, a warm sensation suddenly hit his ear. Wenren Qian could even hear the sound produced by the kiss. After that sound echoed close to his ear, a soft kiss had already been planted on Wenren Qian’s earlobe by Fu Guzhou.

Once the kiss ended, Fu Guzhou took advantage of the intimate gesture to whisper: “It seems asking you not to be angry isn’t quite right. Then, even if you are angry, please don’t ignore me!”

“Immortal Venerable,” Wenren Qian’s voice suddenly dropped much deeper.

Fu Guzhou, suddenly addressed this way, was a bit panicked. Uh oh, he’s not going to get even angrier, is he?

Sure enough, Wenren Qian’s next sentence was: “This Seat wasn’t angry just now, but now I really am a bit angry. Why don’t I first lightly kill you, Immortal Venerable, to let off some steam?”

“B-but I can only die once,” Fu Guzhou blinked.

“Heh, do you think acting spoiled is useful?”

“I—I wasn’t acting spoiled,” Fu Guzhou said innocently.

Heaven and earth as his witness, he definitely didn’t mean to act spoiled.

Wenren Qian gave another cold huff. That excessively intimate feeling lingered on the tip of his ear, making him truly uncomfortable, but to say he was angry—that didn’t seem quite right either.

Wenren Qian was not someone who couldn’t face his own heart. Regarding Fu Guzhou’s action just now, rather than saying he was annoyed, it was more that he was uneasy—extremely uneasy. Uneasy to the point that he hadn’t even habitually pushed away the Fu Guzhou who was leaning against him.

Fu Guzhou looked at Wenren Qian and seemed to discern something. His face turned red again.

With a red face, Fu Guzhou seemed quite embarrassed as he said: “Wenren Qian, you’re not… shy, are you?”

Wenren Qian: “……”

Since Fu Guzhou lost his memory, Wenren Qian had often wanted to pry open the other’s head to see what exactly he was thinking—for instance, how he arrived at this conclusion.

Wenren Qian’s silence was taken entirely as a default “yes” by Fu Guzhou.

Clearly, he was the one who had molested the other, yet he was now so embarrassed it looked like Wenren Qian was the one who had taken him by force. That shy look was truly a bit too beautiful.

Wenren Qian looked away and said coldly: “Immortal Venerable, speak with logic and evidence. Malicious speculation is not good.”

The implication was don’t talk nonsense, but Fu Guzhou managed to hear a few other meanings in it. At the same time, he found it quite unbelievable. Did his pre-amnesia self and his companion also maintain such a pure-hearted distance? This—was it not a bit too slow?

Fu Guzhou seemed to see hope in something once again. With a bit of expectation, he asked: “Wenren Qian, are you actually my ‘wife’ or my ‘husband’?”

Wenren Qian, who was already weary of Fu Guzhou’s perceptions, felt as if he had heard something very interesting and suddenly burst out laughing. “Miss Fu, what do you think?”

Meeting that excessively wicked gaze, Fu Guzhou felt a sense of pressure and immediately called out obediently: “Husband.”

It wasn’t that Fu Guzhou had truly distinguished their roles, but rather he felt that in this situation, if he called the man by any other title, the man would truly get angry.

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