Yin Wushu's bed was of moderate firmness. When Xie Bai's consciousness was not fully awake, he faintly felt it was just like the bed he had slept on for many years in the small two-floors building back then, also with a very faint scent of bamboo. Back then, he didn't know where this bamboo scent came from, but now he understood it was the scent carried in Yin Wushu’s blood...

Bamboo scent?

Xie Bai's consciousness almost immediately became clear, and his eyes, which had slightly adjusted to the light, suddenly opened. He froze for a moment without moving, then sniffed again— it really was the scent of bamboo! It was no longer the blandness of nothingness; there really was a scent...

His sense of smell had been problematic over a hundred years ago. Back then, he stood at the gate of the Tai Xuan sect for nine days and nights, only to receive a few sparse words from Yin Wushu telling him to go back without even seeing his face. In a fit of anger and frustration, combined with the extreme cold that his body could no longer withstand, his orifices bled, and he lost all five senses, taking a long time to recuperate. It was during that period that he developed the habit of covering his eyes with refined corpse energy and using spiritual energy to see.

Later, everything gradually recovered, except his sense of smell remained absent. His impression of various scents had stayed as it was before then, and having been absent for over a hundred years, he had gotten used to it.

Suddenly regaining it now left him somewhat stunned.

Clearly, he had also re-aligned himself with Yin Wushu and that person under the ice, getting back what he had lost, even his body, which had been lying motionless for three days and nights, felt warmer than before, and the blood flowing in his body no longer felt as if it was almost frozen, everything was progressing towards a better direction, but he didn't know if the corpse nurturing formation on his body was still there.

Thinking this, he couldn't help but raise his hand to touch the position over his heart, to see if he could still feel the presence of the corpse nurturing formation, but he only then felt how weak his wrist was, lifting it was somewhat difficult.

His hand had barely lifted halfway when it was held down by someone.

"..." Xie Bai turned his head to look, and saw Yin Wushu, who had been propping his head up and sitting on the bed side, had woken up at some point, now sitting up straight, reaching out from under the golden quilt, boldly touching under the quilt at Xie Bai's wrist, and said, "There's still some obstruction in your meridians, but it's much better than before, lying down for a few days might make it hard to exert strength, just take it easy and you'll adapt."

After he finished speaking, he withdrew his hand, then raised his eyes to meet Xie Bai's gaze, smiling, "Congratulations on regaining your soul, young man. Are you thirsty? I've warmed a cup of water for you over there."

Xie Bai half-squinted and stared at him for a few seconds, then lowered his eyelashes, slightly moved his hands and feet, then slowly propped himself up to sit, twisting his wrists left and right, trying to recover his strength sooner.

Yin Wushu kept talking, continuing to tease, "Why don't you speak, you were a mute kitten for three days, got used to it?"

Xie Bai moved his wrists, finally letting his hands sweep around the room, and said coldly and indifferently to him, "Who are you? Where is this?"

Yin Wushu: "…"

Just as Lou Xianyue and others came to the door to check on Xie Bai, they heard this sentence just as they opened the door, instantly dumbfounded at the doorway, blinking for a long time, not understanding what was happening.

"Stop messing around." Yin Wushu looked at him somewhat amusedly, "How come you suddenly don't remember."

Xie Bai lifted the quilt and sat on the edge of the bed, unceremoniously putting on his slippers, and said, "Who knows, I just feel like half of my brain was drained by someone, only remembering the parts related to myself, everything else is vague and not very clear, probably hit my head or was drugged."

After saying this, he simply stood up, having moved around while sitting on the bed for a while was enough to restore strength to his limbs, so at this moment his steps were big and steady, and he walked a few steps to the window, raising his hand to lift the curtain, and without turning his head, said, "So you still haven't answered who are you, where is this.”

Luo Zhusheng muttered from outside the door, "Oh, has the Yao Zhu San started to take effect?"

Lou Xianyue twitched the corner of his mouth: "Really picked a good day on purpose."

Yin Wushu: "..."

Yes, how could he suddenly forget everything? It could only be because someone drugged him. What kind of drug was that nefarious? Yao Zhu San. And who drugged him? Me.

For the first time, Yin Wushu felt what it was like to lift a rock only to drop it on his own feet, a taste of his own medicine.

Xie Bai's demeanor clearly wasn't one of genuine forgetfulness. If he truly couldn't remember who he was, or where this was, given Xie Bai's highly defensive and distant nature, he would have acted on impulse upon opening his eyes, not standing here casually squeezing Yin Wushu.

Pure squeezing.

He didn't even bother to pretend, just sporting a look that screamed "I remember everything," and saying, "Who are you? I don't know you," leaving Yin Wushu speechless. Clearly, he harbored deep resentments about the Yao Zhu San incident, and his anger wasn't going to dissipate anytime soon.

Xie Bai glanced out the window, seemingly hesitating whether to jump out and leave or to exit normally through the door and down the stairs. He scanned the lights outside, then decisively pushed open the window glass.

The sound of the window frame sliding in its track was heard, and Yin Wushu was about to stand up from the armchair, just as he was about to remove the golden coils and pause the major repairs, Xie Bai turned his head back, his dark eyes fixating on Yin Wushu, saying, "Although I can't remember a lot of things, for some reason, when I see someone acting tough while injured, pretending like nothing's wrong, it particularly infuriates me, especially seeing your face."

Yin Wushu: "..."

He knew Xie Bai was finding ways to make him continue his major repairs honestly, without fuss, but...

Xie Bai glanced at the armchair behind him and said lightly, "The angrier I get, the less I seem to remember."

Yin Wushu: "..."

Three days of teasing the cat, and finally, it came back to bite him.

He nodded, then sat back in the armchair, chuckling, "So, after I honestly complete my repairs, will you calm down, young hero?"

"Although I don't recognize you, my intuition tells me the word 'honest' has nothing to do with you." Xie Bai, arms crossed, didn't seem in a hurry to leave, leaning casually against the open window sill, looking at Yin Wushu.

When Yin Wushu wanted to put on an act, he was almost flawless. Previously, he had been circling around Xie Bai, who had turned into a cat, always appearing calm and composed, and it was hard to discern his true state of recovery and actual condition. Only during major repairs was his actual state more clearly revealed.

Xie Bai's gaze silently swept over Yin Wushu's face and hands, pausing slightly at his wrists and fingertips. Seeing the faint blue-white lifelessness on his fingertips gradually dissipate, replaced by some healthy color, Xie Bai then withdrew his gaze.

Yin Wushu was still responding to him, "Oh? What kind of intuition?"

Xie Bai succinctly replied, "Physiognomy."

In other words, "You look unreliable; who would believe you?"

Yin Wushu: "..."

Luo Xianyue interjected, "That makes a lot of sense."

At first, the people at the door were a bit confused, but after a few sentences, they realized that Xie Bai was mocking Yin Wushu. Witnessing Yin Wushu being humiliated like this was truly a rare pleasure in one's lifetime. So, each of them, with the mentality of watching the excitement, attempted to add fuel to the fire.

Unfortunately, Xie Bai wasn't really teasing Yin Wushu for their entertainment. After assessing Yin Wushu's recovery, he exchanged a few words with him, achieving his goals. So, he nodded to Luo Xianyue and the others at the door as a farewell and then said to Yin Wushu, "I won't stay where I'm not familiar." With that, he smoothly turned around and disappeared into the night.

A few minutes later, at the entrance of Yanghua Lane, there appeared a tall and thin figure striding towards the residential building inside.

Xie Bai was wearing a clean shirt and trousers, but they were slightly oversized for him. These were the clothes Yin Wushu had changed him into while his body was still unconscious. At that time, he was stuck in the body of the little black cat, so he could only watch with a wooden face, feeling uncomfortable as he stiffly held his cat's thin tail.

The cold wind was heavy at night. Xie Bai avoided it and quickly went upstairs to his place.

Nothing had changed inside the house; it remained as it was when he left. However, he took the books that were on the table and the Ten thousand souls Tree that was originally growing in one of the bedrooms. The entire house now seemed empty, with any remaining traces of human presence vanished, as if nobody had ever lived there.

But indeed, it was time to vacate it.

With this in mind, Xie Bai stepped into the house, tidied up a bit, gathered the various miscellaneous items he had brought, such as cinnabar talismans, into a small cloth bag, and swept all the books in the bookcase into it.

Finally, he glanced at the ordinary house where he had lived alone for over ten years, stepped out of the door, and left.

It was more appropriate to recuperate in the Yin guest's place. After all, it was more suitable for the Ten thousand souls Tree to grow and recover there.

Moreover, he had moved out years ago because he didn't want to see those scenes anymore. But now, those scenes would no longer upset him, so he didn't mind moving back.

At the end of the suburbs, the sign of Huaimen Tobacco and Wine still only illuminated half of it, with the broken light never repaired, and a wooden character missing, making it look even more like Ghost Gate Tobacco and Wine.

As Xie Bai passed by there, the middle-aged man sitting inside the shop still hurriedly put down the tablet he was playing with, took out the incense burner, and lit incense to worship Xie Bai, making Xie Bai step up his pace even more.

The last time he came here, he was with Yin Wushu. At that time, the riverside was still littered with ruins, looking desolate and chaotic. But now, even though not much time had passed, most of those ruins had been cleared away, revealing a piece of untreated wasteland. It was unclear what it would be used for in the future, whether to build a new residential area or commercial establishments.

However, no matter how the shore changed, it couldn't obstruct the deep and long river, the two arched bridges spanning the river, and the misty haze on the opposite bank.

Xie Bai walked over the arched bridge with familiarity, his slender figure disappearing into the thick fog. In fact, this arched bridge was only half complete, and the other end didn't directly connect to the bank but rather to several round stones in the water.

He stepped from the bridge onto the round stones, following a complex sequence, stepping on each stone to reach the opposite bank.

In the mist on the opposite bank stood a door out of nowhere, with a paper lantern hanging beside it, swaying slightly in the fog. Xie Bai knocked three times at different positions on the door, and the door lock clicked open. He looked at this long-lost residence, took a deep breath, and then pushed the door open and walked in.

Glancing around the scene inside the door, he calmly shook his wrist, and a black cat appeared in his arms. However, the cat was curled up with its eyes closed, almost lifeless. But Xie Bai knew that it still retained a trace of vitality.

This was the black cat that he had inhabited for three days, Yin Wushu's heart.

Despite having almost no vitality left, Xie Bai still wanted to try to see if he could revive it.

 

Translator : DarNan