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Chapter 56 – A Long Night

This coincidence was so dramatic that the two of them fell silent again.

“Cough.” Hao Chen was the first to break the silence. The strange look on his face vanished, transforming into a frivolous, insincere smile: “Since this was all a misunderstanding, I was in the wrong. But it was unfair of you to abandon me, Fellow Daoist Feng Ye. Let’s let byegones be byegones.”

Feng Ye considered it, and began to nod in agreement. Although he didn’t think he was wrong for getting rid of Hao Chen, he certainly hadn’t meant to trap him in a monster lair.

If Hao Chen weren’t so powerful, he would have made an irreparable mistake. Thinking of this, Feng Ye felt a little guilty.

However, before he could nod, Hao Chen suddenly changed his mind and denied: “No, no, we can’t just let this go.”

Feng Ye was surprised that Hao Chen was still unable to let go of his anger, and was about to hit back when Hao Chen smiled at him and said: “Although it was all a misunderstanding, I didn’t give Fellow Daoist Feng Ye the trust he deserves, so my part in this was more serious. It’s reasonable for me to be the one who makes amends.”

He spoke in a lofty manner and made a very convincing argument, but when Feng Ye looked at that smile, he inexplicably felt that this was like a weasel sending New Year’s greetings to a chicken. His scalp tingled, and he decisively refused: “No need.”

“How can this be? I’ll feel guilty if I don’t compensate you.” Hao Chen scooted his butt so that he was closer to Feng Ye.

Feng Ye continued to refuse: “No, it really isn’t necessary. I appreciate Fellow Daoist Hao Chen’s kindness.”

“Fellow Daoist Feng Ye, please don’t refuse. Three times is the limit. If you refuse again, you’ll hurt my feelings.” Hao Chen put on an aggrieved expression.

He moved a little closer as he spoke, until his leg was touching Feng Ye’s.

Feng Ye curled his leg up in discomfort, avoiding contact as he observed Hao Chen’s expression.

Hao Chen’s sad and aggrieved expression was most likely fake, but…..due to the slight guilt he still felt, it was somewhat difficult to give voice to the refusal that was on the tip of his tongue.

Feng Ye pursed his lips and dithered for a while, but he was ultimately defeated by the guilt in his heart and knowingly jumped into this pit, saying helplessly: “Alright.”

When he received an affirmative reply, the expression on Hao Chen’s face immediately cleared up, all of the sadness and grievance vanishing without a trace.

He waved the mini fan in his hand and said with a smile: “Gold, silver, and jade are too worldly, and magical instruments and spirit stones are just commonplace objects, unworthy of Fellow Daoist Feng Ye. I would be embarrassed to present them to you.”

“I’ve given it some thought, and the only thing I can compensate you with is…..” He covered his lips with the mini fan as he spoke, his voice going lower and lower while he simultaneously leaned slightly to the side, pressing close to the side of Feng Ye’s neck.

Feng Ye felt increasingly ill at ease. He wasn’t used to having someone so close, but for the same reason as before, he forced himself not to move away.

Warm breath brushed against his skin, bringing with it a slight tingling sensation.

The mini fan moved to cover both of their faces, although it couldn’t cover them entirely. He leaned close to Feng Ye’s ear and whispered in a soft voice: “Fellow Daoist Feng Ye, how about…..I compensate you with my body.”

Feng Ye: “……”

He remained sitting there, unmoving. This was not tacit consent – Hao Chen’s words were so shocking that he was frozen in place.

Feng Ye was frozen, but Hao Chen wasn’t. He noticed how tense Feng Ye was. Although he hadn’t meant it seriously, he couldn’t help but add one more malicious comment after seeing Feng Ye’s reaction: “Fellow Daoist Feng Ye isn’t saying anything. Shall I take that as agreement?”

This comment was like a thunderclap in a clear sky, waking Feng Ye up at once. He instinctively turned his head to refute, but Hao Chen was so close to him that their noses collided.

There wasn’t much pain in this so-called collision, but rather the enchanting feeling of two breaths intertwining.

They were both stunned by this unexpected development, each set of eyes staring at the other with identical surprise and confusion.

Hao Chen stared at the face that occupied his field of vision. It was ordinary, without any stand-out features. He didn’t know if it was due to their past few days of getting along, or because the gleam in those pupils was so charming, but his heartbeat actually felt a bit irregular.

His heartbeat had quickened because of Feng Ye before, but that was only when Feng Ye revealed his arrogant side. He couldn’t figure out if it was because of his desire to fight this time, or if it was simply attraction.

But Feng Ye’s sharp edges certainly weren’t showing right now. How could he be thrown into turmoil over such an ordinary face?

Could it be that I actually have feelings for him….. Hao Chen thought unwillingly.

In his original mate selection criteria, setting aside being as strong as him (because if this was the case, he would probably be single for the rest of his life), his partner’s appearance had to be at least above average. He didn’t have to be stunningly, peerlessly beautiful, but he at least had to be good-looking in a unique way that was difficult to forget.

Obviously, Feng Ye’s current appearance was far from meeting his standards. But he had seen beauties who were above that standard before, yet never felt the slightest attraction to them.

Perhaps this standard in itself was a paradox, and when he met the right person, his standards all became the same as that person.

But when he met the wrong person, even if his standards were met, a new one would always emerge in his heart that the beauty couldn’t meet.

If the person who accompanied him for the rest of his life were to be Feng Ye, there would be nothing wrong with that. He likely wouldn’t be bored in the future, because it was endless fun to compete with Feng Ye in wits and courage.

Hao Chen’s thoughts diverged more and more, and he even thought about how he would announce the good news that he was no longer single to his subordinates in the North Sea. His significant other, completely unaware of this good news, had not yet agreed.

Unlike Hao Chen’s thoughts, which were jumping farther and farther away, Feng Ye’s mind went blank in the face of this suddenly shortened distance. He seldom got close to others, and the distance between their two breaths was as short as could be.

He could handle anything else with ease, and wouldn’t panic even if the sky was falling. Even though he knew nothing about the mastermind behind the incident that was about to disrupt the world, he had still dared to come here and investigate alone.

But when it came to feelings, he was a novice who wasn’t much better than Fang Yang.

He divided the sins of the world into three categories, and people also held three different attitudes toward him: respect, fear…..and hatred.

As for those who judged him by his outward appearance, their numbers were negligible.

Hao Chen was definitely the most daring one among them. First he flirted with him, and now he went a step further and wanted to compensate him with his body.

However, Feng Ye had no feelings toward Hao Chen. It had nothing to do with his identity, appearance, strength, or anything else. 

It was simply because he refused to let his guard down in the slightest.

Feelings were a strange phenomenon. They were powerful, with the strength to move mountains and fill up the seas. But they were also very fragile, so fragile that even trivial daily matters could cause them to collapse irreparably.

Although Feng Ye wouldn’t admit it, deep down, he was wary of such a fickle thing.

He didn’t like Hao Chen that way, just like he didn’t like anyone else.

He had already drafted the words of rejection in his mind, but just as he was about to blurt them out, a cough interrupted him.

Cao Zirui held his aching chest, propping himself up slightly. The sky was dark, but not so dark that he couldn’t see anything, so he spotted these two sitting intimately together at a glance.

Feng Ye and Hao Chen were still deep in thought, and hadn’t moved at all.

For a not inconsiderable amount of time, the two of them maintained this intimate posture with their noses touching.

But as luck would have it, with Hao Chen holding his mini fan in front of their faces, the truncated fan was just able to cover the key parts – their lips, which were very close together.

Thus, in Cao Zirui’s eyes, it looked like the two of them were kissing.

Two men were kissing?

This realization muddled Cao Zirui’s brain. The first thing he did upon waking was not to ask where he was or who these two people were. Instead, he asked in a puzzled tone: “You….?”

Feng Ye: “……” He finally realized how awkward their closeness was and jumped to his feet in a fluster, moving away from Hao Chen.

Hao Chen was also a little embarrassed at first, but Feng Ye’s embarrassment canceled out his own. He gave Cao Zirui a broad and level smile, as if to say: Yes, it’s exactly what you’re thinking.

Cao Zirui: “……”

He could only raise a hand to touch his forehead, wondering if he had brain damage from his injuries. Just as he was about to close his eyes and lay down again, he heard footsteps approaching from afar.

Fang Yang rushed back with a pile of firewood in his arms. He saw Cao Zirui sitting up from a distance, and greeted him joyfully: “Cao Zirui, you’re finally awake!”

This familiar voice pulled Cao Zirui back from his mentality that this was all a dream, and he opened his eyes again

Fang Yang ran over and tossed the firewood to the ground. He dusted off his hands and grinned at Cao Zirui: “How are you feeling? I was so worried when you wouldn’t wake up. I didn’t know how to heal you, and I don’t have any medicine on me. Does it still hurt? Do you need my help?”

The series of rapid-fire questions came so fast that Cao Zirui couldn’t react in a timely manner. Having just woken up, his mind was still a little off-kilter and he couldn’t tell if the nightmarish pursuit from before had been a dream or reality.

But seeing Fang Yang now proved that it wasn’t a dream. He had really had a close call with death.

Cao Zirui did not rush to ask what had happened, or how they escaped. He also didn’t rush to ask about the two unfamiliar men in front of him who seemed to be a couple. Since Fang Yang had unhesitatingly left him with these people, they must be trustworthy.

So he sat up cross-legged on the ground, and after circulating his spiritual power through his body once, he found that although his meridians were broken in many places, they could be healed by taking some spiritual pills. It was the fact that his cultivation showed no signs of recovery that concerned him more.

He really seemed to have fallen to the ninth level of Qi Refining, his lost cultivation gone forever.

But after all, compared to losing his life, this was the better outcome.

Cao Zirui was very much at ease. He replied to Fang Yang: “It’s nothing serious.” Then he took five or six porcelain bottles from his bottomless storage bag and ate one pill from each bottle.

When he was done, he handed one of the bottles to Fang Yang: “These are for external injuries. You should take one too.”

Fang Yang didn’t ask what kind of medicine it was. With great trust, he opened the bottle and poured out a round pill, popping it into his mouth.

Although this pill looked dark and terrible, when it entered his mouth, he felt a cool sensation that very much relieved the burning wounds on his body.

Although Fang Yang didn’t know much, he knew that it must be quality medicine, so he asked while holding the pill in his mouth: “Is this medicine expensive?”

Cao Zirui shook his head, and Fang Yang easily swallowed it. As the jut of his throat rolled up and down, Cao Zirui said: “They’re only about a thousand spirit stones each.”

Fang Yang: “……” After a long silence, he immediately began to dig at his throat, trying to spit out the pill.

One thousand spirit stones, ah! That was ten years of savings for him!

Apart from some surface wounds, he was completely unharmed. They would only take two or three days to heal with some common medicine, so there was no need to take such an expensive pill.

However, he had already swallowed it and was unable to spit it out.

Cao Zirui simply thought it had stuck in Fang Yang’s throat, so he patted him on the back considerately.

However, the other two watching nearby clearly understood Fang Yang’s thought process. Hao Chen couldn’t help but chuckle and shake his head. 

This poor boy had never seen the world. What were one thousand spirit stones for each pill? Hao Chen wouldn’t even care if it was ten thousand. So thought a certain wealthy fish.

Feng Ye sent Hao Chen a light glance. Due to Cao Zirui waking up, he hadn’t had a chance to voice his rejection.

He was rather hesitant to bring it up again. He didn’t want to string him along when feelings between them were impossible, but…..Hao Chen probably hadn’t meant what he said. This guy was always so frivolous. Even though he looked like a gentleman, every word he spoke had alternate meanings.

If it was just a joke, it would be a bit improper for Feng Ye to reject him.

Feng Ye gave it some thought, and didn’t voice his rejection openly in the end.

When Cao Zirui was done taking his pills, he took some time to regulate his breathing alone, and felt that his injuries were basically stable. At last, he had time to ask about what had happened.

Fang Yang became a chatterbox again, and Hao Chen could be heard yawning in boredom. After filtering out the useless information that took up most of the narrative, Cao Zirui finally had a grasp of the events that had unfolded.

The sudden earthquake had destroyed the golden arrow that was pursuing them, and the two people in front of him were fellow disciples of Lingxiao Sword Sect. Feng Ye was the dark horse who had emerged during the previous competition and kicked Lu Chengye off the stage. Cao Zirui hadn’t recognized him immediately due to the fan being in the way.

The other person was a disciple of Tiangong pavilion, and a good friend of Feng Ye’s.

Once he had a general understanding, Cao Zirui’s energy began to decline again. Although he had taken the elixirs, he required a good rest in order to deal with his injuries.

Fang Yang was also a little drowsy. He had been running for his life for so long – first by himself, and then with Cao Zirui on his back. He had been anxious the whole time, and it could be said that he only felt a little more at ease once Feng Ye appeared.

Seeing the troubled expressions of the two, Feng Ye suggested: “You two should rest first. The Floating Island Secret Realm won’t close until noon tomorrow. Most of the others will probably be searching for spiritual plants and treasures overnight, but you’re not in good condition, and your health is more important.”

Feng Ye’s words made sense. Fang Yang and Cao Zirui really didn’t have the energy to care about spiritual plants and treasures. The most important thing was to get a good rest.

But before going to sleep, Fang Yang still mentioned something with concern: “The golden arrow may be broken, but Lu Chengye…..”

Lu Chengye wasn’t dead. They didn’t know where he was, and he might attack again at any time, so Fang Yang didn’t feel secure enough to fall asleep like this.

Feng Ye couldn’t help but chuckle when he heard this, saying: “You can sleep peacefully. I’ll keep watch for you, don’t worry.”

Although Useless Shixiong was only at the third level of Qi Refining, for some reason, Fang Yang felt at ease when he heard this.

Thus, not long after Feng Ye finished speaking, Fang Yang fell into a deep sleep, following the already slumbering Cao Zirui.

He and Cao Zirui lay with their shoulders touching, side by side next to the lit campfire.

Feng Ye and Hao Chen sat on the other side, listening to the occasional chirping of insects in the quiet night.

Although Hao Chen didn’t speak a word, he looked like he was prepared to accompany Feng Ye until dawn.

Only his yawning once again revealed his sleepiness. Unlike Feng Ye, who had come on the sect’s ship, he had been running around all night long before coming to the Floating Island Secret Realm, which was the only reason why he was able to arrive at the entrance before Feng Ye.

Since entering the secret realm, he had been busy the whole time due to various incidents. Even the most powerful fish wouldn’t be able to bear it, and he was actually a little sleepy.

But he had no intention of going to sleep first. As the tyrant lord of the North Sea, he was usually the one who took care of others, and had never experienced the role of being looked after.

In his subconscious mind, he was the one who should keep watch. Others could go to sleep, but he couldn’t. Just like the North Sea he guarded, others could escape and retreat, but he could not.

However, Feng Ye’s next words changed his mind.

“Go to sleep if you’re tired.” Feng Ye gazed up at the starry sky as he spoke. The stars shone brightly. Although they weren’t as brilliant as the sun, they were the only shining lights in the darkness and could not be ignored.

Hao Chen didn’t react immediately after hearing this, but turned his head to look at Feng Ye blankly. He was surprised by this sudden tenderness.

It was the first time Feng Ye had spoken to him in such a gentle tone. Usually, his tone was either a mix of sarcasm and ridicule, or a mix of probing and pushing.

After staring for a while, Hao Chen suddenly asked a completely unrelated question: “Does what Fellow Daoist Feng Ye said to me under the sea still count?”

Feng Ye thought about it and realized that Hao Chen was probably talking about the “even if it was you who was in danger, I would save you” comment.

He nodded, assuring him: “As long as you’re not in the third class of sinners, this sentence will always hold true.”

Hao Chen suddenly smiled. It wasn’t his usual frivolous, duplicitous smile, but a rather pure one, like a child who had just received candy. He winked at Feng Ye: “Your word has weight. And you can’t deceive me again, otherwise…..I’ll be very angry.”

There was a hint of a threat at the end of his words.

But Feng Ye was unbothered, because his conscience was clear. If he said he would do something, he would do it, even if he had to go through boiling water or walk through fire.

Feng Ye nodded again.

Having received this assurance, Hao Chen stretched his tired body, then moved unhesitatingly to Feng Ye’s side. After finding a good angle, he closed his eyes and said: “Then I’ll sleep.”

After saying this, he tilted his head onto Feng Ye’s shoulder.

Feng Ye: “……” He’d wanted Hao Chen to rest, but not in this position.

But the person on his shoulder was breathing long, even breaths, and even Feng Ye couldn’t tell whether he was actually asleep or pretending.

He hesitated, but ultimately didn’t shake Hao Chen off. He just gazed at Hao Chen’s sleeping face for a while before silently acquiescing.

Never mind. Anyway, I broke his fan, so I should compensate him for it, Feng Ye thought.

And where Feng Ye couldn’t see, a black-hearted fish smiled. His plan had succeeded. He hadn’t slept in vain for so long in the North Sea – it was inevitable that he would gain some experience from his lengthy naps.

When it came to feigning sleep, he was second to none. Therefore, even Feng Ye couldn’t tell the difference.

He was using the excuse of sleep to take liberties. Though he was secretly delighted by his own cleverness, the night was long, and he unknowingly fell asleep.

Quietly, and without any burdens.

At the four people’s campsite, two people of similar heights lay side-by-side next to the campfire. Cao Zirui slept very well, and rarely moved around, but Fang Yang was the exact opposite. He flung his arms and kicked his legs, forcing Cao Zirui to retreat again and again.

And on the other side of the campfire, two figures sat side-by-side.

Hao Chen was already deeply asleep. When he was awake, he at least knew not to go too far, lest he step on Feng Ye’s bottom line and suffer the consequences.

But at this moment, he was like an octopus, clinging to Feng Ye with his hands.

Feng Ye could only helplessly lower his bottom line again and again. He listened to the crackle of burning wood and watched flaming embers float into the night sky.

Like countless times before, he kept watch over the long night alone.

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Chapter 55 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 57