At dusk, the study stall’s owner, who was next to him, was staring at him until his eyes were about to fall off.
The young men, one standing and the other sitting, their silhouettes illuminated by the orange glow, refused to budge.
“I heard you were looking for atlas paper, but the one here is not good. I’ll take you to another place.” Yun Cuo reached out a hand to Xue Huai, and when he saw his expression, he withdrew it. He softened his voice, as if he were carefully considering his tone and wording. He wasn’t sure how many times he had uttered these two words already. “Don’t be afraid.”
He still held out his hand toward him without moving.
This person looks like someone who came to cause trouble, but after the boss heard the name of Young Immortal Lord, he dares not speak up.
Xue Huai looked at him for a while and then stood up.
He is aware that Yun Cuo will remain in this spot forever if he doesn’t follow him right now. Yun Cuo was supposed to attend the Xue family’s banquet; he didn’t know why he found him here, but even if he asked, he probably wouldn’t get the real answer.
Yun Cuo was someone who does things very unconventionally and casually, but once he decides what he wants to do, he has an almost abnormal paranoia. Yun Cuo can stand out from more than half of the demon bloodline with this kind of paranoia. He is the kind of wolf king who hibernates all year round for a killing tactic to strangle his prey, and no one can make him waver in any way.
What once attracted Xue Huai the most was his fiery intensity and stubbornness.
Xue Huai stood up and quietly followed behind Yun Cuo.
“Why didn’t you ask me why I brought you here?”
Without looking back, Yun Cuo led the way, his eyes drooping down to look at the two shadows on the ground.
Not too close, nor too far—people are getting farther away while they are moving slowly. The two shadows became thinner the more they went until they were finally together.
Xue Huai said, “You said you wanted to take me to find a better paper.”
Yun Cuo smiled and whispered: “Yes.”
He suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Xue Huai took a step slower than him, but without realizing it, he was already walking side by side with him. When Yun Cuo reached out his hand, Xue Huai thought he was going to hold his hand, but instead, Yun Cuo only touched his fingertips lightly and paused for a moment.
At last, he reached for his sleeve and pulled him towards his side.
“The road here is difficult to walk, be careful.”
Xue Huai remained silent.
*
Yun Cuo brought him to an underground gambling market. Xianzhou is a place with a mix of six realms; there are gods, demons, ghosts, and even immortals who appear at night. You may find rare treasures here, but of course, they’re also more likely to be abducted and sold, refined or boned to create ghostly objects, and other such things. Idle people dare not come, this is a golden cave and a truly enchanting place.
There were piles of bones on the roadside that could not be identified. A few female ghosts gathered together, grinning as they saw them coming over. They puffed on flower cigarettes1Flower cigarettes are non-tobacco cigarettes whose main raw materials are pure natural herbs. and bewitched them. The crunchy bone marrow sound seemed to resonate directly in their heads.
With an unusual frown, Yun Cuo waved his hand and directly made them vanish with piercing screams.
Xue Huai paused and thoughtfully looked over there.
“Does it scares you again?” Yun Cuo turned his head to look at him, his voice light and cautious without any malice.
Yun Cuo quickly explained again: “I… I’m not used to the smell of flower cigarettes, it’s too sweet.”
He spoke in a very nice tone. It’s the same tone he used when he fed his cat, for example, “How about eating more meat?” “Let me touch your belly, alright?”
Xue Huai once again shook his head.
Yun Cuo probably had some misunderstandings about him. Xue Huai himself has great courage; he’s aggressive and loves excitement. However, after rebirth, he intentionally hides his strengths in front of him, appearing like a young man from every noble family who has been raised in a dignified and orderly manner.
Xue Huai knew that Yun Cuo had never liked these kinds of people. He never liked men who are scaredy-cats or do not engage in honest work, someone who’s lazy, perfunctory when doing their work, and cowardly. In his previous life, Xue He was the only exception. Although it was only a marriage letter delivered and he was not yet fully married, his lover was not as good as the people around him, and the criteria were naturally different.
He also knows that smoking flower cigarettes around Yun Cuo is taboo.
Ever since childhood, Yun Cuo has been at odds with his demon mother, who raised him. His mother was aggrieved all day and has an almost paranoid desire to control him. She often holds a flower cigarette in her hand and puffs out the smoke at Yun Cuo. At first, she only smoked flower cigarettes, then she consumed some snow cigarettes and other flowers. Later, she became half crazy as she was addicted to the magic potions and Gu poison. Yun Cuo; therefore, despised his birth mother even more.
He once sent an immortal lord who has a habit of smoking flower cigarettes to the remote area of Xianzhou because he couldn’t bear it. Every year when that immortal lord came to report his work, he never saw Yun Cuo in person, so everyone thought that the immortal lord had done something wrong. Only Xue Huai knew that this was a habit that was close to an illness and could not be cured.
The more Yun Cuo dislikes interacting with these kinds of people, the more Xue Huai must strive to behave like one.
He needs to know that he is pedantic, decent, cowardly, and afraid to die, which is not worth being friends with.
“We are here.”
Yun Cuo pulled him to a stop.
In the corner of the gambling market, there was a non-eyes-catching calligraphy and painting stall. When a short boy saw them coming, he immediately rushed to close the stall and said, “That’s all for today! You-you-you guys don’t come over!”
Yun Cuo held him down and said, “I’m only bringing a friend to buy some papers.”
The boy was furious and said, “Every time you come, I lose until not even my waistband is left! Last time you said you were just taking a look, even my capital was lost! Is it easy for me to come out and deceive people?”
Yun Cuo said, “You decide the bet this time, and the gameplay is also up to you.”
Xue Huai looked around and found that, just like the entire gambling market, this small stall was filled with wooden sticks and dice, but it does not use chips to bet; the bets seemed to be unusual. The sign was scribbled with the four words “everything you need is here” so blurry that it was almost impossible to read.
The boy pondered for a moment, and his gaze fell on Xue Huai. His eyes lit up, and he said, “Yun Cuo, your dual-cultivation partner is really good-looking. How about using him as a bet?”
Xue Huai hesitated for a moment.
Yun Cuo was also taken aback for a moment and said, “He’s just a friend, change to another one.”
The boy still stared at Xue Huai’s face with reluctance and said, “Really beautiful, especially the red tear mole… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”
Xue Huai became interested and said, “So we can’t just buy things here. We need to win, right? What do you usually bet on?”
The boy introduced, “Usually, I gamble on predestined lifespan and hidden virtue. I have already earned ten thousand years of lifespan through this, which is much faster than those old Daoist priests who only know how to cultivate. Sometimes it’s difficult to fulfill the requirements put forward by customers, then I just gamble on one’s life, descendants, Daoist partners, or something like that.”
Xue Huai nodded and said, “I understand. Then are you playing?”
He said with great interest, “If you like it, bet on this mole on my face. If you win, you can take it. If I win, give me the best paper in your place.”
“You can’t!”
As soon as the words fell, Yun Cuo reached out and stood in front of him. However, Xue Huai had already bypassed him and skillfully rubbed the card’s surface, narrowing his eyes slightly to look at him. “Young Master Yun, it’s me who wants to buy paper. I don’t want to trouble you more.”
That‘s like asking him, Young Master Yun, why are you meddling in my affairs again?
Yun Cuo was stunned. And Xue Huai averted his gaze.
They play the simplest leaf cards2Leaf cards, also known as ‘Empress card’, Xianghe card, and Talisman card. It’s an ancient Chinese game, the gameplay and algorithm are the same as in Mahjong., winning three out of five games will determine the winner.
In the first round, Xue Huai lost.
In the second round, Xue Huai also lost.
However, just when the little boy got excited about gambling and thought he had the chance to win, he was overturned by Xue Huai repeatedly, and his expression became increasingly tense. It wasn’t until the last round to determine the winner that he let out a sigh and said, “Had I known, I would have banned anyone with the surname Yun from entering.”
Xue Huai smiled and took the large bundle of paper he was handed over, putting it into the storage ring. This place really does indeed have the finest snow wave paper he has ever seen in his life, as light and thin as moonlight yet as sturdy as a rock.
*
It was already dark when they left.
Xue Huai leaned against the wall and looked at the young man in black standing across from him without saying a word.
Something is off with Yun Cuo’s mood. It is a state where he is close to being angry, gloomy, and having a fierce aura. The blood-like Buddha seal between his eyebrows is glowing with a dim light. Despite having a celestial-looking face, his appearance can directly scare children and make people think that a demon deity has descended.
Xue Huai said seriously, “Thank you.”
“Thank me… for what?” Yun Cuo’s voice still sounded a bit aggravating.
“Thank you for helping me cheat.” Xue Huai said calmly. “I don’t know how to play leaf cards. That child is very skilled. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to win these papers.”
“Why gamble with him?”
Xue Huai glanced at him and said as if it meant nothing. “Because I don’t think this mole is very important or attractive. Winning is naturally good, but I can still purchase it elsewhere if I lose.”
“It looks good.” A while later, Yun Cuo only said this one sentence.
He looked at him deeply, it was as if his gaze could pierce through his bone marrow.
Xue Huai took out a flower cigarette from his sleeve—which he had just taken from those female ghosts and casually used a little spell to ignite it. After sucking it in, he slowly puffs the smoke out.
He lazily leaned against the wall, tilting his head to look at Yun Cuo. The red tear mole moved as if seducing, making his face appear a little brighter in the shadows. “But Young Master Yun, I don’t like this mole; it makes me look weak. I’m just an ordinary businessman doing small business with my father. I’ve got my own path to walk. Just like how you hate people who smoke flower cigarettes, I’m addicted to them. I’m not—a stranger, so there’s no need to force it.”
Yun Cuo still looked at him, and his adam apple moved.
That look made Xue Huai unable to comprehend; there’s a hint of danger mixed in, as if… the wolves were attending a grand banquet.
The choking snow tobacco plant mixed with the spicy and sweet fragrance of the red spider lily, stimulating Xue Huai’s internal organs. He actually doesn’t know how to smoke this thing. He’s afraid that if he takes a few more puffs, he won’t be able to hide it anymore, and his hard work will be destroyed all at once. Thus, in order to get all the tobacco out, he held it a little bit farther away and pretended to knock it against the well a few times.
Yun Cuo suddenly said, “We can’t even be friends?”
Xue Huai looked at him.
“Xue… Young Master Xue, you probably misunderstood something. I’ve got my eyes on your Shenhua Terrace, and if there is a need to customize a large number of magical weapons and swords in the future, I need you to convey it to your father. You are the future owner of the Shenhua Terrace, and I hope to establish a long-term cooperative relationship with you… you guys.” Yun Cuo looked at him calmly. “Don’t worry, I don’t have any intention of forcing others to do anything.”
Xue Huai asked, “Are what you’re saying true?”
Yun Cuo nodded, but it seemed that he had no intention of continuing the topic with him, “It’s late, let’s go.”
*
On the way back, Yun Cuo still maintained the not too close nor too far distance with him.
They’re on the way, and it only took a few steps to get to Xue Huai’s house because it was nearby. After politely bidding farewell to Yun Cuo, he went inside and noticed that Xue He and Mrs. Liu had already fallen asleep, leaving the mansion silent.
He handed the storage ring to the old man. Looking up at the fancy courtyard and corridor, he casually cast a spell, making all those spicy decorations burn slowly.
The bright yellow flames flickered but did not harm the building. Curious birds passed by and even dared to jump back and forth in the flames, seeming to be puzzled by the fact that there is fire but it does not burn.
“Young Master, did you have a smooth day today?”
“Smooth. Uncle, you go to bed first, don’t worry about me.”
Xue Huai tried to remember some of the changes that had happened to his family in his past life as he stood in the courtyard, watching the dazzling flames in the sky. Unfortunately, he can recall some events, but the timing is unclear, while in others he wasn’t even clear about the events themselves.
It looks like he needs to go into seclusion and take some time to delve deeply into his memories.
Something inside his sleeve stung him. Xue Huai took it out to check and found out it was the flower pipe he had brought with him.
In fact, he thinks smoking a flower cigarette is quite cool. Men smoke in a soft manner, whereas women smoke in a flirtatious manner, both of which are looking cool. It’s just that in his previous life, he has never tried it because Yun Cuo doesn’t like it.
With the idea of trying again, Xue Huai reignited it and sucked in a big gulp to refresh himself. However, this gulp was too strong, causing him to cough violently, and he’s unable to even use a spell to unclog it. He covered his mouth and bent to kneel on the ground, feeling like his entire soul was being choked. His coughing was earth-shattering, and tears were about to come out.
With tears in his eyes and a heart-wrenching pain in his lungs, he half-knelt on the ground, and he caught a glimpse of a figure approaching him.
Thinking it was the old man at home, he was about to wave his hand to tell him to leave him alone. However, the person squatted down with him, one hand wrapping around his back and the other hand handing him a clean handkerchief and gently covering his mouth and nose. It has a fresh fragrance of snow bamboo, and it instantly relieved the burning pain in his throat. There was probably some kind of healing spell applied to it.
Seeing that he had stopped coughing, that person reached out and gently wiped away the scattered tears from the corners of his eyes.
“Addicted to cigarettes?”
Xue Huai heard Yun Cuo’s deep voice.
Xue Huai: “……”
Yun Cuo calmly looked at him, he seemed to have no intention of continuing to expose his clumsy lie. And just said, “I remember I have something I forgot to give you, that’s why I came back. Young Master Xue, don’t be offended.”
Normally, a person wouldn’t be happy if they found out that the other person was deliberately trying to distance themselves.
A person who’s already sixteen or seventeen years old looks somewhat dejected, and his mouth was almost on the verge of pouting, just like a child.
A cold and icy thing was shoved over, it was a delicate wooden box.
The next moment, Yun Cuo disappeared, his figure disappearing into the winter wind, and the only thing remaining was the sound of insects crying. The fragrance of snow bamboo also slowly dissipated after he left.
After staying still for a while, he opened the wooden box and saw that there were eight different kinds of snacks, which were the specialties of the Flower Demon Clan, lying inside. It’s not that rare, but he has always liked them.
It so happens that, before his death in his previous life, he would always pack a few pieces with him when he went to the battlefield, he wouldn’t be able to sleep if he didn’t eat them.
There was a note pressed under the snakes, on which two words were written: “Good night.”
The author has something to say: Xue Huai (pulled out a cigarette): He hates people who smoke flower cigarettes the most, and now I can definitely make him stay away from me with just one blow!
Student Yun (cautious): He seems to be… flirting with me?
