Chapter 9: Heart Stirring

“Sister Mu.” Xie Yi lowered his gaze to her drooping fingertips and called out softly.

“What’s the matter?” Su Mu snapped out of her thoughts about the karmic entanglement with Yan Jiyue.

Xie Yi raised his exquisitely curved chin. The misty vapors of Jiangnan and the dreamy sunlight made his already clean and fair face appear even more delicate and translucent. He pointed to the bright red bloodstain on his face. “Continue.”

“…Alright.” Su Mu scooped a bit of medicine from the bottle and continued applying it to his wound.

But seeing the gruesome wound on his face, Su Mu’s feelings of guilt surged up again. Yan Jiyue was used to being domineering and arrogant. If it were the Yan Jiyue from before her rebirth, it would be easier to deal with. But now Yan Jiyue had also been reborn and still harbored intense hatred towards Xie Yi.

Su Mu suddenly didn’t dare to keep Xie Yi by her side. Who knew if Yan Jiyue would suddenly come at Xie Yi with underhanded methods?

After all, Yan Jiyue had done this many times in her previous life.

Fortunately, she had seen through it every time and caught her red-handed.

And Su Mu had reached her limit in her constant tolerance of Yan Jiyue. She took Xie Yi and moved out of the Yan residence. On the surface, the two were still husband and wife, but they were actually living separately.

“Xie Yi, do you miss home?” Su Mu asked tentatively.

Xie Yi’s eyes trembled slightly. Of course he missed it. How could he not?

Even though his parents in the desert had been killed and his younger brother had married someone and his whereabouts were unknown, he had still grown up in the desert and was accustomed to the lonely smoke at sunset and the fierce winds and yellow sands.

Even though everyone said Jiangnan was beautiful, Jiangnan had only brought him endless pain and humiliation. If it weren’t for Su Mu, he didn’t know where he would have drifted to now, living a life worse than that of pigs and dogs.

But he couldn’t directly answer like this. Could this be Su Mu’s test?

Even when raising a dog, one needs to test the dog’s loyalty. If it’s a good dog that can’t be driven away no matter what, then the owner will naturally trust it more.

But if the dog really shows signs of wanting to leave, then what awaits it is a beating at best, and being sold to a dog meat vendor at worst.

A cold, gloomy feeling rose in his heart, but his eyes revealed complete innocence and dependence. “I don’t miss it. I like Sister Mu and want to be with Sister Mu.”

Acting was what he was best at.

He had originally thought that he could successfully deceive Su Mu and express his loyalty to her in passing, gaining her trust.

But who knew that when Su Mu saw the dependence in his eyes, she shook her head slightly.

Not only was she not happy that he had taken the initiative to show goodwill, but she also said in a gentle and earnest tone, “I know you don’t like it here. How about I send you back home?”

Xie Yi raised his eyes in surprise, stunned and speechless.

“Go back to the desert and find your family.” In her previous life, Xie Yi had told Su Mu that he still had a younger brother who was alive.

Enduring the debts and love from two lifetimes, she ruffled his soft, fluffy long hair, as if petting a large furry creature.

Her ability was limited now. It was always dangerous for Xie Yi to stay by her side. It would be better to send him back to his hometown to live a peaceful life.

Perhaps in her previous life, Xie Yi had indeed developed feelings for her after following her for ten years. But the current Xie Yi had only been with her for a few days. He definitely wouldn’t have such deep dependence on her, let alone give up the opportunity to go home for her.

She knew he was pretending, but she wasn’t angry. This was just Xie Yi’s way of protecting himself. When living, there are always difficulties that one has no choice but to resign oneself to.

Su Mu knew that she could no longer go home. She didn’t want Xie Yi to end up like her.

She had always treated Xie Yi as a younger brother, until she saw Xie Yi sacrificing himself for her. Only then did a different kind of feeling arise in her heart. But that bit of amorous feeling was completely incomparable to Xie Yi’s safety.

If Xie Yi returned to his hometown, it would also change his desolate fate of dying from poisoning. This was the best ending for him.

Thinking of this, Su Mu took out all the money she had been saving, not much, but a few dozen taels of silver was enough for travel expenses along the way.

She put the money in Xie Yi’s hand and said to him, “I know that in half a month, there will be a merchant caravan passing through Juancheng to the desert. You can go with them then.”

Xie Yi couldn’t believe his ears. Su Mu’s voice was so gentle that it could drip water, and her deep green eyes reflected his current figure. It seemed as if in an instant, myriad feelings surged in Xie Yi’s chest, wetly falling on his heart, thoroughly soaking him inside and out, impossible to wring dry.

Why would she let him leave so easily?

She had spent 20 taels of silver to buy him.

Yet she hadn’t done anything to him. Instead, she had given him delicious candies. If it were just that, then so be it. But now she had also given him a few dozen taels of silver and told him to go back to the desert.

Why?

Xie Yi’s mind suddenly became a mess, and an inexplicable feeling of anxiety welled up.

A moment ago, he had still been scheming against Su Mu, planning how to seduce her, make her fall in love with him, and willingly give him money so he could take the money and escape back to the desert.

But the next moment, when the heavy silver was grasped in his hand, it was like extremely heavy dark clouds looming over his head, gloomy and hazy. When his long-awaited hometown beckoned to him, his heart could no longer generate a shred of joy or happiness, but instead gave rise to a feeling of reluctance.

Reluctance?

Xie Yi sneered inwardly. Reluctant to part with what? The needle-like pettiness and viper-like viciousness of the men in Jiangnan? Was he complaining that the brand on his chest wasn’t deep enough?

It was just… Xie Yi lowered his head and looked at the hem of Su Mu’s skirt that had been soaked by the accumulated water, turning a rotten deep red after being immersed.

He didn’t dare to look into Su Mu’s eyes, didn’t dare to face the laughter in her eyes. If there was truly any reluctance, it was only for one person—Su Mu.

“Then it’s settled.” Su Mu’s voice, tinged with laughter, came from above his head.

Only at this moment did Xie Yi fully believe that Su Mu wasn’t testing him. She truly wanted to let him go.

Perhaps from the moment she brought him back home and tore up the deed of sale in front of him, she already had this idea.

She had emptied all her savings to rescue him from the hands of a vicious master and personally removed the collar from his neck, setting him free.

But from beginning to end, he had been maliciously speculating about her. Xie Yi buried his head even lower, his heart feeling as if it had been badly scalded by smoke.

Xie Yi didn’t consider himself a good person, but at this moment, he realized from the bottom of his heart that his previous dark thoughts towards Su Mu were a defilement of her.

Xie Yi went back to his room in a daze and lay down, because after the medicine was applied, Su Mu told him to rest well.

Even though she had clearly expressed her intention to send him away, Su Mu was still so good to him, so good that it made him feel guilty, made him feel unworthy.

It had started raining outside again. The rain in Jiangnan seemed to never stop. The cold and damp air seeped into his flesh and bones. The long-accumulated moisture in his body was soaking his heart, almost making it moldy.

Xie Yi tossed and turned on the bed, the sound of rain under the eaves making his heart even more agitated.

The glaring silver was placed right by his pillow, but at this moment, he found it dazzling. He sat up abruptly, pushed away the silver that he had always yearned for but now found an eyesore, and picked up the small pouch beside him.

The pouch contained the honey candies that Su Mu had bought for him. Xie Yi took one and put it in his mouth. His stifling heart finally obtained a bit of relief.

After returning to the desert, would he still be able to eat honey candies?

Xie Yi’s heart, which had just found relief, suddenly felt empty.

The round, tangerine-colored honey candies were like the setting sun in the desert. Such a magnificent sight appeared in Xie Yi’s dreams every night, but now as Xie Yi recalled it, he found its brilliance had dimmed quite a bit, far less attractive than the honey candies in his hand.

There was a faint sound from outside. Xie Yi crawled up, pushed open the window and looked out.

In the hazy misty rain, Su Mu entered the kitchen, seemingly preparing to cook.

Xie Yi ran out in the rain. “Sister Mu, let me do it.”

Xie Yi was terribly flustered. He had already received so many favors from Su Mu. The usually thick-skinned Xie Yi, who had always shamelessly enjoyed the preferential treatment from women due to his good looks, for the first time sincerely wanted to prove himself in front of Su Mu.

Anyway, anyway, he was going to leave.

Before leaving, he should be good to Su Mu, a little better. Or cause some trouble for Su Mu, make her detest him, scold him. Let him forget her goodness and only remember her bad side.

Otherwise, after returning to the desert, he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to resist thinking of her often.

“No need.” Su Mu smiled and tied up her sleeves, revealing jade-white arms. In the hazy rain, her snow-like skin was like rare and precious ice jade.

Xie Yi’s breath caught and a blush crept over his face.

Su Mu washed the rice with practiced ease, then sliced two pieces of sweet potato into the pot and started the fire skillfully. The entire process was smooth and fluid. Although they were mundane actions filled with the aroma of cooking, in her hands, they seemed like magic.

“Do you like the candy I gave you?” Su Mu asked, guarding the stove. Her thick, luxuriant hair was coiled up with a hairpin, a few strands of black hair hanging down at her temples. The warm orange firelight illuminated her translucent, icy skin as if it would melt the next second.

Xie Yi averted his eyes, not daring to look directly at Su Mu’s gentle, dazzling radiance. He lowered his gaze and nodded. “I like it.”

The honey candies actually tasted very ordinary, the sweetness so cloying it was sickening. But for some reason, he just liked them. When he had nothing to do, he liked to take one out and eat it, as if addicted.

“As long as you like them.” Su Mu lowered her head and smiled. “Although honey candies are very cheap and common in Juancheng, you can’t get them in the desert. I’ll go buy more tomorrow so you can eat them on the road.”

Xie Yi said nothing, but tightly gripped the candies in his hand, his knuckles turning white. The honey candy in his palm cracked.

Why was she so good to him?

“The food is ready.” Su Mu stood up and lifted the pot lid. A plume of steam rose up, condensing on her fair arms.

Xie Yi quietly watched her tall, graceful back. Such a good person, yet no one good by her side. She even had to cook herself.

She didn’t even have a man to warm her bed. If he left, would she truly become a lonely, solitary person?

Xie Yi was suddenly startled by the thought in his mind of putting himself in the position of Su Mu’s man.

He touched his cheek, forcibly suppressing the blush that had risen on both cheeks.

For a woman like Su Mu, there must be many, many men begging to marry her after the divorce. What was he in a hurry to find for her?

“Let me.” Xie Yi stood up and took the bowl from Su Mu’s hands. His fingertips inadvertently touched her knuckles.

It was as if Xie Yi’s heart trembled. His dark green eyes were in disarray.