But Xu Nuo was afraid that he might have guessed wrong about why Park Su was upset, and by telling him about dealing with the "high, low, fat, and thin" group before leaving, he might make him even more unhappy. Nevertheless, seeing Park Su like this made him uncomfortable too. So, after thinking about it, he decided to ask in a more concerned tone, "What's wrong? Who upset you?"
He didn't realize that this tone might sound even stranger to Park Su. There was no helping it; Xu Nuo's change toward him was too significant. Before, he had been indifferent, but now he was showing particular concern. Could it be that the seduction in the illusion had caused such a big change in Xu Nuo? If that was true, didn't it mean Xu Nuo might also have feelings for him?
However, just thinking about this possibility made Park Su feel like he must be crazy. How could Xu Nuo have feelings for him? Seeing that Park Su didn't answer after he asked, Xu Nuo furrowed his brows, "What's wrong? Is it not convenient to talk about it?"
Park Su quickly glanced back at Xu Nuo, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately couldn't resist probing him, "If I said I'm slightly unhappy because our time together was interrupted by others, would you think I'm a bit... perverted?"
He really didn't want to use that last adjective to describe himself since it was an eternal pain for him. When he first confirmed his feelings for someone of the same s*x, he was called a pervert by someone he considered very close, which deeply hurt him. Later, though, this label also gave him unprecedented freedom and relaxation. However, at the time, it was indeed a deep wound.
It also made him realize that the Park family was not a place where he could stay long-term, nor was it somewhere he could yearn for. Being an illegitimate child was already an identity not to be spoken of publicly. To put it bluntly, the legitimate wife of the Park family was disgusted by them, and they were not valued; this was why his mother and he were sent away, and why he had to leave the power center of B City to be at peace.
His being homosexual only slightly reassured his mother in the eyes of the main wife, although the man who gave him life called him a pervert. At least it meant they were no longer in the direct line of sight of the Park family; at most, someone would occasionally come to mock him.
Although he was also afraid of hearing that word from Xu Nuo's mouth, since he decided to probe, he should first voice the worst possible outcome himself. This way, if someone else said it, the emotional damage he'd feel might be less severe, perhaps not as painful.
Unfortunately, he didn't know how grim his expression looked when he said this, and Xu Nuo hadn't expected him to be so direct, nor did he expect that this would be the reason for his unhappiness.
He couldn't help but look at Park Su's profile, which seemed focused on driving but was actually tense and scared, feeling both adorable and heartbreaking at the same time. This was a new sensation for him.
He thought for a moment, the corners of his mouth curling into a somewhat mischievous smile. Suddenly, he leaned close to Park Su, lowering his voice, "Perverted, I wouldn't think that. In fact, my possessiveness over you might be higher than you imagine. If you knew my thoughts, you might think I'm the perverted one."
Park Su felt Xu Nuo suddenly get very close, his breath tickling his ear, making his right side feel itchy. In his nervousness, he almost drove the car into a ditch. Moreover, Xu Nuo's voice combined with his words made the tickling sensation spread from his ear to his heart.
He swallowed hard and said, "I'm driving, don't mess around. I was serious about what I said earlier, not joking."
Seeing how tense Park Su was, Xu Nuo stopped teasing him and returned to his seat, but his gaze didn't leave Park Su's face, and his expression turned more serious, "I wasn't joking either. Park Su, if you're unhappy because of this, I wouldn't think you're perverted; on the contrary, I'm glad. I also prefer our time alone; it feels very comfortable. You're willing to share all your secrets with me, and I feel the same. Besides, the reason I agreed to bring them along was because I was worried you might get bored being only with me. If I knew you wanted to be alone with me, I would never have agreed to them joining us. It makes things more restricted."
Park Su felt that Xu Nuo's words had many implications, wondering if he was reading too much into it. He swallowed hard, internally debating whether to directly ask. But if he did, would Xu Nuo leave him here on the road? After all, from what Xu Nuo said, it seemed like he just enjoyed having him as a companion because there were no secrets between them. He must have misunderstood, right?
Moreover, although he felt he had built up quite a bit of favor with Xu Nuo, he wasn't sure if Xu Nuo could handle being coveted by another man. Better to leave it for later.
The more he thought, the more he backed down, and he didn't say anything more to Xu Nuo, just pulling his lips into a forced smile, "Since you don't find it disgusting, I'm relieved. Just think of it as me, finally becoming your disciple, hoping to always be your number one little brother."
Xu Nuo only gave him a faint look and didn't say anything further, though he was frowning inside, wondering if his expression was off or if Park Su had picked up on his probing and was deliberately avoiding the subject.
So he didn't continue the topic. For the next few days on the road, their focus was on traveling, with everyone taking turns keeping watch at night.
Having reliable teammates with decent strength made the journey much easier compared to before. As for the talismans, since they had already been seen in use at the resort, there was no need to hide them. Not only did they use them themselves, but they also gave some to Ge Qing and Lu Shang since they were now third-tier ability users, and Xu Nuo had his Dao techniques in addition to his abilities.
Ordinary first-tier zombies were no match for them, and the occasional second-tier zombie was dealt with effortlessly, often without Xu Nuo needing to get involved at all.
As Xu Nuo had anticipated, they did encounter mutated plants twice, but they were only first-tier and of the aggressive type. However, Park Su managed to handle them quite well.
However, Xu Nuo dealt with one of the mutated plants and, on the same day, while sending Ge Qing and Lu Shang to hunt, he stored the main body of the tree into his space ring.
Park Su witnessed this and, puzzled, asked Xu Nuo what he was doing. Upon hearing that it was specifically for making talisman paper, Park Su couldn't help but be touched.
He hadn't expected Xu Nuo to remember this and start preparing for it. Thinking of the books Xu Nuo had given him before they left, he felt he should study hard to live up to Xu Nuo's intentions.
Of course, they also encountered a mutated beast once, but fortunately, it wasn't an aggressive type; rather, after mutation, its size had become very large. It was a rabbit with incredible speed, which took some effort to catch. However, one rabbit provided a meal for all four of them. With Park Su's excellent cooking skills, they all enjoyed the meal thoroughly. The only slight unpleasantness was Xu Nuo's initially sour expression while eating.
In Xu Nuo's eyes, anything Park Su specially prepared should have been just for him, not for these two to take advantage of. Plus, knowing Park Su preferred their time alone made him even less fond of the pair. What was worse, they kept showing their affection on the road, which made the two single guys, Xu Nuo and Park Su, feel increasingly annoyed.
Especially as Xu Nuo spent more time with Park Su, he realized he was harboring desires, and behind those desires was definitely affection, making him even more irritable with the "lovey-dovey couple." However, that day when he tested the waters, he felt Park Su seemed averse to the term "homosexual." (Mist)
When he mentioned the word "perverted," Park Su's entire mood shifted, and he didn't respond further, making Xu Nuo more cautious about confessing his feelings.
Because they resolved things quickly, and with the isolation talismans along with Lu Shang's metal ability reinforcing the car's metal shell, they plowed through zombies with ease. If not for the two potted plants, disguised as ordinary ones, on the car roof, picking up the slack, they might have wasted a lot of zombie cores.
Ge Qing and Lu Shang, having followed Park Su for a while, had noticed that he liked to carry these two small, seemingly harmless plants wherever he went—one pothos and one dandelion. Though they seemed ordinary and small without any apparent lethality, they always felt there was something dangerous about them, especially that pothos, which looked like a mutated plant with blue leaves.
Ordinary pothos don't have blue leaves, but they didn't fully understand what Park Su's wood ability could do once it reached the third tier. Moreover, they had already seen Park Su's mastery over plants, so they thought Xu Nuo was carrying the mutated pothos to aid in combat. Besides, they had a confidentiality agreement.
Later, seeing those pothos vines, with their terrifying blue leaf blades, under Park Su's control, quickly reaping zombies' heads and cores, they grew even more convinced that Park Su, as a wood ability user, was not someone to be trifled with.