Chapter 183.

Chapter 183.

By the time they were heading back, the sky had turned pitch black, but the snow hadn’t stopped.

A thin layer of ice had formed on the road, making the tires skid slightly. Liu Buhua dared not speed up, fearing any mishaps. Gazing at the streetlights casting a bright yellow glow, and feeling the warmth of the car's heater, he still felt that this winter was terrifyingly cold.

Especially for Xie Yinxue, it seems that only Mingyue Cliff is warm in this world. So Liu Buhua wanted to take her home quickly, but the weather was just too uncooperative.

When they reached the foot of Mingyue Cliff, the snowfall had slightly subsided. Liu Buhua was about to drive back with renewed energy when Xie Yinxue suddenly asked him to stop.

Liu Buhua pulled the handbrake, turned on the hazard lights, and looked at Xie Yinxue in the rearview mirror, asking, "What's wrong, godfather?"

The young man stared out of the window, his unblinking eyes reflecting the vast snowy landscape, seeming almost as white as the snow itself at first glance.

Liu Buhua followed his gaze out the window but only saw snow that looked especially ghostly under the night sky and streetlights.

At that moment, Xie Yinxue parted his lips and pointed to the right, "Buhua, there's a convenience store over there. Could you get me a bottle of water?"

Liu Buhua unbuckled his seatbelt immediately, "Alright."

"Wait..."

Xie Yinxue stopped him, reaching out to adjust his scarf. Smiling, he said, "There, now you won't be cold outside."

Liu Buhua lifted his eyes to meet Xie Yinxue's gaze, his lips pursed as he whispered, "Okay."

Xie Yinxue urged him, "Go ahead."

Liu Buhua opened the car door, heading straight forward. He felt that Xie Yinxue must have done something to his scarf because he wasn't feeling cold at all amidst the chilling wind and snow. It felt as warm as if he was still in the car. He continued to walk until the car's hazard lights were out of sight, and with a heavy fog in his eyes, he crouched down by the side of the road, showing no intention of buying water.

——Because there was no convenience store around, and a whole case of bottled water was stored in the trunk. There was no need to step out to buy any.

Xie Yinxue's true intention was just to distract him.

The young man was always like this, his actions contrary to his words. Liu Buhua had grown accustomed to it; after all, this trait of Xie Yinxue existed long before he came to Mingyue Cliff.

On the other hand, Xie Yinxue kept asking himself: Why can't he be straightforward, with his heart and words aligned?

Just like at this moment, after getting out of the car and standing in front of Mrs. Chen, he had a thousand words he wanted to say but found himself speechless.

Instead, it was Mama Chen who chuckled and asked him first, "Just got back from the Shen family? You look so disheartened."

"Mhm." Xie Yinxue, with downcast lashes, nodded meekly, more docile than anyone could imagine, "I also took a fall."

Concerned, Mama Chen quickly asked, "Where did you fall? Does it hurt? Are you injured? Show me where it's hurt."

The truth was that the fall had been quite harsh, and he struggled to rise for a long while. Yet he insisted, "It doesn't hurt; I'm wearing many layers."

"Then I can rest easy." Mama Chen handed Xie Yinxue the food container she was holding, "I've prepared the chicken soup. I've wanted to give it to you for a while, but couldn't make it up the mountain. I roamed around for so long before bumping into you. It's very cold today. Take this soup back and warm yourself and Ah Jue Buhua."

However, Xie Yinxue refused, shaking his head stubbornly.

"Be a good boy, listen to Mama Chen. Look, you haven't even worn your outer garment." Mama Chen reached out to brush the snow off his shoulder, "See, all this snow has settled on you."

That snow had not just fallen on his shoulders, but also on his eyebrows, his lashes, and even his pupils. Yet it wouldn't settle on Mama Chen.

"I'm sorry..." Xie Yinxue's voice trembled with regret, "I'm not doing well..."

"You've always done well. It's just that I must leave now, unable to stay and witness your further growth." Mama Chen continued with her maternal warmth, "I also don't want to keep your Master waiting too long. We'll meet again, even if by then perhaps neither I nor your Master would recognize you. So, Ah Xue, don't be sad."

With closed eyes, Xie Yinxue embraced Mama Chen's lifeless body and whispered with a smile, "Yes, I'm not sad. We'll meet again."

Look, he was insincere again.

Deep down, he wanted to say: I don't want to wait that long; I can't bear to see you go.

Yet when it came to voicing it, the words morphed into something else. Why was that?

Xie Yinxue remembered when he was called Shen Qiulin, Shen Huaishen had once asked him, "Qiulin, would you like to follow Master Yuching to Mingyue Cliff? There, you can live to a hundred, even outliving your father."

He didn't understand how long a hundred years was, but he noticed the sorrow and pain in Shen Huaishen's eyes. He then asked, "Dad, if I agree to go, will you still be this sad?"

Shen Huaishen told him, "No, I won't."

Thus, Xie Yinxue told the first lie of his life, "Then I'm willing to go."

Later, he realized Shen Huaishen had also lied. Perhaps "insincerity" was a hereditary ailment in their family.

Master Chen Yuqing had briefly cured him of it.

Because Chen Yuqing had said that before him, Xie Yinxue must always tell the truth. If he lied, the Master could discern it and would feel remorseful. The rationale was: if a disciple lies to his master, it's the master's fault for not educating him well, and the master would have to apologize to the disciple.

How could Xie Yinxue bear to let such a wonderful master apologize to him?

Before Chen Yuqing, Xie Yinxue never held back his true feelings or desires.

Yet, his heartfelt words caused Chen Yuqing's death.

Even though he always spoke the truth, Chen Yuqing still apologized to him.

Upon reflection, Xie Yinxue decided to continue being insincere. No one was there to correct him anymore, and those who once did were gone. After all, he wasn't perfect. What's wrong with a little hypocrisy?

With these thoughts, Xie Yinxue chuckled, burying his face in Chen Ma's shoulder.

Patting him, Chen Ma sighed, "If you say you're not sad, then stop crying."

"Alright," he responded, then shifted the topic, "Have you settled all your affairs?"

Chen Ma replied, "Everything's taken care of. Your master made all the arrangements before he left. You don’t need to worry."

"Okay."

Releasing Chen Ma and taking the food container from her, he stepped back, "Go on, I’ll see you off from here."

Chen Ma waved goodbye, "Hey, I'm leaving. Go back soon, Ah Xue."

Without a word, Xie Yinxue kept waving until Chen Ma's figure vanished from sight. Catching a snowflake, he watched it melt in his hand. As he gazed at his reflection, he whispered words no one else could hear, "But now I'm all alone... I miss you all so much... What should I do?"

He missed them all.

Chen Ma, Chen Yuqing, even that old man, Shen Huaishen. But no matter how much he yearned, he could never see them again.

When Liu Buhua arrived with a thermos, he found Xie Yinxue nearly buried in the snow, hugging himself.

Tears threatened Liu Buhua's eyes, but he cheerfully called out, "Godfather! I’ve got the water! And it's still warm!"

Wiping his face, Xie Yinxue looked up at Liu Buhua's equally red eyes, smiling weakly, "Where did you get this? Found a convenience store?"

"No, you won't believe it, but this water is still warm!" Liu Buhua proudly handed over the thermos, "Must've been left by a mountaineer. Seriously, I didn’t lie. You know I don't have your skills to magically produce hot water."

Holding the warm bottle, Xie Yinxue observed it. The single-layered transparent plastic should've been terrible at retaining heat in this snowy environment. Yet the water inside was genuinely warm.

The warmth radiating into his palm momentarily dispelled the chill enveloping him.

“Godfather, let’s hurry back. Ah Ji will be worried if we don’t return soon.”

With concern, Liu Buhua glanced at the flaky snow that had melted on Xie Yinxue's shoulders and hair, wetting the young man's clothes and strands. Reaching out to brush them off, he was stunned to find the "snow" was actually a creature, its elongated form raising and revealing a pair of deep, vertical pupils staring back at him.

Taking a closer look, Liu Buhua exclaimed, “Eh? Godfather, why is there a snake on your shoulder?”

“It appears to be the white snake that hibernates behind our house on Mingyue Cliff every year,” Liu Buhua said, puzzled. “Why hasn’t it gone into hibernation yet, even with the snowfall?”

Xie Yinxue himself was equally perplexed, unaware of when the snake had even found its way onto his shoulder.

This particular white snake was spirited. Every winter, it would come to hibernate behind Mingyue Cliff. Unlike other ordinary snakes, it would occasionally bask in the sun on warmer winter days. Chen Yuqing mentioned that this snake had been around Mingyue Cliff for about twenty years. This year, Xie Yinxue even prepared a tree nest for it, yet the snake had been elusive until now.

Xie Yinxue gently removed it, but the cunning snake, sensing warmth, darted into his sleeve, causing Xie Yinxue to shiver from its cold touch.

Sensing the young man’s reaction, the snake immediately coiled around Xie Yinxue's wrist and remained still.

Placing the snake inside the car, Xie Yinxue signaled, “Let’s head home.”

“Oh, alright then.”

Liu Buhua climbed into the car, and noticing the food container beside Xie Yinxue, his eyes momentarily dimmed.

When they arrived home, the chicken soup inside the container was still warm.

Liu Buhua invited Shen Qiuji over for a late-night snack, but after one sip, he remarked, “This has Chen Mama’s touch. Did you visit her tonight? Did her medical results come back? Is everything alright?”

After a sip, Xie Yinxue replied softly, “She’s gone.”

Shen Qiuji froze, chopsticks halted in mid-air.

Liu Buhua's head was nearly submerged in his bowl, his face hidden, but his shoulders visibly trembled.

“We won’t have such delicious meals anymore.”

There was no discernible heaviness in Xie Yinxue’s voice. Shen Qiuji looked up at him, noticing the white in his hair.

Initially, Shen Qiuji thought it was snow that had not melted atop Xie Yinxue’s head. It was only now he realized that they weren't snowflakes, but strands of white hair.