When Bu Jincheng woke up early the next morning, he took a stroll around the temple but didn’t see any sign of Xin Hexue.
He passed through the front hall into the backyard, and only saw Hen Zhen standing by the mountain spring pool, looking quite interested as he casually plucked a stalk of foxtail grass.
Then he squatted down and started flicking the surface of the water with it.
Bu Jincheng’s relationship with this ghost husband was rather awkward. They’d had a minor spat last night, and although it was not exactly a quarrel, he felt like a man who coveted a widow, only to be caught by the husband who’d returned from the dead.
Even though he had only just developed a temptation, without the slightest inappropriate action.
Originally, he didn’t want to speak with someone who, in a way, was his love rival, but he couldn’t figure out where Xin Hexue had gone. It was time for him to leave but if he left without saying goodbye, he felt it would come across as very impolite and leave a bad impression on Xin Hexue.
Bu Jincheng pressed his palm to his forehead in frustration, thinking he really had lost his head.
Neglecting food and sleep, dreaming day and night of someone else’s husband…if Xin Hexue’s husband was missing or had really died in an accident, maybe that would be different. But now that the two of them were still sweet and affectionate, how could he still have such thoughts?!
Wouldn’t that be self-deprecating and acting like a third party?
Besides, Xin Huexue clearly had no intentions towards him…
Bu Jincheng felt ashamed and disheartened.
He stepped forward and asked Hen Zhen, “This…gongzi, do you know where Xin gongzi went? I didn’t get the chance to properly thank him last night, and this morning I have to head to the capital.”
Bu Jincheng didn’t know the other person’s name, so he could only address him politely as “gongzi”.
Hen Zhen had no intention of responding. He was still fiddling with a stalk of yellowing foxtail grass, teasing the spring water. “Little fish?”
A tail suddenly swept over the surface of the water.
It looked like he was trying to attract the attention of the fish in the spring pool with the worthless stalk of foxtail grass.
As expected, he got splashed in the face by the fish and was thoroughly drenched.
Hen Zhen was not annoyed with the defeat. Water dripped down from his brow to his jaw, and he let out a satisfied laugh instead.
Bu Jincheng followed his line of sight into the pool and was instantly drawn to a flash of snow-white scales.
The young man he had dreamt of last night had a tail with white scales like these.
Hen Zhen noticed Bu Jincheng’s covetous gaze at the little fish, and his expression immediately became cold. “If you’re idle, then go stir-fry two dishes.”
He tugged at the corner of his thin lips and said sarcastically, “That way, when Ah Xue returns from his walk, he’ll have breakfast ready. Maybe he’ll even think a little better of you.”
Bu Jincheng was stunned.
If an outsider were watching this scene, they would definitely think Hen Zhen sounded exactly like the legal wife of a feudal household, casually bossing around a male mistress who had just come knocking.
Bu Jincheng… actually felt there was some truth to what Hen Zhen said.
Xin Hexue looked like he wasn’t in the best of health. He hadn’t eaten anything in the early morning and went out for a walk…he would definitely be hungry when he came back. As a guest who had stayed the night and received so much help from Xin Hexue, cooking a pot of porridge and making two simple side dishes was the least he could do.
Hen Zhen watched his back with narrowed eyes and sneered, “Foolish little brat.”
A fool wants to dig at someone else’s wall?
Do you even know how to lick?
Want to be Xin Hexue’s dog?
…….
Xin Hexue stood at the bedside in the inner room. He followed the marks he had made before and found the tally marks on the wall, including the calendar and the zheng characters.
Hen Zhen hadn’t paid attention before to the markings on the wall that Xin Hexue had made. He just thought they were left behind by someone who previously lived in the dilapidated temple.
As a result, after seven days, the little fish that had finished having its memories cleansed on schedule took human form and came straight back here. Hen Zhen suddenly started sensing something off.
There wasn’t just one zheng character. The second one already had the first stroke drawn.
One, two, three, four, five, six.
Hen Zhen knew that even though Xin Hexue had lost his memory, he was still searching for that Zhou Shanheng from Jiangzhou. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have deliberately chosen this remote, deserted temple as a base.
However, he hadn’t expected that….
Hen Zhen gritted his teeth. “Exactly how many poor scholars have you helped?”
Xin Hexue ignored him and asked, “Who is number four?”
“You’re asking me? How would I know?”
Hen Zhen lowered his sword-like eyebrows, staring coldly at the marks on the wall, as if he wanted to gouge a hole through it, or better yet, just tear it down and rebuild it from scratch.
Xin Hexue turned around and pursed his lips. He acted as if he didn’t see the gloomy expression on Hen Zhen’s face…or rather, even if he did, he didn’t care.
Number Four had appeared on the fifth day of the tenth month, and Xin Hexue had marked it with extra emphasis.
Even if it wasn’t the poor scholar from the script, he was at least a target.
Xin Hexue spoke calmly:
“You just said you would tell me everything you know.”
“Hen Zhen.”
Hen Zhen suddenly fell silent.
He stood frozen in place for a long time, his entire being seemingly turned into a stone statue that would look at Xin Hexue for eternity.
He had been struck by a wave of immense joy, so overwhelming it left his mind blank. All the gloom and brooding jealousy on his face scattered like smoke.
At this moment, he looked both hopeful and eager as he asked, “You… still remember my name?”
Xin Hexue quietly lowered his lashes.
He stepped forward and took Hen Zhen’s hand.
Hen Zhen’s mind was in chaos, and his expression was still dazed.
He lowered his eyes and looked at his own hand which was now being guided by a slimmer, narrower one and pressed against Xin Hexue’s chest.
Xin Hexue’s eyelashes lifted, his expression carrying an unusually gentle bewilderment as he met Hen Zhen’s eyes.
“Here.” He guided Hen Zhen’s hand to the spot over his heart. “It remembers.”
Beneath the palm lines and pulses, separated only by a thin robe, Hen Zhen could clearly feel the heartbeat beneath. The hand resting on his wrist was slender and white to the point of colorless. Hen Zhen couldn’t help but feel that even Xin Hexue’s heartbeat seemed too delicate…so fragile he didn’t dare press even a little harder.
It felt as if a single careless move would shatter the jade Buddha on a shrine.
But even so, it was this Xin Hexue who carved his name into the koi’s most vital protective heart-scale.
Xin Hexue said softly, “I remember you, Hen Zhen, right here.”
Thump, thump, thump.
Hen Zhen realized the powerful, erratic heartbeat in his ears wasn’t coming from the chest beneath his palm, but from within his own.
[Hen Zhen love value +5]
The wild and unrestrained love blooming in Hen Zhen’s heart had already taken deep root in his chest. Beneath that whole stretch of desolate land, the roots tangled and intertwined.
At this moment, the buds that had accumulated full strength finally pushed away the stones and broke through the muddy ground.
He was now a shameless lover who could bask in the light.
After the clouds dispersed, he finally saw the moon.
He could have this day, too.
When Bu Jincheng came over, he saw the two of them alone in the inner room and halted his steps, quickly hiding the disappointment in his eyes.
He lifted a smile. “I made two light dishes to go with congee. Xin gongzi, you haven’t had breakfast yet, right?”
“Mm, let’s go have breakfast together.”
Xin Hexue stood up.
He didn’t name anyone in particular, but just by using the word “together”, both men present automatically and consciously assumed he was referring to themselves.
Xin Hexue lowered his gaze and walked ahead.
No wonder he had carved Hen Zhen’s name.
A snake demon that was particularly easy-to-fool and easy-to-handle.
……..
Although Xin Hexue didn’t remember how he had ended up entangled with this snake demon, it was clear Hen Zhen’s love value had already reached the peak of ninety-nine.
Due to the restrictions of heaven and earth, he as a koi demon could not leave behind any memory traces related to mortals, so he had chosen a memory storage vessel. Even if that vessel had a will of its own, and was a mad dog that could go off at any moment.
But after all, Hen Zhen was an evil demon and had his own advantages. No matter how tangled and intimate his connections with a koi might be, he wouldn’t be affected by the backlash from absorbing too many blessings.
Bu Jincheng bid Xin Hexue farewell and left behind a piece of paper with his address before his departure.
“I’m currently staying at a relative’s place, a residence in Anqingfang, in front of which there are three osmanthus trees.”
“ I’ll register at the Ministry of Rites in a few days and will be busy with the matter of presenting my credentials, running around banquets and offering my papers to various lords. I might not have the time to seek you out again. If you need to find me for anything, please come to this address.”
Bu Jincheng masked the reluctance in his eyes.
Xin Hexue watched his figure disappear at the end of the mountain path. Hen Zhen crossed his arms and asked, “Why didn’t you go after him? You’re going to follow him eventually anyway. I can’t keep you here.”
He wasn’t acting crazy at the moment, this tone was more like deliberate teasing, or rather, flirting.
Yes, Xin Hexue had no choice but to describe Hen Zhen’s state as flirting.
The other party seemed to have been coaxed until he was completely dizzy, like a teenage boy, no longer madly jealous but instead carrying himself like the main wife of a feudal household, naturally mocking and making sarcastic jokes over such matters.
Xin Hexue felt a bit uncomfortable.
Because the whole situation, and everyone involved…
All seemed especially ridiculous.
But what he could be sure of was that Hen Zhen had not been completely honest with him just now.
Hen Zhen had said that Bu Jincheng was the poor scholar who had saved him during the drought in Jiangzhou.
But judging from his tone and attitude, he hadn’t taken Bu Jincheng seriously at all…which meant that Bu Jincheng didn’t pose any real threat to Hen Zhen.
Xin Hexue had asked K about Bu Jincheng’s love value.
It was just 65.
This didn’t match his efficiency, so he excluded Bu Jincheng from the suspects.
He now had to make a trip to the capital. His target destinations were the archive room at the Ministry of Rites where documents were stored, and the study of the chief examiner of the spring imperial exams, the Vice Minister of Rites. There, he should be able to find the registry of provincial candidates recommended through the regional exams.
However, there was still one thorny problem in front of him…Hen Zhen.
Without a doubt, judging from Hen Zhen’s attitude, he clearly knew whom he was looking for. But he remained vague and refused to tell the truth, simply because he didn’t want him to find that poor scholar.
If the other party clung to him like a piece of dog skin plaster without end, his actions would definitely be hindered.
In the end, he would still have to find some excuse to send Hen Zhen away.
Even at night as he was about to go to bed, Xin Hexue was still pondering over this.
“…What is that?”
Xin Hexue’s gaze was drawn to the red silk Hen Zhen suddenly took out. He furrowed his brow, instinctively sensing something was wrong.
Before he could react, his body was completely enveloped by the man.
A layer of smooth red silk soon covered his eyes. It wasn’t glaring, but even with just a thin fabric in between, it was enough to blur his vision. The candlelight also became hazy and dim.
Everything in his vision was completely blurred.
A sense of crisis rose within Xin Hexue. His light pink lips pressed tightly together, and the edges flushed darker. “What are you doing?”
Snow had fallen again that evening, blanketing the entire courtyard in white.
With his sight taken away, his hearing grew particularly sharp to compensate. Xin Hexue heard faint noises outside the window.
It didn’t sound like falling snow, nor like a bamboo branch collapsing.
It was a sound he had heard the night before too, like the snap of dead twigs beneath someone’s foot.
Xin Hexue’s nerves tensed. “Is someone outside?”
Hen Zhen nuzzled at his ear affectionately, kissed the center of his forehead, then moved to kiss Xin Hexue’s lips again and again until the young man’s lips deepened into a lush, extravagant red.
“How could there be anyone?” He was fully immersed in the preliminary work of flipping the cat pancake. “I was very obedient today. I want the reward you promised me.”
Xin Hexue frowned in confusion. “What reward?” What had he promised Hen Zhen before?
Hen Zhen’s vertical pupils in his phoenix eyes narrowed with excitement, his red tongue flicking against his fangs. If Xin Hexue could see him now, he would realize that most of Hen Zhen’s inhuman features were already exposed.
“Mating.”
As the word fell, cold snake scales brushed against Xin Hexue’s legs.
Slowly…
They tightened.
