Chapter 77: Night Rain in Bashan, Departure (Part 7) I really want to take this charming...

Ye Qingzhan's flushed face grew even hotter after hearing Wen Gu's words. She remembered that night when the moonlight was like water and the black fog was shrouded.

— A slight pain in the side of her neck. The young man beside her, his low, hoarse voice, echoed in her ears.

"You owe me this."

A dense flash of electricity seemed to pass through her body, and Ye Qingzhan couldn't help but shudder, regaining her composure.

"Wen Gu" on the other end had no choice but to patiently hold the girl and sit her down on the straw mat. He had been holding her like this all day. The girl in his arms, drunk, insisted on coming to this ancient temple to pray. He had carried her all the way here, but once there, she refused to get off him. She

was so difficult to please.

Hu Tangqing, who was kneeling not far away, exchanged a glance with Li Zhixing, then stood up from the mat, walked over to the two of them, and asked, "Young lady, are you drunk?"

"Wen Gu" nodded.

The woman in his arms suddenly opened her eyes. Their clear, bright eyes were devoid of the haze of drunkenness. She quickly released her grip and jumped off the boy.

"I'm not drunk, not drunk," Ye Qingzhan glared at Wen Gu. "Why didn't you say someone was here?" Normally, she'd acted drunkenly to trick him, but others would always see through her clumsy tricks. She had no intention of deceiving anyone else; in front of strangers, she couldn't even pretend.

This was utterly humiliating.

The girl before him had lost all trace of her drunken demeanor. Her eyes were bright, her teeth white, and her gaze lively. Hu Tangqing smiled gently, her gaze gazing between them.

When the girl had pretended to be drunk and complained to the boy, she had seen her eyes slightly open, and with a sly twist, she began to complain. Her "drunk talk" came in a fast and slow rhythm, without any stumbling. His eyes were never open while he spoke, which was very different from a truly drunk person.

She knew what was going on.

Li Zhixing, who had been around all kinds of people, had long seen through Ye Qingzhan's fake drunkenness. But he never cared about the right and wrong of others, and had no habit of talking much. He just watched silently from the side.

Behind the handkerchief, the corners of his lips lifted slightly, and Hu Tangqing glanced at Wen Gu.

The young man's face was as cold as ice. He had a pair of beautiful phoenix eyes, but his eyes were cold and sharp, as if he had no interest in anything, but was only interested in one person.

After the girl confessed, his expression did not fluctuate much, but there was a faint smile in his eyes, and even his brows softened a little.

He seemed to be used to the girl's teasing. Or perhaps, he was addicted to it.

Ye Qingzhan, who was quietly serving as a fresh fruit on the altar, felt the heat on her face that had just subsided rise again - this time it was real, she wanted to bury herself right there.

It turned out that in the entire ancient temple, except for herself, everyone was watching her acting.

She thought her acting skills were exquisite, but in the end, she only deceived herself.

Ye Qingzhan turned a sad look to Wen Gu beside her and asked through gritted teeth, "Can you tell that I'm pretending?" Wen Gu

shook his head.

So easy to fool. Ye Qingzhan's secret joy had not yet subsided, but she saw him nod. Her heart, which had just been put together, collapsed into pieces, collapsed again.

"What difference does it make whether you can see it or not. If you want me to hold you, I will hold you. It has nothing to do with whether you are drunk or not."

A small pink flower suddenly bloomed on the heart that had collapsed into mud.

Ye Qingzhan turned her face back and listened to "herself" chatting with Hu Tangqing.

"Hello, my name is Ye Qingzhan. May I ask where you two are from?" To break the awkward silence, Ye Qingzhan changed the subject. "Judging from your clothes, you don't look local."

Hu Tangqing coughed, and Li Zhixing quickly stepped forward, embracing her in his arms. He replied calmly, "From Bashu, my home is in Liudunling, Changluo."

Ye Qingzhan's expression suddenly brightened, and she smiled. "I've been to Liudunling in the spring. The whole village was like a blanket of willow catkins, all fluffy." Turning her gaze to the two stone statues of immortals, she added, "You two have come from such a long way. Whatever wish you make, it should come true."

This time, Li Zhixing lowered his eyes to the woman in his arms and said earnestly, "I hope so."

The beautiful girl had been coughing intermittently since a while ago, her face pale as a pale hue. The man looked at her with a look of deep affection and tenderness.

Ye Qingzhan understood what they were seeking.

Boom -

in the silence for a moment, a muffled thunder suddenly sounded. Then, a torrential rain poured down from the sky, splashing into the ancient temple, and water seeped in from the outside.

The dilapidated ancient temple was leaking everywhere. The four people hid in a place where they could take shelter from the rain. After searching for a long time, they could only stand under the stone statue of the immortal. After saying "I'm sorry" to the two immortals, they hid inside.

There was a window behind the stone statue, and a bolt of lightning struck directly.

"Ye Qingzhan" was startled and hugged Hu Tangqing.

"Wen Gu", who was empty in his arms, slowly retracted his outstretched hand, stared at her with sidelong eyes, and clenched his hand tightly when he retracted it.

"Ye Qingzhan", who was facing the window, suddenly trembled as if he was extremely frightened.

"There is a ghost!"

The three people sitting around her were all startled and looked in the direction she was looking.

Another bolt of lightning struck directly.

In the flash of lightning, a white fox face suddenly appeared. A pair of crescent, smiling eyes stared at them through the window.

A white robe fluttered in the wind and rain, and disappeared in a flash.

Everyone saw it, including Ye Qingzhan, who was now serving as a tribute on the table.

Why was this fox so haunting that he could be seen everywhere?

"You stay here, I'll go chase him." Wen Gu used the Yin Sha shield to protect her. His spiritual consciousness left his body and gave chase.

In Hu Sanniang's sea of consciousness, the two followed her and Li Zhixing in different forms. Both were mortals at this time, unable to detect their presence. But Dr. Fox, who followed them everywhere like a shadow, was much more difficult to deal with than Hu and Li. Whether he was a human, a ghost, or a true evil/immortal was still unknown. If they chased him in their real bodies, it was difficult to be discovered.

The spiritual consciousness was invisible, odorless, and traceless, so it was safest to chase him out of his body.

The people under the stone statue looked at each other. Li Zhixing wanted to give chase, but was stopped by Hu Tangqing. She had also heard of this Taoist, and the world respected him as a "fox fairy". She had never had any intersection with him, and his appearance here at this time was bound to arouse suspicion.

It was raining heavily outside, and the sky was dark. If they just chased out like this, it would be hasty. What if this fox had malicious intentions and deliberately planned it? The best policy was to stay put.

"Don't chase him. He is floating outside the window now. Maybe he is just trying to lure us out. It's so dark outside. If he does something, we can't even see it clearly, let alone fight back. If we are together, if he breaks in, we can help each other and fight the enemy together."

Li Zhixing had thought about what Hu Tangqing said, but when he saw the fox, he remembered what the man surnamed Liu had said - it was this stinky fox who said that she was only worthy of being a concubine.

And that big mouth surnamed Liu spread the news widely, telling everyone that Miss Hu San was sick and short-lived because she was a fox seductress in her previous life, who was born by sucking men's essence. In this life, she was punished by heaven and could only be a short-lived concubine, who would bring disaster to her husband and children.

He had not seen this fox since he left the Liu family last time, but he still couldn't get over the bad feeling.

Who would have thought that they would meet at the Zhuxi Ancient Temple today!

Li Zhixing clenched his fists, his eyes surging with hatred as he looked towards the window. After a long time, he lowered his head, sorted out the emotions in his eyes, looked at Hu Tangqing, and slowly squatted back to her side.

Hu Tangqing took his arm and patted his shoulder lightly with one hand.

Ye Qingzhan on the altar felt that Hu Sanniang was stroking the fur of the exiled immortal.

Beside them, "Ye Qingzhan" was now curled up in "Wen Gu's" arms, practically hanging onto him. She whispered, "Who is this fox-man? Why is he haunting like a ghost? I saw her by the window the other night when I got up to drink water."

Ye Qingzhan, diligently serving as a tribute, turned away sheepishly when she saw "herself" hanging onto someone again. Hearing her words, a sudden surge of memories flooded her mind—

she, hiding beneath the stone statue, should still be in Camellia Village. And the reason she hung on him like a pendant was because "Wen Gu" now relished her touch.

This was a conclusion she had reached after a thousand attempts.

"Ye Qingzhan" now had an unspoken purpose for "Wen Gu."

She wanted to tame him.

To tame this "beast" from the abyss, ignorant of love and hate, knowing only to fight.

To use him for her own purposes.

...Remembering her former purpose, Ye Qingzhan covered her face. She recalled another time, during her time with him, when she woke up one night and couldn't find Wen Gu, who liked to sleep close to her, so she got out of bed to look for him.

She looked up and saw what seemed to be a figure standing by the window. She glanced up along the figure's robe,

only to see a pair of fox eyes with curved brows and a smile. At the time, she didn't know he was Dr. Fox, and after a startled scream, she lost consciousness. When she woke up, Wen Gu clung to her side, his brow furrowed, and asked what was wrong.

She told him the truth, and Wen Gu hugged her tightly, his lips sucking and nibbling on her neck, repeatedly saying "I'm sorry."

... Thinking of this, Ye Qingzhan's face began to heat up again. After a moment of calm, she continued to reminisce.

It seemed that since that time, she had encountered the fox regularly, still appearing from afar at night, but the difference was that Wen Gu was always there, confronting him outside the house.

Now that she thought about it, if the fox wasn't able to fly thousands of miles a day, he must have been staying in Camellia Village, trying to scare her every day. But given Wen Gu's abilities, driving him away shouldn't be a problem.

So why did they just maintain a stalemate, never striking with a single blow, eradicating the enemy completely?

Unless, perhaps, Dr. Fox held a bargaining chip that would prevent Wen Gu from killing him.

Thinking of this, Ye Qingzhan's mind suddenly cleared, as if from a fog. At that moment, her body, separated from her body, began to stir. Wen Gu had returned.

She hurriedly asked, "How's it going? Has Dr. Fox caught up?"

Wen Gu shook his head, "I can't detect any presence."

Regardless, the two of them remained within Hu Sanniang's sea of consciousness, unable to see or resolve the issue from her perspective. Once separated from her experiences and knowledge, the sea of consciousness could no longer connect and extend.

Though regretful, Ye Qingzhan patted Wen Gu's head and said gently, "It's okay. This is Sanniang's sea of consciousness. It's normal for it to not perceive people and events beyond her reach." Seeing his brows lowered, she added, "Don't blame yourself."

The hand caressing her was delicate, soft, and warm, its gentle touch starting at the tips of her hair and stirring a shiver on her skin.

The soul drenched in the rain was soothed, yet trembling.

I really want to melt this charming touch into my bones and blood.

On this rainy night, Wen Gu looked at the woman beside him.

I really want to end it all as soon as possible, and accept this kind of loving caress/touch day and night.

It's so strange...

why did the most hidden thoughts in my heart emerge so inappropriately on this rainy night and at this time?

It's because -

Wen Gu turned his gaze to his former self.

The girl in his arms snuggled tightly in his arms.

Are you jealous of him?