He Sui’an regretted biting Qi Buyan as soon as she did it. Seeing the teeth marks and a bit of transparent saliva on his cheek, she hurriedly reached out to wipe it off, but he caught her hand.
Qi Buyan lowered his eyes to look at the faint red line on He Sui’an’s wrist, almost blending into her skin.
His fingertips brushed over her wrist, sending a strange shiver and a feeling of comfort through her. He Sui’an followed Qi Buyan’s gaze and saw him staring at the red line, thinking he was still concerned about it.
She was about to speak when she heard Qi Buyan ask, “You said you liked me. Do you like me more now?”
He Sui’an buried her head deep into his chest and nodded.
Qi Buyan unconsciously smiled with his eyes.
He seemed to feel the joy and happiness within his emotions, which was extremely wonderful.
Qi Buyan was willing to trust He Sui’an.
Even though the red line on her wrist hadn’t darkened since he planted the love gu in her, and instead had faded almost to disappearance over time, he still chose to believe that He Sui’an wouldn’t lie to him.
They stayed in the wooden house for a little while before going out. He Sui’an grabbed some fruit to eat, making sure to stuff a piece into Qi Buyan’s mouth.
It was sweet and sour.
For breakfast, they only had a few pieces of fruit, a dish of meat, a vegetable dish, and three bowls of rice. He Sui’an ate two bowls because she had exerted herself a lot the previous night and needed to replenish her strength.
Shortly after breakfast, someone from Tianshui Village came looking for Qi Buyan.
He Sui’an quickly untied her hair, letting it fall to cover the small colorful butterfly that hadn’t disappeared from her earlobe. She was also relieved that the butterfly hadn’t appeared on her face this time.
Non-Tianshui villagers might not know why the colorful butterfly appeared, but in Tianshui Village, everyone would understand if they saw it.
Feeling a bit guilty, He Sui’an touched her earlobe through her hair and then stood behind Qi Buyan.
He looked back at her.
Her hair, which hung down to her waist, was blown by the wind, brushing against his indigo clothing.
After breakfast, He Sui’an had just put a piece of fruit into her mouth, her cheeks puffed out, unable to swallow it in time. Qi Buyan, finding it amusing, poked her cheek with his finger.
She widened her eyes.
The next second, the fruit pulp sprayed out.
Qi Buyan: “…”
He Sui’an: “…”
The two Tianshui villagers who had climbed the lonely mountain with difficulty and witnessed this scene: “…”
He Sui’an was infuriated by Qi Buyan.
Ah, ah, ah.
He always caught her off guard like this, and once again, He Sui’an was annoyed by Qi Buyan. She let out a small huff, turned away, and refused to look at him. This was the highest level of temper tantrum her timid self could muster.
Qi Buyan tried to turn her back around.
He Sui’an refused.
So he circled around and stood in front of her. “Are you upset?”
He Sui’an still didn’t want to talk to him.
Qi Buyan didn’t want to see He Sui’an like this; he wanted to see her smile. Holding her hand, he thought for a moment and said, “I won’t poke your cheek next time.”
He Sui’an glanced at him.
The ignored Tianshui villagers coughed lightly to remind them that they were still there.
But the Tianshui villagers were used to this.
Being ignored was nothing new.
In the past, Qi Buyan would ignore them because of his gu refining and raising; now, he ignored them because of He Sui’an.
He Sui’an turned to look at them.
Qi Buyan turned with her.
The reason the Tianshui villagers came to find Qi Buyan was to ask him to come down to Tianshui Village. After more than ten years, Aunt Cui, who had stolen the sacred artifact of Tianshui Village for a man, had returned and wanted to see him.
Aunt Cui’s return naturally caused an uproar. The clan members clamored to punish her, but they were wary because she was a gu practitioner and didn’t dare to act recklessly. They didn’t know that her gu skills were now half-wasted.
The elder’s expression was also grim.
He was disappointed and frustrated.
Although the Tianshui villagers had not yet decided how to deal with Aunt Cui, they were not heartless. They came to inform Qi Buyan of her wish to see him, knowing it wouldn’t affect the future handling of her case.
He Sui’an remained silent after hearing the purpose of the Tianshui villagers’ visit.
Although she had married Qi Buyan, she had no reason to get involved in Tianshui Village’s affairs, especially since Aunt Cui’s theft of the sacred artifact for Liu Yan was indeed a betrayal to Tianshui Village.
Qi Buyan squeezed He Sui’an’s hand, which was holding his. “You come down with me.”
“Huh?”
“Why do you want me to go down with you?” He Sui’an was thinking of staying alone on the lonely mountain and waiting for Qi Buyan to return. After all, this was a matter of their clan, and she thought it might be inappropriate for her to listen in.
Qi Buyan seemed puzzled and asked back, “Do you want to be separated from me?”
He Sui’an was stunned.
What did that have to do with anything?
The Tianshui villagers who came to deliver the message blinked. Had this young gu practitioner been possessed and returned from the world outside?
To be honest, they originally thought the little girl would be the clingy one, but it turned out to be him. Could they not be apart for even a short while? The distance from Tianshui Village on the mountainside to the lonely mountain wasn’t far. Was it necessary?
The two messengers exchanged silent glances, deciding to pretend they were deaf.
Maybe this was how newlyweds acted.
No, that wasn’t right.
They had been married for years; why didn’t they behave like this? The Tianshui villagers shifted their gaze to He Sui’an.
He Sui’an pondered briefly. “It’s not that I want to be apart from you, but I think…” She recalled Qi Buyan insisting on standing guard outside while she bathed. “Okay, I’ll go down the mountain with you.”
Only then did Qi Buyan agree to go down with them.
The Tianshui Village on the mountainside was tense. The villagers were on high alert against Aunt Cui, fearing that her return after many years had ulterior motives.
If a gu practitioner used their skills, the Tianshui villagers, who only knew basic gu techniques, would have to work together to barely resist. They couldn’t afford to be careless.
As the Tianshui villagers were on edge, Qi Buyan and He Sui’an arrived.
Aunt Cui, sitting on a tree stump, raised her eyebrows.
The elder remained silent.
The first thing Aunt Cui did upon returning to Tianshui Village was to specifically request to see Qi Buyan.
However, her primary reason for returning was to apologize to the Tianshui villagers for stealing the sacred artifact years ago and to accept her due punishment. Seeing Qi Buyan to address her doubts was secondary.
At this moment, her gaze fell on their clasped hands, then on He Sui’an, and finally on Qi Buyan’s face, which seemed both devoid of desire and purely innocent. Aunt Cui’s expression was somewhat nuanced.
That face was indeed bewitching.
No wonder He Sui’an was enchanted by Qi Buyan. Aunt Cui wondered if the young girl truly knew his true nature.
Seeing Aunt Cui’s gaze sweep over her, He Sui’an nodded politely in greeting.
Aunt Cui smiled.
Beside her was a young man in white.
He Sui’an noticed that the young man in white had features somewhat similar to Ah Xuan, and she guessed that this was likely another person Aunt Cui had picked up and raised along the way.
The young man in white was not very old and had a lively personality. He waved at He Sui’an.
She nodded back at him.
Qi Buyan turned He Sui’an’s face back towards him.
He Sui’an, puzzled, tilted her head and asked in a voice only the two of them could hear, “Why are you pinching my face?”
“I don’t want you looking at him,” he replied.
He Sui’an was about to ask why when she suddenly realized, her ears turning slightly red, and stammered, “Are you, are you jealous?”
They were still a distance from the crowd, and their conversation was quiet enough that no one else could hear.
Qi Buyan looked confused. “Jealous?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
He didn’t know what being jealous meant. “What does ‘jealous’ mean?”
Qi Buyan naturally didn’t think He Sui’an’s term “jealous” meant he was literally jealous. He assumed it had another meaning, so he asked her.
He Sui’an lowered her head. “Not wanting me to look at others means you’re jealous.” Right?
“I see,” he said, as if suddenly understanding. He then softly added, “Then I’m jealous.”
Even though He Sui’an was the one who asked him initially, she was still embarrassed and didn’t know how to respond. She muttered an “oh” to cover her embarrassment and led the straightforward and disarmingly honest Qi Buyan closer to the crowd.
Aunt Cui brushed off nonexistent dust from her blue skirt and stood up, teasing, “It looks like you’re living quite well in Tianshui Village.”
Qi Buyan responded with a gentle smile, the bone flute at his waist swaying lightly in the warm wind.
He Sui’an interpreted Aunt Cui’s words as a lighthearted comment from an elder about their married life, which made her slightly uncomfortable as she was easily embarrassed.
Aunt Cui then spoke seriously to Qi Buyan, “I have something to say to you.”
She paused.
“Just the two of us,” she added.
Qi Buyan, however, looked at He Sui’an and did not immediately respond. He Sui’an was baffled.
Aunt Cui sighed and said, “She can wait outside for you.” Although the two were openly married and she had returned to Tianshui Village voluntarily, the way he watched her so closely made it seem more like he had kidnapped her back.
Qi Buyan finally agreed to follow Aunt Cui to a nearby stilted house for a private conversation.
The Tianshui villagers dispersed for the time being.
The elder also didn’t stay.
He Sui’an sat under a large tree, seeking shade. Feeling bored, she folded butterflies from leaves. The young man in white came over and crouched in front of her. “Are you the wife of the gu practitioner, Mr. Qi?”
This was something almost everyone in Tianshui Village knew, so there was nothing to hide.
She replied, “Yes.”
The young man in white had also studied gu before, but his skills were not proficient. He was nearly seriously injured while traveling in the martial world, and Aunt Cui, thinking he resembled her adopted son Ah Xuan, saved him.
“Have you been implanted with the Love Gu?”
The young man in white noticed He Sui’an’s exposed wrist. Her skin was very fair, so even the faint red line was somewhat visible.
He Sui’an answered with a simple “mm.”
The young man in white pondered, “So, your marriage to Mr. Qi is…”
She interrupted, “No.”
He pressed his lips together. “Do you know that the Love Gu has another effect?”
“What effect?”
The young man in white picked up a twig and drew circles in the dirt. “Live and die together. If the person who implanted the gu activates this effect, if he dies, you will die too. Don’t you think this is very selfish?”
He Sui’an’s hands stopped folding the butterfly.
*
Inside the stilted house.
Aunt Cui leaned against the bamboo wall, arms crossed. “Why did you implant the Love Gu in Miss He?”
Qi Buyan remained silent.
She clicked her tongue and deliberately said, “But I noticed the red line on Miss He’s wrist is very faint. Do you know what that means?”
His fingers twitched slightly. “It means I’m not skilled enough; there was a problem with the Love Gu I made.”
Aunt Cui immediately understood that Qi Buyan was completely unaware of the second part of the Love Gu’s effects. She sighed helplessly, “Qi Buyan, actually, Miss He is falling in love with you.”
Love is different from mere liking.
Qi Buyan’s fingers unconsciously clenched, and his eyelids lifted slightly. “What are you saying?”
Aunt Cui then explained the second part of the Love Gu’s effects to him. She had intended to tell Qi Buyan about this earlier, but at the time, she was too grief-stricken over Ah Xuan’s death in Chang’an to address the matter.
Now, Aunt Cui had come to terms with her actions and wanted to return to Miaojiang Tianshui Village to accept punishment for stealing the sacred artifact years ago. Since Qi Buyan and He Sui’an were also in Tianshui Village, she decided to speak with Qi Buyan about it.
Soon after, Qi Buyan emerged from the stilted house, but He Sui’an was nowhere to be seen.
His pace quickened unconsciously.
Under the big tree, there was no one.
Qi Buyan, who rarely showed emotion, now had a worried expression. He scanned the area, but still couldn’t see her. Just as he was about to use the Love Gu to sense her location, someone covered his eyes from behind.
The hands covering Qi Buyan’s eyes were slightly fleshy, with a faint coolness that was out of place for the weather—this was He Sui’an’s touch.
Somehow, his heart relaxed.
Qi Buyan placed his hand over He Sui’an’s hand that was covering his eyes. “Where did you go just now?”
He Sui’an had gone to borrow a thin red string from the Tianshui villagers and had strung together the butterflies she had folded from leaves. “I went to borrow something.”
She handed it to him.
“This is for you too.”
Qi Buyan looked down at the leaf butterflies in his hand and suddenly hugged He Sui’an. She was momentarily stunned but then hugged him back. “Do you like it?”
A slight smile curved his lips.
“I like it.”
The young man in white, sitting in the tree above, was puzzled. He had heard that the Love Gu had a “live and die together” effect, but she didn’t seem afraid and simply said, “The Love Gu has this effect too? That’s really amazing.” And that was it.
Hmm.
They were quite a match—one with a naturally dark disposition, the other with a big heart.