"Why should I carry this man? At least help me to carry some stuff, will you? you thought I was a cart?" Meng Zhi, who was carrying a load of things including Wu Xuan, shouted. His arm had healed, and he was back to normal throwing tantrums.
"I was about to become a human stick, do you understand, evil woman?"
Nami gave him a deathly glare. "Are you that hurt?" she asked contemptuously. Meng Zhi's nerves spiked. "You know that's not what I said, you evil woman."
Then he stopped fighting. Something was bothering him. He looked alternately at Nami and the Wuyin sword hanging at his waist. Earlier, Wu Xuan introduced him as Yue Ling.
Coming out of the underground prison, they were directly exposed to the light of day. Nami was busy examining the elemental dagger all the way, a baby rabbit sleeping in one of her arms. "That thing, where?" Nami asked but she didn't look at Meng Zhi. They continued walking without taking a break.
"Pretty much at my father's."
"Pretty much?" she asked, furrowing her brows.
"After I got it, my big brother got it from me. So I really don't know."
"You're an idiot," Nami said angrily. "Did you even know what would happen when that thing got into the hands of someone like Hu Ze? Even the mountain gods wouldn't be able to stop him."
Meng Zhi said nothing. He just wanted his father to approve of him. He spent many years of his life just to find it. For 47 years from Juyao to Jun Peak, he slogged.
"And you are an ungrateful man." A gust of cold wind swept between them, ruffling their hair. "Yunhe pretty much knew you weren't human. I'm sure that with his personality."
Meng Zhi stopped walking. His eyes turned to the ground as if in frustration. He didn't want to harm Jun Peak. After all, it was like a second home to him.
"You stole his key, didn't you? Do you even know what is going to happen to Yunhe? Most likely he will be severely punished, and at worst he will be kicked out of the sect. You should have at least thought of that before joining the Lotus Sect." Nami said with anger mixed with pain.
"I have no connection with the Lotus Sect." Shaking with anger, Meng Zhi growled. "They wanted their revenge. It was just a good opportunity for me to steal it without getting caught."
"So that's why the Jun Peak apprentices were sent to die. Woah Murong Meng, you're worse than I thought."
"They didn't die, did they? I had to do that to get the Lotus Sect's help. After all, they wanted Wu Xuan. Also, I-I didn't let them die. I placed Hong Li there." He also knew that no matter how many excuses he made, none of them were justified. Laying Wu Xuan down on a tree root, he pulled out something from his robed arm and held it out to Nami.
"Can you do me a favor?" he asked. "After you go to the sect, please give this to Mr. Shen Guo. Da Shixi- I said Wei Yunhe has done nothing wrong."
Nami stared at it for a while. No matter how much she hated it, she couldn't deny that Meng Zhi had saved her. She accepted the small wooden box he held. "Only because I owe you." She said looking away.
***
San Jie ".....?"
Shen Ming said, "Huh?"
Luo Cheng "Want a mooncake?"
"Why? Am I wrong?" Yu Lingyu asked, his face turning black with anger. "You three are my servants, and I am your master, am I not?" He asked in a slightly rough, cold voice, arms crossed over his chest. "Ah, it's really…we're your juniors, you're our senior." Luo Cheng said with an awkward smile, scratching the back of his head. Yu Lingyu stared at him as if he was speaking nonsense. Tilting his head to one side like a kitten, he asked, "So the two are not the same?"
San Jie suppressed the urge to bury Yu Lingyu up to his neck in the ground. "Well then, Master Yu what should we do now?" He asked, putting his clenched hands behind his body and faking a smile.
Yu Lingyu narrowed his eyes and smiled.
"Can you clean my room?" he asked, feigning innocence.
Luo Cheng caught San Jie before he could break out. "Good good Yu Shixiong. Why don't you stay outside for a bit." He said with an awkward smile as he held San Jie tightly. Surprisingly, Shen Ming said nothing and quietly agreed to help. Luo Cheng, who stayed until Lingyu left, loose San Jie.
"I can't do this anymore." San Jie said as he sat down on a nearby stool. "He's completely messed up."
Shen Ming, who was quietly clearing out the luggage, raised his voice. "He's lost his memory, so he's not acting like he really is?" He said turning his eyes to the ground. "Real him? Are you saying that Yu Shixiong is really such a troublemaker?" San Jie asked in a slightly stern tone.
Shen Ming said nothing. Unlike before, he seemed to be in trouble. He was not anxious to argue or trouble. This situation really gave San Jie a headache. "Oi, I'm calling you." He shouted in anger.
"Shen Xiong, are you alright?" Luo Cheng asked Shen Ming who had his back turned to him. Everything was quiet for a while. "Luo Cheng," Shen Ming slowly called out. "What is your reason for living?" he asked in frustration.
"Hah, uh I... I really want to be free while I'm at it. Not much hope." he said blushing with embarrassment.
Shen Ming smiled slightly. "I see," he whispered. "Oi birdhead!" San Jie said, moving closer to Shen Ming. "If you have a problem, open your mouth and say it! We don't have telepathy to know what you're thinking." Grabbing Shen Ming's collar, he asked, turning Ming towards him.
Shen Ming watched silently.
"I've been looking at you all these days. You act like a lizard that changes color."
As tears rolled down Shen Ming's cheeks, San Jie quickly let go of him as if in fear. "O-Oi...Oi I-I didn't mean to hurt you."
Luo Cheng approached them. "Shen Xiong?"
"Can you...give me a reason...to live." Shen Ming muttered as he drew in his breath awkwardly.
"Oh sorry…I-I'm…sorry." Wiping away his tears, he rushed outside, pushing Luo Cheng and San Jie aside. "What the heck is wrong with him?" San Jie, who didn't understand anything, asked worriedly. "I've never seen him like that." Luo Cheng said in a gentle, sympathetic tone. "San Xiong, why don't you talk to him?"
"Me?" San Jie asked hurriedly. "You are asking me from all, Luo Xiong?"
Luo Cheng smiled as he picked up the work that had been abandoned by Shen Ming. "Well, I can't think of anyone who talks to him better than you."
San Jie ".....?"
"You really mean that?" he asked in a slightly softer tone. "You gotta be kidding me!"
"Heyo..sorry for the disturbance." Yu Lingyu asked as he pushed through the door. Like a small child's eyes widen when he sees a toy, he too widened his eyes and watched. "Did you scare that kid?" He asked, remembering Shen Ming who ran.
Time passed quickly. Unbecoming summer rains were pouring down to wash away all the dirt. Luo Cheng and San Jie were busy lighting the furnace. "Where is Shen Ming?" San Jie asked, looking out the window at the torrential rain, holding out some pieces of firewood to Luo Cheng. "San Xiong, why don't you go take a look."
San Jie was shocked. "That's it again, why should that idiot be listening to me." He said as he moved to the side of the room. "I'm not going because I'm worried about him. Because the guards are coming at ten o'clock." Grabbing an umbrella, he stepped into the rain. "Sheesh, it's cold." Tightening his collar, he muttered, huddling inside the umbrella to keep out of the rain. "Where did you go in this heavy rain? Wait a minute... Why the hell am I looking for that birdhead?" He inched forward slowly, taking care not to slip.
He checked where the disciples usually hang out, but no one was there. The only place left was the jungle leading up to the top of the mountain. San Jie let out a sigh as he approached it. "There are leeches." He said in a trembling voice, looking at the small creatures crawling across the grass. "If I find you, I will kill you." He said running into the jungle. "Ah, damn it!"
He kept running. There was no light and the only sound was the sound of the rain. "San Jie!" When someone spoke loudly, he was startled and fell on the water-soaked grasses with his legs tangled. "Damn!" he shouted. "Leech!" He screamed as he rolled over to the side and crawled onto a tree root. "Yu Shixiong?" San Jie asked in surprise as he looked at the black and red-clad man who was completely drenched in water.
"Heyoo~ you are right. I am Yu Lingyu." Lingyu said with a smile, covering his eyes that were dripping with water. "I came for a little walk, but I got lost." He said without any shame. "Come for a walk? In this heavy rain?"
"I thought it was fun to get wet in the rain."
San Jie couldn't decide whether to be angry or sympathetic. "What the heck is wrong with Jun Peak?" He muttered to himself as he picked up the tossed-aside umbrella. Being completely covered in water, he didn't need it, but he still rose it up. "Yu Shixiong, have you seen Shen Ming?"
Yu Lingyu seemed to be thinking a little. "Sorry but who is it again?"
San Jie "...???"
"There now, I really don't remember." He said, showing his teeth and smiling. "Also, can you help me, San Jie? I've sprained my leg, so I can't walk."
San Jie to himself "... why am I even here?..."