Although Mo Rubai barely reached his shoulder, Shen Zhiwei still felt a sudden, intense wave of pressure.
“…I can do it myself.”
Shen Zhiwei reached out, intending to push the person before him away, but Mo Rubai’s next action completely stunned him.
Mo Rubai’s hand grasped his belt. If he were to shove him now, the sash would likely be yanked right off.
“Junior Uncle, I’ll help you.” Mo Rubai pressed his lips together, the corners curving upward slightly.
With no other choice, Shen Zhiwei could only watch as Mo Rubai lowered his head and tied a neat, beautiful knot for him.
Perhaps Mo Rubai simply suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder… That was the only conclusion Shen Zhiwei could reach, as he couldn’t fathom why the male protagonist would insist on fastening his belt for him.
“Done.” Mo Rubai let go, smiling with exceptional docility. “Junior Uncle, let’s go.”
“Mn.” Shen Zhiwei nodded. Unable to make sense of Mo Rubai’s bizarre behavior just now, he could only write it off as a passing whim.
Shen Zhiwei took the lead and walked ahead once more.
The curve of Mo Rubai’s smile grew even wider. Zhenren Lingzhi would never guess what he had managed to pull off just a moment ago.
Zhenren Lingzhi was bringing him down to “The Third Level,” and who knew what might happen? He had to secure an escape route for himself; if anything went wrong with him, Zhenren Lingzhi would not be able to wash his hands of the blame!
Naturally unaware of what was running through the mind of the person behind him, Shen Zhiwei turned around and handed a black mask to Mo Rubai.
“Put it on.” Dispensing with unnecessary words, Shen Zhiwei directly placed a white mask over his own face.
Many people who entered “The Third Level” preferred not to reveal their true identities. The masks Shen Zhiwei had prepared for the two of them possessed the ability to conceal their aura the moment they were put on.
Even if Yuan Jiangning were to show up right now, she wouldn’t be able to recognize them.
So what if someone knew he had come to the Lexian Pavilion? That still didn’t prove he had descended into “The Third Level.”
Mo Rubai hesitated. It was only after watching Zhenren Lingzhi’s entire aura transform that he finally put the mask on.
“Keep up.” Dropping that brief command, Shen Zhiwei reached out and grabbed Mo Rubai by the wrist. “Don’t get lost.”
Mo Rubai felt a slight burning sensation where Shen Zhiwei’s grip held him. Stumbling slightly, he hurried to keep pace.
No wonder Zhenren Lingzhi had insisted on holding onto him—Mo Rubai’s eyes widened slightly as he watched Zhenren Lingzhi simply slap a piece of talisman paper onto a pitch-black wall. A small door slowly creaked open, and the moment they stepped through it, a wave of boisterous human clamor instantly rushed into their ears.
“Junior Uncle…” Feeling inexplicably panicked for some reason, Mo Rubai turned his hand over and instinctively gripped Shen Zhiwei’s hand back.
Shen Zhiwei looked back in surprise and pried his fingers loose. “We’re here. There’s no need for that.”
Mo Rubai blinked in a daze before slowly releasing his hold.
“Is this… ‘The Third Level’?”
Just as Mo Rubai finished asking, he suddenly felt a tightness around his waist. Tilting his head, he saw a heavily painted woman whose left cheek was delicately traced with the outline of a blooming peony flower.
“Little brother, is this your first time here?” The woman smiled coquettishly. “Friends who come for the first time are entitled to a kiss from me~”
Seeing the woman lean in to press her lips forward, Mo Rubai was horrified. “Junior Uncle!”
Hearing this, Shen Zhiwei yanked Mo Rubai away with a pull. “What is it?”
“Oh my, aren’t you his family elder?” The woman wasn’t angry at missing out on the kiss; instead, she giggled. “I fancy this little brother dearly. How about you gift him to me to play with for a couple of days, and I’ll grant you an invitation pass? How about that?”
An invitation pass to “The Third Level” was a precious commodity. With it, one could freely enter and exit “The Third Level” at will—far more convenient than those one-time-use “talisman papers.”
It was a coveted treasure that money alone couldn’t easily buy.
“No need.” Shen Zhiwei smiled and declined, lowering his voice to add, “Many thanks for Miss Xuefu’s kind offer.”
Hearing those words, the smile on Xuefu’s face stiffened slightly. She had thought she could trick a man today, but who would have expected…
“Hmph!” Xuefu reined in her expression and said displeasedly, “We’re all thousand-year-old foxes here, why put on the act of a newbie?”
“Miss, how about we find a place to chat properly first?” This place was a mixed bag of fish and dragons, and the three of them didn’t look particularly out of place, but standing around out in the open for too long made it far too easy to draw unwanted attention.
“Oh? Sure, why not?” Xuefu suddenly regained her interest, casting a sultry wink at Mo Rubai. “Let’s go, let’s find a cozy spot to have a nice, long chat~”
Mo Rubai looked with a mixture of suspicion and alarm between Zhenren Lingzhi and the woman named Xuefu.
In just this short span of time, he had already overheard some gossip floating around…
“That old witch is flirting with men again.”
“And she’s hooking two at once! Can the little one even handle it?”
“You don’t understand, the young ones are the ones with real stamina, hahahaha…”
And so on.
It was Mo Rubai’s first time being the butt of such gossip, and his fists clenched hard enough to crack. Yet, glancing at Shen Zhiwei, who appeared completely unbothered, he had no choice but to swallow his anger and hold it in.
“Oh, Fairy, bringing two men with you today!” As soon as they stepped into a teahouse, a plump boss rushed over to quickly wipe down their table. “The gambling starts in half an hour, you’d better pace yourself!”
“Go on with you!” Xuefu laughed and scolded. “These two are my honored guests, don’t you go startling them!”
“Hehe, I understand, I understand.” The boss walked away smiling broadly, thoughtfully closing the door behind him.
Mo Rubai: “…”
“Spit it out, what is it you want?” The flippancy on Xuefu’s face vanished entirely. “Since you knew my name, you must have come prepared.”
“I merely happened to know it by chance,” Shen Zhiwei said mildly. “I simply want you to teach someone a trick.”
At those words, Xuefu actually grew less worried. So it was for tonight’s gambling table after all.
“I only teach once,” Xuefu sneered. “If he doesn’t learn it, I take no responsibility.”
“Fair enough.” Shen Zhiwei shoved Mo Rubai directly in front of Xuefu. “Teach him.”
Mo Rubai looked bewildered. “Huh?”