“Is there something on my face?” Daoyi asked.
Tianyi looked away and shook his head. “I’m just wondering if the artifact I forged for you is working well.”
Daoyi brushed her hair behind her ear and the feather-shaped Artifact. She looked suspiciously at Tianyi. It wasn’t the first time she caught him glancing at her when he thought she wasn’t paying attention. “It works very well. The clear qi that it produces supplements the nether true qi I produce very well.”
Perhaps he had an opinion concerning the nature of her cultivation method? The East Flowing Nether River Scripture’s powers were heavily stigmatized due to how many devilish cultivators used similar methods and means. But Daoyi didn’t think that Tianyi would really quibble over such a minor matter, so what made him act so out of character today?
“Have you given it a name yet?” Tianyi asked, using the question to openly observe Daoyi.
Daoyi brushed her hand against the argent feather before fiddling with the earring. “Since it produces clear qi and the feather and earring are linked, I’ve named it Cloudless Crest Link.”
“Cloudless Crest Link, it’s a good name,” Tianyi said, but his attention was still on Daoyi’s face.
Daoyi felt the corner of her lips curled up as she blinked her long lashes at Tianyi and said in a tender voice. “Senior Brother Xi, am I beautiful?”
“Yes, you are very mesmerizing.” There was a pause as Tianyi was still focusing on Daoyi’s face before he blinked, and it dawned on him what he just said. “Wha!? I mean NO! No! I didn’t mean it that way! I mean, I did, it’s just… ARGHHH!!!!”
Tianyi’s face heated up. If he had just accepted what he said earlier and played it cool, he wouldn’t have reached his current awkward state. Instead, he had to backtrack on his statement, leading him to flub over his words. Both of Tianyi’s hands covered his flushed face as he wanted to just dig a hole and bury himself in it.
Daoyi laughed unreservedly at Tianyi’s awkward state. Luckily, he appeared to be around fourteen to fifteen-years-old, still having traces of tenderness and naivety. Otherwise, if a grown man made such a pose, it would only invite disaster. So great was Tianyi’s embarrassment because he didn’t even react when Mengfei gently rubbed his head.
The original scene of three distinguished people walking down the street with servants instantly collapsed. The citizens on the streets, who were initially part fearful and part venerating, all had a warm expression on their faces upon seeing this scene. Tianyi’s image was furthered shattered in Su Bojing’s mind as he watched with an exasperated expression behind the three.
They had already been at the Xi Dynasty for months. Aside from Daoyi’s business and Tianyi creating Donghai Longzi, Mengfei had yet to leave the palace. She recalled the ethereal dream she had when struck by Emperor Soulfish’s spell. In the dream, although rare, she had occasionally toured the streets when Han Tianyi was still young. Suddenly filled with vigor, Mengfei took Tianyi and Daoyi shopping. Hence the resulting scene.
Tianyi, finding words failing, took the smart option. He just faced forward and started walking. His ears burned with shame as he heard Daoyi’s laughter become even louder and sweeter. Mengfei blinked, not understanding Tianyi’s embarrassment. Deciding to think about it later, she followed Tianyi. Daoyi and the servants behind them soon followed.
Minutes later, Tianyi was still unable to meet Daoyi’s eyes. He could only put a lofty facade so as to ignore his earlier shame, pretending the event never happened. Simultaneously, Tianyi’s mind continued to ponder on the matter of whether Daoyi was a reincarnator again.
Tianyi didn’t know whether a reincarnator’s soul was special or not, and pretty much the only way he would be able to discern them was if they leaked knowledge that only those that lived on Earth would know. But if a reincarnator wanted to hide, then it wouldn’t be easy to find them. Reincarnators essentially lived two lifetimes. It would be far too easy for them to assimilate themselves into their new environment.
Essentially, it all came down to the problem of whether or not he was willing to take the risk of revealing himself to others. How much did he trust Daoyi? Tianyi couldn’t be sure. They’ve known each other for over ten years. On Earth, that would be enough to be called dear friends, but this was not Earth, and spilled secrets had far greater consequences.
Tianyi didn’t want to put themselves through danger just to verify their level of trust. But sometimes, only in the face of death can a person know their true selves, much less others. Tianyi didn’t even know what he would do if he and Daoyi were stuck in a life-and-death situation. If the chances of Daoyi and him making out alive were less than the chances of him making it out alive, Tianyi honestly didn’t know what choice he would make. No one wanted to die after all.
He wasn’t shameless enough to ask others to give up their lives for him when he wouldn’t be able to do the same. So the correct choice would be to make the decision after ascertaining whether Daoyi or Xi Ri was a reincarnator.
Tianyi stared wistfully at the streets, at these natives who were born and raised in the Huang Realm. They didn’t understand the feeling of alienation in this vast world. He was clearly physically here, but there was a sense of distance that could never be covered. It was the little things, really.
When he was young, sometimes when he used words or phrases that were common on Earth, the people around him, such as Elder Shan, would reply with confusion. All these little things reminded Tianyi that he wasn’t a part of this world. Perhaps, he should just forget about his life on Earth. Whenever Tianyi thought about that, the face of his mother on Earth would flash by, and he would feel ashamed of his thoughts. Without a doubt, his mother would be searching for him if she was in the same situation.
That’s why he liked hanging out with Xi Ri and Daoyi. Although his speech and words had acclimated to his current life, sometimes phrases and words from Earth would leak out. Daoyi and Xi Ri didn’t become confused. They frowned a bit before understanding, only some of them, though. There were some times that they didn’t understand at all. But thinking positively, it could be the meaning was lost due to translation. The Huang Realm’s language wasn’t the same as Earth’s.
But that could all change with Tianyi’s action. What if they weren’t reincarnators? What if they laughed along because he was Mengfei’s son? Hope was like Schrodinger’s cat; it was in a state of possible existence as long as he didn’t open the box. Tianyi didn’t want to open the box and find that they were never reincarnators in the first place. Losing hope would only magnify his sense of alienation from his surroundings.
Tianyi would rather lie to himself that he wasn’t alone than to prove that Daoyi and Xi Ri weren’t reincarnators. But that wasn’t the only reason. The loss of his memories didn’t only bring a sense of danger but a cowardly sense of relief. That meant even if Tianyi’s identity as a reincarnator were exposed, he wouldn’t be killed or expelled from the sect. There was written history of Nascent Soul Realm and above cultivators who possessed a suitable body and stole the victim’s identity.
There was a period of time when Tianyi refused to sleep for days after having nightmares of Mengfei rejecting him after his identity was exposed. It was a fear that he couldn’t tell anyone, making him feel even more miserable. He tried not to think about it. Sometimes he felt that as long as he hid it, it wouldn’t matter. His past identity as an earthling should just remain hidden forever, but there were some things he could not give up.
Tianyi was broken out of thoughts as a stick of candied hawthorns, bing tanghulu, was placed in front of him. He looked to the owner of the hand to see Mengfei looking at him. Her face wasn’t as expressionless as he remembered from when he first saw her. Instead, her brows were slightly furrowed. “Here, you like them, don’t you?”
He didn’t. But Tianyi still smiled and took the stick in his hand and bit into it. The hard candied coating shattered with a satisfying crack as Tianyi bit into the berry. The berry itself was rather sour to the point that Tianyi almost scrunched his face due to the sourness.
“You don’t like them?” Mengfei’s eyes were sharp. Her brows furrowed more. Within the dream world, Han Tianyi loved bing tanghulus. If it wasn’t because of the bing tanghulu, then what else could it be? “Did I do something wrong?”
Seeing his mother ask him with such an unconfident tone, Tianyi became frazzled and quickly waved his hand negatively. “No, nothing’s wrong. I just had some stuff on my mind. I love bing tanghulus!”
Tianyi placed the rest of the unfinished hawthorn berry into his mouth and chewed. He instantly regretted it. This time he could not prevent his face from fully twisting and his lips puckered.
“Hahaha, Senior Brother, you shouldn’t act tough. If you don’t like it, you should be truthful. Adults won’t lie over smalls things.” Daoyi said while laughing. She walked over and rubbed Tianyi’s head. Her laughter increased even more.
Tianyi just gave a deadpan look towards Daoyi. He pulled off a hawthorn berry and popped it into Daoyi’s mouth. The reaction was instant. Daoyi’s face seemed to be sucked inward like there was a black hole in her mouth. “What was that? I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. Can you say it again?”
He grinned in triumph at Daoyi’s teary-eyed glare. But the sourness in her mouth was too much. Daoyi’s puckered lips prevented her from speaking anymore. Her upbringing prevented her from crassly spitting it out, and the action would be just too vulgar. In the end, Tianyi handed Daoyi a handkerchief. She accepted, but not before punching Tianyi in the arm.
Tianyi laughed.
Mengfei gave a gentle smile. She wasn’t good at reading people, but it was obvious that something was bothering Tianyi deeply. So she bought a bing tanghulu, something that Han Tianyi enjoyed and always brought a smile to his face. She knew what Han Tianyi’s favorite food was, what his preferred color was, where he liked to go to think, and much more. Compared to that, Mengfei realized she did not know as much about Tianyi as she had thought. Still, the current atmosphere was pleasant.
“What’s wrong? Why are we still standing here? Aren’t we here to shop?” Tianyi said as he led the way down the street, walking past the frozen bing tanghulu vendor. His problems hadn’t been solved, but there was nothing wrong with enjoying the present right now. He will confront the issues as they come. For now, he should stick to his current plan. And even if they weren’t reincarnators, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. He may fall into a depression, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world.
