Chapter 31: Out of the Pass Part 4

“Hey, hey!” Xiang Xian shouted. “That really hurts! Let go! Seriously! It hurts!”

Xiao Kun watched as Xiang Xian yelled from the pinch, and the more he begged for mercy, the more excited Xiao Kun seemed to get. Xiang Xian realized pleading was useless and gritted his teeth to fight back, but it wasn’t long before Xiao Kun made him cry out again.

Xiao Kun dragged him all the way back to the camp before finally releasing him.

Tears nearly welled up in Xiang Xian’s eyes as he waved his hands nonstop.

Xiao Kun realized he had gone a bit too far and asked, “Let me take a look?”

“Get lost!” Xiang Xian’s face flushed red.

Xiao Kun just looked at Xiang Xian and smiled. Suddenly, he couldn’t resist lifting his hand to wipe the corner of Xiang Xian’s eye. Xiang Xian shoved him away and darted back into the tent to sleep.

Xiao Kun stood outside watching for a while, as if in a dream, before snapping back to reality.

The next day dawned. Western Xia’s territory was a wasteland, even more rundown than Chang’an. Endless barren fields stretched out, the weather had yet to warm, and the poor soil was covered in patchy snow. Bald earthen hills had not a single blade of grass, only clumps of thorny bushes. Most trees had been felled for firewood. The carriage set off again, and after traveling for hours, they finally spotted one or two dilapidated shacks.

The official roads in Western Xia were rougher than those in Song or Liao territory, bumpy and uneven. Chaosheng couldn’t stand the shaking inside the carriage and climbed out to sit on Wu Yingzong’s lap, which reduced the jolts somewhat.

“Master?” Xiao Kun said.

Xiang Xian dozed in the corner with his eyes closed, gesturing for him to speak.

“Make me a magic treasure,” Xiao Kun said.

Xiang Xian asked, “What do you want?”

Half testing and half sincere, Xiao Kun made the request to see if Xiang Xian was still upset. After boarding the carriage that day, Xiang Xian hadn’t cozied up to him or slept in his arms as Chaosheng had suggested.

Xiao Kun said, “I want one that can detect Demonic Qi and monsters, scout nearby magic treasures’ movements, all Spiritual Power flows, including tracking…”

“Are you making a wish? Huh?” Xiang Xian opened his eyes.

Xiao Kun replied, “You’re Shen Kuo’s disciple. You can definitely do it.”

“Pick something else,” Xiang Xian said. “Can’t do that.”

Xiao Kun asked, “Then, is there a long-distance sound transmission magic treasure so we can stay in touch even when separated?”

Xiao Kun beckoned Xiang Xian over, who leaned in to talk. This was Xiao Kun’s real goal—to have Xiang Xian lean into his arms.

Such a request was beyond most magic treasure craftsmen, but simple for Xiang Xian.

“Echoing Voice Insect,” Xiang Xian said casually. “We’ll find the materials.”

“What materials does it need?” Xiao Kun said. “I’ll get them.”

Xiang Xian instructed, “First, melt the cinnabar into mercury for me. Here.”

Xiang Xian sat up and handed Xiao Kun one of A Huang’s feathers. Xiao Kun hadn’t expected Xiang Xian to start right away. He set up the small table inside the carriage. Xiang Xian pulled out a silver dish and placed it on the table. After entering the outskirts of the Hexi Corridor, the road smoothed out a bit, and the two began crafting the magic treasure.

“You really like tinkering with this stuff.” Xiao Kun watched Xiang Xian’s focused expression. Pale sunlight streamed in from the carriage window, accompanied by cold air, illuminating Xiang Xian’s profile.

Xiang Xian replied, “Mm.”

His fingers pinched a metal file as he lowered his head to smooth the sharp edge of a small stone.

Xiao Kun was about to say something when Xiang Xian looked up. “Master said not to just make magic treasures functional—they have to be beautiful too.”

Xiao Kun laughed. Xiang Xian added, “But I still can’t get the finesse right. No helping it.”

Outside the carriage, Chaosheng kept looking back, cradling the sleeping A Huang, worried that Xiao Kun and Xiang Xian might clash again.

Wu Yingzong smiled and winked at him, waving to signal it was fine.

Chaosheng thought for a moment, then pointed at himself and Wu Yingzong, trying to say, “Let’s not fight.”

Wu Yingzong didn’t get the pantomime; they weren’t that in sync yet. Chaosheng felt a bit embarrassed and didn’t say it aloud.

Wu Yingzong’s expression suddenly turned uneasy. Finally, he asked, “That deer…”

Chaosheng recalled the Deer God they’d seen in Chang’an and said, “It was so pretty! Right?”

“Mm.” Wu Yingzong nodded and asked, “Do you know it?”

“Not at all,” Chaosheng said.

Wu Yingzong replied, “I just feel like it must have seen you somewhere before.”

Chaosheng couldn’t explain it, but everyone had seen the sight that day—ethereal Chaosheng hugging the White Deer’s neck, the stag’s head slightly lowered, nuzzling gently against him amid blooming plants and flowers in the immortal realm. It was a pleasing scene, with a sense that they belonged together.

At first, Wu Yingzong had only admired it inwardly, but upon reflection, a hint of complex emotion stirred. Comparing himself—a shaggy ape—to such a spiritual beast, the gap in appearance and cultivation base was like heaven and earth. He couldn’t help bringing it up to Chaosheng, hoping to hear something like, “But I don’t know it well and don’t like it.”

If Chaosheng had said, “I like you the most,” Wu Yingzong would have died happily for him.

“Maybe you two were fated in a past life,” Wu Yingzong probed further.