WPCID 36: I’ll Take You Back to See It Someday

The candle flame flickered, and the shadow on the wall swayed a few times.

“Lu Buzhu” calmly finished the full cup of doctored tea and was about to pour another when his hand was stopped.

“What are you drinking?” the other’s tone was hostile.

“To stay a little longer, of course.”

“Get back inside.”

“So fierce.” “Lu Buzhu” smiled and reached out his other hand, gently covering the back of Shen Zhou’s. 

“What, you want to call him out and tell him Sect Master Chu is planning to seal his memories? So what if he finds out? At most, he’ll have a talk with Chu Xuan. Between senior and junior martial brothers, anything can be discussed, and Chu Xuan will most likely give up the idea. And after that?”

Shen Zhou’s wolf ears drooped. He looked at the hand covering his own and said nothing.

“He’ll give up this time, but after this, Sect Master Chu will see you as an even bigger thorn in his side. I was lucky enough to overhear it once; I might not be so lucky the next time.” “Lu Buzhu’s” eyes curved. 

“Wouldn’t you agree? Shen Zhou.”

“…”

“Don’t look at me like that. After I leave the Bamboo Dwelling, I’ll have no reason to make things difficult for you anymore.” “Lu Buzhu” released his hand and went to pour tea again. This time, he wasn’t stopped. 

“I told you, I can help you.”

A lingering, cherished warmth remained on the back of his hand. Although it lacked the scent of bamboo, it was still very warm. Shen Zhou lowered his head and rubbed it, then rubbed it again, his wolf ears remaining quietly flat against his head.

After a moment, he mumbled softly, “How are you going to help me?”

“As the former Sect Master of Kunlun Ruins, Lu Buzhu has lost all his cultivation and is weak and sickly. Kunlun Ruins would never let him wander outside and fool around with a demonic cultivator. You wanting Lu Buzhu is like wanting the stars in the sky.”

The wolf ears trembled slightly.

“Lu Buzhu’s” smile deepened. 

“In that case, we’ll just make it so Kunlun Ruins can’t take him back. Something that nobody wants, you can naturally pick up and claim as your own.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“It’s simple. As long as he…” “Lu Buzhu” crooked a finger. When Shen Zhou leaned closer, he grabbed a wolf ear and pulled it to his lips, his eyes flashing with irrepressible excitement, his voice slightly hoarse. 

“…has his reputation ruined, and is deserted by everyone. He’ll be yours.”

“The payment is the same as before. All I want is that pendant.”

Lu Buzhu didn’t come for medicated fumigation today.

With nothing to do, Xie Xianqing took stock of the medicine bottles on his shelf. As he counted, he came across a box of wound ointment he’d made at some point.

He thought for a moment, took it down, tucked it into his robes, and went to knock on the neighboring courtyard door.

The door opened at his knock.

“I’ve been waiting for you all morning. Don’t tell me you’re sulking and not coming just because I didn’t give you medicine yesterday…?” Xie Xianqing’s voice trailed off as he saw the wolf ears peeking through the crack in the door, and he immediately shut his mouth.

Why wasn’t it Lu Buzhu who opened the door?

“Pardon the intrusion.” He reached for the bronze ring on the door, but to his surprise, the wolf ears twitched and brushed against the back of his hand. They were so fluffy.

Xie Xianqing: “.”

The crack in the door opened a little wider, revealing the half-demon’s displeased face. 

“?”

“I… I came…” The wolf ears were just too soft. It took Xie Xianqing a long moment to come to his senses. When he did, he found himself holding the wound ointment. 

“I came to bring you some medicine.”

As soon as the words were out, both of them fell silent.

Shen Zhou stared at him with suspicion and vigilance.

“Lu Buzhu” wasn’t in the courtyard; he had gone out on an errand. Before leaving, he had warned him not to let Chu Xuan or Xie Xianqing find out.

This man had sworn yesterday that he “doesn’t treat demonic cultivators,” yet today he shows up at the door with medicine. Offering courtesy for no reason means he’s either a thief or up to no good. Could he have discovered something?

Shen Zhou’s gaze turned slightly cold.

Xie Xianqing had no idea what the other was thinking. His eyes flickered down and noticed that Shen Zhou’s fingers, which were gripping the door, really did have several small cuts. He felt that his impulsive, harebrained action today had just become a tiny bit more logical.

“Apply some, it’ll heal quickly,” he said, continuing to hold out his hand.

Shen Zhou followed his gaze back to his own fingers. He froze for a second and subconsciously flinched, wanting to hide them.

These cuts were from trying to grind off the characters on the sword hilt.

Xie Xianqing was on Chu Xuan’s side.

“Why are you hiding?” Xie Xianqing found it strange. He had never seen a half-demon look so reserved. Thinking that since he was already here, he might as well, he directly grabbed his hand and shoved the ointment into it. 

“Don’t be shy. If you don’t want it, just give it to Lu Buzhu. Where is he?… Why are your ears drooping?”

Shen Zhou: “!”

The back of his hand, where he’d been touched, felt a little numb, almost tingly. The medicine box in his hand still held a trace of body heat, feeling just as warm as Lu Buzhu’s touch. A gentle warmth baked his fingertips—a very unfamiliar sensation.

It left him somewhat at a loss.

…

This person was so annoying.

The wolf ears suddenly started flapping about wildly.

Xie Xianqing: “.”

He couldn’t understand it. Maybe this was just what half-demons were like.

To avoid getting hit, he left quickly after delivering the medicine. It wasn’t until he was back in front of his medicine shelf that he remembered he’d forgotten to ask why Lu Buzhu hadn’t come today. So, he resorted to his old trick and went to get the soul-nourishing elixirs.

Only then did he discover that there was only one bottle of medicine left.

Xie Xianqing: “?”

He searched everywhere but couldn’t find them. Just as he was feeling puzzled, Lu Buzhu arrived on his own, so he temporarily pushed the matter to the back of his mind and started preparing for the medicated fumigation.

Lu Buzhu sensed that something was wrong with him.

He felt groggy and disoriented. He was clearly undergoing fumigation, yet he couldn’t remember how he had gotten there.

However, his memory did show signs of returning, perhaps because of the soul-nourishing medicine from Xie Xianqing. But this grogginess came and went in waves; it didn’t seem to be solely the effect of the elixirs.

He suspected that the shadow from the seal in his spiritual domain had escaped while he was careless, so he found a time to ask Shen Zhou about it. The wolf ears told him that nothing unusual had happened recently, wagging vigorously.

“Really nothing?” Lu Buzhu pinched the wolf ear, feeling that it was softer than before.

“Nothing,” Shen Zhou said. After a moment, he hesitantly took out a box of wound ointment. 

“Xie Xianqing brought this. He said if I didn’t want it, I should give it to you.”

Lu Buzhu gave a distracted “mhm,” then suddenly realized that Shen Zhou had spoken a logically complete and coherent sentence, and had even included a name.

He reached out and cupped his face, squishing it a little. 

“You’ve regained your clarity?”

Shen Zhou’s face was squeezed slightly out of shape. He managed a nod, not looking particularly happy, just watching him.

Then he saw Lu Buzhu’s eyes instantly light up. They curved, and he smiled, like a flower blooming in layers, or like the ripples from a spring willow brushing the water’s surface. He released his hands.

“You’re finally clear-headed.”

Shen Zhou’s vision darkened as the scent of bamboo enveloped him. Soft lips suckled at his, pecking again and again, as if in elation.

“Let me think, where should I start,” he heard Lu Buzhu murmur by his ear. 

“You threw a big tantrum that day. What did you overhear? The things I said to Xie Xianqing? That was all to deceive him.”

But who knew if this sentence was also a lie?

Shen Zhou thought. But he didn’t pull away. He grabbed Lu Buzhu’s shoulders and kissed him back, a kiss that was urgent and heavy, twisting and biting, until their lips were bleeding and he almost bit through his own tongue.

He hadn’t seen Lu Buzhu for two days, and he had missed him dearly.

“Why so fierce?” Lu Buzhu chuckled, lifting him up into his arms. Their clothes pressed and rubbed together as the pads of his fingers soothed his chin, his low voice guiding him. 

“Don’t bite… open your mouth, relax… come closer… yes, just like that.”

The taste of blood slowly faded, replaced by the lingering exchange of breaths between their lips and tongues, making soft, wet sounds.

Shen Zhou gradually became less fierce, growing a little dizzy from the kiss. His grip on Lu Buzhu’s shoulders loosened, and finally, he curled up in his arms, burying his head in his chest. 

“Lu Buzhu,” he said, his voice muffled.

“Mhm, I’m here.”

“Lu Buzhu.”

“Here, I’m here.” Lu Buzhu kissed his wolf ear to soothe him. He thought for a moment, then said very softly, “Did you buy a chicken that day to stew for me? It never got cooked. There was a recipe book next to it, so I thought I’d stew it for you, but I messed it up. The chicken was burnt as black as demonic energy.”

“I’m not very good at cooking, and I’m picky about my living arrangements. I’m a troublesome Dao Companion. But I can teach you how to read, and I can teach you how to draw talismans and set up arrays, for self-protection.”

“I won’t let you eat the demonic energy in my spiritual domain anymore. I’ll deal with that stuff myself. Shen Zhou, don’t be a demonic cultivator anymore.”

“Kunlun Ruins is a very beautiful place. Xiaoyin Peak is covered in flowers all year round, much prettier than the Bamboo Dwelling. I’ll take you back to see it someday when I have the chance.”

“Also…”

His Dao Companion’s gentle voice chattered on beside his ear. Shen Zhou listened quietly, and as he listened, his wolf ears folded up.

A sliver of regret suddenly sprouted within him.

He didn’t know what “Lu Buzhu” had been doing outside for the past two days, only that he had almost completely ground away the characters on the sword hilt.

Chu Xuan had come asking for the sword. 

“Lu Buzhu” spoke with him at the door for a while. He didn’t know what was said in the end, but from his perch on the wall, he saw the other man leave empty-handed, his expression somewhat dazed and bewildered.

…

But just as this tiny regret took root and sprouted, before it had the chance to grow into a sky-blotting tree, the scent of bamboo vanished abruptly.

“Lu Buzhu” closed his eyes for a moment, then pushed him away. He lowered his gaze and wiped his lips, saw the blood on his fingertips, and the corner of his mouth hooked up in a strange, deeply unsettling smile. 

“To be so indulgent towards a mere half-demon, no wonder in both lifetimes you… tsk.”

Shen Zhou was still in a daze, looking at “Lu Buzhu.”

“Lu Buzhu” straightened his robes, bent down to feel for the hidden compartment by the bed, and came up empty. His smile faltered.

“Where are the elixirs?” he turned to look at Shen Zhou. 

“The job isn’t finished yet, and tonight is crucial. Do you really want all our efforts to be in vain?”

Shen Zhou came to his senses. He dazedly took the elixirs out of his ring and handed them over.

Halfway there, he suddenly pulled his hand back, poured out all the medicine, stuffed the whole handful into his own mouth, chewed, and swallowed with force.

“Lu Buzhu”: “??????”