ICAY Chapter 142

Can You, Then?

“But I don’t quite understand—if Xiao Yi has always wanted the treasure map, why hasn’t he come to find you?”

Xiao Yueqing didn’t know what Xiao Yi was actually doing, or rather, what he wanted to do. At present, he no longer cared about it.

Especially after Lian Jiu told him that he might not have long to live, he had actually come to accept everything with equanimity.

He had publicly revealed his identity to the entire martial arts world, telling them that Yan Ke and Xiao Yueqing were actually the same person.

But he didn’t actually feel much psychological burden about it, and those people surprisingly weren’t as condemning as he’d imagined, because the person they feared now was Xiao Yi, not himself.

This also brought Xiao Yueqing a brief moment of peace, allowing him to wander around this place.

Suddenly, Xiao Yueqing felt somewhat uncomfortable in his body and decided to make an excuse to leave first.

“I still have some matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave. You can stay here and enjoy yourself as long as you like. But if you want to return to Yong City, be careful of Xiao Yi. He won’t let things rest easily, especially since you’re Ye Bei’s disciple.”

With that, he pushed the door open and left.

Watching Xiao Yueqing’s retreating figure, Yun Dan felt he seemed thinner than before.

And his whole person had a kind of sickly feeling about him.

Of course, this “sickly” wasn’t meant as a derogatory term, but rather it reminded her of an aesthetic that was popular during a certain period in medieval times, when people thought tuberculosis patients were particularly beautiful, leading a group of people to even try to contract tuberculosis in imitation.

His entire appearance gave off that kind of feeling—completely unhealthy.

Not long after Xiao Yueqing left, rain began to fall from the sky.

But he didn’t think much of it.

Suddenly, he felt the rain stop. Looking up, he saw it was Yun Dan holding an umbrella over him.

Seeing that she’d been discovered, Yun Dan wasn’t embarrassed, but made an excuse, saying, “I just saw it was raining, and thinking we’re friends after all, it’s only right that I see you off. Where do you live? Let me walk you there.”

Xiao Yueqing didn’t refuse, but simply took the umbrella from her hand.

After walking for a short while, the two arrived at a secluded courtyard.

She hadn’t seen this courtyard before—it seemed to be newly purchased by Xiao Yueqing.

Both of them had gotten somewhat wet from the rain and would need to change their clothes.

However, there were only Xiao Yueqing’s clothes here, nothing for Yun Dan, so he could only casually find a set of clothes and toss them to her.

“Put these on. I don’t have any women’s clothes here. These are new—I haven’t worn them yet.”

Yun Dan wasn’t shy about it either. After all, this wasn’t her first time wearing Xiao Yueqing’s clothes.

The two sat on the edge of the bed, but Yun Dan began to feel somewhat awkward.

For a moment, she didn’t know where to put her hands.

Suddenly, a hand grasped hers. “Why are your hands so cold? You have my internal energy in you—logically, you shouldn’t be this cold. It seems you don’t know how to use it.”

So the internal energy she had really did come from him.

“You saved me, didn’t you? Why did you leave without saying goodbye and have Lian Jiu give me those things?”

“You said you didn’t want to see me, so I left directly.”

Yun Dan thought to herself, you actually listened that obediently.

Yun Dan just sat there hugging her knees, reminiscing about some things from the past.

“Speaking of which, how are you doing? You don’t look very well. Seeing your back, it was like you could collapse at any moment.”

However, just as she finished speaking, Xiao Yueqing pushed her down.

He braced his hands on either side of Yun Dan, lowering his head slightly, teasing. “Not feeling well? You really do overthink things. About to collapse at any moment? How is that possible—I’m not some sickly beauty. You’re imagining things.”

It had been so long since they’d met, and she seemed even more beautiful than before.

Actually, Xiao Yueqing himself didn’t understand why he liked Yun Dan.

Later, thinking about it, perhaps it was because she possessed that purity he had once most desired.

“Xiao Yueqing, don’t…”

Xiao Yueqing suddenly laughed.

“Don’t what? Are you thinking something improper? I’m just chatting with you.”

Yun Dan’s eyes widened instantly as she tried to bend her knee to launch a sneak attack on Xiao Yueqing.

However, in the end, she failed.

“Who’s thinking improper thoughts? Aren’t you the one imagining all sorts of things? Besides, I’m a perfectly normal person—you’re the abnormal one. Such a grown person, still trying to deceive someone as inexperienced as me.”

He truly hadn’t expected to encounter Yun Dan.

He had only wanted to retrace the paths they had walked together before.

But after encountering Yun Dan, he suddenly felt a glimmer of hope arise within him.

Especially when Yun Dan held the umbrella for him, he suddenly realized his heart could still beat faster.

However, Xiao Yueqing only helped straighten her clothes before preparing to leave.

But Yun Dan grabbed his arm.

“Wait, why are you just leaving like that? Where are you going? To find your Zhizhi?”

Zhizhi?

Xiao Yueqing was puzzled—why would Yun Dan suddenly think of Zhizhi?

He and Zhizhi had only known each other for two years; she had been his informant, that was all—nothing else.

Moreover, Zhizhi had already left Fengyue Tower. He didn’t understand why Yun Dan would still bring up Zhizhi.

“Is this how you think of me? You think I’m a regular patron of Fengyue Tower?”

Yun Dan muttered quietly, “Didn’t you used to go to Fengyue Tower often to find Zhizhi? Zhizhi stayed at Fengyue Tower selling her art just for you. You can’t tell me you don’t know Zhizhi likes you, can you? No, you know. Zhizhi has already left Fengyue Tower now—maybe you two can rekindle your romance.”

Now he understood.

Even though they had separated, even though harsh words of farewell had been spoken at the time, Yun Dan still cared about him in her heart.

This filled Xiao Yueqing with both joy and some worry.

He pressed his lips together and said, “Apart from you, I haven’t been intimate with anyone else. Not in the past, and never in the future. Zhizhi was my informant. Now that she’s left Fengyue Tower, I suppose one day she’ll meet someone who can accompany her for life.”

Although she knew Xiao Yueqing was someone who maintained his integrity.

But hearing it directly from him was another matter entirely.

She thought about it—she couldn’t just let this go. There was still that 1% of favorability to gain. Since she’d encountered him, she might as well max out the favorability rating, and then she could leave directly.

After that, whatever happened to Xiao Yueqing wouldn’t be her concern anymore.

From somewhere, Yun Dan summoned the strength to pull Xiao Yueqing down.

The two instantly switched positions.

Yun Dan looked down at him from above and uttered a sentence, “I’ve thought about it—I need to reclaim some ground. Besides, you’re much better looking than those young male entertainers at Dengzhi Tower. I’ll pay you.”

Xiao Yueqing truly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

But he wouldn’t admit defeat easily either, and instead challenged her provocatively. “Oh? Can you, then?”

“Shut up. Even if I haven’t eaten pork, haven’t I seen pigs run? I’m exceptionally gifted, naturally intelligent and clever, isn’t that enough? Please recognize your current position—how can you challenge a customer?”

Only then did Xiao Yueqing stop laughing. “Please, help yourself.”

Suddenly, Xiao Yueqing saw something strange on her back.

“I think I know what the Heavenly Maiden is now…”

However, Yun Dan didn’t hear this sentence clearly, because Xiao Yueqing knocked her unconscious.