You didn't wear shoes??

It was absolute, and he checked it more than once, at least five times; Xian Wu had one saber, sixteen throwing needles, and five different types of poison, two sets of clothes...then mundane essentials and such.

But the thing Xian Wu didn't have was money!

That was why he robbed Lai Yiteng earlier to buy dumplings. And now it seemed as though Xian Wu had stolen MORE of his money at some point.

Lai Yiteng was extremely suspicious, his gaze on Xian Wu turned colder.

But Xian Wu was oblivious. He skipped over with a big smile, and the first thing he stared at was Lai Yiteng's bare and dusty feet.

"Oh my, Yi'er didn't wear his shoes out. Huh, your feet are so pale...unsettling!" he exclaimed, and Lai Yiteng could smell the stench of alcohol from five feet away. "Come here, over here~ brother will take you back to the inn."

Lai Yiteng frowned. "How much of my money did you use? I told you time and time again that I was saving it for the journey later."

"Haha what's money, can you eat it? ...are you listening to weird rumors again? Now come here, your bro's gonna give you top class treatment and carry you on his back."

Lai Yiteng's expression was stony.

"No."

Although Lai Yiteng might be covered in dirt after rolling over the ground, the streets were mainly stone and no danger to his feet. Enough of that nonsense. He patted the spot under his robe where his money was stored.

It had stayed safe throughout the battle somehow or another. Inside of it were a number of coppers, but Lai Yiteng found that a few silver ingots were missing.

".....!"

...because Xian Wu had saved his life, he was going to say that the amount the scoundrel stole to binge wine made for an even transaction. He would neither seek revenge nor bicker over it.

This still didn't explain Xian Wu's disappearance, however.

Lai Yiteng's mind could often be sharply perceptive. In this case, the amount of money used by Xian Wu would amount to countless jars of wine. It was unlikely that he drank all of them by himself, so it was probable that he'd been with another person at Red Peony.

Who or what they discussed was of no concern to Lai Yiteng, it simply meant that Xian Wu had gone from something like 1.2% trustworthy to 0.001% trustworthy.

Lai Yiteng silently turned and began his walk back to the inn, certain that he would not sleep a wink this entire night. He did not expect a human road block to get in his way as he stepped forward.

Xian Wu had made use of his speedy martial arts to crouch down in front of Lai Yiteng in an instant. He turned his head with those gleaming eyes that were a bit unfocused and pointed at his shoulders with a slender finger.

Lai Yiteng was outright confused.

"Get on your brother's back,I'll carry you," Xian Wu babbled in a way that clearly proved he was fuzzy with reality. "Man this sucks, you were getting healthier, now that stuffy man kicked you so harddd. Ahahahaha but he won't last much longer now that my poison needle touched him."

"..."

Lai Yiteng wondered if Xian Wu would be thinking of this ordeal as casually come tomorrow. You know, when he was sobered up. He moved to step around around Xian Wu who was squatting like a toad when he felt a tug on his sleeve.

"Hey," Lai Yiteng said with warnin, "don't grab my sleeve."

"But what about my free piggyback ride~"

"I already said no...don't tug my sleeve either!"

Xian Wu pulled it even harder. The white fabric was somehow softer than most clothes, but he did not recognize that was because it was Lai Yiteng's inner clothing. All he had on was this single thin layer after being driven out of his inn room so abruptly.

There was a tearing noise.

Lai Yiteng was angry, his soft features sharpening viciously. "You fucker..."

Xian Wu knew that something had gone wrong and was making a 'whoops' face.

Revealed by the displaced sleeve was Lai Yiteng's pale and white jade shoulder, gleaming under the moonlight along with part of a thin collarbone. A paleness that he'd gained by living in a dungeon for a year. And yes, the most alluring of all was the faintest hint of a flush-colored nub on his chest. Lai Yiteng pulled his torn inner robe back up with his hand in an instant, covering it.

"Now you've ruined my only inner set of clothes, too! Bastard..." Lai Yiteng snapped, both humiliated and irritated. "You better give me something as compensation."

Xian Wu had a blank expression; he'd been caught staring at the thin figure under Lai Yiteng's robe. His main thought about it was...'needs to eat more'.

He muttered a sad reply, "Hm, but I don't have any money..."

"Something of value, then."

Xian Wu thought seriously about this, standing back up with only one stagger. He'd completely forgotten about the whole 'piggyback' thing.

Finally he seemed to come up with something. His finger went up to his ear where a shining gold and green earring hung, the shape of a teardrop. A dragon was embellished in black, curling around the tear drop.

"Here, this is the most valuable thing I have. Aahhhh you're so cruel..."

Lai Yiteng snatched it from his hand, then squinted his eyes at it. This earring did seem like it'd give a fair bit of money if he pawned it off. He did not notice Xian Wu wearing it underneath all his messy hair before. The teardrop earring was somehow stylish, Xian Wu was so frivolous to wear such a thing.

Lai Yiteng suddenly heard a 'thump'.

Xian Wu had face-planted onto the ground, his eyes tightly shut.

"..." Dead? Nah. Probably asleep.

Lai Yiteng turned over his 'shifu's' head with his foot. Xian Wu's usually clever and charming visage as ruined by an opened mouth giving soft snores.

Yeah. Really drunk and asleep.

Now Lai Yiteng was at a loss. All the townspeople who had awoken from the ruckus were still watching, too. He glanced at them, and one balding man approached from the thin crowd with his head bowed. Actually, his wife had pushed him out without a choice.

The balding man said, "Y-Young Lord, about our destroyed shops..."

Lai Yiteng scoffed. "You saw it, no? It was that Lushang man who did it. I don't have the money to pay for repairs, and even if I did the one you should be pestering is still Lushang Sect."

Saddened, the bald man slunk away.

What could be done? Lushang Sect might or might not pay for damages, who knows.

In that moment Lai Yiteng made up his mind. He did not want to be bogged down by these random onlookers and hated being watched by them. He grabbed Xian Wu by the collar, treating him like a distasteful piece of garbage, and started dragging him back towards the inn.

The inn was only a few buildings away, yet it seemed like an eternity to get there. At first stiff and tense as a clam, this would only prove to make his injuries hurt more, so Lai Yiteng slowly relaxed his muscles.

He barely cared to lift Xian Wu's body up the stairs, just enough so his head wouldn't hit the hard steps. And he was only doing it because he was the tiniest bit happy that Xian Wu appeared to help him defeat Gojun Lao. Fighting to the death he was more than willing to do, but he was not sure he could withstand being imprisoned at Lushang Sect again....

Lai Yiteng finally made it inside Xian Wu's inn room. Not much was here, same as before. He threw the taller man's body onto the bed.

Xian Wu muttered something, rolled over, and hugged his pillow dearly.

A little anxious, Lai Yiteng took out the earring he'd been given and poked it, watching as it rolled back and forth in his palm. His eyes twitched towards the door, waiting for another enemy to barge through, but none came.

He stood at the bedside.

What should he do now? Should he ditch this oddball man for his own safety? While deliberating he went over and covered Xian Wu's sprawled body with a sheet somewhat.

How silly.

Of course he'd have to leave as soon as possible.

Xian Wu already couldn't be trusted.

Just because Xian Wu continued to save his life didn't mean that this man of Graceful Dragon Sect had no bad intentions in mind. After all, Lushang Sect had not killed him nor wanted him dead, either, they only wanted to keep his life by a thread as they conducted experiments. It could be that Xian Wu also had other purposes for him.

Such thoughts flashed in his head repetitively.

But it was not as though Xian Wu would wake up soon, so he might as well rest for a few minutes. He let his back slide down against the corner of the room until he sat on the ground.