Still sitting nearby, He Sui’an widened her eyes, wanting to tell Zhong Liang that he was overthinking it. But since Zhong Liang had asked Qi Buyan, she couldn’t answer for him.
Qi Buyan rested his hands on the wooden table, with his chin on the back of his hands, as if he’d heard something amusing, and smiled. “Why do you think looking at you would ruin my appetite?”
Zhong Liang lowered his head. “I…”
Mustering his courage, he said, “I look ugly, very ugly.” It wasn’t the kind of ordinary ugliness; his face was deformed and bizarre, with skin that sometimes festered and ulcerated.
“So what?” The young man propped his chin with one hand lazily.
Zhong Liang uttered a surprised “Ah.”
Hadn’t he made it clear enough? Didn’t Qi Buyan find him so ugly that it was hard to eat with him around, which was why he ate so little?
He Sui’an opened her mouth but chose not to interrupt.
Qi Buyan picked up the red snake with his hand. “What does your appearance have to do with me? Whether you’re beautiful or ugly, it doesn’t concern me. Why should I lose my appetite because of your looks?”
He stepped away from the table. “I ate little today because I didn’t feel like eating, not because of anyone else, and not because of you.”
Zhong Liang was speechless for a long time.
He realized he had been too self-conscious.
“Brother Zhong,” He Sui’an added, not wanting Zhong Liang to misunderstand, “he doesn’t like to lie. What he says is true. He ate little today, and it has nothing to do with you. Don’t worry about it.”
After a long while, he said, “I understand, thank you, Miss He.”
Qi Buyan, who had walked some distance away, suddenly stopped.
He Sui’an quickly caught up to him. The red snake had disappeared somewhere, perhaps to find a sunny spot.
After a meal, it’s more comfortable to walk around a bit; otherwise, indigestion can be bothersome. Although Qi Buyan hadn’t eaten much and didn’t necessarily need to walk, He Sui’an had eaten a lot that morning and needed to move around.
This was knowledge Qi Buyan had gained from raising Gu insects. Overeating could have adverse effects on them too.
When he was young, he had unintentionally killed many Gu insects by overfeeding them.
The paths in Hongye Village were still difficult to navigate, so they only walked on familiar routes.
Halfway through, they encountered several Daoists from Xuanmiao Temple delivering medicine to the villagers. Sanshan Zhenren had also come personally today, wearing a simple Daoist robe, his sleeves fluttering in the wind, exuding an ethereal, otherworldly aura.
Sanshan Zhenren had seen them before, so if they were to meet in Hongye Village, it would raise suspicion.
He Sui’an reacted quickly, pulling Qi Buyan’s hand and hiding behind a large tree. The space was very narrow, and any movement could reveal their presence to the nearby people.
They were forced to stay very close to each other.
Qi Buyan was much taller than He Sui’an, so his chin rested on the top of her head, his breath mingling with her hair like an electric current.
Since He Sui’an had pulled Qi Buyan behind the tree, she ended up pressing him against the tree. Her head was tightly against his chest, feeling the coolness of his silver ornaments.
He Sui’an held her breath.
Qi Buyan’s heartbeat was right next to her ear, a strong and rhythmic sound that gradually synchronized with hers, as if they shared the same body.
The Daoists from Xuanmiao Temple hadn’t left yet and had started chatting with some villagers who appeared.
Maintaining the same position for too long became uncomfortable. He Sui’an wanted to move her leg but feared that the hem of her fluffy gauze skirt might give them away, so she only moved her upper body and let go of Qi Buyan’s hand.
She didn’t want to keep listening to Qi Buyan’s heartbeat. She tilted her head up slightly, only to meet his eyes. He was looking down at her.
Occasionally, she couldn’t withstand Qi Buyan’s direct gaze, just like now.
So, she turned her head to the side.
It was common to find insects on trees. He Sui’an saw one crawling down a thread of silk right beside her, getting closer and closer.
As the insect was about to land on her shoulder, He Sui’an hesitated between enduring it or brushing it away. The movement required to brush it off was too noticeable, so she decided against it.
Qi Buyan couldn’t lift his hand either.
The boy, with his long limbs, would expose his elbow if he raised his hand, making him visible to the people in front of the tree.
He Sui’an decided to endure it.
Just before the insect landed, a black snake that had climbed up the tree at some point leaped down and swallowed the insect whole.
The black snake landed and slowly slithered away.
Even if the villagers and Daoists from Xuanmiao Temple saw the snake, they wouldn’t mind much. The village was in the woods, and it was normal to see snakes and insects in this season. As long as they didn’t harm anyone, the villagers wouldn’t hurt them.
He Sui’an, helped by the black snake, was in a daze. Qi Buyan lowered his head and, unable to raise his hand, gently pressed his cheek against hers to feel her temperature and emotions.
Cold.
The weather had warmed up, and a person’s temperature shouldn’t be this cold. She was scared by the insect.
Still so afraid of insects.
However, compared to her reaction to his Gu insects, she was clearly more afraid of these wild insects. This indirectly proved that even though He Sui’an feared insects, she had accepted his Gu insects.
“You were scared,” Qi Buyan said, his cheek still pressed against hers, using his warmth to comfort her. He didn’t like it when her temperature dropped too much; it reminded him of cold corpses.
He Sui’an’s eyelashes trembled.
When Qi Buyan’s face touched hers, her fingertips seemed to tingle.
The boy’s skin was smooth, like fine white jade, drawing her attention to the point of their contact.
“A little,” she replied.
He Sui’an couldn’t handle fright well. When scared, her hands and feet would turn cold, but when she got nervous, her cheeks would heat up and turn red.
Maybe Qi Buyan’s touch had worked because her face was no longer as cold. It visibly returned to normal, even warmer than usual.
Qi Buyan noticed this too.
He pulled back slightly and looked at her face, noticing it had turned a bit red.
Was it because of his closeness?
Just like how his body would react to He Sui’an’s proximity? Qi Buyan lowered his head to confirm, and her temperature rose further, at one point surpassing his own.
So He Sui’an also experienced unusual reactions because of his closeness.
Upon realizing this, a blue butterfly flitted past Qi Buyan’s neck, unnoticed by either of them. He Sui’an, having just relaxed, didn’t expect him to move closer again, causing her hands to tense at her sides.
The silver ornament on Qi Buyan’s forehead brushed against He Sui’an, making a faint sound that blended into the wind.
She felt her breath become uneven.
Finally, the Daoists from Xuanmiao Temple and the villagers of Hongye Village left the area.
He Sui’an quickly stepped back.
She touched her face with her hands to cool herself down.
Feeling overheated, she wanted to drink some water and told Qi Buyan to return to the treehouse while she would go to Zhong Liang’s mother to get a clean bowl of water. She didn’t want to walk all the way to the river at the village entrance.
In reality, He Sui’an just wanted to be alone for a while. Seeing Qi Buyan kept bringing back the memory of their faces touching.
Qi Buyan sent the red snake to accompany He Sui’an.
She accepted it.
There were two reasons for accepting the red snake’s company: first, He Sui’an had a lingering fear from encountering Bian Yichen by the river; second, the red snake didn’t seem to like getting close to her, unlike the black snake that always tried to crawl towards her.
They parted ways there, with He Sui’an going to find Zhong Liang’s mother and Qi Buyan returning to the treehouse.
Back in the treehouse, Qi Buyan read his Gu book.
With nothing else to do, he would read even books he had read before.
Leaning against the tree wall, he skimmed through the words and pictures in the Gu book at a fast pace. His long, smooth hair draped over his shoulders and down to his front. Qi Buyan tossed the strand of hair back behind him.
Perhaps he used too much force, or maybe the silver ornament in that strand of hair wasn’t securely fastened. With a “ding,” the ornament fell and rolled into a corner.
Qi Buyan put down his Gu book and went to pick it up.
Staying in this treehouse for a few days, he hadn’t noticed such an obscure and hard-to-find corner.
While retrieving the ornament, Qi Buyan spotted a book lying face down, with a crease on the left side of the back cover. It looked like the book He Sui’an had been reading that night. How did it end up here?
Qi Buyan reached out and picked it up.
“The 38 Techniques of Bedroom Arts”
This wasn’t his Gu book; he didn’t have a single Gu book with that title. What were “bedroom arts”? He had studied Gu techniques and had heard of martial arts and swordsmanship but not bedroom arts.
Qi Buyan opened “The 38 Techniques of Bedroom Arts.” The content was illustrated with pictures of a man and a woman, both unclothed.
The man was kissing the woman.
But the position he was kissing was rather unusual: the man was kissing the woman’s lower region.
His tongue appeared to be exploring inside, as it would during a kiss.
Next to the illustration were many words explaining that this could promote mutual affection, make the woman feel comfortable, and facilitate the next step, making it easier for both to become more intimate.
What this next step entailed was not detailed on this page, likely explained further in the book. Qi Buyan’s expression remained indifferent, devoid of emotion, as his fingertips lightly brushed over the words “more intimate.”
More intimate, indeed.
What concerned him was this.
And why was He Sui’an reading such a book? Was she interested in such matters?
Or did she want to become more intimate in this way?
The sound of the hanging ladder echoed through the treehouse—someone was climbing up. It was He Sui’an, returning after drinking water at Zhong Liang’s mother’s place. She held up her skirt as she climbed, “I’m back…”
The rest of her words stuck in her throat.
She saw Qi Buyan sitting in the corner, holding a book that shouldn’t be in his hands. He Sui’an felt as if she had been struck by lightning. How could this happen!
She regretted it deeply. He Sui’an now wished she hadn’t left Qi Buyan alone in the treehouse. She should have stayed with him constantly, at least not letting him stay alone until they left Hongye Village.
Her hand loosened from her skirt, and she nearly stumbled but managed to steady herself in time.
He Sui’an felt an intense wave of embarrassment wash over her.
Qi Buyan looked at her calmly.
She awkwardly walked over to him, almost stumbling over her own feet. “Why are you reading that book?”
Qi Buyan showed her the page he had just read, the vivid illustration. “He Sui’an, does doing this really make you feel good and help us become more intimate?”
She didn’t know how to answer.
He Sui’an was sure that in this world, probably only Qi Buyan would hold such a book and ask such a question in the same tone as if he were asking what they should have for dinner.
“Is it true?” The boy asked.
He Sui’an quickly raised her hand and covered Qi Buyan’s thin lips, an almost futile attempt to hide her embarrassment.
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