BW Chapter 177

Chen City (3)

“……It was several months ago that he was rescued from outside a mortal village near Li Prefecture. At first, his soul was damaged and his memories incomplete, which was fine, but later he should have remembered, so he had the villagers notify the Chongzheng Alliance……”

A young cultivator nervously looked at Ning Buwei and Chu Jun, stumbling over his words several times due to excessive nervousness.

Soon an elder from Wushi Sect arrived, waved his hand to dismiss the young cultivator to one side, and only then did the small cultivator breathe a sigh of relief.

This elder should have been of high seniority within Wushi Sect. He bowed to Chu Jun and said, “Disciple-nephew Meng Wan pays respects to martial uncle……and daoist friend Ning.”

Chu Jun indicated that he need not be so formal.

“Sect Master Shen has to handle the numerous affairs of the Chongzheng Alliance. Many sects and families have conflicting opinions about this matter. The Cui family has joined with several sects to press us step by step, wanting us to hand over Xie Jiu……” Meng Wan laughed dryly. “You two know that the entire seventeen states are now in ruins and awaiting reconstruction. If we rashly deal with Xie Jiu, it might cause dissatisfaction among the Cui family and other families. If we keep him at Wushi Sect, it’s also inappropriate. We heard that daoist friend Ning was once his close friend, so we boldly invited you two here……”

Most importantly, who knows if he might continue harboring murderous intent and continue bringing disaster to the seventeen states, or be taken away by the Cui family and become a hidden danger. After a heartfelt speech, they actually just didn’t want to handle Xie Jiu, this hot potato.

Passing the buck back and forth, it naturally ended up with Ning Buwei and Chu Jun.

This both blocked the mouths of the major sects and families of the Chongzheng Alliance, and for Chu Jun’s sake, gave Ning Buwei a big favor. It must be said that Shen Xi handled this matter very beautifully.

Ning Buwei sighed again, “Look at the disciple that Chu Linyuan took in.”

Thinking of those few kids at home who needed supervision even to do their lessons made him feel troubled.

Chu Jun squeezed his palm and said to Meng Wan, “Take us to see him first.”

“Yes, martial uncle, daoist friend Ning, this way please.” Meng Wan hurriedly led the way.

“No need to be nervous.” Chu Jun transmitted his voice to him as they walked.

Ning Buwei hooked Chu Jun’s index finger with his little finger, hidden under their wide sleeves, and snorted with laughter. “I’m not nervous.”

Although he spoke lightly, when he saw Xie Jiu in that instant, his heart still sank slightly.

Previously he must have used some transformation technique to slightly change his appearance. Now that the transformation had dissipated, Ning Buwei finally found traces of Cui Ci’s former appearance in his features.

His complexion was terribly pale, his eyes dim and lifeless, his form gaunt and skeletal, making even his clothes appear thin and loose. Between his brows was an exhaustion that couldn’t be hidden.

Seeing Ning Buwei, he was surprised for a moment, then understood, his voice hoarse. “They actually pushed this hot potato onto you.”

Ning Buwei pulled out a chair and sat across from him. Two names circled in his mouth for a long time, and finally he called out the other’s name with calm eyes. “Cui Ci.”

Xie Jiu tugged at the corner of his mouth. “You’ve changed your name to Ning Buwei yourself, why still call me by my former name?”

“I……I didn’t know back then that you went to Ning City to find me.” Ning Buwei looked at the flash of confusion on Xie Jiu’s face across from him, paused, then said, “Later the Cui family said you had disappeared. I went to Xun Prefecture to search many times, but found nothing.”

Xie Jiu leaned back in his chair, his manner relaxed: “Of course you couldn’t find me. I accidentally entered an underground barrier and was trapped inside for three hundred years.”

Ning Buwei frowned, but heard Xie Jiu laugh mockingly. “You don’t need to feel guilty either. Although I went to Xun Prefecture under the pretense of looking for you, I was actually fed up with my family’s nagging supervision and ran away after arguing with them in a fit of anger……Later I encountered you several times in the wasteland of Xun Prefecture, but didn’t want to see you.”

Ning Buwei looked at him silently, and after a long while heard his own voice. “Why?”

“Ha, what do you think?” Xie Jiu hugged his arms, his face full of mockery, saying coolly, “Whether main branch or side branch, our Cui family is full of talented people, but I, this useless waste who doesn’t strive for improvement, occupied the position of eldest son. They forced me to do this and that every day, never asking if I liked it or not. I was fed up long ago.”

Xie Jiu smiled. “I didn’t want to have anything to do with the Cui family anymore.”

Ning Buwei was stunned. “Why did you never tell us?”

“You were the high and mighty young master of the Ning family, with a heavenly spiritual body, a cultivation genius, and your brother was the famous Young Master Xingyuan with a bright future. Wen Zaiye, though his sect was small, was the only one from his entire sect to enter Wanxuan Academy, with the sect’s full support for cultivation——” Xie Jiu sneered. “What use would telling you have been? Could you have understood me? Could you have convinced those people in the Cui family at that time, or had the ability to take me away from the Cui family?”

“I went looking for you merely to have an excuse, not because I was truly worried about your life and death. Don’t be so conceited.” Xie Jiu said flatly.

Ning Buwei was angered into laughter by him, “Fine, even if everything you said makes sense, then why were you still willing to help Pei Heguang?”

Xie Jiu’s expression froze, his gaze becoming deep and distant. “I accidentally entered that barrier back then, and he saved my life. He also took me as his disciple and took me throughout the seventeen states and the mortal realm……He pulled me out of the mire. Why shouldn’t I be willing to help him? Even if he asked me to die, I would be willing.”

……..

Ning Buwei came out of the room with a very unpleasant expression.

Chu Jun was standing outside the door looking at the peonies planted in the courtyard. Hearing the sound, he turned to look at him. “The talk didn’t go smoothly?”

Ning Buwei shook his head. Xie Jiu’s words were still echoing in his ears:

‘If Chu Jun asked for your help, would you help or not? If he was determined to die, would you accompany him or not?’

Ning Buwei sighed and reached out to embrace Chu Jun.

Ning Buwei rarely showed such intimacy with him in public, and even more rarely displayed such exhausted and helpless appearance in front of him.

Most of the time, Ning Buwei always seemed unbreakable, like a blade that would never bend and always carried a murderous aura.

It’s just that now this blade looked somewhat tired.

Pitifully so.

Chu Jun held him in his arms, gently patted his shoulder, and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”

Ning Buwei hugged his waist tightly, his voice somewhat muffled, the hot breath penetrating through the thin fabric to his skin, bringing subtle burning heat and tingling sensation.

“Am I very terrible?”

Unable to do anything when his parents were killed, completely unaware when his family met disaster, completely oblivious when his friend suffered in the mire……Even when Chu Jun took away his life force to help Ning Xiu bear the tribulation, he only realized it afterward.

Selfish and ungrateful, heartless like a wolf.

Chu Jun smiled and pinched the back of his neck, the warmth from his fingertips penetrating through the thin skin, bringing a tingling sensation, as if slowly kneading him from his hair to his toes.

“Of course not. My dao companion is the best in the world.”

As soon as the words fell, Chu Jun saw the person lying on his shoulder turn red from ears to neck, even his collarbones showing a light blush.

Chu Jun’s Adam’s apple moved slightly, and he couldn’t help reaching out to pinch his earlobe.

As a result, this blade seemed about to ignite, angrily lifting his head to glare at him. “You’re a dignified Venerable, how can you be so frivolous?”

The moment he lifted his head, Ning Buwei noticed that the tips of Chu Jun’s ears were also slightly red, and immediately narrowed his eyes.

Chu Jun uncomfortably looked away. Ning Buwei clicked his tongue and muttered, “Old rogue.”

Chu Jun raised his hand to cover the back of his head, pressing him back onto his shoulder and into his embrace.

Ning Buwei’s face was completely buried in his clothes, asking in a muffled voice, “What are you doing?”

“Hugging you.” Chu Jun touched his head, thought for a moment, then said seriously, “Being an old rogue.”

Perhaps that sentence from Chu Jun was simply too powerful for Ning Buwei, or perhaps the great demon’s mood swinging from depression to elation was too drastic, or perhaps this trip out without bringing Ning Xiu, that troublesome little brat, meant Ning Buwei couldn’t quite control himself.

Dozens of barriers and formations crashed down with loud bangs. Ning Buwei kicked the door shut, kissing Chu Jun’s chin while reaching to untie his belt, knocking over two chairs and bumping into a low table without stopping his wicked behavior.

Chu Jun was also extremely cooperative, letting him do as he pleased, whispering “Chengfeng” in his ear with a deep, hoarse voice, which was dozens of times more effective than Hehuan Sect’s Hehuan powder.

Any man would be unable to resist.

Ning Buwei swept the tea set off the table, domineeringly and arrogantly pressing the man onto the table.

Chu Jun’s beautiful phoenix eyes reflected his image, the corners slightly flushed, his pale and slender neck marked with the red traces he had just bitten in his frenzy, looking seductive and soul-stealing, enchanting and captivating.

Ning Buwei leaned over to kiss the tip of his nose, saying hoarsely, “Say it again.”

Chu Jun turned his head toward him with a somewhat teasing smile. “Hmm? Say what?”

“What did you call me just now at the door?” Ning Buwei took the black hair ribbon he had casually pulled off and covered Chu Jun’s eyes with it, blocking the seductive gaze that nearly made him lose his reason. “Be good, say it again.”

Chu Jun smiled slightly, reaching out to support his waist and said softly, “Husband?”

Ning Buwei’s eyes immediately lit up, his entire being so pleased he started bubbling. By the time he finished bubbling and came to his senses, he was already pressed onto the table by Chu Jun, and that hair ribbon that had originally covered Chu Jun’s eyes was now somehow tied around his wrists, held down against the black tabletop by Chu Jun’s pale, slender fingers.

Ning Buwei looked at Chu Jun somewhat dazedly. “Wait, wait, isn’t this wrong——mmph.”

Chu Jun leaned down to kiss him, laughing softly. “What’s wrong?”

“Huh?” Ning Buwei was bewildered by desire, kissed dizzy by the rarely proactive Chu Jun. “Hmm?”

Outside the window, moonlight was like silk, scattered stars across the sky like crushed pearls, twinkling and flickering. The intermittent chirping of insects dispersed in the gentle evening breeze. Vague and blurred gasps and conversation touched the thick barriers, then disappeared into nothingness.

“……Chengfeng, relax a little.”

“Chu——“

The crackling candle flame dropped a few tears of wax, and the room was instantly merged into the night.

“What should you call me?”

“Hus-husband!”

“……Go slower!”

“Alright.”

The light blue bed curtains quietly fell, then rippled with waves.

A good night’s sleep.