“Before I came, I already sent an urgent dispatch to my older cousin. The day before yesterday, he arrived at the hunting ground with troops and still managed to save quite a few refugees.” Liang Yun led his horse beside Yue Jingming as he spoke. “It’s all thanks to you breaking that strange formation on their bodies, Brother Yue. Otherwise, finding them really would have been difficult.”
Yue Jingming asked, “Can your cousin bring troops into Zhongzhou?”
Liang Yun smiled. “No need to worry, Brother Yue. My cousin Liang Sheng is General Weiyuan. He happened to be suppressing bandits near Zhongzhou, and he’ll pass through here on his way back to court. He’s famously upright and incorruptible, a well-known outspoken official at court. Otherwise Zhou Ran wouldn’t have been in such a hurry to dispose of those refugees. He was afraid my cousin would catch him red-handed and submit a memorial impeaching him.”
The factions at court were locked in constant struggle, and the situation was complicated. The emperor’s position was already extremely difficult, so Zhou Ran certainly would not dare stir up trouble at a time like this. Zhou Lie was also trying to win over the Liang family. As long as Liang Yun did not personally kill Zhou Ran, it was unlikely to cause a major disaster. Still, with nowhere to vent the anger in his chest, Liang Yun sighed. “It’s just a pity Zhou Ran is still alive.”
“His allotted span will run out sooner or later. There’s no need to rush, Brother Liang,” Yue Jingming said.
Liang Yun heard the implication in his words and seemed about to ask more, but restrained himself and changed the subject instead. “By the way, what happened between you and Brother Xiao?”
Yue Jingming said blandly, “Nothing.”
“Don’t try to fool me. You two haven’t said a single word to each other since this morning.” Liang Yun glanced at Xiao Chunhe and Ye Shijiu walking ahead. “Usually you’re practically glued together, laughing and talking all the time. You even fuss over Brother Xiao taking a sip of water. What happened?”
Yue Jingming fell silent for a moment, then looked at Xiao Chunhe’s back. “I can’t understand him.”
Liang Yun looked puzzled. “Brother Xiao may be a little frivolous in speech and manner, but he’s actually extremely softhearted and kind. He’s just like you, Brother Yue. Whenever someone is in danger, if he can help, he will. Look how carefully he takes care of Shijiu.”
Yue Jingming: “…”
Liang Yun could not see it, but Yue Jingming could see perfectly clearly. That sly fox had an arm around Ye Shijiu’s shoulders and looked affectionate, but in truth he was using a formation to mark Ye Shijiu’s yuan core, trying to claim it for himself.
A human yuan core, especially one belonging to a heaven-blessed prodigy like Ye Shijiu, was practically a miraculous elixir that could send a demon soaring to the heavens in a single step.
As though sensing his gaze, Xiao Chunhe turned and met his eyes.
Yue Jingming’s gaze darkened in warning.
Xiao Chunhe curled his lips in a smile that was not quite a smile. The fingers resting on Ye Shijiu’s shoulder moved lightly, and all the formations vanished.
Ye Shijiu asked in confusion, stammering, “G-Great King, why did you… take the formations… b-back?”
Xiao Chunhe said listlessly, “No fun.”
Ye Shijiu said, “I-I haven’t learned it yet.”
“Figure it out yourself.” Xiao Chunhe looked thoroughly dejected. “Let me ask you something. If you really like someone, but you know perfectly well there’s no way the two of you can ever be together, what would you do?”
Ye Shijiu asked, “What does it mean to… r-really like someone?”
Xiao Chunhe sighed. “It means you always want to stay by his side. When you don’t see him, you miss him. When you do see him, you’re happy. If you see him hurting, you hurt too. You can’t bear to harm him in the slightest, and you wish you could hide him inside your heart and protect him there.”
Ye Shijiu thought hard for a while, then said, “Then… j-just forget it.”
Xiao Chunhe glared at him in dissatisfaction. “Why?”
“If you a-already know you can’t be together, why keep t-torturing yourself?” Ye Shijiu copied his manner and sighed.
Xiao Chunhe became even more depressed.
Ye Shijiu said, “Daoist Master Yue… c-can’t… fall in love.”
“Hm?” Xiao Chunhe raised his head.
Ye Shijiu said, “The No-Thought One-Mind Art… if his heart is stirred… his meridians will reverse. At best he’ll cough blood… at w-worst, he could suddenly die.”
Xiao Chunhe’s eyes slowly widened.
Last night, when Yue Jingming had spat blood, Xiao Chunhe had assumed he was so angry and disgusted that he had literally coughed blood. Could it actually have been… because of this?
“How do you know?” Xiao Chunhe did not believe him.
Ye Shijiu said, “I… l-learned it.”
Xiao Chunhe raised an eyebrow. “Little Ye, never casually tell outsiders something like that again. You’re lucky your Great King is kindhearted. Someone else might tear you apart until not even your bones were left.”
Ye Shijiu nodded. “Long live the Great King.”
Xiao Chunhe gave him a shaobing as encouragement.
Zhongzhou had a vast population, covered an enormous area, and was rich in goods. It was one of Great An’s most prosperous cities and an excellent place for sightseeing. Unfortunately, they had killed the Undying Demon while Zhou Ran was still alive, so leaving as soon as possible was the best choice.
“Before we leave, we at least have to eat a meal at my family’s restaurant.” Liang Yun invited them warmly. “Consider it a good meal to settle our nerves. Brother Xiao?”
Xiao Chunhe immediately agreed with him. “Then I won’t stand on ceremony.”
The Liang family owned restaurants throughout the realm, and Zhongzhou’s Linshun Restaurant was especially famous. Liang Yun showed his waist token, and the moment the manager saw that the young master of the household had arrived, he welcomed the group upstairs into a private room with extraordinary enthusiasm.
Liang Yun stayed outside speaking with the manager. Ye Shijiu found everything fascinating and ran onto the platform outside the room to watch the bustle in the street. Before long, only Yue Jingming and Xiao Chunhe remained in the inner room.
Yue Jingming sat at the table and watched the man opposite him pull a small wine jar from his sleeve and set it on the table with obvious delight.
Yue Jingming caught the fragrance of the wine. It smelled much like the scent Xiao Chunhe had carried on the day they reunited. He reminded him, “You’re still taking medicine. You shouldn’t drink.”
Xiao Chunhe lifted his eyes toward him. “I still have medicine to take?”
Yue Jingming’s expression grew even cooler. “I said I would decoct your medicine every day. Naturally, I will keep doing so.”
“Mm. I thought you were going to cut ties with me completely.” Xiao Chunhe propped his head on one hand and stared openly at him. “That you’d decided never to speak to me again for the rest of your life.”
Yue Jingming looked at him without speaking.
Bored, Xiao Chunhe toyed with the red tassel sealing the wine jar and asked as though casually, “I vaguely remember you coughing blood?”
“I’m fine.” Yue Jingming stared straight at him without avoiding his gaze in the slightest.
“From anger?” Xiao Chunhe did not seem embarrassed at all.
Yue Jingming: “…Mm.”
“You really do have quite a temper.” Xiao Chunhe smiled. “If it were anyone else, they would have gone along with the moment and slept with me already. But you refused and kept me awake all night.”
Yue Jingming’s jaw tightened. He seemed to grit his teeth, yet his tone remained perfectly even. “You’ve tried that with other people too?”
Xiao Chunhe’s smile deepened. “Of course. This vast world is full of handsome men and beautiful women. Someone as greedy for money and pleasure as I am would hardly covet wealth while ignoring beauty.”
Yue Jingming said, “True.”
Xiao Chunhe’s smile stiffened slightly. His gleaming fox eyes narrowed. “The pleasures involved come in endless varieties. Anyone is better than a block of elm wood with no understanding of romance.”
Yue Jingming said blandly, “So Brother Xiao’s mastery of illusion arts is truly profound. Your primal yang is still intact, yet you’ve somehow sampled endless varieties of pleasure.”
Elio’s Notes: Primal yang (元阳) here refers to a man’s retained sexual and vital essence. Saying it is still “intact” is a traditional way of implying that he has not had sex.
Only then did Xiao Chunhe abruptly remember that the damned Daoist often took his pulse. With Yue Jingming’s Daoist arts, he could probably tell with ease that Xiao Chunhe had never slept with anyone. Embarrassed and furious, Xiao Chunhe said acidly, “Instead of properly treating your patient, Daoist Master Yue has time to concern himself with whether someone else’s primal yang is intact. What admirable medical ethics.”
Yue Jingming was perfectly open about it. “I need the information to prescribe medicine. Naturally, I have to know.”
Xiao Chunhe scoffed. “Is this really a proper prescription?”
Yue Jingming answered frankly, “Men are yang. If your primal yang remains intact, the tonics naturally need to be reduced. Your desires are already excessive, so they need to be reduced even further.”
Xiao Chunhe said pointedly, “You’re not much better.”
Yue Jingming’s gaze darkened, and he stopped speaking.
Xiao Chunhe lifted his chin smugly, as though celebrating a victory. Yet his delight lasted only a moment. Seeing Yue Jingming remain as cold and distant as ever, he soon felt stifled again.
Before long, the kitchen sent up the meal. Just as Liang Yun had promised, his family’s restaurant made superb shrimp, and the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall was excellent as well. Best of all was the scallion-fragrant White Jade Chicken. Its meat was tender and pale as white jade, melting in the mouth, while the rich, savory chicken broth was neither greasy nor heavy. Paired with a sip of fresh, sweet Phoenix Wine, the flavors layered together until the fragrance lingered on the lips and teeth and made one feel light enough to fly.
Xiao Chunhe was not allowed to drink, so he could only bury himself in the food. Across from him, Yue Jingming ate slowly and neatly, looking exceedingly refined.
Seeing the pile of bones beside Xiao Chunhe grow higher and higher, Yue Jingming frowned and exchanged the plate of White Jade Chicken in front of him for a dish of cabbage.
Xiao Chunhe was happily tearing into a chicken leg. The instant he sensed the delicious aroma moving away, he snapped his head up alertly. “Don’t touch my beloved chicken.”
Yue Jingming put the final piece of meat into his own bowl. “Eating too much harms the spleen and stomach. Last night you said you were overfull.”
“I’ve already digested it.” Xiao Chunhe glared indignantly at the handsome Daoist who dared snatch chicken straight from a fox’s mouth. “You can’t win an argument with me, so you steal my food instead. You Daoists are completely unreasonable.”
Yue Jingming unhurriedly bit into the chicken and lowered his head to drink soup.
Xiao Chunhe exploded. “You—”
“There’s more, there’s more. Brother Xiao, Brother Yue, you can have as much as you want.” Seeing trouble brewing, Liang Yun hurriedly intervened. “I’ll have them bring more.”
“No need.”
“No need.”
The two of them spoke in unison, then turned their heads away at exactly the same time.
Ye Shijiu looked at one, then the other, before finally turning to Liang Yun in confusion.
Liang Yun laughed dryly. “Ha. Haha. Eat. Everyone, eat.”
The meal was thick with the smell of gunpowder. Hoping to ease the tension between them, Liang Yun suggested afterward, “I just heard the manager say there’s a Fish-and-Dragon Lantern Festival in Zhongzhou tonight. Apparently it’s extremely lively. Since we’re already here, staying one more night won’t hurt. Why don’t we stay at the restaurant tonight and leave tomorrow?”
Xiao Chunhe drawled lazily, “Sure. No objection from me.”
Liang Yun looked at Yue Jingming. “Brother Yue?”
Yue Jingming had little interest in such worldly amusements, and delay could invite trouble. He had just opened his mouth when Ye Shijiu tugged at his sleeve, his face full of expectation. “Master… lanterns.”
Yue Jingming said, “You and I are not master and disciple. There is no need to call me Master.”
Ye Shijiu blinked awkwardly. “But… you taught me so many things.”
“I once swore not to take disciples.” Yue Jingming said, “You are exceptionally talented. When the time comes, I will take you to Zushan, and you may become a disciple of my master, Daoist Master Su Ji.”
As the eldest senior brother, teaching Ye Shijiu on his master’s behalf would not count as overstepping.
“Don’t listen to him. If he won’t take you, I will.” Xiao Chunhe said to Ye Shijiu, “Call me Master.”
Ye Shijiu looked at him and opened his mouth. “Mas—mmph.”
Terrified, Ye Shijiu touched his mouth, which seemed to have been glued shut. All he could produce were muffled sounds.
“He has already learned my Zushan Sect’s Taixu Heart Method and No-Thought One-Mind Art. How could he take you as his master as well?” Yue Jingming pointed toward the stool beside them.
Ye Shijiu obediently sat back down and did not dare speak again.
Xiao Chunhe laughed. “So what? He has also learned the illusion arts and Wushu Art of my Zixu Mountain lineage, and he learned those even earlier than your No-Thought One-Mind Art.”
“All right, all right. You two elder brothers, the more the child learns, the better. That’s a good thing.” Liang Yun hurried out to smooth things over. “Let’s put aside the question of masters for now and talk about the lantern festival!”
He gave Ye Shijiu a look. Ye Shijiu understood at once and bravely tugged on Yue Jingming’s sleeve.
Since Ye Shijiu had not formally entered Zushan yet, Yue Jingming could not be overly strict with him. He nodded. “Then we’ll go take a look.”
Xiao Chunhe snapped open his fan and waved it a few times, then licked one of his strangely itchy canine teeth.
He wanted to bite Yue Jingming to death.