It Turns out that I am Beautiful, Strong and Miserable [Quick Wear] - 146

 

ITOTIABSAM | The Immortal on Liuyun Mountain | 146

He wasn't actually being disobedient.

In theory, Xie Ye could have used the puppet thread to pull him over. Even if Gu Cong wanted to refuse, he couldn't. However, the force Gu Cong felt was only as strong as a touch from the tip of a pinky finger, as if coaxing him, yet also as if waiting for him to make his own choice.

Enchanted, without any command, Gu Cong's feet started moving, step by step, toward the other person.

It wasn't until the youth raised an eyebrow, looking toward his arms, "It needs to go down."

Being reminded like this, Gu Cong remembered he was still holding the pot with the white bird inside. The small bird had closed its eyes and curled up, recuperating, looking pitiful yet adorable.

Gu Cong was puzzled, "But before..." he often used Xie Ye's clothes as a nest.

Before he could finish his question, when he lifted his head, he met Xie Ye's eyes. Those pitch-black phoenix-like eyes couldn't speak, yet somehow conveyed the meaning of you're an exception.

Blatant double standards.

However, when the one being indulged was himself, Gu Cong couldn't help but feel genuinely happy. Seemingly composed, he uttered a soft "oh" and placed the white bird back in its original spot.

Turning back around, the youth had already taken off his boots and lay down on the inner side, leaving the outer side for Gu Cong.

Using the starry grass as a makeshift nightlight had its only downside of not having a switch. Since the bedroom was spacious enough, Gu Cong quietly moved it a bit farther away before tiptoeing back to the bed.

With proper decorum, Gu Cong measured the distance with his eyes before lying down, not even brushing against a piece of Xie Ye's clothing.

【Rest assured, there won't be any restricted-level plot twists,】 0028 expressed his regret with a touch of mischief, "Even though the label suggests coercion, he hasn't even gotten close to Shen Qingshu."

Gu Cong, having read the original work, knew about this matter. Yet, he couldn't imagine Xie Ye having the same bewildered and infatuated appearance as the protagonist in the text.

Still, he felt a bit nervous.

Fortunately, staying up late was not unfamiliar to Gu Cong, who inherited memories from Song He. With his new body full of spiritual energy, Gu Cong followed a specific method of cultivation. In just a few breaths, his mind became clear, and he felt calm and composed.

Xie Ye, who was sleeping on the inner side, was even quieter than him, with his breath almost imperceptible. As Gu Cong's cultivation reached the third major cycle and he entered a state of tranquility, suddenly, his arm sank as if something was pressing against it.

Quietly, he opened his eyes and glanced in the dim light. He saw the youth who had turned over, with his hands and feet neatly placed at a safe distance, only his forehead, separated by fabric, touching Gu Cong's shoulder.

For no reason, Gu Cong couldn't help but sense a hint of dependence from this ordinary action, reminding him of the stray cats he used to feed at school.

With this small contact, Xie Ye's spiritual fluctuations gradually stabilized.

After traversing through multiple lifetimes, perhaps only when he was by Gu Cong's side could Xie Ye truly relax. It wasn't a good habit, but Xie Ye had no intention of changing it.

【No wonder Song He succeeded in the original work,】 0028 clicked his tongue, feeling emotional, "The difficulty is too low. This villain is completely defenseless against his own puppet."

The puppet's spiritual energy, derived from the same source as Xie Ye, even a child could harm the opponent's vital energy.

With victory in sight, Gu Cong said, "I don't like it."

This statement seemed to come out of nowhere, prompting an immediate question mark in 0028's mind.

But its new host ignored it, silently moving a bit closer to the villain to make him more comfortable.

—Tasks that require exploiting the villain’s trust are very unpleasant.

Gu Cong thought.

Or rather, tasks that require exploiting Xie Ye's trust are very unpleasant.

He didn't like it.

Gu Cong was well aware that he wasn't some saintly figure. He also knew that he had to complete the task in order to have a chance to return to his own world.

However, it was undeniable that the longer Gu Cong spent with Xie Ye, the more he wavered.

Although the puppet's body was composed of wood and stone, flowing within the array, it was ultimately Xie Ye's blood. When activated by spiritual energy, it could warm up.

At first, Gu Cong just wanted to make the other person more comfortable to sleep. But later on, the youth followed this warmth and gradually, like a koala, clung to him.

By the time Xie Ye woke up again, the night had faded, and daylight had broken. What met his eyes was a messy collar, revealing skin darker than his own.

Subconsciously, Xie Ye lifted his gaze, looking upwards, and indeed saw a familiar yet younger face.

And the unmistakably warm earlobes of the other person.

Taking advantage of someone pretending to be asleep, he tilted his head back, seriously admiring for a few seconds before letting go solemnly, sitting up, "Not used to it?"

Gu Cong instantly realized that his acting had been exposed.

Before he could figure out how to respond, the youth, who was smoothing out his hair with his fingertips, continued on his own, "But I heard that sword cultivators sleep with their swords."

With a clear and cold tone, tinged with a hint of disappointment, Gu Cong didn't know what had come over him, but instead of avoiding it, he extended his arms and embraced the other person.

This "ambush" was quite sudden, without any malice. Instead of being able to dodge, the white-clad celestial was caught off guard and leaned forward, falling into the other's arms.

Stiff as a real wooden block, Gu Cong explained, "Swords don't hug sword cultivators."

"You win."

Resting his chin in the crook of the other's shoulder, Xie Ye chuckled softly.

The sudden closeness made the breaths hitting Gu Cong’s neck side by side even clearer, trembling with the vibrations of the other's chest.

What's even more deadly was the cool fingertips of the youth, curiously tracing along the bone behind his ear, meandering downward, "You're so red."

"Is there a problem with your spiritual roots?"

In his mind, the location of a cultivator's spiritual roots promptly surfaced. Without hesitation, Gu Cong grabbed the youth's wrist suddenly.

Being taller and bigger-framed, Gu Cong inadvertently made the other's already delicate wrist appear somewhat fragile. With just one glance, his gaze recoiled as if burned, "I'm fine."

"Perhaps it's a bit hot in the room."

Hearing him say that, the youth didn't pursue further. Seeming merely curious, his fingertips trembled lightly, and invisibly, the puppet threads immediately opened all the windows in the bedroom.

A refreshing breeze swept in, and the white bird sleeping in the flowerpot let out a soft chirp.

Life in the Liuyun  Mountain, if described nicely, was leisurely; if described harshly, it was dull. But with two people, even the most boring days could be filled with some amusement.

Thinking ahead, knowing that the spiritual energy of this life couldn't be taken away, Gu Cong shifted the focus of his training to swordsmanship and martial arts.

He had learned self-defense techniques before traversing, so he had some foundation. With the tireless puppet body and Xie Ye's incisive guidance, Gu Cong made rapid progress in just a few days.

As a young man, tall but not bulky, with broad shoulders and narrow waist, simply wielding a sword was a pleasing sight to behold.

Precisely because of this, Xie Ye, who rarely wasn't lazy, had been getting up early lately, sitting by the window or on the veranda, gazing outside every day.

Gu Cong had initially thought that this peaceful time would continue until Shen Qingshu contacted him again. Unexpectedly, it was Xie Ye who first brought about a change.

That day, a rare full moon rose over the Liuyun Mountain, heavy and hanging in the sky, as if within arm's reach, yet also as if it could fall at any moment.

Xie Ye's and Shen Qingshu's initial encounter had also been on such a moonlit night.

Still remembering the youth's initial encounter with himself as the white bird, with waves of disgust in his eyes, Gu Cong tactfully didn't ask him to come out and enjoy the scenery, planning to practice another set of sword techniques before returning.

But the door to the bedroom opened from the inside.

With an expression no different from usual, the youth extended his hand towards him, casually saying, "Let's go down the mountain."

His tone was so relaxed and certain, as if he were simply discussing something ordinary, making it impossible for anyone to raise any objections.

Only 0028 calmly commented on his host's desire to retrieve the sword: "Wake up, he's probably sleepwalking."

The protagonist's impression on the villain was truly remarkable. Just because it was the same moonlit night, it seemed to have driven him crazy.

"I know." Bearing in mind the original setting, Gu Cong also didn't think much of going down the mountain. Nevertheless, disregarding the system's warnings, he took three steps in one and placed his hand in the youth's palm:

【But I want to accompany him.】

Whether it was sleepwalking or obsession, he didn't want to leave Xie Ye alone, wandering aimlessly in these mountains.

It was precisely at the moment when the youth held his hand and the sleeve of his robe drooped down that a fluffy white bundle suddenly flew out, chirping as it landed on Gu Cong's left shoulder.

Bringing the whole family along.

Four big characters quickly flashed through Gu Cong's mind.

It had to be acknowledged that Xie Ye was well-prepared for tonight's outing. When passing by the thriving field of stargrass outside the small courtyard, he even stopped specifically to leave behind a defensive formation.

Gu Cong didn't stop him, allowing the youth to do as he pleased.

According to the descriptions in the original work, there was an invisible barrier around the Liuyun Mountain for Xie Ye. Gu Cong wasn't sure what this barrier looked like, but he was always worried that Xie Ye might run into it, so he always stayed a step ahead of him, using the most primitive and effective method to block in front of the youth.

Gradually, they moved further and further away from the mountain courtyard. Gu Cong, who had made some progress in his studies, became increasingly aware of something strange.

Normally, the monsters lurking in the darkness, no matter how fierce or menacing, would scatter and hide at the slightest glance from Xie Ye. Yet tonight, despite not seeing anything with his eyes, his intuition told him that there were many things following them, or rather, following Xie Ye, silently and existentially present.

What unsettled him the most was that the youth's grip on his fingertips grew colder and colder, feeling more like ice.

The white bird on his shoulder also fell silent.

"Xie Ye?" In the moment when he wanted to turn around to confirm, there was a crack, as if something had shattered completely in the depths of his mind. Then, the familiar voice rang out:

"Don't look."

Knowing that the youth harbored no ill intentions towards him, Gu Cong always listened to Xie Ye's words.

But this time, he couldn't understand what drove him to act impulsively. Against his better judgment, almost instinctively, he turned his head back and saw countless grotesque tumors formed by monsters, covering the sky and blocking out the sun. 

He also saw the white-clad celestial being pulled back by countless hands and vines, forming a huge web of intertwining puppet threads that burrowed into his body, drenched in crimson liquid, desperately dragging him back into the mountains.

The only thread connected to Gu Cong remained clean, untouched by dust.

With the full moon hanging high in the sky, in a daze, tentacles, mud, and flesh buds emerging like sprouting plants... 

The illusions unfolded, and the beautiful immortal seemed to be assimilated, revealing a terrifying and monstrous appearance. He turned his head away from Gu Cong's gaze, and Xie Ye's body shifted back another inch.

——Screwed up.

Xie Ye pursed his lips, unconsciously loosening his grip on Gu Cong's hand, releasing the only lifeline that could pull him out of the barrier.

He just wanted to leave as many beautiful memories as possible for the other... before the end of Gu Cong's mission.

But soon, someone else held onto him tighter, grasping his hand, which was gradually losing its human form, with a warmth hotter than the sun, without hesitation, pulling him forward.

"You lied to me again."

"We agreed to go down the mountain together."

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