Duan Xu didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with what he said. He leaned back in his chair and said lazily, "In the first few years after I returned to Nandu, Jingyuan kept praising me all day long, saying this and that. She never praised me the same thing over and over again—and she never praised me the same thing. My sister-in-law said she was too obsessed with her brother, but I think she was obsessed with you, not her brother."
Fang Xianye raised his finger and pointed at Duan Xu, warning: "Duan Shunxi, what do you want to do now?"
Over the years, he has truly realized Duan Xu's wild imagination. If Duan Xu goes crazy, he believes that he can even rebel, not to mention revealing his identity.
Duan Xu smiled and pressed down Fang Xianye's finger, saying, "If you also like my sister, I think it's not a bad idea. We can have a good relationship."
Fang Xianye immediately refuted: "What nonsense are you talking about. You are from the Duan family of Prime Minister Du's faction, and I am a retainer of Duke Pei. In the eyes of the world, we are mortal enemies, and this is what we need to do. If I marry your sister, what does it mean? Besides, if you don't tell her about what happened in Daizhou for seven years, she will never accept me. With her temper, how can she hide these things? Do you want to kill her?"
Duan Xu stared at Fang Xianye for a moment and chuckled: "You gave so many reasons, but there is not a single one that shows you don't like her."
Fang Xianye was speechless for a moment. He gritted his teeth, turned around and drank some water to cool down.
It was a rare occasion that Duan Xu did not press on the victory. He lowered his eyes and remained silent. Miss Luo Xian began to sing a tune along with the clear sound of the pipa, humming in a lingering and sad voice, "He taught me to let go of my remaining hatred, stop being coquettish, and reform myself, change my temperament, stop lingering on the passing of time, turn back from the sea of suffering, and realize the cause of my sin soon..." The soft and beautiful voice was lingering in the ears.
He finally spoke, and said softly: "Fang Ji, I like a girl."
Fang Xianye's teacup lid hit the tea bowl, making a soft "ding" sound. He looked at Duan Xu with some understanding, observed for a while and then said, "It seems that she doesn't like you?"
Duan Xu shook his head, not sure whether he wanted to say "I don't like it" or "I don't know".
"She didn't go back to Nandu with you?"
"No, she went home."
This doesn't seem like Duan Xu, Fang Xianye thought with some surprise.
Duan Xu's style of doing things has always made him the best at winning by surprise and using both soft and hard tactics. What he has the most is means, but what he lacks the least is understanding. He will do his best to accomplish something even if he is 30% sure.
Duan Xu sighed and said, "She comes from a wealthy family and is an only child. If we want to be together, I have to marry into her family."
Fang Xianye started coughing again because of the hot tea.
Duan Xu turned his head and looked at him, with a hint of smile in his eyes. He comforted Fang Xianye and said, "Don't worry, she rejected me. In her eyes, not to mention the Nandu Duan family, Daliang or the whole world is nothing."
After a pause, Duan Xu said, "Xianye, you also think that no one in this world can't live without anyone else, and no one is indispensable to anyone else, right?"
Fang Xianye's eyes flickered, he sighed lightly and placed the tea bowl on the table.
"Yes," he replied.
Duan Xu was silent for a moment, and when he looked up again, he smiled again and said, "Maybe."
Fang Xianye frowned.
He always felt that Duan Xu's mental state was a little unusual, but there was no big problem. However, Duan Xu did not seem to be able to express his emotions like ordinary people, as if there were two separate selves inside him who were enemies of each other.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Don't worry, the things happening in the court will never hold you back."
Duan Xu spoke very easily.
He had indeed easily staged a show of rivalry with Fang Xianye, and the scene that ended in a quarrel was exaggerated by the beautiful Luo Xian, so that the whole Nandu knew that the two of them were enemies, just like the party struggle behind them.
Although Prince Wang had little to do with this matter and was at most a "flaming up the trouble", he felt proud of it for no reason and became close friends with Duan Xu. He heard that his father and Duan Xu's father wanted Duan Xu to marry his sister, so he enthusiastically helped the two of them. That day when Duan Xu walked into Yuzao Tower, he saw Prince Wang waving at him desperately from the second-floor railing, and a pink-dressed woman covering her face with a round fan.
Duan Xu frowned slightly, then smiled brightly, walked over and sat down in front of the prince, and said, "You brought your sister here to ruin my show?"
"Seeking pleasure is common for men. How could a well-educated and well-mannered lady like me mind your confidantes?" Young Master Wang had a nonchalant smile on his face. Although he looked good, he was addicted to alcohol and sex all year round, and his eyes were already turbid and lustful.
Duan Xu's gaze shifted to the girl beside him. The girl put down the round fan in her hand, revealing a delicate and gentle face with willow-shaped eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes. She looked at him with some curiosity.
Duan Xu bowed and said, "I am Duan Xu, nice to meet you, young lady."
The girl returned the greeting and said, "My daughter Su Yi greets you, sir."
Prince Wang was not good at other things, but he had a good eye for romance. Without saying a word, he went to hang out with his beauties, leaving Duan Xu and his little sister at the wine table, and asked Duan Xu to take Wang Suyi back home for him.
Wang Suyi nervously gripped the handle of her round fan, glancing at Duan Xu from time to time. Duan Xu smiled brightly, leaning against the window and looking at her, saying, "Don't you want to come here to see me?"
"No… "
"You actually mind men drinking wine, don't you?"
Wang Suyi was stunned, not understanding how she could be seen through by this person of the same age in front of her after sitting here for only a few moments. Fortunately, Duan Xu lightly changed the topic to another place, chatting with her gently and indifferently, mostly about the scenery of Nandu and the interesting stories of the noble families. The topic was not boring, but Wang Suyi felt that this person did not seem to want to understand her that much.
Suddenly, a loud thunder was heard from the sky. Wang Suyi was so startled that she almost knocked over the wine glass. However, the glass was straightened by Duan Xu at the moment it tilted. She was very surprised - she didn't even notice when Duan Xu made the move.
Duan Xu laughed and said, "Be careful."
This was the gentlest smile he had shown since he entered the door, as if he was reminded of some interesting memories.
Wang Suyi cleared her throat, looked at the street outside the railings a little embarrassedly, and said, "It's raining."
Duan Xu also looked out the window. Following the thunder, heavy rain fell from the gloomy sky. The raindrops that fell on the street tiles splashed into water droplets one foot high. The sky and the earth were hazy with moisture. Pedestrians on the road all held umbrellas, and those without umbrellas hurriedly covered their heads to avoid the rain. For a moment, the streets were filled with a panic and bustle.
"Yes, sudden rain in summer..." Duan Xu stopped talking.
Wang Suyi turned to look at him in confusion, but saw that Duan Xu's smile was gone. He stared at a certain place on the street with wide eyes, as if he couldn't believe it. The trembling emotion in his eyes was completely different from the young man who was chatting and laughing just now.
Before she could ask, she saw Duan Xu leaning on the table and flipping down from the railing, his sleeves fluttering as he landed on the eaves of the first floor amid the exclamations of the diners, then leaping down again, clinging to the eaves to cushion his fall and landing on the street. In the blink of an eye, Duan Xu's snow-blue figure disappeared without a trace on the rainy street.
Wang Suyi was unable to react for a long time. She thought, Duan Xu couldn't wait to go down the stairs, and kept staring at that direction as if he was afraid that he would lose sight if he blinked. What did he see
She had never thought that she would see such a wanton and crazy Duan Xu.
Duan Xu ran quickly on the street where pedestrians were holding umbrellas or taking shelter from the rain. With the speed and agility he had learned in the brutal fighting, he nimbly dodged and shuttled through the crowd, not letting anyone slow down his pace. The wind carried rain and hit the sword that broke delusion at his waist, making a clanging sound, soaking his clothes and staining his boots. People seemed to be discussing what he was doing, but he seemed not to hear.
Among the myriad living beings and amidst the clamor, there was only a pair of eyes in his blank mind.
His breathing was tense until he grabbed the hand of a girl holding a red lotus paper umbrella and pulled her so hard that she staggered and turned back.
The girl looked very unfamiliar, with ordinary flat eyebrows and round eyes. She wore an ivory-colored long dress with a simple cloud pattern embroidered on it. Her hair was half-tied up with a jade hairpin, and the rest of her hair was scattered behind her. She looked like the most ordinary civilian girl in Nandu. She stood in the rain with an umbrella in one hand, and the hand he was holding was holding a sugar man, which was even a little funny.
She frowned and tried to pull her hand away, angrily saying, "Who are you? Where did you come from? Lecher!"
Duan Xu's eyes moved slightly, and he stared at her closely. In the pouring rain, water drops rolled down from the ends of his hair and between his eyebrows and seeped into his eyes, but he never blinked.
"Have you forgotten me so quickly?"
He smiled brightly.
"Here is Duan Xu, the one who sealed the wolf in the lair, whose name is Shunxi."
After a pause, he spoke word by word: "He Simu."
The girl stood in silence with him for a moment, then slowly relaxed her brows. She took a long breath and held the umbrella over their heads to shield them from the wind and rain.
"You recognized me, little fox."
Duan Xu held her hand tighter, but He Simu seemed unaware and asked openly, "How did you recognize me?"
He was silent for a moment, his eyes fell on the sugar figure in her hand, and said, "Who else can draw a sugar figure of a crow?"
He Simu turned the candy figure in her hand. She hadn't started to eat it yet. The figure was drawn in a rather freehand style of a crow. It was really hard for Duan Xu to recognize it.
They were standing on a stone bridge, Duan Xu standing a few steps higher than her. He was soaked, water ran down his arms, soaking her sleeves and wrists. His eyes seemed to be soaked with moisture, like jade thrown into the water, as if they were about to melt in the heavy rain.
With a smile in his eyes, he said, "You've come to Nandu."
"Um."
"why did not you tell me?"
The tone seemed like a normal greeting between friends.
He Simu seemed to find it absurd, with a familiar indifferent look on her unfamiliar face. She turned her head and said, "I came to Nandu for my own business. I didn't come to see you. Why should I tell you?"
"So, you don't plan to see me?"
"Nandu isn't that big. Haven't you seen it?"
Duan Xu seemed to want to say something, but before he could finish his words, he saw a piece of white clothing stopped between them. The person who came said leisurely: "What a coincidence, General Duan, why are you holding my friend and not letting go?"
Duan Xu turned his head and saw a man in white clothes with a golden 28-constellation map embroidered on his clothes. The man had waist-length hair tied behind his head with a headband. His features were as delicate as a knife, and his eyes were as deep as the night. The only flaw was that he looked pale and was very thin. He was holding a shoulder-high white carved wooden cane in his hand, which made him look sick and unfit for walking.
Behind him stood a beautiful woman in purple, with her head lowered and eyes closed, quietly holding an umbrella for him.
Duan Xu's eyes swept between him and He Simu, then he bowed to him and said, "Master Imperial Master, Miss Ziji."
The Ghost King and the current imperial master actually have a close relationship.
Imperial Master Feng Yi laughed. He turned to He Simu and said, "You went out to make a candy man in the blink of an eye. You can't taste the flavor, so why do you prefer these things?"
He Simu snorted and said, "Just take care of yourself. You are in such poor health, but you have to choose a rainy day to go out for a walk. Do you think you have a long life?"
"Everyone has his own quirks, so let's not pursue them. Shall we go?"
"Walk."
Their conversation was familiar and intimate, as if they had an unspoken understanding. It seemed that the Imperial Master had known her for a long time, and to her, he was more pleasing to her than any evil ghost in the ghost realm.
The Imperial Master is also a living person.
He Simu wanted to turn around, but Duan Xu pulled her hand away—he still didn't seem to be willing to let go. He looked at her without saying anything, and without the nonchalant smile he had just given her. His eyelashes and hair were wet, dripping down.
He Simu was silent for a moment, then he smiled gently, pulled his wrist away from Duan Xu's hand, and then put the handle of his umbrella in his hand and asked him to hold it.
Duan Xu lowered his eyes to look at her hand. The body she lived in had a warm and soft palm. He covered the back of his hand, paused for a moment, and then patted it gently as if to comfort him.
She took his free hand and put the crow candy figure she had drawn into his hand. She smiled brightly through the amber-like candy figure: "Help me taste it and see if it's sweet."
Just like when they were on the wall of Liangzhou at the beginning, each hiding something, testing each other. She changed her body and her appearance, but the same soul could be seen from the depths of her eyes, reflecting the same him, and also handing over a sugar man.
Then He Simu let go of Duan Xu's hand. Feng Yi held up an umbrella, and she walked under Feng Yi's umbrella. She turned her back to Duan Xu and waved goodbye, then walked away with Feng Yi and Zi Ji.
Just like every time she left, she didn't look back this time.