Chapter 152: Shizun, Look! Mei Hanxue!

The boss lady had only just released the door bolt with a yawn and a languid stretch, preparing to open up for the day, when she suddenly saw with her bleary eyes a tall, handsome man standing at the entrance to her store, bathed in the light of the brilliant morning sun. Someone of such elevated bearing, posture tall and straight as a mighty pine, should be carrying a sword or blade while walking coolly through the city streets, heedless of one and all around him.

But this handsome man was smiling brightly, all soft dimples and gentle,

thick eyelashes.

And in his arms he held a bamboo basket, filled not with spiritual stones or cultivation scrolls, but with fresh fruits and vegetables—vibrantly red apples,

plump white radishes, and verdant green celtuce, leaves dew-laden where they peeked out from the basket.

Light dancing off the crystalline droplets reflected on his handsome face.

The boss lady froze mid-yawn as she stared blankly at this vision before her eyes of manliness interwoven with tenderness. She blinked, but couldn't snap out of it for the longest time.

"Boss lady?"

"Yes hello, what would you like?" "These." Mo Ran picked up a pair of light red crystal pendants. "How much?" "Gongzi has fine taste; these pendants are made using choice Dragonblood Crystal and crafted by artisans from Kunlun Palace. The materials may not be the most expensive, but the pendants themselves are quite special.

Dragonblood Crystal, as I'm sure you know, becomes redder in color as the wearer's body temperature rises…" The boss lady paused to smile before continuing, "Since you picked out a pair, one must be for your dual cultivation[2] partner? Aiyo, I wonder which lady was so lucky as to claim your affections. Definitely get these, I guarantee you won't regret it. It's sure to be quite tantalizing if you both wear one when dual cultivating."  Originally, Mo Ran had only wanted to buy the pendants because Dragonblood Crystal had a warming property that was excellent for people predisposed to catching chills, so it would be perfect for Chu Wanning to wear during the winter.

But hearing the boss lady say that, he couldn't help his heart skipping a beat,

thinking about the way Chu Wanning would look, dazed by pleasure with that pendant hanging from his neck, glowing scarlet from the heat of its owner's body, red as a bead of blood quivering at the tip of a blade.

He cleared his throat. "I'll take it. Please wrap it up for me." In order to not arouse Chu Wanning's suspicion, Mo Ran bought gifts for Xue Meng, Xue Zhengyong, and Madam Wang as well. After getting back to the inn,

he put down all the stuff he was carrying to take out the small paper wrap holding the Dragonblood Crystals from inside his sleeve. The droplet-shaped pendants had already turned crimson from his body temperature. He picked one to leave in the package, and hung the other one around his own neck…

Afterwards, he straightened his collar, making sure the pendant wasn't visible, then re-wrapped the remaining one.

He patted at his collar, and noticed that his heart was beating a bit fast. To actually feel flustered over a little secret under his clothes, after all the preposterous things he'd been through in the past life, even he himself couldn't help being surprised.

"For me?" It was mealtime, and Xue Meng was holding the sword tassel that Mo Ran had given him, looking like he'd seen a ghost.

"What're you giving me this for? Trying to apologize for what happened yesterday?" On the matter of what happened yesterday, Mo Ran had no clue that Chu Wanning had actually been awake at the time, so he was perfectly calm, didn't even bat an eyelid.

Chu Wanning on the other hand was a little less than perfectly calm. He picked up the cup of tea in front and gulped down quite a few mouthfuls of cold tea in an effort to cover it up while buying himself some time to school his expression into one of neutrality.

Mo Ran replied with a grin, "Dunno what you mean, you were the one who started it. The tassel, I just grabbed cause it looked nice, thought I'd give it to you for fun." He paused, then added, "We rarely get to all go somewhere together, 'course I gotta buy some trinkets. I got things for Shizun, Uncle, and Aunt as well, just some little playthings, nothing expensive."

"Us too?" Madam Wang seemed quite surprised.

"I got Aunt an agarwood cosmetic box, and a pendant for Uncle's fan." Mo Ran handed them their presents as he spoke, before giving Chu Wanning the Dragonblood Crystal. "And this, for Shizun." "...What is it?" "A pendant." Mo Ran's palms felt hot and sweaty. "Dragonblood Crystal is a product of Linyi and has warming properties, so I got one for Shizun, to keep warm." The crystal was inexpensive but useful, so Chu Wanning accepted it.

"Thanks." "Don't mention it. Isn't Shizun gonna put it on?" Chu Wanning glanced over at Mo Ran, but did not see through Mo Ran's selfish, intimate motive, and so nonchalantly put it around his neck. The light red crystal glistened brilliantly, and Xue Meng, watching from the side, piped up,

"That looks nice, better than my tassel. Where'd you get it from? I want to buy myself one too." Mo Ran replied, "They don't have any left, the whole store had just the one, I couldn't even get one for myself." Disappointed, Xue Meng picked up his sword tassel and looked it over, then turned around to look at Chu Wanning's Dragonblood Crystal some more,

mumbling, "...No way, this stuff's supposed to be common in Linyi, I'm gonna ask Nangong Si when we get to Rufeng Sect, I bet he has a ton of it, piled into a mountain…"  Mo Ran paid him no mind, too busy watching Chu Wanning instead. He felt a little agitated, seeing that Chu Wanning didn't tuck the pendant inside his clothes, close to his skin after putting it on, leaving it hanging on the outside instead. He tried to hold back for a while, but failed in the end, saying, "Shizun,

the pendant isn't meant to be worn on the outside." "Hm?" "It has to go inside." He leaned over while saying so, thinking to put the pendant inside for Chu Wanning, but he moved too close too fast; the heat of his breath as he spoke burned Chu Wanning's ear, and he got abruptly shoved off by Chu Wanning.

Lashes lowered over downcast eyes, Chu Wanning's expression looked all cold and stern, but Mo Ran had gotten a close look this time—Chu Wanning's ear was pink as a haitang blossom, looking both pitiable and adorable, making him want to kiss it, to put that trembling petal between his lips and suck on it.

Mo Ran, a bit surprised, wondered: why was Chu Wanning blushing?

He hadn't gone too far or done anything inappropriate, just arranging the pendant for him shouldn't really be a big deal…?

Then, while mulling things over, he remembered the words he'd spoken just now.

"It has to go inside."

Mo Ran was frozen for a second, then his face suddenly turned red as well. If not for his skin being so much more tanned than Chu Wanning's, he'd probably be even redder than Chu Wanning was.

He swore he hadn't meant to make a double entendre when he'd said that earlier…

But then, in the next instant, he found himself startled—if even his own mind hadn't gone to the gutter, then how did Chu Wanning, with all his propriety?

Mo Ran pondered and pondered, but just couldn't figure it out. Even when Chu Wanning, ears red and face gloomy, stuffed the pendant into his clothing without a word, Mo Ran was still none the wiser.

  That wooden wall, a mere three fingers wide, had made Taxian-jun miss out on so much last night. He'd missed out on the ripening of the first haitang fruit in spring[3], missed out on a Chu Wanning made of flesh and blood, who'd fallen into the muddy swamp of carnal desire. He knew nothing of what had happened on the bed across the wall, so of course he wouldn't know that the Chu Wanning of today was still caught in the muddy swamp of yesterday, heart throbbing because of his desire born of love, filled with shame because of it, overly sensitive because of it.

That dream, the filthy pillow talk in that dream, and his need to not get found out had conspired to make him act so out of character as to read something dirty into such a simple sentence.

Chu Wanning looked up and shot him a quick glance; it felt a little hot in his chest, he must still have an excess of internal heat from yesterday. He reached out for—— But the handle of the teapot got grabbed by Mo Ran first.

"Don't drink so much cold tea, it's bad for your stomach." "...…" Chu Wanning said nothing, only stared at him with his hand outstretched still, signalling that he wanted the cold tea anyway.

"I'll go get you a cup of hot tea instead." "No need…" But Mo Ran had already gone to find the shopkeeper, returning after a while with a pot of freshly boiled tea and pouring a cup for Chu Wanning. "Here you go, Shizun." "He's right, Yuheng, you should drink your tea hot, cold tea really isn't good for health." With no other choice, Chu Wanning could only accept the steaming cup of tea. He blew on it a little, then set it down without drinking any.

His insides felt hot enough already.

Any warmer, and he was afraid that the last remaining layer of thin ice in his gaze would melt as well, and then, if their eyes were to meet, there would be nothing stopping these unbounded feelings from showing, no way to hide these embarrassing thoughts of his.

If that were to happen, how would he, the Beidou Immortal, face anyone ever again?

As they were finishing breakfast and getting ready to leave, a group of people came in.

The person leading the group was wearing a thick, light blue cloak rimmed with a scroll pattern, his face hidden under the hood, very low-key and inconspicuous in the group. But upon setting foot inside the inn and seeing Xue Zhengyong, that person came over of his own accord and made a formal salute.

"Greetings, Uncle Xue."

"Who…" The person took off his hood. Seeing his face, Xue Meng let out an "ah" and took a big step back, while Xue Zhengyong laughed. "Aiyah, if it isn't Hanxue!" Mei Hanxue lifted his face. He had fair skin, a high nose bridge, and defined brows with deep-set eyes, possessed of a unique handsomeness that easily set him apart from everyone else. Moreover, this person had amazing skin that practically glowed even in this dimly-lit space. Perhaps due to having grown up in the frigid land of Kunlun, his features carried an air of frost and snow, making him seem astute and coolly detached.

Simply put, based on his looks and mannerism alone, no one would believe that he was the infamous philanderer Mei Hanxue.

"There were some matters to take care of back at the sect, so I had only just arrived at Linyi today. I was surprised to see Uncle Xue here." Mei Hanxue's looks were so naturally cold that his eyes were impassive even as he smiled politely, and the gestures of respect were suffused with a chill. "So I came over to greet Uncle and Aunt." "Very good, very good. Aiyah, if only Xue-er had your manners." But Xue Meng was less than pleased to hear that. He glared daggers at Mei Hanxue from the back, each more venomous than the last.

He thought to himself, this damnable Mei Hanxue! So freakin' two-faced!

This sleazy scoundrel would do anything and anyone, dead or alive, male or female, and had even tried to grope him back at the Peach Blossom Springs, but look at him now, acting all prim and proper like some enlightened monk in front of his elders, what a damn faker!

But Mei Hanxue didn't so much as glance toward his childhood playmate, his gaze remaining fixed and even his lips barely moving, the very image of propriety as he replied, "Uncle jests. Xue-gongzi is the darling of the heavens and the winner of the Spiritual Mountain Competition, I'm sure he is outstanding in other aspects." "That's right, dad, I beat this guy before, you know——" "Meng-er…" Embarrassed, Madam Wang reached out to tug at Xue Meng.

The grouchy little phoenix finally dropped the banter, but not without muttering about it and huffing fire from his nostrils still.

Mei Hanxue asked, "Is Uncle about to head to Rufeng Sect?" "It's about time, and no harm getting there a little early anyway, Nangong Liu has nothing if not an abundance of rooms to spare. Didn't he say something about clearing out a whole city to be guest lodgings for a month before and after the wedding?" Xue Zhengyong answered with a laugh. "We're gonna head over first, that way the younglings can have some time to get to know each other too." He glanced over at Xue Meng as he said that, the matchmaking undertones of his words none-too-subtle.

Xue Meng: "..."

"Is Hanxue not going straight to Rufeng Sect?" "I have to run some errands for the sect master and buy a considerable amount of spiritual stones to bring back, so I will be staying in the Dai City area for a few more days. It will not be too late to arrive the day before the wedding."

Xue Meng muttered under his breath, "Yeah right, you're clearly just afraid of getting beaten like a dog by all the girls from the various sects that you've bullied if you were to get there early." But Mo Ran heard, poking with a laugh, "What was that, Meng-meng?

Something about a dog?" "..." Xue Meng hmph'd and crossed his arms. "Nothing, I was reciting cultivation scripture." "Pfft, sure, the Mei-be-gone scripture." "You shut up!!!" Hearing the bickering, Mei Hanxue finally deigned to glance over at them.

Their eyes met, and Xue Meng paused—— Something was off about this Mei Hanxue. The last time they'd met, it'd been at the Peach Blossom Springs, and that sleazy guy had been shooting seductive glances left right and center. Those eyes had seemed like they would be smiling even when angry.

But this person in front of him now, his eyes had not even the slightest inclination for flirtation, much less any seductive glances to shoot. It was all icycold, neat and orderly, and perfectly restrained. These eyes seemed like they would be angry even when smiling.

Xue Meng blinked, frozen in place for a moment as he thought back to when Mei Hanxue had led the disciples of Taxue Palace in battle at the Heavenly Rift,

the way he had acted all serious in front of everyone then as well, and couldn't help the flash of anger that burned through him. How is this guy so good at bluffing? How did he fake it so well? What a two-faced beast! Scum in scholar's clothing!

"Hey, Meng-er, where are you going?" "It's too stuffy in here! I'll go wait outside, don't come out til you're done chatting!" Saying thus, Xue Meng strode to the door, flipped open the door drape, and left in a huff. The poor darling of the heavens felt much too vexed.

He really didn't get it—the whole damn room smelled like sleazy scum, how come no one else could tell?

Infuriating!

[2] Dual cultivation = cultivating by having sex

[3] 春光 springtime (hornytime); 青涩 underripe (♪like a virgin, touched for the very first time♪)