Chapter 72: I’m Trying to Please You

Chapter 72: I'm Just Trying to Please You

Shen Lian saw He Ling scolding He Ci and couldn't help but chime in, "Since you can see it's a curse, then is there a way to fix it?"

He Ling sighed, "I don't know."

He Ci's expression soured, "Dad, so I'm as good as dead?"

He Ling let out a cold laugh, "You, with your worthless life, have dragged Young Master Song down with you."

He Ci's head hung low.

But seeing He Ci's father say this, Shen Lian had already figured it out—this He Ling wasn't completely clueless after all.

And sure enough, He Ling said in a low voice, "I don't know myself, but I do know someone—a demon cultivator, but he's friendly to people. Maybe he knows."

"But that demon cultivator tends to roam around a lot. The last time he showed up was in Tianyang City. He might still be there."

"Until then, I'll keep the curse in check for you."

The moment he finished speaking, He Ling raised his hands, and a dense spiritual energy slowly rose from his palms.

As the spiritual energy swelled, He Ling's face visibly went pale.

Even a few strands of his hair turned white.

He Ci's eyes narrowed, "Dad?"

Seeing him struggle to break free and rush toward He Ling to stop him, the Floating Cloud Mountain disciples immediately pinned He Ci down.

He Ling also said, "He Ci! Be good."

"But if I don't hold off the curse for you, you'll both drop dead within three hours."

He Ci's eyes went red. When He Ling finally stopped, the black lines on their arms had indeed stopped spreading, and they were able to separate.

But He Ling had more white hair now. He said quietly, "Go on, now."

He Ci nodded, "Got it."

He looked at Shen Lian, "Sorry, I've dragged you into this mess."

"Don't worry, I'll find that demon cultivator for sure."

Shen Lian shot him a glance. In just a few short hours, He Ci's face had already grown haggard, but he also seemed to have grown up a lot in that instant.

He gave a grunt of acknowledgment and left a bottle of pills for He Ling before leaving.

He Ling didn't need to be told—one look was enough to know the pills were precious. He was a bit taken aback, "So you're an alchemy cultivator. Thank you."

He opened his hand, "This is a feather from that demon cultivator. It might sense him and give you a clue."

Shen Lian took the feather, nodded, and glanced at He Ci. "Let's go."

He Ci hummed in response.

Since he had another person with him, Shen Lian switched to a smaller immortal boat.

He Ci was in much better spirits. He looked at Shen Lian and apologized again, "Seriously, I'm sorry."

Since Shen Lian had already gotten himself into trouble, he wasn't going to waste time on regret—that would just be a waste of time.

He said coldly, "If you really want to apologize, go find that demon cultivator first."

He Ci said quietly, "Okay."

Tianyang City was at least a three-day trip from here.

After a short rest, He Ci was back to his energetic self and somehow managed to strike up a friendship with Shen Lian's little paper figurine.

He Ci poked at the paper figurine, watching the young man sitting on the boat. He wasn't meditating or refining pills or anything—just staring off into space. The wind brushed past the young man's ear, lifting a strand of hair. It was beautiful, sure, but also hollow.

For some reason, a pang of discomfort welled up in He Ci's chest. He cleared his throat and looked at the paper figurine, "Does your master always meditate like this? Not even taking a break? Does he not have any other friends?"

The paper figurine clasped its hands behind its back and shook its head with an air of mystery, "Dunno, dunno."

He Ci gritted his teeth and shoved a spirit stone at the paper figurine, "How about now?"

The paper figurine gobbled it down and patted its belly, "Yep yep, nope nope."

He Ci's heart gave a little jump. He wanted to ask more, but the paper figurine was suddenly picked up by the shoulders.

He Ci looked up and met the young man's cold, indifferent eyes.

"What do you wanna ask?"

For some reason, He Ci's cheeks turned red, "Nothing."

Shen Lian gave him a doubtful look, and He Ci immediately raised his hands as if swearing an oath, "Really! I'm just a little curious. I mean, we're in the same boat now, right?"

He Ci said softly, "So I'm just a little curious about you, that's all."

Shen Lian's tone didn't change, "Then you can just drop the curiosity."

But Shen Lian didn't expect that even with his cold attitude, He Ci would be back to his carefree self the very next second, chattering on about all kinds of random, funny stories the whole way.

Even though Shen Lian barely paid attention or responded.

But He Ci alone could keep up a steady stream of chatter.

"Are you done talking?" Finally, Shen Lian pulled his gaze away and looked at He Ci.

He Ci immediately shut his mouth, looking embarrassed, like a puppy that had just been scolded, "Sorry, I just thought you seemed too lonely all by yourself."

Shen Lian said coldly, "I don't feel that way. Don't go projecting your thoughts onto me."

He Ci pressed his lips together, "Okay."

After Shen Lian said that, He Ci went all droopy, like a puppy soaked in the rain.

Shen Lian paused. After being pestered for two or three days, suddenly having no one chattering away beside him, he found himself opening his eyes and turning around.

He spotted He Ci curled up in the corner. When their eyes met, He Ci's puppy-dog eyes suddenly looked all pitiful, and he made a gesture to show he was keeping his mouth shut.

Shen Lian briefly wondered who was really the younger one here.

But lifespans in the cultivation world were usually long—He Ci was probably around eighteen in their terms.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. The He Ci in front of him suddenly reminded him of someone.

That man was him.

Back then, he'd also been the one chattering endlessly around someone.

But today, the tables had turned. Shen Lian let out a scoff—maybe Yan Huaixuan had felt just as disgusted back then.

Shen Lian sighed. "You don't have to stay that far away, and you don't have to stay silent either."

"I like the quiet. Being alone and spacing out doesn't bother me."

He Ci let out an "oh" and suddenly reached out his hand. Shen Lian looked at the clear, glassy orb in his palm. "What is this?"

He Ci looked a bit shy. "You'll find out tonight."

Shen Lian paused. When night fell, the orb in his hand suddenly blossomed with a soft glow. Inside, it looked like a river of stars was flowing—dazzling and beautiful—casting a radiant play of light and shadow across the whole Immortal Boat.

Shen Lian was taken aback, turning to look at He Ci.

A faint blush crept across He Ci's handsome face. "I made it myself. I noticed you don't seem to like the dark, so the night before last, when the boat docked, I found some luminous stones and put fireflies in them."

Shen Lian looked closer and sure enough, what seemed to be a flowing galaxy was actually a cluster of tiny, fairy-like specks of light.

Meeting He Ci's bright, passionate gaze, Shen Lian pressed his lips together. "Why did you do this?"

He Ci said without hesitation: "I'm trying to win you over."

Shen Lian was stunned. After a long moment, he said softly, "Thank you."

He Ci instantly beamed like he'd just been handed some precious treasure. Whether it was the splendor of the starry river or the light reflected in Shen Lian's eyes, He Ci seemed almost spellbound. Without realizing it, he leaned closer to Shen Lian's face. "So... are we friends now?"

Shen Lian was about to speak when a thunderous boom rang out.

Both Shen Lian and He Ci turned at once, only to see a massive Immortal Boat hurtling straight toward them.