TM CH13

Chapter 13 You’re Too Slow

The mountain forest was exceptionally quiet. Occasionally, the cries of unknown birds or beasts could be heard, but aside from that, only the crackling of the fire broke the silence. Rong Qi leaned back against the stone wall, his feet resting on the warm, fire-baked ground near the pit. Every now and then, he tossed a few dry branches into the flames.

His gaze kept drifting toward Gu Yunxing. “The sixth one from the left is crooked.”

Gu Yunxing paused and adjusted the mentioned log.

Rong Qi: “The one in your hand isn’t even. Compared to the ones beside it, it’ll definitely leave a big gap.”

Gu Yunxing glanced up at him, then tossed aside the wooden log and picked out a new one.

Rong Qi: “Wait…”

Gu Yunxing raised an eyebrow, waiting for what came next.

Rong Qi: “This venerable one has been watching for a long time, but all I see is the vague shape of a fence… Gu Yunxing, are you even capable of doing this?”

Gu Yunxing simply set down the materials and walked slowly over to him. “Why don’t you give it a try, Lord Right Protector?”

A round and clean big toe wiggled.

“No.” Rong Qi lifted his chin and gestured with his eyes toward the small blister on his foot, proof of his hard work all day.

Gu Yunxing’s gaze grew a little heavier.

Rong Qi: “I know what you’re about to say.”

No one knew when the next storm would hit. They had to finish setting up shelter as soon as possible to avoid ending up in the same sorry state as last time. He understood that much. “But do you really think this… drafty fence can hold up against the wind and rain?”

The idea had been a good one, but putting it into practice hadn’t gone nearly as well. What Gu Yunxing had built barely counted as a tall fence, far from a wall capable of shielding them from the elements.

There was one more thing Rong Qi didn’t say aloud: even a fence usually left space for a gate. But Gu Yunxing looked like he planned to seal off the entire base of the cliff. If the two of them weren’t equally inept, Rong Qi would have ridiculed him on the spot.

Gu Yunxing let out a quiet sigh, turned his back, and continued driving logs into the ground. “Let’s give it a try. At worst, we just get caught in the rain again.”

Rong Qi stood up. “Alright, but this venerable one must remind you that we’ve been here for two hours already. If we don’t return now, we won’t make it back to the cabin before dark.”

He reached for the clothes hanging on the rack and found they were nearly dry. He started taking off his outer robe to change into the inner garment. Just then, he caught a glimpse of Gu Yunxing’s busy figure in the corner of his eye. A strange hesitation flickered through him. He paused for a moment before continuing.

He muttered, “Good thing we’re both men. If it had been Fang Ruoyao here instead, you’d probably have to marry her the moment you left the island.”

“What?” Gu Yunxing turned back in confusion, just in time to see the black outer robe slipping off the shoulders of the person behind him.

The body, hidden under dark clothing during the day, was now openly revealed.

Gu Yunxing had never seen another man’s body up close, but even he could tell that Rong Qi’s complexion was paler than most. Perhaps because he had only recently recovered from illness, his pallor still held a fragile, sickly quality. But Gu Yunxing knew better than anyone that the seemingly fragile man before him was, in fact, a ruthless demon. Anyone who crossed him would pay the price.

The dark, flowing hair cascading down his back swayed faintly with his movements, striking a stark contrast against his cold, pale skin.

Like a piece of fine white jade.

Rong Qi shivered and turned to glance around, but saw nothing unusual. He bent down, picked up the clean inner garment from the rack, and quickly slipped it on. Then he raised a hand behind his neck and pulled his hair forward.

Gu Yunxing looked away, masking the flicker of emotion in his eyes. He didn’t dare steal another glance. While Rong Qi was busy getting dressed, he finished constructing the wall, enclosing three sides and leaving only a narrow opening at the side, just wide enough for one person to pass through.

Rong Qi looked at it. So this was a ‘gate’?

He took out the water flask, rinsed the mud from the soles of his feet, dried them, and put on his socks and shoes. Then, as if something occurred to him, he said, “Gu Yunxing, why don’t you go wash up too? If you’re all dirty, don’t expect this venerable one to carry you.”

The disdain in his tone was unmistakable.

Gu Yunxing gave a small nod and headed toward the stream. Before long, he returned with dripping hair. Unlike Rong Qi, he wasn’t that particular. He simply put his old, unwashed clothes back on, having flipped them inside out. The last thing he wanted was for a cleanliness-obsessed demon to really toss him by the roadside over a dirty outer garment.

“Let’s go.”

On the way back, after walking a few steps with the help of his crutch, Gu Yunxing turned to Rong Qi and asked to be carried the rest of the way.

Although unwilling, Rong Qi still agreed.

The person carrying him was very thin.

He remembered how, when they first arrived on the island, Rong Qi had carried him too. Most martial artists weren’t weak, and Rong Qi had been no exception. Back then, although he was thin, he was at least lean and strong. Who knew that a serious illness would make this demon so emaciated that Gu Yunxing could almost feel his bones through a layer of thin fabric.

Setting aside his title as the right protector of the demon palace, just judging by appearance, he looked more like the one being mistreated.

Gu Yunxing sighed almost imperceptibly, reached out his hand, and brushed aside Rong Qi’s long hair. The hair was almost dry, with only the ends still slightly damp, leaving a patch of water stain on their clothes.

Rong Qi’s neck stiffened. “What are you doing?”

Gu Yunxing didn’t answer. He simply shifted the hair to one side.

Rong Qi: “???”

The pace on the way back was much faster than on the way there. By dusk, the surrounding scenery began to look familiar again, and they reached the woods near the shore.

“You should know the rest of the way. It’s getting dark, and this venerable one is in a hurry to get back, so I’m not carrying you anymore.”

Rong Qi unceremoniously dropped him on the ground and walked off with a flourish, completely ignoring the fact that his companion still had an injured leg.

Gu Yunxing stood there for a long while before finally shaking his head with a wry smile. This was really the style of people from the demon palace, holding grudges, forgetting favors, and impossible to win over. A true ungrateful wolf.

The next morning, the tide had pushed further inland again.

Rong Qi stood by the sea, gazing at the rolling waves in the distance, a hint of worry appearing between his brows. “At this rate, the water will reach the ship by tomorrow night.”

Gu Yunxing: “There’s still enough time. Let’s aim to move everything before midday tomorrow.”

The waves crashed upon the shore in relentless succession. The vastness of the sea and sky was a reminder of the insignificance of mortal affairs. In Rong Qi’s heart, it stirred a rising tide of unease.

The two exchanged a glance, said no more, and made preparations to set off towards the cliff to continue what they had done yesterday.

Since they’d be moving soon anyway, they decided to pack up part of their things in advance and take them along.

Yesterday, Gu Yunxing had already enclosed the base of the cliff, forming a makeshift shelter in the pointed space beneath the rock. But just as Rong Qi had said, there were still too many gaps between the wooden logs to stop the wind. Gu Yunxing’s solution to this was to build more layers.

Although Rong Qi found it unreliable, he still followed along.

The two busied themselves for a long time, thickening the single-layer wall into a three-layer wall. The densely packed wooden logs crisscrossed each other, surprisingly giving it an ‘airtight’ appearance.

Rong Qi gave it a careful once-over and said, “Not bad.”

Gu Yunxing said modestly, “If not for the Lord Right Protector’s full cooperation, this humble Gu couldn’t have done this alone.”

Rong Qi pointed upward. “What about the roof?”

Gu Yunxing fell silent.

Both of them looked up at the space above.

The ‘house’ was built at the base of a sloping cliff. The overhanging rock provided some cover near the entrance, growing more substantial the further in one went. Conversely, the closer to the opening, the less protection the cliff offered, even allowing a view of the gloomy, ash-gray sky beyond.

Gu Yunxing asked, “Does the Lord Right Protector have any suggestions?”

Rong Qi: “Yes.”

Gu Yunxing looked at him expectantly.

“It’s not much of a suggestion,” Rong Qi said seriously. “Just that this venerable one will be sleeping on the inside.”

Gu Yunxing: “……”

In the end, the two of them didn’t manage to finish building the roof within the time they had.

On the way back, Rong Qi was once again carrying Gu Yunxing. As they reached the forest near the shore, he came to a stop.

Gu Yunxing dismounted from Rong Qi’s back without needing to be told and said considerately, “No need to trouble the Right Protector for the rest of the way.”

Rong Qi gave him a strange look, then suddenly raised his hand. A flash of cold light shot through the air. A silver needle flew out, striking down a pheasant hiding in the nearby underbrush. He walked over and yanked the prey out of the grass with one hand. “I spotted it from far off. It’ll do for dinner.”

So he’d only stopped for dinner.

Gu Yunxing said nothing.

Rong Qi weighed the bird in his hand, pleased. “Since you’re so eager to walk on your own, I’ll go on ahead.”

With that, he grabbed the pheasant and walked off without a backward glance, just as nonchalant as the day before.

Gu Yunxing stood there for a while. Then he sighed, gathered a few branches, and resumed walking with the help of his makeshift crutch.

In high spirits, the Right Protector of Lihuo Palace strolled leisurely back toward the shore.

The coastline was just as it had been the day before. The broken ship lay beached on the sand, and a few crude racks stood scattered around it.

On this deserted island, the only upside was that there was no need to worry about thieves.

Rong Qi gave the pheasant a rough cleaning, then followed Gu Yunxing’s method to start a fire. He skewered the bird and set it over the rack, leaving it to cook slowly on its own.

With that done, he ducked into the cabin. A faint briny smell permeated the interior, and the furnishings were pitifully sparse.

He had returned first but found nothing to do. Sitting around idly, he soon grew bored. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the pile of hot stones that a certain sect master had left behind. He walked over, grabbed one at random, and began tossing it into the air and catching it again, letting the smooth surface roll against his fingers.

Rong Qi: “……”

He curled his lip in mild annoyance, then flicked the stone away with a snap of his fingers.

Clack.

The cabin fell quiet again.

By the time Gu Yunxing returned, Rong Qi was curled up inside the cabin. The makeshift table, which serves as a door, had been set upright in the center. A large rock, who knew from where, had been placed beside it to serve as a chair.

Right Protector Rong rested his chin on one hand, staring through the hole in the broken ceiling at the dim sky above, lost in thought.

Hearing Gu Yunxing’s footsteps, he snapped out of his thoughts and said with displeasure, “You’re too slow.”