The golden bells on both sides of the carriage tinkled as the wheels turned unceasingly. The curtains were blown up and down by the wind, attracting many commoners to peek. Ye Qianjue tilted his head, sitting opposite Xuanyuan Xinbei, saying nothing and silently blowing in the wind.
“Qianjue.”
Xuanyuan Xinbei’s voice was low and hoarse, carrying a hint of ingratiation. Seeing that Ye Qianjue ignored him, a trace of dimness flashed in his eyes, and he closed his fan as if dejected.
“About last time, it was my recklessness, it was my fault. Won’t you acknowledge me?” Xuanyuan Xinbei’s tone was hurried, “I’ve thought about it; last time I was talking nonsense. How could there be such a relationship between you and Immortal Venerable Gu! Everything was my one-sided delusion. Will you forgive me and give me a chance?”
Yeyuan crouched on the mahogany board of the carriage, looking at Xuanyuan Xinbei with unkind eyes. Ye Qianjue frowned tightly; after what Xuanyuan Xinbei had just said, he felt even more panic and unease in his heart. Xuanyuan Xinbei hadn’t been wrong; he was filthy, he was rebellious—daring to covet his Master!
Seeing Ye Qianjue distracted, Xuanyuan Xinbei knew he had hit the mark. He was doing it on purpose. Knowing that Ye Qianjue had fallen in love with Gu Qingyun, the more he spoke like this, the better! Only in this way could Ye Qianjue grasp the boundaries, distance himself from Gu Qingyun, and also make him give up that rebellious thought early and turn to his embrace.
A flash of cold light passed through Xuanyuan Xinbei’s eyes. He clearly remembered the conversation with Xuanyuan Gu that day: his background was not as good as the other princes, and only by obtaining Ye Qianjue, by obtaining a force from the Immortal sects, could he sit firmly on the throne.
“By the way, is there anything you want to play, or any places you like?”
By now, Ye Qianjue was already wavering. Forget about morals and ethics—eating, drinking, and having fun were the most important things right now. Just as his brows relaxed and he was about to speak, Yeyuan, who had always been ‘quiet,’ leaped forward and bit Xuanyuan Xinbei’s wrist.
“Ah! Ye… hurry and let go!”
Ye Qianjue immediately hugged Yeyuan, blocking Xuanyuan Xinbei’s raised fist. Seeing Ye Qianjue protecting this black dog with his body, Xuanyuan Xinbei had to suppress the anger in his heart, put down his fist, and say words contrary to his heart.
“It doesn’t matter… it’s just a dog.”
At this moment, under his sleeves, Xuanyuan Xinbei’s knuckles were already making cracking sounds. Ye Qianjue hurriedly hugged Yeyuan back into his arms and looked at Xuanyuan Xinbei apologetically: “I’m sorry, Brother Xuanyuan. He’s not usually like this, he’s very well-behaved! I don’t know what happened today…”
Looking at the restless Yeyuan in his arms, Ye Qianjue stroked his head and begged in a low voice: “Behave, I beg you.”
Yeyuan looked at the embarrassed Ye Qianjue—whose eyes were red, as if he would cry the next second if he didn’t agree.
“Fine, I will spare this stinking brat for your sake.”
Yeyuan gave a few barks at Xuanyuan Xinbei. Mo Yan, the attendant riding a horse next to the carriage, immediately drew his sword, his voice cold: “Master?”
Xuanyuan Xinbei raised his hand calmly, signaling him to withdraw. Turning his eyes to the fierce dog with a fierce-looking face, he said lightly: “It’s just a beast, no need to make a fuss, but—” he looked at Ye Qianjue with concern, “Qianjue must be careful of this beast, lest it hurt you one day.”
“Scum! How can you presume to discuss me! Do you know who I am?”
Yeyuan in his arms howled incessantly, while Ye Qianjue looked at Xuanyuan Xinbei, who was fanning himself, and also looked at Yeyuan with hostility. Ye Qianjue looked at the two with mental exhaustion; one was a Demon Lord, the other a prince, both with noble status—why were they so childish! Helpless, Ye Qianjue had to initiate the conversation.
“Brother Xuanyuan, where is this carriage going?”
As he spoke, the black dog in his arms twisted wildly, and Ye Qianjue twitched his mouth, pressing the dog’s head into his arms. Hearing Ye Qianjue take the initiative to ask, Xuanyuan Xinbei was in a great mood, throwing the Yeyuan beside him to the back of his mind. He closed his folding fan and tapped the window frame; then, the carriage stopped.
“We’re here.”
Ye Qianjue was forcibly assisted off the carriage by Xuanyuan Xinbei, his expression somewhat uncomfortable. In fact, he could have gotten off the carriage by himself. Turning around, he stretched out his hands toward Yeyuan on the carriage with a beaming smile, “Come on~ I’ll carry you down~”
For some reason, Yeyuan’s heart beat violently at this moment. He seemed to have won in some aspect, looking triumphantly at the dark-faced Xuanyuan Xinbei. Xuanyuan Xinbei’s forehead veins jumped, maintaining his last shred of demeanor.
“This is the Hundred Flower House, the biggest restaurant in the capital. Come, I’ll take you in.”
Ye Qianjue looked up; it was fully ten stories high! Every floor was hung with lanterns and colorful ribbons, looking like a big flower basket~ This was far too interesting compared to the lifeless, unchanging Feixian Peak!
“Someone is dancing! And playing instruments!”
Ye Qianjue looked at the stage in surprise. Yeyuan wagged his tail and dismissed it: “What’s this? The tricks in the Demon Palace are much more exciting than this~”
Ye Qianjue went to the second floor, entered a private room, went to the window, rested his head, and looked at the sea of flowers. He exclaimed: “So beautiful~ The lake is full of flowers! Every color is there, and there are boats. The boats here look much better than the boats in my lotus pond~”
“That is natural. If you like it, you can stay. I will give you countless flower boats.”
Yeyuan understood: this kid was not giving up!
“Woof woof woof!”
Yeyuan bit the corner of Ye Qianjue’s clothing and dragged him back. Xuanyuan Xinbei’s gaze instantly turned cold; he always felt that this dead dog was working against him!
Waiters served dishes one after another, and the table full of delicacies made Ye Qianjue rave about them. Eating what was in his mouth, he kept shouting: “Master has never given me these to eat; he always says that cultivators should be detached from worldly desires~”
“If you want to eat them, just come to me.”
Xuanyuan Xinbei slowly extended his hand, wanting to wrap his arm around Ye Qianjue’s shoulder.
“Woof woof woof!”
Yeyuan exerted force again at the critical moment, and Xuanyuan Xinbei retreated in a disheveled manner, looking at him sinisterly. After a long while, the meal ended. Ye Qianjue looked satisfied.
Xuanyuan Xinbei took a jade tablet from his waist and handed it to Ye Qianjue: “This is my waist tablet. With it, you can enter and leave the palace at any time.”
Ye Qianjue hesitated, but after thinking about the delicious food and fun just now, he immediately took it.
“Can you forgive me now?”
Yeyuan howled again, trying to stop Ye Qianjue, but unfortunately, this time Ye Qianjue nodded with a smile, “Mm! I forgive Brother Xuanyuan~”
The triumphant Xuanyuan Xinbei looked at Yeyuan provocatively; he didn’t know why, but he was at odds with this dog today. Holding the jade pendant, he went downstairs, and Ye Qianjue’s gaze shifted from the jade pendant, which was emitting a soft glow, to the corner.
He saw more than a dozen people surrounding a square table, shouting: “Big! Small!”
Yeyuan saw at a glance that those people were running a gambling game, but it was just song and dance a moment ago, and a table appeared in a short time—it was truly strange. The experienced Yeyuan quickly shifted his gaze to the shifty-eyed Xuanyuan Xinbei.
“What are they doing there?”
Sure enough, Ye Qianjue asked the question as expected. Xuanyuan Xinbei led Ye Qianjue over, and the crowd tacitly made a path.
“This is a gambling game; you get money if you win. Do you want to play?”
“Me? I don’t have money… Master doesn’t give me any…”
Gu Qingyun had said that money was an external object that could most confuse people’s hearts, and it was best for practitioners not to come into contact with it. Seeing Ye Qianjue’s embarrassed appearance, Xuanyuan Xinbei knew without thinking that it must be Gu Qingyun who was holding Ye Qianjue back again.
He signaled Mo Yan, who then handed over a full money bag.
“Here, go play.”
Looking at the money bag in front of him, Ye Qianjue’s eyes sparkled—he had only ever seen so much money on Senior Brother Yan Yi. He looked at the gambling table with some hesitation. Then he nodded joyfully and took the money bag, “I’ll only play one round!”
Yeyuan’s brows were furrowed tightly; he didn’t know what the hell Xuanyuan Xinbei was doing, but he knew this bastard wanted to corrupt Ye Qianjue.
“Woof woof woof!”
“Go away, go away~”
The people at the gambling table drove Yeyuan away.
Ye Qianjue lost in the first round; looking at the money the winner took away, he felt somewhat embarrassed to face Xuanyuan Xinbei.
“How about… another round to win it back?”
Ye Qianjue said in a small voice. He took out a piece of silver and continued to place bets. Without a doubt, he lost again, but he couldn’t stop. His face was red, and every time he lost, his cheeks burned. In the end, looking at the empty money bag, Ye Qianjue had already lowered his head in shame; he was about to cry.
Xuanyuan Xinbei, however, smiled secretly. He then handed another money bag to Ye Qianjue and said softly: “Do you want to play more?”
Ye Qianjue looked at the seductive money bag in front of him and reached out his hand, but at that very moment, he retracted it. With reddened eyes, his voice was delicate.
“N-no, not playing anymore, Brother Xuanyuan, I’ve lost all your money.”
As he spoke, Ye Qianjue’s tears slid down like beads; seeing this scene, Xuanyuan Xinbei’s heart trembled, feeling as if a pair of invisible hands were hooking him. Unable to bear seeing a beauty cry, Xuanyuan Xinbei wiped away the tears for Ye Qianjue and said softly: “In my eyes, this money is nothing but sesame seeds. Losing it is losing it; it doesn’t matter.”
Seeing Ye Qianjue still dejected and blaming himself, Xuanyuan Xinbei finally revealed his purpose for today.
“If you feel bad about it, how about this! Consider it a favor you owe me; you can pay it back later, is that feasible?”
Ye Qianjue looked up at Xuanyuan Xinbei. He muttered in his heart: A favor?
“What does Brother Xuanyuan want then?”
Xuanyuan Xinbei smiled with relief, “Naturally I can’t tell you now. You will know later.”
He looked at Ye Qianjue seriously, “Promise me, what you say you will do, don’t regret it later.”
Ye Qianjue nodded, looking determined. He patted his chest and promised: “Don’t worry Brother Xuanyuan, I, Ye Qianjue, will do what I say and will not break my word. Also… the events of these days cannot let Master know, and the Senior brothers and sisters must not know either.”
“Hahaha~ Naturally, don’t worry, this is a secret between me and Qianjue.”
Seeing that his goal had been reached, Xuanyuan Xinbei waved his hand, and the carriage appeared in front of the restaurant.
“It’s getting late, the coachman will take you back to the inn.”
Ye Qianjue hugged Yeyuan and got into the carriage, waving goodbye to Xuanyuan Xinbei: “Goodbye Brother Xuanyuan~”
Xuanyuan Xinbei watched Ye Qianjue leave with a smile in his eyes. Then Mo Yan came forward in confusion and asked: “Your Highness, why spend so much effort to design this, making Ye Qianjue place bets and lose money? Why?”
“For that one promise. Ye Qianjue’s character is not yet mature, so naturally, this is a good opportunity for me to take advantage of the void.” He turned to Mo Yan and said softly: “As long as I have this promise, I’m not afraid that I won’t be able to marry Ye Qianjue in the future.”