Chapter 270 - 169: Another Glimpse of the Path, a New Painter

Chapter 270: Chapter 169: Another Glimpse of the Path, a New Painter

’As long as Xie Luohe doesn’t fly into a rage, it’ll be fine.’

’But from the looks of it now, while Xie Luohe says she doesn’t care, she’s actually still brooding over Feng Bei’s memories.’

’It’s like the uncomfortable feeling of having another person living inside your head.’

Xie Luohe was clearly using Zheng Xiu, trying to excise "Feng Bei" like a Heart Demon. Zheng Xiu, however, was trying every means possible to help "Feng Bei" regain the upper hand. He and Xie Luohe were destined to be on opposing sides.

In a normal world, treating Xie Luohe this way would undoubtedly be somewhat cruel. Zheng Xiu could only keep telling himself that everything before him was fake, that none of it existed, that it was all just a painting by Gongsun Mo. Everything was an illusion. After comforting himself with these thoughts, Zheng Xiu felt justified in continuing to find ways to conquer Xie Luohe and eliminate her personality.

Just as Zheng Xiu got into his cage to rest, he was surprised to find the other three cages empty.

Puzzled for a moment, Zheng Xiu closed his eyes to rest in his comfort zone.

The enclosed environment of the cell put Zheng Xiu at ease.

Just before dusk, Xie Yunliu arrived.

He brought a message: Xie Luohe said he no longer had to stay in the cage.

Although Zheng Xiu was reluctant, he didn’t dare openly defy Xie Luohe, so he could only agree.

"By the way, where are the others?"

Zheng Xiu asked where Chu Chengfeng and the others had gone.

Xie Yunliu’s answer made Zheng Xiu’s eyes widen. "What did you say? Chu Chengfeng and the other two abandoned the light for the darkness and became bandits?"

The three of them, Chu Chengfeng included, were out on horseback under the guidance of other "seniors," familiarizing themselves with Yunhe Village’s business operations.

Ridiculous.

"Bah! What nonsense is a perfectly good Scholar like you spouting? They abandoned the darkness for the light!"

Xie Yunliu viciously let Zheng Xiu out, telling him to watch his mouth and not look down on the very promising profession of being a bandit.

Grumbling and cursing, Xie Yunliu led Zheng Xiu back to his room. This time, for whatever reason after talking with his little sister, Xie Yunliu no longer treated Zheng Xiu like a prisoner—he didn’t even lock the door.

"By the way, Brother Xie, there’s something I’d like to ask of you."

Before he left, Zheng Xiu pulled Xie Yunliu aside mysteriously and whispered in his ear.

"Do you have any kind of medicine that can make a person sleep through the night, so soundly that even thunder wouldn’t wake them?"

"You bastard!" Xie Yunliu flew into a rage. "What does a Scholar like you want with Soporific Medicine?!"

"SHH! SHH! SHH! Keep your voice down!" Zheng Xiu quickly clamped a hand over Xie Yunliu’s big mouth. "I have an important use for it."

"You?" Xie Yunliu glared at Zheng Xiu, a dangerous glint in his eyes. Zheng Xiu quickly explained, promising he would absolutely not use it on Xie Luohe. As if he would dare.

Hearing this, Xie Yunliu had a sudden realization. A smile that all men understand spread across his face as he clapped the Scholar’s skinny shoulder. "Got it! I get it! I never would have guessed, Scholar. So you’re into that sort of thing! Excellent! I, Xie Yunliu, have always been a loyal friend. Since you’ve asked, I’m happy to help you achieve your goal!"

There were only two women in the entire village: Xiaotao and Xie Luohe. Xie Yunliu figured that even if you gave the Scholar ten thousand guts, he wouldn’t dare use Soporific Medicine on Xie Luohe. The answer, then, was obvious.

’It seems scholars are the wild ones after all. He doesn’t like it when they throw themselves at him; he prefers to use force.’

"This time, Old Xie is looking at you in a new light!"

Before leaving, Xie Yunliu promised he would get it within three days and gave Zheng Xiu a thumbs-up to show his admiration.

In the days that followed, just as he had boldly declared, Zheng Xiu didn’t wait for Xie Luohe’s summons. He proactively climbed to the mountaintop each day, sat in his spot, and waited for her to wake up.

Rumors and gossip gradually began to spread through Yunhe Village. People guessed that the Scholar had fallen for the Big Leader, but of course, no one dared to say this out loud, only whispering it in secret. However, many didn’t have high hopes for the Scholar. If women were tigers, then the Big Leader was the most ferocious tigress in the world—the kind that would kill anyone who touched her. They just laughed at this foolish Scholar for not knowing his own limits, trying to win the Big Leader’s favor with such a clumsy, bookish method.

Xiaotao still wanted to come and attend to him at night, but after learning her age, Zheng Xiu politely refused, choosing to sleep alone.

After Chu Chengfeng and the other two joined Yunhe Village as bandits, they were assigned to sentry posts. They were watched all day long, as others feared their surrender was fake and they were just looking for a chance to escape. Zheng Xiu never found an opportunity to ask Chu Chengfeng why he had become a bandit.

The days passed one by one, and Zheng Xiu followed the routine every day.

Every day, he still painted only the back of Xie Luohe.

He had never once painted her face from the front. But ever since that first day, it was as if Xie Luohe had entered a stubborn standoff with the Scholar. ’Paint if you want to paint, I can’t be bothered with you.’ After the Scholar left, Xie Luohe would always silently collect the ink treasure he left on the table and place it in a box.

She gradually grew accustomed to the habit of someone painting her at the same time each day.

「Forty-sixth day.」

The air was biting cold; winter was coming.

Zheng Xiu climbed to the mountaintop early in the morning. The patch of blue flowers had long since withered. He happened to see Xie Luohe facing the withered flower field, her back looking somewhat lonely. She didn’t even glance at him. Zheng Xiu silently went to his usual spot, set up his Art Supplies, and began to paint the image of her back, pouring his heart into it.

This time, Zheng Xiu painted more meticulously and with more focus than ever before. He was no longer thinking about how to push the boundaries, nor was he painting Xie Luohe on the surface while thinking of Feng Bei in his heart.

THUD.

The moment he put down his brush, Zheng Xiu’s vision went black, and his consciousness sank into an abyss.

「Sixtieth day.」

A light, feathery snow was falling outside the mountain, cloaking the entire peak in a silvery coat.

Chu Chengfeng and the other two finally earned recognition and were promoted from probationary bandits to official ones.

Chu Chengfeng and Zheng Xiu exchanged a look, but after the exchange, neither could understand what the other was trying to say. It was a pointless effort.

To celebrate the three officially joining the gang, Xie Yunliu held a grand banquet with fine wine and pork, and everyone could eat their fill.

As the only cultured man present, Zheng Xiu immediately recited a poem: "When will the bright moon appear? With wine in hand, I ask the blue sky."

Xie Yunliu was overcome with heroic spirit and drank himself into a stupor. Zheng Xiu seized the opportunity to secretly dump all of the expired Soporific Medicine he had been hiding for two months into Xie Yunliu’s wine jug.

「The next day.」

The bandits, who were sprawled all over the place, groggily woke up to an enraged roar and opened their eyes.

They saw Xie Yunliu frantically jumping and yelling around the mountain stronghold.

"Which son of a bitch shaved all my hair and chest hair clean off! Get the fuck out here yourself! If I don’t kill you, my surname isn’t Xie!!!"

Hearing this, all the bandits in the village flocked over to watch the commotion.

When they saw Xie Yunliu with his big, bald head, his surprisingly delicate features now completely devoid of their usual fierceness, a brief silence was followed by a deafening roar of laughter that erupted throughout Yunhe Village.