Forget about demonic monks or demon foxes, Xin Hexue was simply abducted by Du Zhi.
Stepping out of Longxing Temple and walking onto the bustling streets, because Du Zhi’s monk attire was too eye-catching, not to mention that he was carrying a young master draped in the gold and red cassock horizontally in his arms, it immediately drew the gaze of many onlookers.
Xin Hexue tugged at Du Zhi’s sleeve. “Go, find a clothing store. I’ll give you a proper makeover, you just-returned-to-secular-life eminent monk.”
Du Zhi originally wanted to say he didn’t care about the stares of the crowd, but when he lowered his head, he saw a pair of flushed ears. Yes, how could he forget that Xin Hexue had always been thin-skinned? He lowered his eyes and chuckled softly, his eyes filled with a myriad of tender feelings. “Alright, I’ll do as you say.”
Hearing his gentle tone, Xin Hexue instantly shuddered, the tremor running from his tailbone all the way to the back of his neck.
Who had swapped this person out?
Du Zhi had been widowed for five hundred years and finally held his beloved in his arms. The feeling in his heart was naturally something Xin Hexue couldn’t comprehend. Let alone a withered tree blossoming or a dried-up spring coming back to life, at this moment, even his head, marked with incense scars from ordination, felt like it was about to grow hair.
Du Zhi found a nearby Chen’s Clothing Store. The storefront of this shop was very large, and the second floor was also filled with clothes and finished fabrics…silks, satins, brocades, damasks, everything imaginable was there.
Chen’s Clothing Store was also quite famous in the capital. Many high-ranking officials and nobles had clothes tailored in their shop. They had seen all sorts of grand occasions, but the guests they laid eyes on today were a bit unusual.
Xin Hexue called the shop assistant over and pointed at Du Zhi. “Find him a couple of suitable outfits.”
Since he had returned to secular life, there was no need to dress like a monk anymore.
Du Zhi understood his meaning and obediently let Xin Hexue take charge.
He was soon dressed in an indigo brocade cotton-lined robe with a cross-collared undergarment inside, his temperament dignified and majestic, instantly making him seem like a different person from the Du Zhi in monk’s robes.
Du Zhi stood before the brass mirror in the shop. He had never paid attention to his appearance, after all, it was just a physical shell. But now it seemed he needed to pay a little attention, so he turned his head to ask Xin Hexue for his opinion. “Is it acceptable?”
Xin Hexue looked him up and down and nodded with relative satisfaction.
There was only one flaw.
Seeing Xin Hexue’s gaze lingering above his head, Du Zhi didn’t understand what he meant but still obediently lowered his head.
Did… he want to touch?
What Du Zhi received wasn’t the warmth of a palm against his head, but a flick on the forehead.
“Can you still grow hair here, young master?”
His fingertip rubbed against Du Zhi’s smooth crown, where the incense scar from his ordination still remained.
Du Zhi lowered his eyes. “Is it ugly?”
So it wasn’t that he wanted to touch him; he just found him unsightly.
He hesitated, then honestly answered Xin Hexue. “Given time, my hair will grow back and look better. I hope you can bear with it for now.”
“You look so strange right now, with not a single hair on your head.” As Xin Hexue spoke, he took a gold-embossed plum blossom hood from a nearby rack and put it on him. Wearing it would cover his forehead, and the back piece could also shield his nape. “There, that’s much more pleasing to the eye.”
It was hard to tell he was a bald monk; compared to ordinary men on the street, there was no difference.
Xin Hexue straightened his hood and collar, then patted his chest. “Alright, I’ll tolerate your ugliness for the time being.”
Du Zhi straightened up and looked into the bronze mirror, where two figures were reflected in the polished surface. Among them, Xin Hexue was leaning lightly against him. He couldn’t distinguish beauty or ugliness; seeing that image, there was only joy welling up in his heart.
The lips of the person in the mirror lifted upwards.
Xin Hexue looked up at him. “I didn’t know you were so fond of smiling.”
Du Zhi used his hand to cover his own lips, but the smile seemed stuck on his cheeks, becoming even more pronounced instead. “Then I should smile more when I’m by your side.”
Xin Hexue pressed on the back of his hand. “Wait here for me a moment.”
Du Zhi waited on the spot and saw Xin Hexue go behind the folding screen. Before long, he heard the rustling sound of clothes. Du Zhi’s face heated up, and he averted his gaze, but in the bronze mirror, he saw the changed outer robe being tossed over the top of the screen with a “smack”.
The shop assistant, fearing the distinguished guests might get bored waiting, brought over tea and refreshments.
Du Zhi: “Thank you.”
He took the teacup, allowing the shop assistant’s gaze to size him up, his demeanor calm and composed.
The shop assistant kept feeling that the guest before him looked familiar, that he should have seen him somewhere before. But logically speaking, he only knew a few monks…
Just as he was thinking this, his furtive gaze accidentally met Du Zhi’s. His heart skipped a beat, and eager to shift his focus, when he saw someone coming out from behind the screen, he quickly raised his voice to greet them. “Customer!”
Du Zhi turned his head hastily, the tea in his cup sloshing around.
All he saw was a young lady emerge, wearing a plain light lotus-colored satin jacket and sprout-colored orchid-patterned silk skirt. Her steps were graceful, her waist slender, her lips like cherries and teeth like jade, with a small mole under her eye. She was like a pink butterfly gracefully fluttering towards him.
Even when Xin Hexue reached him, Du Zhi was still rooted to the spot, his eyes staring blankly at him.
“Fool.” Xin Hexue used his index finger to gently nudgr Du Zhi’s chest. “Snap out of it.”
Du Zhi: “You’re back.”
Xin Hexue raised a slender eyebrow. “How is it?”
Du Zhi stared for a long time, then uttered a word: “Beautiful.”
Xin Hexue glanced at the shop assistant, whose face had flushed red. “Do you have any lip b…” Before he could finish speaking, the assistant had already run off to find it for him.
Xin Hexue applied some lip balm while looking in the mirror and stuck a floral ornament on his forehead. This way, no one would be able to tell.
Du Zhi didn’t know what he should do, then saw Xin Hexue raise his hand and pull out the jade hairpin that had been holding his hair in place. In an instant, his long, dark hair tumbled down like a waterfall. Like a bolt of black silk, it was soft and shiny, clinging to his slender back.
“Do you know how to arrange a coiled bun?”
Xin Hexue asked him. As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt the question was quite redundant. He skillfully arranged his hair into a double bun, revealing his fair neck. As the Lantern Festival approached, the assistant brought a pair of “moth” hairpins, which were hair accessories made of silk, gold/silver foil, or metal in the shape of moths. “Moths, snow-willow, gold-thread strands, with laughter and hidden sweet scent she goes,” described this type of hairpin.
After finishing his adornment, he called the assistant over to settle the bill but was told that Du Zhi had already paid.
Xin Hexue asked: “You actually have money?”
Du Zhi said calmly: “I have some, a hundred years’ worth of savings.”
That made sense.
Although he didn’t know exactly what position Du Zhi held, judging by the reactions of the people at Longxing Temple today, he must be a high-ranking official, in charge of the Taichu Temple.
Xin Hexue spread out both hands. “Give me some.”
Du Zhi said honestly: “Come to my mansion and get it.”
‘He even had a big mansion?’
Xin Hexue withdrew his outstretched hand, instead patting Du Zhi’s arm before letting it slide down.
Just as they were about to leave, the assistant behind them finally remembered why the monk before him looked so familiar. “National Monk…”
Xin Hexue glanced at Du Zhi because of this.
A National Monk was good; a National Monk had money.
“You say you’ll return to secular life just like that, and even rescued a fox demon. Aren’t you afraid the people from the Taichu Temple will think you’ve abandoned the light for darkness, that the court and the public will be outraged, and the higher-ups will order your arrest? After all, you are the National Monk, you represent the face of Taoists and monks throughout the court and the country.” Xin Hexue was now walking through the streets with Du Zhi, and they were getting fewer looks than before. He asked Du Zhi as they walked.
Du Zhi just stared at the moth wings swaying among Xin Hexue’s hair as he walked. “It doesn’t matter. If I leave, there will always be thousands and millions of National Monks. I have already lived through six dynasties. Among those in power waiting to ascend, some have already been laid to rest in their coffins. My leaving now suits them even better. As for the ruler, I have rendered meritorious service in helping every emperor of each dynasty ascend the dragon throne. They are mindful of this connection and won’t do anything either.”
Xin Hexue turned his head, the moth ornaments among his dark hair appearing lively. “Oh? Are you so sure?”
Du Zhi nodded. “Besides, the monks and Taoists of the Taichu Temple can’t beat me in a fight.”
Xin Hexue: “One or two might be manageable, but what if they all come out in force?”
Du Zhi: “They still can’t beat me.”
As soon as he finished answering, Xin Hexue shot him a sideways glance. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
With a flick of his mink sleeve, he abandoned Du Zhi and quickly walked ahead.
Du Zhi didn’t know why he had made him unhappy. Only after catching up did he understand. “So, the reason you dressed up as a young lady was because…”
Xin Hexue raised his index finger to silence him and corrected, “This is called disguise, to avoid trouble.”
His original thought was that when the Taoists and monks came to pursue them, he and Du Zhi, who were disguised, would be hard to recognize at a glance, and they could take that opportunity to escape the capital.
Now it seemed he had gone to unnecessary trouble.
“But…” Du Zhi saw through his thoughts but said seriously, “It looks very good.”
Xin Hexue reciprocated the compliment. “You’re not bad either.”
“How am I not bad?” Du Zhi looked ahead. “In your eyes, how does that Yun Pu’s physical appearance seem?”
Xin Hexue said without thinking, “Hideous features, very repulsive.”
Du Zhi’s head drooped, disappointment creeping onto his eyelids.
Xin Hexue thought it over. “Is it because I told him back then that his appearance was somewhat similar to a monk I had seen?”
He raised his hand and tugged on Du Zhi’s ear. “You heard the first part but didn’t hear me call him despicable and shallow?”
Du Zhi let him pinch his right ear, his eyes fixed on Xin Hexue as if seeking an answer.
“My aesthetic is quite simple. If someone is good to me, then I find them as virtuous as jade and as noble as gold. If they treat me badly, then they appear as shifty as a rat and as ugly as a deer.” Xin Hexue let go of his hand, saying this with a serious expression.
Du Zhi couldn’t help but ask: “What about me?”
Xin Hexue: “Average.”
Du Zhi’s head drooped again. After walking several dozen steps, merely the distance from one end of the alley to the other, it seemed he came to some realization. He looked up and gazed earnestly at Xin Hexue. “Then Zhou Shanheng must be quite good-looking in your eyes. He and I are fraternal twins; if you look closely, we actually have five or six parts similarity.”
Hearing this name, unspoken for so long, Xin Hexue’s eyes suddenly went blank for a moment, his thoughts drifting far away. When he focused on Du Zhi’s face, there was indeed a subtle resemblance to that old acquaintance.
Why hadn’t he noticed they were brothers at first?
“Where did Zhou Shanheng go? He was a mortal and never did evil, so he must have reincarnated several times by now, right?” Xin Hexue asked Du Zhi.
Du Zhi shook his head. “He didn’t enter reincarnation. Before he died, he found me and asked me to refine his seven souls into a soul lamp after his death, to be placed before your grave and pray for blessings.”
With the living missing you and the deceased praying for you, only then could Xin Hexue’s soul be anchored to this land. Zhou Shanheng’s original wish was that if Xin Hexue had a next life, he could be reborn into a good fate, preferably not as a demon, which would be even better.
However, Xin Hexue was quite satisfied with his current identity.
Hearing Du Zhi’s words, he couldn’t help but be moved. He lowered his head slightly, his eyebrows delicate and charming, his eyes like autumn waters seemingly holding a wealth of sad, lingering emotions he wished to express but held back.
Du Zhi frowned, instinctively feeling something was wrong. “Should I not have mentioned him?”
Wouldn’t this make Xin Hexue revisit old memories, longing for the past and cherishing the old days?
Du Zhi handed his handkerchief to Xin Hexue. “Speaking of which, talking about this matter also makes me very sad.”
Seeing Xin Hexue use the handkerchief to wipe away the tears at the corners of his eyes, Du Zhi thought for a moment. “My elder brother and I are twins, so we’ve always been somewhat alike. Sister-in-law, if you don’t mind, please just transfer your affections onto me.”
Xin Hexue stared at him with bright, wide eyes. “Well, well, Du Zhi. Others call you National Monk, but how come you’re a monk who speaks nothing but lies?”
Scolded for no reason, Du Zhi explained patiently, “I’ve already returned to secular life. Du Zhi is dead; now I am Zhou Jiangkuo.”
“Fine.” He couldn’t reason with this bald man, so Xin Hexue simply grabbed his arm and linked it with his own, saying with deep affection, “The weather’s cold. Go rent a carriage. I want to go to the Zhou residence to take up my post as the madam of the house.”
He leaned against this clumsy husband, his long lashes sparkling, the moth wings in his hair swaying gently and creating another charming sight. Xin Hexue smiled. “Husband, first take me to see your hundred years’ worth of savings.”
