Three days later, Xue Huai’s birthday party was held as scheduled.
It was just a family banquet, and even though Xue He and Mrs. Liu had a big grudge in their hearts, they still put on a harmonious and perfect appearance on their faces. Xue Zong asked Xue Huai what gift he wanted, and Xue Huai casually asked for a flute that he had purchased outside of Xianzhou.
Murong’s reply has also arrived. Xue Huai’s grandfather is currently cultivating in seclusion and asked Xue Huai to come over in half a month.
Along with the letter, there was also a Wushi spiritual stone that was priceless in the market, which matched with Xue Huai’s most abundant water spiritual root and could help him cultivate.
Mrs. Liu smiled gently and advised, “The Murong family’s elder is truly treating Xiao Huai well. He even gave you this type of valuable treasure. Xiao Huai, you must cherish them well.”
Xue He and Xue Huai are the same, they both have water spiritual roots.
Xue Huai remembered that, on his 17th birthday in his previous life, it was Mrs. Liu who helped him receive the birthday gift. He was told that what the Murong gave him was an ordinary mermaid’s tear, and suddenly there was an extra piece of Wushi stone in Xue He’s place.
Xue Zong has always been carefree and doesn’t care about gift lists or other matters. Originally, the matter of remarrying had already made Xue Zong feel very sorry for Xue Huai and Xue Huai’s grandparents. He was naturally even more embarrassed to ask about the things that the Murong had given to Xue Huai.
This move of stealing a rafter and replacing it with a column1tōu liáng huàn zhù, lits. to steal a rafter and replace it with a column is an idiom, basically referring to replace the original with fake or to perpetrate a fraud.is smart.
Xue Huai glanced at Mrs. Liu and smiled. “That’s natural.”
He turned his hand and placed the box containing the Wushi spiritual stone in the room.
For the past few days, Xue He didn’t step a foot into his room—the arrowhead at the door was threaded with silver thread and hung at the door by Xue Huai. Xue He didn’t dare to move much, despite his last warning.
Mrs. Liu, however, is an uncertain factor.
He keeps the gluttonous ghost in his room, responsible for eating garbage and cleaning up—occasionally eating Xue Huai’s art collection and pillows and spitting them out after being beaten by Xue Huai. So it is reasonable to say that he does not need extra cleaning and tidying up. But Mrs. Liu would still go in and out in his place from time to time under the pretext that “after all, it is not as dedicated as we are doing it ourselves.”
Xue Huai gently touched the gluttonous ghost’s and asked, “I’m not at home these days. Does that woman still come over frequently?”
The gluttonous ghost dared not move at all. After nodding, he noticed Xue Huai’s appearance as if lost in thought, thinking that he had been caught for something, and carefully spat out an inkstone and obsequiously rubbed against Xue Huai’s leg.
Xue Huai：“……”
*
He put away the Wushi stone and sealed it in the storage ring that he usually wore.
It seems that the biggest variable in this life is only Yun Cuo. While the others, for better or worse, were no different from the previous life.
He had thought that perhaps he had misunderstood something by himself, and since nothing had happened yet in his second life, he had no reason to make things difficult for anyone else as well.
But he was still on guard and gave these people a chance. However, if they couldn’t catch the hint, that was their own problem. Just like Xue He, he had told him flat out that there was no more than three times. And just like Mrs. Liu, the last time he shot the bats was his warning, but obviously, Mrs. Liu did not realize it.
Xue Huai tilted his head to look at the darkening sky. Without Yun Cuo, he couldn’t see whether the bat pack had gone back and forth or not, but he often paid attention to the sight in the sky—silent, dangerous, with suffocating claws and teeth.
There is a thing in the Immortal Realm called Xuanbing, which looks like the Wushi spiritual stone and is actually a material for casting swords. Xue Huai happened to have this thing in his hands.
But he still lacks another thing.
It was snowing outside, and Xue Huai propped up an umbrella and stepped into the snow. Half of his birthday had passed. It was nighttime, the sky was dull, and the dark color amidst the dim yellow and deep green sky.
He slowed down to listen to the sound of the snow clacking and clattering and found it a little amusing.
In his previous life, he hadn’t had a birthday party since he was sixteen. The first two years, he was too busy on the battlefield to even think about it. In the following two years, he became Yun Cuo’s Left Protector. Since no one was around to remember it and his family was far away, it was simply not possible.
He could even make up for his birthday after starting all over again, so he’s very happy.
“Happy birthday ah，Xue Huai” He opened his mouth and said to himself.
The white mist dispersed into the air, blocking the stars under the umbrella. When it cleared out, another person’s figure appeared.
Silence, quiet, and focused.
Yun Cuo.
Xue Huai standing still.
Yun Cuo didn’t look at him. He was walking towards the direction of the Xue family’s main gate and almost ran into Xue Huai at the fork of the road. Xue Huai saw this from afar, he was holding a food-like box object in his hand with hurried steps.
He thought about it, but still didn’t open his mouth to call him.
Yun Cuo, however, turned his head back at that moment—and saw Xue Huai standing at the junction.
“Xue…Huai?”
Xue Huai could only greet him：“Good evening, Young Master Yun.”
Yun Cuo looked at him and asked, “What are you coming out for? Isn’t today your birthday?”
Xue Huai was taken aback for a moment, he didn’t expect this person to actually know he was celebrating his birthday. He thought to himself, perhaps it was Zhu Xing who told him, so he didn’t feel too strange.
He said, “I’m going to the gambling market to buy something. And you?”
Yun Cuo said, “I came out for a walk and casually bought some things.”
Xue Huai looks at the food box in his hand—signature crab buns and crab cakes sold at Siren’s shop on the north side of the sea, which are also Xue Huai’s top favorite snacks.
“Oh, you also like to eat his food?” Xue Huai thought about the distance between Yun Cuo’s house and the Siren’s Shop and sighed, “You walked so far away.”
Yun Cuo replied with an ‘Mmm’ and said, “Anyway, I don’t have anything to do. Let me go to the gambling market with you.”
Xue Huai is less resistant to him now, and he nodded gently in agreement. Yun Cuo then turned in his direction and followed him with the food box.
When they arrived, Xue Huai no longer went to the boy who gambled on his lifespan. Instead, he went to the most ordinary spirit beast stall and narrowed his eyes to look at the dark shadows in the cage.
“You want to buy the bats?” Yun Cuo was somewhat surprised.
“Mmm, can you help me take a look? I can’t see things in the Demon Realm very well. I want that kind of fierce bat that won’t let go of people.” Xue Huai said.
Yun Cuo looked at him once, but didn’t say anything more. He picked out ten for him. After Xue Huai paid, he sealed all of them in a black iron he brought from the Shenhua Terrace.
After the black iron was cut into shape, it no longer looked much different from the Wushi spiritual stone given to him by the Murong.
After they’re out of the gambling market, Xue Huai tells Yun Cuo, “Then I’ll go back first? Thank you for helping me pick things.”
Yun Cuo said, “I’ll take you back. I haven’t finished my walk yet.”
The two of them returned in the same way.
The sound of wiping and stepping on the snow increased, making the snowy night even quieter. Both of them had nothing else to say and just walked quietly. When the road was dark, Yun Cuo would casually invite a star from the darkness to illuminate the road ahead.
“I’m home.” Xue Huai said. “Haven’t you had a good walk yet? It’s too far, you can take our carriage back.”
Yun Cuo just shook his head and said, “It’s not necessary.”
Xue Huai nodded and turned to head into the house, but was stopped by Yun Cuo.
“Xue Huai.”
He turns back：“?”
Yun Cuo whispered, “Happy birthday.” The white smoke he exhaled drifted upwards rising in the direction of the stars, warm and gentle.
He stuffed the heavy food box into Xue Huai’s hand. A small barrier was created with a spell above, preventing heat from escaping and snow water from penetrating.
Yun Cuo said, “I didn’t expect to meet you on the road, so I’ll use this as your birthday gift.”
This gift is a bit perfunctory, but it’s still much better than others. It’s not too expensive, and he also loves to eat it.
In his previous life, Xue Huai often criticized Yun Cuo’s aesthetics. The things Yun Cuo gave him were often flashy, unattractive, and impractical, such as golden dust, colorful cloak with a big red robe, and so on…wait, but the things he gave to others were not so ugly. Xue Huai had some criticism about that, but he still put up with it.
Yun Cuo himself also doesn’t know how to dress up, even his hair had to be trimmed by Xue Huai.
At first, Xue Huai was also a delicate young master who was picky about everything. Later on, after following him, he endured all kinds of hardships and witnessed every scene, but there was nothing that was absolutely necessary. Even he himself didn’t know what he wanted most for his birthday.
Xue Huai glanced at the food box and asked, “Then what will you have for a midnight snack?”
Yun Cuo：“It’s okay, you eat.”
Xue Huai let out an “oh” sound, his eyes curved, and said, “Today is my birthday, so I won’t be polite. Thank you.”
Yun Cuo also smiled at him, he didn’t say anything and turned around and left.
*
The palace’s markets in the Immortal Realm close one after another.
The number of people on the street gradually decreased, making the young man with silver hair and a cold and solemn body particularly eye-catching.
“Young Immortal Lord, have you chosen it?” The owner of an antique store was about to close his business when he saw him coming. He smiled immediately. “What did you end up buying?”
“A tray of food.” Yun Cuo said.
The boss said, “Food is also good, the food is solid. Young people may like it more than antiques.”
The stall owners in the entire street here know that Yun Cuo is choosing something, saying he wants to give it to his sweetheart. This can be considered the first Heavenly Thunder and Earthly Fire2Originally meaning lightning (Heavenly Thunder) and volcanoes (Earthly Fire), it is now often borrowed in romance novels. Heavenly Thunder refers to male desire (men do it, which is heaven), and Earthly Fire refers to women. desire (female is Kun, which is earth). Therefore, when used together, it often refers to the irresistible primitive instinctive desires that nature has given to humans.event in thousands of years. It was a pity that Yun Cuo had explicitly ordered them to keep it a secret, and he only picked one afternoon plus one evening under their advice.
This Young Immortal Lord’s taste is truly admirable. Ordinary colors seem to be bad in his eyes, and he always chooses strange and peculiar things. The more flashy they are, the more he thinks they look good.
Coming and then going, after circling around and around and wasting most of his time, he didn’t dare to buy anything in the end, saying that he was afraid that that person wouldn’t like it or that he might offend them. Bending roundabout3wan wan rao rao, or being roundabout refers to one who does not express their thoughts directly but always express their meaning through various tortuous ways or methods., asking him what his beloved likes and wants, and this Young Immortal Lord doesn’t know either.
Yun Cuo whispered: “I don’t know…what he likes now.”
The only thing he’s sure of are the buns that Xue Huai asked Zhu Xing a few days ago. He felt that this thing was too simple, but if it’s too expensive, Xue Huai won’t accept it. And it’s too casual for him to just give it to him himself. It seems that any gift given other than buying will be hopeless.
Good thing Xue Huai liked it.
The author has something to say: Three-years-old Yun: I want to give the best-looking thing to my wife!
Xue Huai: Let me take a look… Oh, red and green with big flower armor, colorful golden horsetail whisks, coquettish fluorescent green silk shirt clothes… (against his will) It looks really nice! Come and hug me~
