4.29 Different Person
4.29 Different Person
All these times, he had refrained from helping Heimo directly because his past exploration had been harmless. With Heimo's strength, he was capable of gathering the ingredients he needed just fine and Lu Yizhou let him be, because he liked to see the strong and confident Heimo. It wasn't until he arrived at Yuling and fought the dragon that he was wounded for the first time.
How was Heimo doing, he wondered? Was he eating well? Did he force himself again to transfer the demonic energy out of his younger sister? Was he healthy? Was he… missing Lu Yizhou as deep as how Lu Yizhou had missed his presence? He swore he could see Heimo sometimes; behind his eyelids, in random strangers who had a similar figure to him, in between his vague dreams, he kept searching and searching. Lu Yizhou had yearned for him so intensely that his chest caved under the depth of it, crushing his ribcage and bursting through his skin. He was afraid of how much he felt.
But then, Heimo had said to him, "The next time we meet, we will be enemies."
Lu Yizhou heaved a sigh as he walked through the street. Yuling City was situated right in the middle of two mountain ranges, making it the perfect place for travelers to stop and take a break before they continued on their journey. Teahouses and inns lined up along the street and Ling Chuwei had no qualms on choosing the most expensive one to stay in. The inn was built of heavy oakwood, its distinct and calming scent spread as soon as they stepped in. Lu Yizhou was wearing glamour for he didn't want anyone to recognize him on the way, but the two companions by his side certainly drew some attention. To begin with, Shan Duoyin was an attractive man. He had a tall build with lean muscles hidden underneath his robes. Not only that, he carried himself with grace that only those in the prestigious sect could have. Not to mention the woman beside him, Ling Chuwei; expensive silk robes, immaculate hairpieces, the elegance and boldness she exuded…
Lu Yizhou was perfectly happy with fading behind the background.
"Welcome, welcome!" The innkeeper greeted them enthusiastically. "May I help you, Sir and Madam?"
"We are not—" Shan Duoyin spluttered in panic before sneaking a glance at Lu Yizhou who was more interested in scrutinizing the pattern carved on the counter.
"We want to book your most expensive rooms, please." Ling Chuwei continued without a care, slipping a pouch of gold coins that made the innkeeper's eyes shone brighter than the lit candle beside him.
"Sure, sure. Our rooms are mostly empty at these times. You know," The innkeeper's face scrunched up like a sour tomato and he leaned forward to whisper. "With the recent earthquakes and landslides around, people are saying that the sleeping dragon has been awakened."
"Oh?" Ling Chuwei's brows lifted in interest. "We haven't heard anything about this."
"Are you two cultivators?" The innkeeper squinted closer and gasped when he spotted the familiar symbol of Lingyan on their robes. "Aiyah, why don't you tell me sooner? A-Tong, come here and bring our esteemed guests up! How many rooms do you need, esteemed cultivators? One? Two?" He eyed Shan Duoyin and Ling Chuwei with a teasing smile.
Shan Duoyin went red all over his face again. "T—Two are—"
"We will take three." Lu Yizhou made his presence known, the corner of his lips downturned. There was no way he would room together with Shan Duoyin. He didn't want to be a spectator to their embarrassingly mating dance any longer. The innkeeper seemed to be intimidated by the sharp look on Lu Yizhou's eyes and fumbled to slide three keys to them. Lu Yizhou promptly grabbed one and made his way upstairs.
"Jingxue-Jun!"
Lu Yizhou turned to give a pointed stare toward Shan Duoyin. The man snapped his mouth shut with a grimace and hastily looked around. Fortunately, nobody had realized the commotion between them. Lu Yizhou willed himself to be patient. "Do you need something else?"
"Ah, no." Shan Duoyin rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I just want to apologize for earlier. I—I swear I didn't mean anything by that!" He lifted three fingers with an earnest face. "I was just flustered and spoke without thinking. Hope Jing—Cultivator Lu isn't angry at me." He hurriedly corrected his address.
Ling Chuwei caught up behind them and linked her arms to Shan Duoyin. The latter tried to shake her off to no avail. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he cleared his throat. "I was just apologizing—"
"Apology accepted." Lu Yizhou sighed. His patience was truly limited when it came to others except his lover. "I wish to rest in my room for the night. If Shan-shidi and Ling-shimei plan to go out, feel free to do so. You may as well gather more information about the dragon along the way. I apologize that I can't join you."
"Oh, that's absolutely fine!" Ling Chuwei perked up with enthusiasm. "If Lu-xiong is tired, then he should rest. We will have fun and fish around for more information, right, Shan-xiong?" She gave a meaningful wink to Shan Duoyin which the man replied with an awkward laugh. "It's decided then!"
Lu Yizhou had no idea what kind of decision Ling Chuwei had made from Shan Duoyin's lack of response and he didn't care either. He gave a brief nod. "Please excuse me." From his peripheral vision, Shan Duoyin opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something but Lu Yizhou had made his way to his room and closed the door behind him. Finally alone after six long months, his shoulders sagged in relief. It was hard to keep up an appearance around the two, especially when Lu Yizhou knew that the slightest mishap would cost him everything.
***
"Don't you realize that something is off about him?" Shan Duoyin asked absent-mindedly after Lu Yizhou disappeared behind his room.
"Hmm?" Ling Chuwei rubbed her chin thoughtfully but years of knowing her told Shan Duoyin that the woman didn't take his words seriously. Honestly, it was endearing sometimes how carefree and open-minded Ling Chuwei was but right now, Shan Duoyin needed a concrete answer. As he had expected, Ling Chuwei leaned her head against her shoulder and grinned. "N–ope. What can be wrong with him? He's the same as always. Stern, cold and disciplined. I got goosebumps just remembering how Father was so insistent on marrying me to him." She made the show of hugging herself and shuddered.
Irritation coursed through Shan Duoyin as he peeled his arm off Ling Chuwei's hold. His own feelings were so complicated that he couldn't fully comprehend it. Was he angry because his two most important people would marry each other and leave him behind? Or was he jealous? If it was the latter, of whom? Jingxue-Jun or… Ling Chuwei? Shan Duoyin shook his head vehemently. What did it mean that he was jealous of Ling Chuwei? Jealous of what?! That she had the eligibility and status to be Jingxue-Jun's betrothed? Jingxue-Jun didn't even like women, for God's sake!
That's right… Jingxue-Jun was a cutsleeve, the memory of that night slipped into his mind again, unbidden.
Shan Duoyin had never known that Jingxue-Jun could look at someone with such a tender and affectionate gaze and in exchange, he became much colder and approachable to others.
Since that night, Shan Duoyin had felt like something wasn't quite right with Jingxue-Jun. Ling Chuwei wasn't wrong; Jingxue-Jun had always been hard to read, a block of ice thorough and thorough. But when all was said and done, he had grown up alongside Jingxue-Jun. Even though Jingxue-Jun kept everyone at arm's length, the boundary didn't really apply to Shan Duoyin.
Shan Duoyin knew it. When the sect divided supplies to the disciples, Jingxue-Jun would give Shan Duoyin some of his spare to help with his cultivation. When he struggled with a bottleneck, Jingxue-Jun would give him some useful and practical pointers. He had never done it with anyone before. Only Shan Duoyin.
That's why, he… he thought that he was the one closest to Jingxue-Jun, the one who knew him the most.
Yet lately, he found Jingxue-Jun became harder and harder to read. His expression bordered on annoyance, impatience and — Shan Duoyin noticed with sinking realization — irritation; like he didn't enjoy the time they spent traveling. But how could that be? The three of them used to be the closest fellow disciples! And his blatant dismissal just now only further validated Shan Duoyin's doubt.
Jingxue-Jun was different from the man he knew. It was as if… he had become a totally different person.
As if he had been bewitched.
Shan Duoyin was stunned as the image of the man who had sweetly called out 'Yi-gege' flashed through his mind.
"Shan-xiong?" After not receiving any response, Ling Chuwei shook his arm. "Is there something wrong? You look like you're deep in thoughts." Concern filled Ling Chuwei's beautiful phoenix eyes. "Are you still hung up about Lu-xiong's matter? I told you—"
"Weiwei." Shan Duoyin seldom called Ling Chuwei with that endearment and hearing that instantly shut Ling Chuwei up, flush spreading across her cheekbones. The woman swayed closer to him and batted her lashes in inquiry but Shan Duoyin noticed not even a thing. No, no, it couldn't be, he argued. There was no way Jingxue-Jun would be bewitched. He was an excellent cultivator with peerless skills. It took paramount efforts to be able to bring him down. But… But if his hunch was true, then Jingxue-Jun's weirdness would be explained. He slowly turned to Ling Chuwei, letting the woman see the dawning horror in his eyes. "Weiwei, tell me. The man with Jingxue-Jun last time, could he be a demonic cultivator…?"