CH 28

He had originally just wanted to tease him, but Liu Xian’an was actually awoke from his lethargy. After opening his eyes, the top of the carved bed and the person beside it blended together into colorful phantoms, and it took a long time before they overlapped clearly. Liang Shu raised the corners of his mouth, bent his fingers, and knocked on his forehead as usual, trying to call out that wandering man. Liu Xian’an didn’t respond. His brow was slightly furrowed, and although he was looking at Liang Shu, his eyes were not very focused, thoroughly dazed and lost.

After a long time, he still couldn’t wake up, so he simply closed his eyes as if he planned to continue to sleep.

The revered young and elegant Royal Highness Xiao Wang walked anywhere in the territory of Dayan. Not to mention being sought after by thousands of people and having enough fruit tossed his way to fill a carriage, he should at least be shown no shortage of courtesy. A person with an attitude like Second Young Master Liu, who just glanced at him and continued to sleep, would probably get beaten if it were someone else – however, he was indeed beaten a little bit. Liang Shu gave him a hard knock and said fiercely: “Stop sleeping!”

Liu Xian’an had no choice but to wake up with ringing and buzzing in his ears, though his mind was still extremely chaotic. Liang Shu lifted him and sat him upright: “After living for forty-eight thousand years, who would be scared like this by two mere southern barbarians?”

“…….”

Liu Xian’an’s lips moved twice, as if he wanted to explain something, but he didn’t say anything in the end. He just let out a long sigh and fell back again.

Liang Shu pulled his hair.

Liu Xian’an was in so much pain that he had to sit back up.

Liang Shu didn’t let go of his grip. He curled the black hair between his fingers and brushed the other’s face with the tips. Then he stopped his teasing and softened his tone: “Tell me, what did those two do to you?”

Liu Xian’an thought for a while, struggling to salvage memories from his splitting brain, then shook his head: “Nothing. I forgot.”

Liang Shu continued: “Then why were you crying?”

Liu Xian’an leaned against the head of the bed and pulled the blanket closed: “I suddenly realized many things.”

“In a cave?” Liang Shu couldn’t help but laugh. “Why did you single out such a place?”

“I don’t know.” Liu Xian’an continued to frown. “They tried to kill me.”

The smile on Liang Shu’s face vanished for a moment, but he soon recovered and continued to ask: “And then?”

Then, the next thing was not easy to describe. Liu Xian’an said slowly: “The world seemed to die before me, and then was rebuilt in an instant. It was different from before, but still the same, just like……” He wanted to explain to the other party as clearly as possible, but was bothered by the headache, so he could only roughly say, “It seems that there is a more majestic and vast world, encompassing everything. I couldn’t see it clearly at first, but I can now, and I couldn’t get out.”

“That’s why you cried?”

Liu Xian’an buried his head in his knees. His brain was still swollen with pain and hurt endlessly, as if new worlds were pouring out uncontrollably, constantly expanding. His hands grabbed the blanket, their thin joints nearly breaking.

Liang Shu suddenly asked: “Why haven’t you asked me if we caught those two people?”

Liu Xian’an asked in a muffled voice: “Did you?”

“Raise your head.”

Liu Xian’an: “……”

Very unwillingly, he raised his heavy head. His eyes were obviously red again.

Liang Shu found that sometimes people could be too smart. This was not always a good thing, because they would torment themselves. Many mortals didn’t even understand the world they lived in. They were overwhelmed by the three meals and separations and reunions before their eyes, and naturally had no time to pay attention to the so-called “Three Thousand Ways.” Seeing that flowers were only flowers, at most they would sigh over their beauty, and never wonder why flowers bloomed or why they died.

He said: “I didn’t catch them, but I saw the sigil on one of them. The boy in blue is a member of the Baifu Sect. I fear I will need to go south again in the future.”

Liu Xian’an gave an “en,” his perfunctory attitude visible to the naked eye.

Liang Shu felt that if he was allowed to continue to “enlighten” like this, the dao would be made clear, but there was an eighty percent chance he would become foolish and silly. At this time, he understood why the sages in ancient times often walked barefoot and wandered as they pleased, weeping and sobbing, being laughed at as lunatics by the world. It was likely because they had already been in another world and saw everything in the world of mortals as mere ants, so they didn’t pay attention to it.

So he lifted the blanket and pulled him out of bed: “Let’s go.”

Standing barefoot on the cold floor, Liu Xian’an’s whole body woke up: “Go where?”

“Walking.”

“……..”

Walking?

Liu Xian’an was casually covered in a robe by the other party, and staggered out the door without even putting on his shoes. This was a small village at the foot of the mountain. In the middle of the night, it was so quiet that not even a dog was barking, and the moonlight was silver-white like a lantern, casting distorted shadows on the trees, increasingly strange.

Liu Xian’an’s legs and feet were weak. He turned around to go back to sleep.

“Ridiculous.” His Royal Highness Xiao Wang originally wanted to use his power to suppress others, but after some thought, he didn’t know which world the other party had drifted to at this time, so it may be faster and more effective to use force. So his right hand locked around the other’s wrist like an iron band, dragging him all the way from the foot of the mountain to its bend.

Liu Xian’an hadn’t eaten much, had slept too long, and still had a headache. After all this tossing about, he couldn’t go on anymore. He sat on the ground and hugged a tree with both arms, resolutely refusing to move.

Liang Shu crouched in front of him: “Tired?”

Liu Xian’an mumbled: “Hungry.”

Liang Shu took out an oiled paper bag from his pocket: “Your new world doesn’t bother with food?”

The sweet scent of osmanthus wafted out, and Liu Xian’an stretched out his hand to reach for it, but Liang Shu stepped back: “Which one should you choose, the world in front of your eyes, or the world in your mind?”

Liu Xian’an sniffed his nose: “This one in front of me.”

Liang Shu handed him the oiled paper bag: “It seems you’re not so far gone that you can’t be pulled back.”

Liu Xian’an did not argue with him, and only took the sugar cake and ate it in big mouthfuls. Liang Shu sat beside him, bounced a stone in his hand for a while, and then tossed it at his feet: “Forget it.”

Liu Xian’an turned his head and looked at him curiously.

Liang Shu said: “I wanted you to see something fun, but there is nothing rare that a forty-eight thousand year old sleeping immortal hasn’t seen, so forget it.”

Liu Xian’an swallowed what was in his mouth: “I can also watch.”

“After watching it, you will stay in this world?”

“……That is out of my control.”

Liang Shu nodded, and didn’t press him anymore. He picked up a thin stone from the ground, closed his eyes and sensed where to aim, then threw it toward a puddle in the distance. The water that splashing under the moonlight was also a beautiful silver-white, and as the thin stone flew all the way, the fireflies in the grass on both sides were startled one by one, flying like fragments of fire, a sprawling phantom.

Liu Xian’an was engrossed in watching it. There was something in his stomach now, and the cool wind was blowing on him, brisk and refreshing. It was indeed much more comfortable than lying in bed.

“Have you rested enough?” Liang Shu skipped another rock over the water. “Enough to continue walking up the mountain.”

“You still want to walk?” Liu Xian’an had rejection written all over his body. “I won’t go.”

Liang Shu gripped the back of his collar and led him back onto the path without much effort.

Liu Xian’an complained: “I won’t go.”

Liang Shu was unmoved: “Don’t you also refuse to stop pretending in your head?”

Liu Xian’an pulled at a vine: “It’s the heavenly dao that won’t let me stop.”

“What a coincidence,” Liang Shu said. “Now it is this lord who won’t let you stop.”

Those words could not be said! Liu Xian’an wanted to explain the difference between the way of heaven and the way of humanity, but was so out of breath that he didn’t have the energy to think about it. Liang Shu was tall and had long legs. One of his steps took the weak Second Young Master Liu two steps. After turning at two mountain bends, half of his life had been lost. Thus, he hugged a tree for a while. Stopping and going like this, they finally reached the most dangerous peak before dawn.

Liu Xian’an lay on the ground and covered his face with his wide sleeves, angrily refusing to move.

Liang Shu did not make him move, but sat to the side, admiring for a long time this mortal man who took a rare step out of the dao and experienced a normal emotion.

After a while, a ray of light suddenly shone upon Liu Xian’an’s face through the thin layer of fabric. His first reaction was that Liang Shu was playing tricks again, so he didn’t want to pay attention to it. But the light was getting brighter and brighter, so bright that no matter how he turned his head, he couldn’t hide. So he had to take away his sleeves and sit up, saying angrily: “You —”

He stopped abruptly in the middle of speaking, because a huge red sun was erupting before him with awesome brilliance. The mountains were ablaze, and the sea of clouds seemed to be wrapped in a thousand layers of brocade, surging and churning, spreading all the way to the very limits of sight.

Never in his life had he been so near the sun, so close that it seemed as if he could pick it up with his fingers. He actually stretched out his hand and grasped a handful of fiery light.

“Although there are many worries in the world, there are also many things worth seeing.” Liang Shu stood side by side with him. “It’s not necessary to hide in your Three Thousand Worlds all the time. Think of something interesting related to the world in front of you.”

Liu Xian’an did as he said. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let the morning air dispel the chaos in his mind. Interesting. Related to this world. After some thought, he suddenly remembered and said: “I bought two jars of very good wine a while ago!”

Liang Shu looked at him: “Why did you want to buy wine?”

Liu Xian’an replied: “I was waiting to have a drink with the prince. In addition to wine, I also found a few good restaurants. Although Baihe City is small, if you go shopping carefully, you can spend three to five days there.”

“All right,” Liang Shu said with a smile. “Wine and food, that sounds like a good itinerary.”

Liu Xian’an was also happy, because he didn’t realize until now, of course, ah, I planned to invite His Royal Highness Xiao Wang to drink, and His Royal Highness Xiao Wang is right in front of me, he really came!

“When are we going?”

“Right now.”

Then there was a new problem. To set off for Baihe City, they had to descend this ridiculously high mountain first.

Liu Xian’an said again: “I can’t walk anymore!”

Liang Shu said: “I also can’t walk anymore.”

“…….”

Liu Xian’an tactfully said: “But the prince doesn’t look like he can’t walk.”

Liang Shu took his time turning over old accounts: “In order to find you yesterday, I walked in the mountains for a whole day and exchanged hundreds of moves with people. I was almost injured and had no time to rest at night, climbing this dangerous peak with you. Not to mention the whole night’s journey, you even ate my meal.”

Liu Xian’an: “……I thought it was prepared for me.”

“No, it wasn’t.” Liang Shu shook his head. “I didn’t eat anything, and wanted a casual bite on the way.”

Liu Xian’an had no choice but to give in: “Then I can walk a little longer on my own.”

Liang Shu leaned weakly against a tree: “But I really can’t walk anymore, I need someone to carry me for a while.”

Liu Xian’an listened, but did not hear. His footsteps were hasty and his stride very fast, and his figure looked unsteady from the back.

Liang Shu laughed again for a long time before lifting his legs to catch up.

At noon, the two returned to the small village, but still failed to leave for Baihe City, because Liu Xian’an lay in bed as soon as he entered the door. Even though A-Ning threatened him with a cold handkerchief, he refused to get up, falling asleep in the blink of an eye.

“Your Highness.” A-Ning was a little anxious. “My family’s Second Young Master always sleeps like this……”

“It’s all right,” Liang Shu said. “He needs a good rest.”

A-Ning and the disciples beside him felt that this was nonsense. Second Young Master Liu needed rest? He had been lying down for almost half of his life, and also slept for a day yesterday.

“This time is different, all of you go out,” Liang Shu said. “Don’t disturb him.”

A-Ning lowered the curtains, blocking some of the light. The dim space let Liu Xian’an sleep more securely, and the faint scent of sandalwood in the air also made him feel a bit more secure.

This time really was different from before. There was no dao of heaven, no yin and yang, and no worlds unfolding. There was only a sheet of sweet, black cotton wool that wrapped a person up like he was rolling in the sun, so comfortable that even his bones were soft.

Liang Shu also exited the room.

“Your Highness.” Cheng Suyue was standing guard outside the courtyard. “Should we wait for the results of the government search, or leave for the royal city as soon as possible?”

“Neither,” Liang Shu said. “We’re going to Baihe City first.”