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When they arrived at a populated area, Bai Rui turned his hair and eyes black again.
Cheng Nuo was worried. “What will you tell the elite guards about this? Will this give you trouble?”
“You don’t have to worry about it. I will handle it well.” Bai Rui turned to look at Cheng Nuo with a determined look in his eyes and Cheng Nuo could only choose to believe him.
Walking quickly down a street, Bai Rui found a place that was renting out magical beasts. Bai Rui paid for a carriage and carefully put Cheng Nuo in it then sat down beside him. The vehicle was quite fast. It only took them half an hour to reach Qinghua Sct’s front gate.
Bai Rui showed his first-class disciple’s waist token, saying that he was here to bring a seriously injured Qinghua Sect disciple back. They were allowed inside once his status had been confirmed.
Cheng Nuo looked at the familiar path and his calm mood became more and more tense. He hadn’t figured out yet how he could deal with Liu Guang. Liu Guang had run away in sorrow at that time. Perhaps he hadn’t realized yet that Cheng Nuo had been kidnapped?
Bai Rui quickly noticed that Cheng Nuo was breathing fast and murmured, “What are you worried about?”
Cheng Nuo smiled guiltily. Of course, the matter between him and Liu Guang shouldn’t be revealed to others. He lowered his eyes and said: “Nothing. I’m just afraid that Liu Guang will be angry when he sees that I’m injured.”
Bai Rui did not ask any more questions.
Cheng Nuo was relieved. Fortunately, Bai Rui was a taciturn character. Cheng Nuo didn’t know why he was getting worse at handling these little devils. He used to be good at teasing those two but now they could make him feel at a loss…
When they finally arrived at Du Yue Lin, Cheng Nuo felt relieved to see the familiar scenery. He had only been gone for one day and one night, but it felt like an eternity.
A Shixiong saw him suddenly exclaimed in surprise: “Cheng Nuo, where have you been? Your brother came over this morning and turned our Du Yue Lin upside down looking for you!” Of course, Liu Guang is an elite disciple, so they dared not say more.
Cheng Nuo paled and apologized. “I encountered some minor troubles and was injured. That’s why I came back late.”
He kept the expression on his face neutral but in his heart, he felt very anxious. The two of them had separated in that manner… Did Liu Guang think that he had run away from him? When Li Yue kidnapped him, he had even erased all signs of the fight.
Bai Rui finished speaking to the other disciples and carried Cheng Nuo back to his residence. Gently placing him on the bed, Bai Rui clumsily covered Cheng Nuo with a quilt. He had never been here before so he looked around curiously. Seeing that there was only one pillow on the bed, the expression on his face softened.
He wanted to stay for a while but he had restrained the aftereffects of the elixir he had taken for too long. In addition, he also had to solve the problem with the covert guards.
“I’ll be leaving now.” Bai Rui calmly looked at Cheng Nuo. “Take good care of your injuries. I’ll see you soon. Don’t worry, I’ll track down that puppeteer.”
Cheng Nuo struggled to sit up but Bai Rui left too quickly and he lost the chance to speak. He stared out the window, watching a dark figure disappear into the night.
He was stunned for a moment then thought of Liu Guang and couldn’t figure out why he felt uneasy. After thinking about his problems for a long time as he lay on his bed, Cheng finally fell asleep, only to be awakened by a fierce tinkling sound. He opened his eyes, confused, and saw that Liu Guang had pushed the door open and rushed over to him. The look of sorrow in Liu Guang’s face made Cheng Nuo suddenly wake up.
“You, where have you been?” Liu Guang’s face was frighteningly pale and his clothes were torn. He grabbed Cheng Nuo’s arm and said in a low voice, “Don’t hide from me!”
After he separated from Cheng Nuo, he sat on the top of the mountain until sunrise, with countless messy thoughts running through his mind. Although Cheng Nuo deceived him, he found himself completely unable to let go.
How could he possibly give up?
From a very young age he had wanted to grow up quickly, take good care of Cheng Nuo and not let him suffer hardships, and maybe have children like Cheng Nuo after they got married… Although not all of this could be accomplished, despite the fact that his dreams had been shattered, the mere thought of separating himself from Cheng Nuo was unbearably painful.
Actually, that was nothing. He was still the same person anyway…
Cheng Nuo gave Liu Guang a pained look. “I wasn’t hiding. I met Li Yue yesterday.”
Liu Guang’s crestfallen expression made Cheng Nuo feel bad. He almost wanted to hit himself a few times as punishment. Liu Guang was a proud and dazzling child but now he was extremely depressed because of Cheng Nuo.
Liu Guang said stiffly, “What?!”
Cheng Nuo downplayed what had happened. He only said that he had been captured by Li Yue but met Bai Rui and was saved by him. He didn’t mention Linglong Pavilion and Li Shaoming or the other things he didn’t want Liu Guang to know about.
Liu Guang listened to his explanation and examined Cheng Nuo’s wounds carefully. The intense fear he felt made his body shake. He ground his teeth secretly and swore to himself that he would kill Li Yue!
Cheng Nuo saw the look of regret on Liu Guang’s face and wondered why these two people loved to blame themselves.
He quickly grabbed Liu Guang’s hand and smiled. “Aren’t I alright? Don’t worry.”
Liu Guang looked at Cheng Nuo, holding his face in his hands and stroking it. His big blue eyes, like clear lakes, were full of concern and affection.
Cheng Nuo lowered his eyes, uncomfortable. That look was like that of a lover.
“Cheng Nuo, I thought about it…” Liu Guang took his hand and whispered, “I want to be with you anyway.”
Cheng Nuo went stiff and stammered, “That… That…”
Liu Guang’s voice trembled slightly, but he was very serious as he said, “No matter if it’s Nan Cheng or anyone else, I won’t like any of them… You can’t marry a female now. I’ll treat you well. Let’s stay together? … You won’t fall in love with a female, right?!” Cheng Nuo had teased him about Nan Cheng’s gift that he had immediately thrown away before. It was because of this type of thing that the two of them had minor conflicts in the past.
Cheng Nuo was nervous and his heart was beating fast. Now he felt helpless and depressed enough to cough up blood. **** the ****ing deceptive words he had spewed before. If only he could turn back time, he wouldn’t have spouted such cheap lies! The corners of his mouth turned down and he drooped his head, saying, “Liu Guang, I’m sorry. I deceived you. Actually… My body seems like a female’s body.”
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Reika’s Notes:
- This chapter is by Reika of Creative Novels and BC Novels.
- Oooh, now Bai Rui also knows that he is “female” but it doesn’t even matter to him!
- I like that Cheng Nuo didn’t drag out the misunderstanding. 🙂 Good!
- “… the elder’s unsavory habits.” Literally, something about his spleen (脾) but I wanted to make it clearer to English readers.
- “In this world, Cheng Nuo had only seen soap pods…” 皂角 A type of tree. The pulp inside its seedpods is a source of saponins and has been used as a detergent in China for over 200 years.
- “His heart filled with joy.” It’s literally “a piece/slice of his heart was bright as snow” but I edited it for clarity.
- “He had only been gone for one day and one night, but it felt like an eternity.” More like “it felt like a lifetime had passed” but I wanted it to sound slightly better.
Hehhehe. CN is like a trans man right? Or non-binary??? 🤔