After Transmigrating Into the Book, I Picked up the Protagonist-Shou

Xie An lightly pursed his lips and placed his right hand on Xie Shuci’s shoulder, unintentionally tapping it twice with his index finger.

Xie Shuci snapped his fingers in front of the innkeeper and said, “Hey, snap out of it, Big Brother. Even if my Little Blind looks good, your eyeballs shouldn’t be falling out.”

The innkeeper, “…”

The innkeeper cleared his throat, not daring to look at Xie An anymore, and said to Xie Shuci, “In any case, Young Master Xie, until the demon is captured, please stay in your room and avoid going out to prevent any further trouble.”

“No, tomorrow I have to take Xie An to the medical clinic for acupuncture. The senior physician said he will be able to hear sounds soon,” Xie Shuci frowned.

The innkeeper frowned, and glanced at Xie An quickly, with a hesitant look on his face. He clenched his palms tightly and opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, he didn’t.

He advised, “According to Young Master Li, that demon can control dogs. Be careful when you go out and don’t linger outside.”

Ah Dong, that little guy, stood with his hands on his hips, saying in a proud manner, “Dad, Brother Xiaoci is a cultivator. The demon won’t stand a chance against him. You don’t have to worry about him.”

“…” Xie Shuci wrinkled his nose, feeling somewhat guilty.

His set of words might work when fooling children under the age of seven, but any normal person would know he was bragging.

The innkeeper couldn’t help but suppress a chuckle, rubbed Ah Dong’s head, and said, “Then you’ll stay with Brother Xiaoci for the next few days. Dad has some things to attend to, so don’t cause any trouble for Brother Xiaoci, understand?”

Ah Dong obediently nodded, and the innkeeper left.

The three of them had their lunch in the lobby, and then Ah Dong brought out all his little toys. They sat on the floor and had a great time playing.

Xie Shuci was the king of children. He got along particularly well with them, and he could enthusiastically engage in games that ordinary people would find childish.

“You lost!”

Holding his own wooden “General,” Xie Shuci defeated all the wooden men in Ah Dong’s camp and raised his hands in celebration.

“Wu… Wu…” Ah Dong whimpered with his tear-filled eyes as he leaned forward, pressing his red forehead closer to Xie Shuci. He softly begged for mercy, “Brother Xiaoci, please be gentle.”

Xie Shuci pressed his thumb against his middle finger and blew a breath and then flicked it on Ah Dong’s forehead.

“Ah! Brother Xiaoci! It hurts!” Ah Dong’s tears were on the verge of flowing as he held his forehead with his chubby hand, looking at Xie Shuci with a complaining expression.

Xie Shuci laughed out loud, pointing at Ah Dong and said, “No crying! You lost the bet!”

Ah Dong pouted, turned his back to Xie Shuci with an angry expression, and pushed the wooden men down. He said, “I’m not playing with you anymore.”

“Oh, still sulking?” Xie Shuci poked Ah Dong’s arm.

“Hmph.” Ah Dong turned his head and glared at him.

“Come on, it was just a few taps on the head. What’s there to be angry about?” Xie Shuci said.

Ah Dong mustered up his courage, stood up from the ground, patted the dust off his bottom, and trotted over to Xie An’s side.

Xie An was practicing calligraphy with a brush when Ah Dong suddenly grabbed his sleeve, causing the ink to drip onto the rice paper, ruining a well-executed calligraphy.

Xie Shuci also stood up, dusted off his clothes, and walked over to the two of them.

He lowered his head to glance at the paper. The blind boy had written beautiful characters, with a hint of boldness in his words, free and unconstrained. However, Xie Shuci couldn’t quite make out what was written.

Ah Dong grabbed Xie An’s hand and pressed it against his own face, completely unaware that there were a few ink stains on Xie An’s hand, which were now smeared on his face.

Before he could start complaining, Xie Shuci held Xie An’s shoulder and burst into laughter, unable to stop himself.

“Hahaha… little kitty.” Xie Shuci pointed at Ah Dong, laughing wildly, infuriating him.

Ah Dong’s face immediately turned red, and he used his chubby hands to wipe his face in a circle, unintentionally spreading the ink stains even more evenly, resembling Bao Zheng, a famous official from Chinese folklore.

“Hahaha…” Xie Shuci completely lacked the self-awareness of being an older brother and had a red face from laughing.

Ah Dong curled his lips, and tears rolled down his cheeks.

Xie An roughly knew what Xie Shuci was laughing about. Xie Shuci had been making Ah Dong cry all these days, and without even looking, Xie An knew what had happened. He was used to it and didn’t find it surprising. However, despite Xie Shuci’s mischievousness, Ah Dong still liked to stick to him.

With a gentle expression on his face, Xie An patted the back of Xie Shuci’s hand and asked, “Did you bully him again?”

Xie Shuci turned his head and lightly pressed his lips against the back of Xie An’s hand in his current position, saying, “This isn’t bullying. I was just playing with him.”

Having had enough, Xie Shuci took Ah Dong to the backyard to wash his face. When they returned, there were already a few more people in the lobby.

Those people were dressed in identical green brocade robes, with swords hanging from their waists. Each of them had an upright posture and an extraordinary presence, clearly not ordinary people.

Two of the disciples were surrounding Xie An, talking incessantly. They probably didn’t know that the little blind boy couldn’t hear and thought he was intentionally ignoring them.

Xie An also noticed the presence of others. He put down his brush, sat at the table, and had a cold expression.

“Young Master, where is the innkeeper?”

“Why aren’t you speaking?”

“Enough, Li Baiyi. Can’t you tell the difference between men and women when you see a beautiful person?” 

The disciple named Li Baiyi, rolled his eyes back. “Mind your own business.”

Xie Shuci wrinkled his brow as he saw them sitting around the little blind boy. He walked over with Ah Dong and said, “Move aside, this is my seat.”

His voice caught the attention of the others. Li Baiyi widened his eyes and suddenly slammed the table, drawing his sword and pointing it directly at Xie Shuci. He berated him, “You surnamed Xie, how dare you show up?!”

Xie Shuci rolled his eyes. Just by looking at their attire, he knew they were disciples of Li Song’s family.

“Why wouldn’t I dare show up? Hasn’t your young master told you that we’ve resolved our feud?” 

“Bah! The young master wouldn’t– Young master, you’re here? And Xie Shuci too…”

Just then, Li Song, looking weary, walked in. Li Baiyi had intended to complain, but to his surprise, Li Song glanced at Xie Shuci, his gaze momentarily dazed, and then he simply passed each other by.

“Don’t make a fuss. The demon is still lurking. We don’t know where it’s hiding,” Li Song said.

With that, he turned around and closed the door.

The innkeeper came down from the attic, and Li Song explained, “The demon appeared nearby last night. It’s probably still around. My fellow brothers and I will temporarily stay here.”

The innkeeper turned pale upon hearing that the demon was still nearby.

Li Song noticed the innkeeper’s pale face and reassured him, “Don’t worry, the demon is not particularly violent. There are reasons for its actions. It shouldn’t harm anyone else today.”

The innkeeper could only nod and led some of the disciples into the rooms to rest.

Xie Shuci also sent Ah Dong back to the room and sat next to Xie An together with Li Song.

Xie Shuci greeted Xie An first, and Xie An held his hand, quietly discerning for a moment. Once he confirmed that it was Xie Shuci, he let out a sigh of relief and asked, “Who are they?”

Li Song poured himself a cup of tea and briefly glanced at the hands of Xie Shuci and Xie An, their fingers interlaced. Then, he quickly averted his gaze.

“A few disciples from the immortal sects. Did they scare you?” Xie Shuci wrote on Xie An’s palm.

Xie An shook his head. “No.”

Li Song had been chasing the demon all night and was already exhausted, but he didn’t want to rest now.

The image of Xie Shuci from last night was still vivid in his mind—the red, teary eyes, the aggrieved expression, the glimpses of his legs beneath the clothes, and the affectionate interactions between him and the blind boy. It left Li Song with a strange feeling.

“Do you always communicate like this?” Li Song asked.

“Yes, and there are even simpler methods. I can read lips, and Xie An can discern words through the movement of my lips rubbing against his skin and the position of the corners of the mouth,” Xie Shuci explained.

Lip-reading…

Rubbing lips against the skin…

Li Song’s face turned red at a visible speed. He held his breath for a while before managing to utter two words, “Disgusting!”

Xie Shuci rolled his eyes at him. “Are you sick or something?”

“You’re the sick one!”

“Yes, I have the ‘liking men’ sickness. If you keep insulting me, I’ll pass the sickness onto you!”

Li Song’s cheeks almost bled. “You dare?!”

Xie An played with one of Xie Shuci’s fingers, freezing for a moment.

Xie Shuci acted all high and mighty. Li Song had never quarreled so he turned his face in anger.

Seeing that he wore a gloomy expression. Xie Shuci lifted his chin with pride.

Li Song was still sulking. Seeing Xie Shuci and Xie An writing in each other’s palms, he couldn’t help but ask, “What exactly is your relationship with him?”

Xie Shuci had a knack for holding grudges, and he remembered being chased around the room by Li Song. He deliberately wanted to disgust him, knowing that the Little Blind couldn’t hear.

“He’s my lover, can’t you see? How blind can you be?” Xie Shuci grabbed Xie An’s hand and intentionally waved it in front of Li Song. Seeing Li Song’s face turn as if he had swallowed a fly, Xie Shuci felt extremely satisfied.

Xie An obediently lowered his head, his expression dark and unclear.

“Xie Shuci, do you have no shame?”

Xie Shuci snorted and chuckled. “Are you jealous?”

Li Song laughed in exasperation. “Me, jealous of him?”

“You’re such a fool! I mean, aren’t you jealous of me? I have such a good-looking partner, aren’t you envious?” Xie Shuci taunted.

Li Song’s face gradually turned green. He tightened his grip on the sword at his waist and truly wanted to cut down this nuisance in front of him!

Xie Shuci also worried about provoking him further, so he decided to stop.

He let go of Xie An’s hand and didn’t want to continue teasing Li Song. “Alright, I was just joking with you. Even if I wanted a lover, I wouldn’t choose him.”

Xie An furrowed his brow slightly, his lips pursed.

“Is it true what the innkeeper said, that the demon kills someone every other day?” Xie Shuci curiously asked.

When it came to serious matters, Li Song’s expression immediately turned grave. “It’s true.”

“Why?” 

Li Song replied, “That demon has been cultivating for two hundred years and has formed an inner core. It also possesses intelligence.”

Xie Shuci felt like he was listening to a ghost story. Even though he was scared, he couldn’t help but be curious. He instinctively leaned closer to Xie An’s side.

However, this time Xie An didn’t place his hand on Xie Shuci’s shoulder like before.

Xie Shuci took the initiative to pick up Xie An’s hand and put it on his own shoulder, wanting to continue asking questions. But Xie An swiftly withdrew his hand.

Thinking that it slipped, Xie Shuci reached out and grabbed it again, only to have Xie An pull it away once more.

[1] It means Li Baiyi just starts flirting with good-looking people. Not caring about whether they’re a man or a woman.