Back then, she was still young and naive, thinking it was just loyalty between friends, and she was deeply moved. However, even with Lei Xiuyuan accompanying her, sneaking into the pitch-dark Book Collection Pagoda in the dead of night was terrifying. Stubborn as she was, she refused to show any fear, but when they came out, she realized she had tugged his sleeve into tatters. Yet he hadn’t said a word, nor pushed her away.
At the time, she felt terribly embarrassed and tried to play it off naturally, saying, “I wasn’t really scared… it was just a bit dark inside. You see… too dark to see the way, so I held onto you to avoid getting separated.”
Lei Xiuyuan calmly replied with an “Oh,” then glanced down at his sleeve with a faint smirk. “You tugged quite hard.”
Li Fei forced a laugh. “Ahaha, I’ve always been strong… Sorry about the clothes. I’ll mend them for you later.”
She expected him to agree happily, but he simply gathered his sleeve and said indifferently, “No need. Even if mended, they’ll just get torn again next time. I feel bad for them.”
What did he mean by “next time”? Back then, she was furious, thinking he was mocking her for being a coward. But now, looking back, it was just his awkward way of saying he’d still accompany her to the Book Collection Pagoda to return books.
Lei Xiuyuan was always like this—never straightforward about his intentions, never uttering sweet words to her, just stubborn and persistent.
But she saw everything he did for her, remembered it all in her heart. She wasn’t heartless. At this point, she could truly feel whether a man loved her or not.
“Want to sneak in again for a look?” Li Fei turned around and, just like six years ago, grabbed his sleeve.
Lei Xiuyuan slowly stepped closer, lightly pressing a hand to her head as he chuckled. “Do you think you’re still ten?”
“Secretly.” Like him, Li Fei suppressed all spiritual energy fluctuations within her body and waved up at him. “Not bad, right?”
Lei Xiuyuan raised a critical brow. “Barely passable.”
This man really never knew how to say something nice. Li Fei pinched him hard, only for him to retaliate immediately by pinching her waist. She nearly yelped from the tickle, but he covered her mouth before she could.
The Book Collection Pagoda remained unlit, pitch-black as ever. Countless books were stored here, and the use of candles or Immortal Techniques inside was strictly forbidden to prevent accidental fires.
Just like when she was little, Li Fei felt her way forward along the outlines of the massive stone bookshelves. Six years had passed, yet the layout hadn’t changed at all—the third shelf on the left still tilted slightly, easy to stub a toe on. Climbing the narrow, steep spiral staircase to the second floor, Li Fei bumped her head against the wall multiple times. As a child, she’d navigated this path smoothly, but now that she’d grown taller, her head kept knocking into things.
“Did you bump your head too?” she whispered.
Lei Xiuyuan didn’t answer. Startled, Li Fei reached back but found nothing. She called softly, “Xiu Yuan?”
After a pause, his voice came from not far ahead. “Are you scared?”Li Fei walked toward the sound but grasped at empty air again. He had cut off all spiritual energy fluctuations, making it impossible to detect even the slightest trace in the darkness. She couldn’t use any Immortal Techniques either—the moment her spiritual energy stirred, the Celestials in the Academy would immediately realize they were still here. She frowned. "Where are you?"
A soft breath brushed the back of her neck, Lei Xiuyuan’s exhale right by her ear. "Here."
She reached back to grab him but still caught nothing. This guy—what kind of prank was he pulling now? Li Fei simply strode forward. "I’m not scared. I’m not a kid anymore. I can make it to the top alone."
His laughter echoed faintly from nearby. "Really?"
"Really!"
She climbed all the way to the ninth floor in one go, only to find it eerily silent. Apart from her own breathing, the stillness was so profound that even the sound of a needle dropping would have seemed deafening. She couldn’t help calling out softly, "...Xiu Yuan? You really didn’t come up?"
Still no response.
"Brat..." Li Fei muttered irritably.
The next moment, someone pressed a hand lightly atop her head. Lei Xiuyuan emerged from somewhere. "Who’s a brat?"
She seized him at once, lunging forward with a laugh. "Got you!"
He didn’t dodge. His loose hair, which had somehow come undone, brushed against her cheek. Li Fei instinctively reached up to touch his head, her fingertips grazing the pair of slender black horns at his temples. She gave them a gentle squeeze, but her wrist was immediately caught and pinned behind her back.
"Scared?" Lei Xiuyuan murmured.
"Of what?" Li Fei tilted her head, trying to make out his face in the dark.
His voice was so low it was almost a whisper. "The Yaksa. And that curse."
The Graftwood Seed had almost never met a good end. This species, inextricably linked to the Yaksa tribes, often faced mutual hostility during their struggles. The most tragic were torn apart by frenzied Yaksa—a common fate. The luckier ones lost all freedom, subjected to absolute imprisonment. It had nothing to do with love, only a pure and extreme possessiveness.
After hearing Hu Jiaping’s words, how could she still approach him so unaffectedly?
Li Fei lowered her voice as well. "Why would I be scared of you?"
Lei Xiuyuan chuckled again. He leaned down and lightly bumped his forehead against hers. "Not even if I cut you into pieces?"
Li Fei refused to back down. "I haven’t shed my shell yet! Once I decide to, if you try anything, I’ll drain all your spiritual energy. Alone, do you really think you can beat me?"
He sighed dramatically. "Spare me, Boss."
The embarrassing childhood nickname made her burst into laughter. His grip on her wrists loosened, and instead, he pulled her into a light embrace, murmuring, "Perhaps I should thank Qing Cheng Xian Ren too."
Losing his memories, becoming Lei Xiuyuan—these short eighteen years had left a deeper mark on him than the long centuries before. Hu Jiaping was right. At least he had lived like a human, not a Yaksa driven mad by the curse.
Li Fei wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, "When the Heavenly Thunder Fire Sea comes, will you go overseas with me? I want to retrace all the places Master once walked. And see the Building Tree again."
"Not coming back?"Will she come back? She didn’t know the answer herself. There were countless things here that she cherished, yet she couldn’t live as carefreely as Hu Jiaping did in his so-called “rebirth.” He had memories of his past, so he felt relieved to escape his nightmare-like history. But she was different—her earliest memories were of being with her Master. She still couldn’t come to terms with his tragic death. She had even thought of slaughtering all the Celestials of No Moon Court and fleeing overseas.
But that wasn’t what her Master would have wanted. If she truly did that, she would also be deeply hurting those who had once given her warmth in countless ways.
“My perspective is still too narrow,” she said slowly. “By seeing the sights my Master once saw and walking the paths he once walked, I think I’ll understand him better. I’ll make my decision then.”
Lei Xiuyuan said indifferently, “He didn’t go to many places.”
Here we go again! Li Fei laughed and pinched his horns. “Then you lead the way?”
He tilted his head away with a tsk. “Don’t touch them.”
She would touch them! She gripped both horns firmly, and Lei Xiuyuan immediately tightened his arms around her. The pressure made her ribs ache as if they might snap, and she couldn’t help but cry out in pain. He didn’t loosen his hold. Instead, one hand slid into her hair as he sighed softly. “If you don’t let go, I really will cut you into pieces.”
“This is the Book Collection Pagoda!” Li Fei finally reminded him when his kisses trailed down to her chin.
Lei Xiuyuan’s voice was hoarse, whether suppressing anger or something else. “…You let go first.”
Reluctantly, Li Fei released the slender horns at his temples. Lei Xiuyuan resentfully smoothed out her robes and tied her sash into a tight, unyielding knot.
“Next time you do this, I’ll deal with you right then and there,” he said, knocking his forehead against hers sharply.
Li Fei frowned. “Not even a single touch?”
After a long pause, Lei Xiuyuan replied, “Occasionally.”
Was he… embarrassed? Amused, she leaned against his chest, listening to his gradually steadying heartbeat. “Let’s not go back to No Moon Court, okay?”
Leaving without a word was cruel—Master Chongyi and Zhao Min Shijie would surely worry. But even if she saw them now, she had nothing to say. If Cuixuan Xianren learned of her identity, it would only bring them trouble. The same went for Ge Lin and the others—the less they knew about her, the safer they’d be.
“Before we go overseas, let’s return to Green Mound once,” she said. To see the Sweet Splendor Realm, to see the little courtyard in Green Mound.
Lei Xiuyuan murmured, “Do you want to visit the Outlander Tomb?” Qing Cheng Xian Ren’s body might still be there.
Li Fei jerked her head up to look at him. “Can we?”
He only smiled faintly and patted her cheek gently.
OpenNovel