The two of them were locked in a standoff when Mei Man suddenly saw several beams of light descend outside the window, resembling the bars of a prison.
A moment later, the sky changed abruptly. Dark clouds pressed down from above, and fierce winds howled, sending the trees outside rattling and swaying.
Qiu Heyang’s brows drew tightly together as he muttered a curse under his breath.
The air inside the alchemy chamber was slowly being sucked away. Mei Man gradually found it difficult to breathe. She withdrew her hand and pressed it uncomfortably against her chest.
Qiu Heyang happened to notice. For some inexplicable reason, his own heart tightened as well.
He took a step toward her, but just then the door was violently blown open by the wind. A strand of spiritual power shot inside, wrapped around him, and yanked him out.
Several beams of light joined together, forming a complete seal that utterly blocked his path while suppressing the spiritual power within his body.
Bound tightly by ropes formed from spiritual power, Qiu Heyang looked like a tiger or leopard trapped in a cage. His eyes bulged with rage as he glared viciously at Shen Shushi, who had appeared out of nowhere.
Shen Shushi shouted sternly, “You good-for-nothing! Even if you’ve lost your memory, you shouldn’t have forgotten every last bit of benevolence, justice, propriety, and morality. You speak without restraint and show no respect for your elders! Such arrogance cannot be forgiven lightly.”
Qiu Heyang let out a cold laugh and was just about to curse him back when he suddenly reined in his anger and put on an obedient expression.
“You’re my master? Master, I know I was wrong. I shouldn’t have spoken so recklessly just now, but I can’t remember anything, and I was genuinely frightened. That’s why I said a few foolish things.”
Shen Shushi’s expression eased somewhat. “You truly realize your mistake?”
Qiu Heyang nodded. “Without a doubt.”
Shen Shushi thought that since Qiu Heyang had lost his memory, it was normal for him to feel somewhat bewildered and helpless.
He looked stern, but was actually soft-hearted. Before his anger had fully subsided, he instinctively began to lecture him. “You needn’t worry. Even if you’ve lost your memory, you still have me. I am your master. I could never abandon you, and I will naturally do everything I can to help you recover your memories.”
Qiu Heyang said, “Thank you, Master. Could you remove this thing first? It’s rather uncomfortable being tied up like this.”
“The spiritual bindings can be undone, but don’t even think about running again.” Shen Shushi withdrew his spiritual power, and the beams of light around them dispersed one after another.
The dark clouds gradually faded, and daylight returned.
Qiu Heyang immediately let out a mocking laugh. He was about to call Shen Shushi a “muddleheaded fool” when, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Mei Man.
She stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. Two loosely tied strands of black hair swayed gently in the wind, and beneath her slightly overlong bangs was a face so pale that it held scarcely any color.
At that moment, Qiu Heyang remembered what she had said earlier. His brows furrowed tightly. After hesitating again and again, he finally scattered the spiritual power flickering at his fingertips.
He said to Shen Shushi, “I lied to you just now. I don’t remember you at all, and I don’t believe you in the slightest. Don’t rush to lose your temper—I haven’t finished speaking. I only have the faintest impression of her. As long as she comes with me, I’ll go with you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Shen Shushi shouted angrily.
“Your scolding won’t change anything. If I want to run, I have countless ways to do it.” Qiu Heyang looked toward Mei Man. “Well? What do you say?”
Mei Man thought to herself that although this man had lost his memory, his brain clearly hadn’t stopped working. He had even managed to pinpoint the only person who had overheard him insulting Shen Shushi in private. It was pure self-preservation on the part of his body.
She lowered her eyes and said, “If I can help Senior Brother, then I’ll go.”
She had said it solely to put on an act in front of Shen Shushi. She had never expected that, over the next several days, Qiu Heyang would cling to her and refuse to let go.
Shen Shushi examined him and said that there was nothing seriously wrong with his body. The memory-loss talisman had simply worked too well, as if it had draped a thick fog over his sea of consciousness, which was why he had lost his memory.
Since the matter involved his sea of consciousness, Shen Shushi didn’t dare act rashly. All they could do was patiently wait for the talisman’s effects to wear off.
As for when that would happen, no one could say.
Mei Man therefore stayed temporarily in Qiu Heyang’s cave abode.
Compared with recovering his memories, Qiu Heyang seemed more curious about her. All day long, he grabbed hold of her and questioned her about everything, asking about her life from the moment she was born.
Qiu Heyang asked, “You mean that when I fell into the water, you rescued me, and that was how you ended up going to my home?”
Mei Man said, “Mm.”
“How is that possible?” Qiu Heyang said disdainfully. “I’m not an idiot. If I couldn’t swim, why would I recklessly jump into the water? And if I could swim, then even if I accidentally drowned, I had spiritual power. Couldn’t I have simply cast a spell? Why would I need someone else to save me?”
“You couldn’t swim.” Mei Man stated the truth without expression. “You secretly shook off your accompanying guards and happened to run into me while I was gathering lotus roots in the water. You insisted on competing with me, but because your spiritual power was so strong, a water ghost in the lotus pond latched onto you and tried to use you as its replacement. You couldn’t swim back out. After I rescued you, you suffered from nightmares and were bedridden for a year or two.”
Qiu Heyang was both shocked and humiliated. He raised a hand. “There’s no need to bring this up again.”
“You were the one who asked.”
He suddenly changed the subject. “You haven’t gone back all these years?”
“No.”
Qiu Heyang had enough sense to notice that she didn’t want to discuss it, so he changed the subject again. “Then why do you dress so plainly? Since you saved my life, you’re my family’s benefactor. Could it be that my family was unwilling to repay even such a small debt of gratitude?”
“No,” Mei Man said. “They gave me quite a lot over the years.”
Qiu Heyang was even more confused. “I can’t see any of it.”
Mei Man fell silent.
Perhaps because he couldn’t remember anything now, there were some things she found easier to say aloud.
After a long while, she murmured gloomily, “Even people who share my blood could cast me out so easily. What does a debt of gratitude amount to? If I became accustomed to a life of luxury, then one day made a mistake or displeased someone, and was cast out again, how would I survive?”
Qiu Heyang was stunned. His first response was to curse, “Good. Good! If your family are all worthless bastards, then it’s better to see them clearly sooner rather than suffer later.”
Then he added, “If it were me, I’d use that debt of gratitude to demand enough money to spend for eight lifetimes.”
“Then give me five thousand spirit stones first. High-grade ones.”
Qiu Heyang immediately burst out laughing. “That’s easy enough. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the combination to the lock on that treasure chest right now. There’s no hurry—you can have them later. If you don’t believe me, we can draw up an IOU.”
“Forget it.”
If he recovered his memories, there was no way he would honor that promise.
After that, Qiu Heyang spent all day pestering her with questions. At first, it was tolerable, but as the days went by, Mei Man began to find it increasingly difficult to cope.
In particular, he was always asking what exactly their relationship was. He asked why he couldn’t stand even his own older brother, why he found him so irritating, and why he disliked the master who was always coming to see him, yet was exceptionally friendly toward her.
Mei Man thought to herself that she had no idea. Although Qiu Heyang had often said in the past that the two of them were the best of friends, she couldn’t bring herself to say that. She could only brush him off by saying, “Perhaps it’s because I was the last person you saw before activating the memory-loss talisman.”
Qiu Heyang continued asking why it had to be her.
Mei Man was getting a headache from it all. After tossing out a perfunctory answer, she simply used visiting a friend as an excuse and escaped to the outer sect compound.
But she didn’t have any friends there. She had only been a fellow disciple with those people for a month and wasn’t close to any of them.
So she changed direction and sneaked off to the servant disciples’ compound.
When Mei Man arrived, Xie Xu was chopping wood.
Today he wore a black martial outfit. Though it covered him from head to toe, when he raised his arms, it still pulled taut over the firm, sleek lines of his muscles. Prominent veins rose and throbbed faintly along his neck as well.
Each time the ax split a piece of firewood, he let out a breath so tightly restrained it was almost a muffled groan.
These past few days, Mei Man had been putting on an act. Shen Shushi was worried and often came to check on her and Qiu Heyang, so she had to pretend to be even-tempered and concerned about her senior brother.
Keeping up the act for so long had left her thoroughly exhausted. Thus, when she saw Xie Xu like this, she felt a sudden urge to get closer.
She glanced around. Seeing no one nearby, she quietly edged toward him.
Xie Xu noticed her too. He lowered his hand, and a bead of hot sweat rolled down his cheek before silently soaking into his clothes.
He was about to speak, but Mei Man beat him to it. “Come inside first. I have something to tell you.”
Naturally, she had no such thing to say. The moment they entered the room, she pulled the door shut, lifted her chin, and pecked him on the lips.
That small bit of intimacy was enough to ease some of the restlessness that had built up inside her.
Xie Xu understood at once. He said nothing. The instant she pulled away, he bent down and chased after her lips, pressing his to hers and kissing her slowly and thoroughly.
Their lips and tongues tangled together, sending a tingling, shivery sensation through her. Mei Man braced herself against his arm, then looped her arms around his neck.
Xie Xu took the opportunity to hold her close.
His body suddenly pressed against hers, and she was enveloped by waves of heat, mingled with a faint, clean fragrance.
The familiar scent relaxed her even further. She pushed him down to sit, then settled onto his lap. Only then did they resume kissing, until both were breathing hard and damp with sweat.
Before long, Mei Man felt the hard shape beneath her. She clicked her tongue and leaned close to his ear, whispering through uneven breaths, “You always put on such a serious front, yet here you are, showing your lewd side in broad daylight.”
Her breath teased his ear, making Xie Xu shiver lightly. His brows drew together, and his eyes narrowed slightly.
“Mm…” he answered with a muffled sound, though it was unclear whether he was merely gasping or responding to her.
Mei Man gave his chest a squeeze, drawing several low, breathy sounds from him. At last, the frustration in her heart was completely released.
After a brief rustle of fabric, she lifted herself slightly, then slowly sank back down. The arms wrapped around her immediately tightened.
She no longer had the energy to trade barbs. Instead, she buried her face against his shoulder, eyes half-lidded, making faint, intermittent sounds of pleasure.
But Mei Man had always been lazy when it came to this sort of thing. Before long, she refused to move any longer and began urging him on instead. Only then did Xie Xu reveal his strength. He scooped her up, bounced her twice in his arms, and began slowly walking around the room.
That proved even more exhausting than chopping wood. Though he was not exerting much force, his face soon flushed hot, and his breathing grew deep, heavy, and hurried.
Even with a solid place to hold on to, Mei Man was afraid of falling. She clung tightly to him, pressed close against his body.
Before long, they reached the window ledge, then moved on to the table and the mirror, finally coming to rest on the bed, where they indulged themselves for quite some time.
But just as their passion had subsided and they were kissing each other lightly, their breathing still unsettled, Xie Xu suddenly cast a sidelong glance toward the door.
He could still use a little spiritual power, and thus was able to detect the faintest changes in the surrounding spiritual energy. At that moment, he sensed spiritual energy approaching.
Mei Man realized something was wrong as well. She propped herself up and looked in that direction.
“Someone’s there?” she asked.
Almost the instant the last word left her lips, she heard footsteps. They drew closer and closer, coming rapidly toward them.
Then someone knocked on the door.
“Knocked” was putting it politely. It was more like they were pounding on it, making no attempt to restrain their strength. The already dilapidated door thudded loudly with every blow.
