The atmosphere took
on an indescribable ambiguity. He was unexpectedly met with the sight of both Shen
Qiao's cheeks slowly becoming dyed a faint, soft red.
"Our Ah-qiao is ever so beautiful. No wonder even that girl Bai Rong has taken such a
liking to you. With her around, she will certainly help conceal your whereabouts just as
well. She won't let you fall into the hands of Yan Shou and the rest."
If Shen Qiao still didn't understand what he meant to do after saying this, then he
would truly be too stupid.
"Yan Wushi! I did not go through the hardship of helping you escape this entire journey
so that you could give yourself up in the end!"
Yan Wushi laughed loudly: "I never regret handing you off personally to Sang
Jingxing—not then, and not now. Yet here you are with the opportunity to witness me
experience such misfortune, and wearing such a grief-stricken face! Ah-qiao ah,
Ah-qiao. You've really disappointed me! You should be rejoicing in my disaster, you
should be celebrating deep inside! How could you possibly wear such a pitiful look? I
can't keep myself from wanting to draw closer to you!"
He said this, and he truly took Shen Qiao's chin between his fingers before bending in
and invading Shen Qiao's lips with his own, only stopping when he felt the other man's
breath become ragged and his eyes glisten.
"All that I've ever done was for myself and no one else. I have never regret a thing, and
this is no different. This isn't to atone for any crime, much less is it for anything as
ridiculous as guilt. There's no need to think that you are indebted to me, or even
mistakenly believe that this is something it's not. That would only make me sick."
He wiped away the glistening shine of Shen Qiao's lip, before laughing in a low voice:
"I will wait for the day that you can honor your promise, and become my worthy
opponent. Perhaps that way, I will be able to gaze at you a little longer."
Shen Qiao tried with all his strength to reopen his acupoint, but to no avail. Yan Wushi's
methods were too sly. Every attempt he made to undo them were completely
unsuccessful.
Instead, he had exerted himself so much that sweat appeared upon his
forehead and his face reddened even further, as though he were both humiliated and
filled with resent.
As he watched Yan Wushi pull away and prepare to leave, Shen Qiao was in such
distress that even the tone of his voice had altered greatly: "Stop!"
The other man paused for a moment upon hearing him, before extending one hand to
close his ya acupoint.
Shen Qiao's chest rose and fell repeatedly with increasing urgency. His eyes seemed to
be filled to the brim with clear, smooth tears, shimmering with a glossy light that could
have moved any man.
Yan Wushi bent down to say this in his ear, before laughing softly: "You shouldn't wear
such a face around other people. Otherwise, I won't be able to hold myself back, much
less Sang Jingxing."
After this, he pushed the statue in front of a wall, so that the area where Shen Qiao was
hidden seemed to have been joined with it, making him much harder to be discovered.
He then put out the fire and, with a wave of his hand, caused debris to fall upon the
area where Shen Qiao had been sitting, leaving no further trace that he was there.
Once he had done all of this, Yan Wushi experienced a sense of impending danger, as
though someone with a strong desire to kill were approaching them from far away.
But for those who have reached a certain point in their studies with wugong, the
reaction they have when confronted with danger is one that is incredibly mysterious
and abstruse.
A smirk slowly revealed itself upon his face. With great strides, he left the temple. His
silhouette flew forwards, and in a moment, disappeared into the night.
Moonlight spilled into the temple, illuminating the ruined walls and cracked tiles of the
temple, bringing a weak light to the person that hid within the Buddha statue.
His tears had finally condensed, and began to fall from his eyes.
However, only a short moment passed before he was able to hear the voices of people
from the outside: "With Sang-zhanglao's wugong, how could he possibly be unable to
capture that insignificant Yan Wushi?"
"Insignificant Yan Wushi?" Bai Rong laughed coldly. "Xiao-shixiong, would you dare to
say such a thing to Yan Wushi's face?"
"Stop talking!" Yan Shou, who had no patience for noise, frowned, and continued: "Yan
Wushi left on his own, and Shen Qiao was not by his side. It's more than likely that he's
hiding away nearby. And after having fought with us earlier, Shen Qiao had exerted a
great amount of energy. He couldn't have gone far--search this place over, and then
we'll discuss this later!"
***
• yaxue. the acupoint located at the base of your neck, underneath the back of your head.