165: 4.30 Don't Mind If I Do

4.30 Don't Mind If I Do

"What—" Ling Chuwei stammered out, her eyes wide in aghast. "What are you talking about—oh. Oh." She fell into deep thoughts, contemplating. "I haven't been able to find that man after six months. Six whole months. My people have searched high and low for both civilians and cultivators, every nook and cranny, yet they haven't found him yet. There isn't even any trace of him. But what if—what if he is a…" She slowly turned to Shan Duoyin and for a while, both of them stared at each other with the same amount of incredulity.  0

Could Jingxue-Jun, the most righteous of all, really involve himself with a demonic cultivator?

"I—" Ling Chuwei massaged her temples. "Let me ask." She fumbled through her sleeve and pulled out a talisman, hastily scrabbling something on it before blowing a breath. The spiritual energy came alive around the talisman and the ordinary paper morphed into an inconspicuous butterfly, flapping its wings out of the window toward where the message would be delivered to. Ling Chuwei followed its movement, almost in a trance. "It can't be, right?"

Shan Duoyin had no answer to that. He, too, wished that he had been wrong.

Quietly, Ling Chuwei took hold of his hand, interlacing their fingers together. Shan Duoyin didn't resist this time. Instead, he tightened the hold and offered a comforting squeeze. "If it's true, then…" he trailed off.

Ling Chuwei finished the sentence, her eyes brimming with determination. "We will save him from the demonic cultivator's enchantment. But first thing first, we have to keep a close eye on him."

***

Lu Yizhou meditated in his room all evening, calming the anxiety and anticipation that was thrumming under his veins. He had no idea how he knew it but somehow, he did. Heimo was somewhere close, Lu Yizhou could sense it as if there was an invisible thread that was tying them together. If he sank deeper into his meditation, he could even make out the man's faint outline behind his eyelids. His heart throbbed in unbearable longing. 

The sun slowly set and night settled in. Lu Yizhou let the hustle and bustle around the city enveloped his senses as he opened his eyes and spat out blackish qi. His golden core was thriving in his abdomen, swirling with life and vibrant energy. Without any further thoughts, he grabbed Hexue and left his room, putting on a spell to hide his original appearance.

Every night market in this world was a sight to behold, Lu Yizhou gradually came to a realization. Different from modern times where every aspect of civilization was entangled in man made technology, the cultivation era was like an expanse of untouched paradise. The night was often clear with luminous, sparkling stars. The moon was so full and bright, as if he could touch it if he reached out. The path in front of him was illuminated by rows of lanterns. Pedestrians strolled leisurely, merchants selling out their goods, the air was filled with peace and laughter, the scent of food and wine in the air. Lu Yizhou soaked himself in the jubilant atmosphere and exhaled, a long puff of misty air billowing out of his mouth. Then, he started to walk.

[666: Host, the two protagonists are trailing behind you. Sheesh, why are they so sneaky?]

[Let them be.] Lu Yizhou couldn't bring himself to care. He was too tired to pretend anymore.

His feet brought him to an unknown destination, letting only instinct and the hollow ache in his heart to carry him with. At some point of time, snow started to fall gently, blanketing the night in a curtain of pureness. People gasped and called out in cheers, relishing in the ethereal scenery that the first snow delivered. 

Lu Yizhou stopped in front of an established brothel decorated with crimson gauzes and looked up to the balcony. He felt his breath stutter for a second. There he was, the figure that he had dreamed of day and night. Heimo was lounging on one of the outside tables, heedless of the snow that piled up there as he propped his elbow on the wooden railing and laughed at something the female courtesan told him. There was a jar of wine in his hand which he brought directly to his lips. His head tilted back, baring the pale column of throat that Lu Yizhou wished to sink his teeth in. 

For a moment, Lu Yizhou stood there like a statue, drinking in the man's silhouette. Heimo had gotten thinner, he noticed with a frown. His hair was pulled up into a half bun, the lower half hanging loose on his waist. The black robe was striking against his pale skin and on his hair… was the hairpin Lu Yizhou had given him before.

Heimo must have noticed his stare because in the next second, he turned sharply and their eyes directly met in midair. Abruptly, Heimo froze, his smile turning stiff for a split long second.

Oh, Lu Yizhou thought. It seemed like he had made a mistake. He shouldn't have let Heimo leave that night. Under the glamour he wore, the man indeed looked perfectly healthy with a ruddy complexion and sharp delicate features, but there was no mistaking the deep-seated gauntness on his cheeks and the dark shadows under his eyes. He had suffered, Lu Yizhou realized with not so little distress.

"Lan'er…" He whispered softly.

There was no way Heimo could have heard it, with the distance between them and the loud ruckus around. Yet he flinched as if someone had slapped his face. When he blinked the next time, the shock had withered away, replacing it with an even wider smile. Welcoming, but estranged and unfamiliar. "That handsome gentleman down there, what are you doing in the middle of the snow? You should come in if you want!"

Another courtesan craned her neck to peer down and giggled. "Oh, you're right, Hei-gongzi." Her sleeves billowed against the wind as she waved. "Hey handsome, want to come up here and join us?" Another round of giggles and laughter followed. 

Lu Yizhou's eyes never left the black robed man who had returned to chugging down his wine and teasing the courtesan beside him. The aforementioned woman with a flimsy pink dress covered her laugh with her sleeves, her upper body leaning forward in a suggestive and tempting gesture. Her ample breasts almost pressed against Heimo's side. Veins popped up in Lu Yizhou's forehead. One second he was still standing outside the brothel, the next second he was already flying up to the balcony, startling the guests and courtesans alike as he settled down opposite Heimo. The man still hadn't looked him in the eye, opting to train it on his wine jar instead. 

The corner of Lu Yizhou's lips curled into a chilling smile. "Many thanks for your invitation. Don't mind if I do, then."

.

.

Mini theater

Shan Duoyin and Ling Chuwei were doing a diligent job of trailing behind Lu Yizhou.

Ling Chuwei: "Where do you think he's going? He's not going to meet his… beau, is he?"

Not even one second after she asked, they both saw Lu Yizhou stopped in front of a brothel.

Ling Chuwei and Shan Duoyin: !!!

Shan Duoyin: "No, no… this… this can't be."

Then, they saw a delicate courtesan leaning on the balcony, waving to him with a sweet smile and the next thing they knew, Lu Yizhou already flew up to her. Both Ling Chuwei and Shan Duoyin were thunderstruck. Jingxue-Jun… the honorable and pure Jingxue-Jun… was enjoying his night in a brothel?! What—What on earth was going on?!

Flush exploded across Ling Chuwei's cheeks and she dragged the frozen Shan Duoyin away with her, flustered and bewildered at the same time. "D—Don't bother him! I am sure that he has his urgent n–needs! Let's go!"

And that's how Lu Yizhou successfully chased away his two stalkers.

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