Chapter 31: Out of the Pass Part 3

Xiao Kun leaped onto the boulder and sat beside Xiang Xian.

“I’m sorry,” Xiao Kun said, gazing at the stars with him. “On the road today, I didn’t mean to lecture you.”

Xiang Xian didn’t reply.

Xiao Kun continued, “I treat your troubles as my own, always wondering if I could help on this matter. I know now you don’t want me mentioning it, so I won’t again. Just think of me as not understanding your feelings and being inappropriately eager.”

Xiang Xian finally looked Xiao Kun in the eye.

“You must think I’m nagging and petty now,” Xiang Xian said flatly. “Right?”

Xiao Kun didn’t answer.

“Are we friends?” Xiang Xian suddenly asked.

“What do you think?” Xiao Kun’s tone was calm, but inside he suddenly grew angry too, as if he’d groveled to his limit. In his twenty-five years, he’d never cared for anyone like this or said “sorry.” The sun had risen in the west.

What Xiao Kun wanted to say was “Don’t be ungrateful”—they’d faced life and death together through several great battles. Why would Xiang Xian think he didn’t treat him as a friend?

“I think so?” Xiang Xian showed that indifferent expression again.

Xiao Kun: “If you think so, then we are.”

Xiao Kun didn’t want to argue anymore; after all, he’d come to mend things.

“I know you have demon blood,” Xiang Xian said seriously and solemnly. “But no matter what you are—demon, ghost, even if you’re a devil—I treat you as a brother, and you’ll always be my brother, no matter what you become.”

Xiao Kun’s heart jolted, dimly realizing he was the one who didn’t understand.

“Whether you grow stronger or lose all your cultivation base,” Xiang Xian said, “I won’t demand you regain your powers or expect anything from you. To me, as long as you’re…”

Xiao Kun interrupted at once, explaining, “You’re the same to me, Xiang Xian. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the Wisdom Sword matter. You don’t need to make mastering it a goal. I said that because you care about it in your heart, so I hoped to think of a way for you.”

Xiang Xian looked at Xiao Kun intently, clearly trying to discern his sincerity. Xiao Kun thought it through carefully and said, “I’m sorry. I made you misunderstand.”

Xiang Xian said offhandedly, “Maybe I’ll never truly earn its recognition in this lifetime, like most people who never learn spells their whole lives.”

“Yes.” Xiao Kun wanted to touch his face—Xiang Xian was lying down, his head right by Xiao Kun’s hand.

But he didn’t, feeling it too intimate.

So he lay down too and said, “It’s fine, it doesn’t matter. Look, every time you exhausted yourself, I noticed.”

“Fine.” Xiang Xian’s tone finally lightened; he believed Xiao Kun.

“Want to see the Heavenly Veins?” Xiao Kun asked, lying beside him.

“How?” Xiang Xian said. “Can you lend me your eyes?”

“Do you know the Soul Seizure Technique?” Xiao Kun turned his head to look at Xiang Xian; their faces were very close, even feeling each other’s breath. Xiang Xian turned his head slightly too. Having voiced his thoughts clearly, his anger had mostly dissipated. He replied, “No, that spell’s far too vicious and evil.”

Xiao Kun laughed and said, “If you did, I’d lend you my body for a quarter-hour.”

“It’s fine; I’ll see them naturally after death,” Xiang Xian said.

Xiao Kun sat up, face red, and said, “I’ll draw them for you then.”

Xiang Xian was finally appeased. He sometimes thought his temper odd and now felt a bit regretful for giving Xiao Kun the cold shoulder—though he’d never admit it aloud.

“The Heavenly Veins pass through Beiluoshimen, crossing Shensu and Shangsu…” Xiao Kun glanced up at the zenith, then down, using a dry twig to simply sketch a star chart on the rock, marking the path of the Heavenly Veins.

“You’re pretty good at astral charts,” Xiang Xian said. They sat facing each other like boys of old, heads bent over studying insects.

Xiao Kun replied, “I was once very fond of the names of the celestial stars.”

“Your Internal Force control is masterful too,” Xiang Xian commented.

Finger Vigor Shatter Stone was no challenge for Xiang Xian, but to engrave a star chart on rock with a brittle dry twig—Xiang Xian could never manage that.

“The Heavenly Veins are pale purple, changing with time.”

“Let me see how you channel the force.”

“Are you listening or not? Don’t go off-topic!”

Xiang Xian poked Xiao Kun’s hand back. Xiao Kun twisted away. Moments later, they tussled a few times. Xiang Xian seized the chance to interlock their fingers and squeeze.

The instant their fingers intertwined, Xiao Kun’s heart stirred with sudden palpitation.

But Xiang Xian flashed a mischievous grin and yanked with fierce power—a boyish contest: fingers locked, squeezing to see who cried uncle first from the pain.

Xiao Kun met Xiang Xian’s eyes, reining in his mind. He first loosened his right fingers with soft force, letting Xiang Xian’s brutal strength expend itself. When Xiang Xian’s inner force neared depletion, Xiao Kun turned the tables, unleashing a tidal surge of power.

Xiang Xian gritted his teeth. After several breaths, he yelled “Ow!” and begged, “Let go! Let go!”

“Is that all you’ve got?” Xiao Kun locked fingers with Xiang Xian’s, forcibly pulling him closer. Xiang Xian said, “You can’t use True Qi… that’s cheating! Let go! Ouch! Ouch!”

Xiao Kun inflicted a thousand wounds on the enemy while suffering eight hundred himself. Even if he fractured his own bones, he could heal. He endured the pain and loosened his grip slightly. Xiang Xian let out a breath of relief, but Xiao Kun suddenly tightened his fingers again.