Shi Junyan felt a twinge of anxiety, though Beisi had merely held the boat in his hand to examine it without exerting any force.
The subtle possessiveness was far too obvious. Watching the other man act so solemnly and uprightly while examining the boat in his palm as if he were genuinely just inspecting it while his fingers remained entirely motionless and his focus clearly wasn’t on the vessel at all, Chi Qiqi couldn’t help but be amused.
Is he actually feeling jealous?
Suppressing a smile and pretending not to notice anyone’s unusual behavior, Chi Qiqi turned to Shi Junyan and asked, “Did you make this?”
Shi Junyan puffed out his chest with a measure of pride and replied, “Of course. I can craft all sorts of things; making a ship like this is a total breeze for me.”
That boastful, cocky attitude looked utterly incongruous on a man of his imposing, brawny build.
Chi Qiqi found it hard to look directly at him, yet still forced his lips to move and offered a word of praise: “Impressive.”
Shi Junyan was instantly delighted. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of his martial brother’s five fingers tightening around the boat, and before he could fully savor the praise from his sister-in-law, he hurriedly rushed over to pry his martial brother’s fingers apart.
“Ah! It’s going to shatter!” Shi Junyan cried out. Good grief, even if this boat is sturdy, it’s no match for martial brother’s five-clawed golden dragon grip!
Beisi immediately relaxed his grip. Holding on like that made him look far too petty. He assumed an air of casual nonchalance and said, “Shatter? Not at all.”
That face was far too deceptive.
Shi Junyan almost suspected his own eyes were playing tricks on him, right before he caught the faint, suppressed sound of laughter.
Before Shi Junyan could turn to look, Chi Qiqi had already tucked away his smile and smoothly pivoted to a new topic: “What does this boat actually do?”
At the mention of his craftsmanship, Shi Junyan instantly pushed the prior incident to the back of his mind and enthusiastically introduced his creation: “Don’t let its size fool you it can actually expand! Stowing away dozens of people is an absolute cinch, and it can travel both through the heavens and across the seas at blistering speeds…”
Chi Qiqi half-listened to Shi Junyan rattle on while inadvertently locking eyes with a certain someone who was currently wearing a slightly aggrieved expression. A trace of a smile curved his lips, and he shot back a look of feigned perplexity.
Beisi’s gaze darkened. Qiqi clearly knows what’s on my mind and is deliberately teasing me.
Before the other man’s expression could grow even more profound, Chi Qiqi smoothly turned his attention back to Shi Junyan.
“Roughing it out on the road is exhausting. Take my boat, I guarantee it’ll be completely comfortable,” Shi Junyan said, completely oblivious to the undercurrents between the two. He turned to Beisi and added, “Benefactor, you surely don’t want sister-in-law to suffer along the way, right?”
Beisi didn’t even require a second to deliberate before answering, “Mn.”
“The disciple selection tournament is starting soon. Traveling by ordinary carriage will take ages and wear sister-in-law out why not take this boat instead?” Shi Junyan asked, full of anticipation.
Beisi pondered the suggestion for a moment and found it made a fair amount of sense. Traveling alone wouldn’t have mattered in the least, but now that he wasn’t by himself, if Qiqi also managed to enter the Kunhan Sect, he would not only be able to look after him day and night, but they would also constantly remain by each other’s side.
“This boat of yours shouldn’t have any hidden flaws, right?” Beisi still harbored a trace of skepticism, knowing Shi Junyan’s usual eccentric habits all too well.
Whenever raw materials ran short, that guy would invariably chip away bits from unknown places to patch things up. He was perpetually sinking resources into researching bizarre new gadgets, burning through spirit stones until he was left poorer than a beggar, leaving his older inventions hacked apart and haphazardly patched together.
Shi Junyan looked utterly aggrieved, silently conveying a silent grievance to Chi Qiqi that Beisi was bullying him. “Benefactor, how can you doubt me… sob, how could I ever wish harm upon you and sister-in-law?!”
There was little Beisi could say; ultimately, he would simply be the one cleaning up the mess if anything went wrong. What was the worst that could happen the sky falling down? With that thought, he gave his consent.
Shi Junyan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. I only shaved off a tiny, microscopic sliver of material anyway; you can’t even tell by looking at the surface. No big deal at all.
With his martial brother around, what was there to worry about?
Terrified that Beisi might suddenly change his mind and demand he abandon the boat, Shi Junyan quickly chimed in, “The boat is already bound to my spiritual signature; Shi-xiong, you definitely can’t leave me behind now.”
Beisi: “…”
He hadn’t factored that little detail into his calculations.
“A gentleman’s word is as good as a gold team!” Shi Junyan beamed broadly. “You definitely can’t lose face in front of sister-in-law, right?”
Beisi had always honored his words; whatever he promised, he never went back on. But this time, the situation involved more than just himself alone.
Chi Qiqi raised a delicate eyebrow, sweeping a sideways glance toward Beisi’s rare, momentarily speechless expression, and a bright smile bloomed across his face.
“It’s fine,” Chi Qiqi said lightly.
Beisi turned his head slightly. “Mn.”
Shi Junyan paused for a fraction of a second, silently thinking: Is this what they call being completely henpecked?
Noticing Beisi opening his mouth as if intending to add something else, Shi Junyan hastily cut him off, blurting out, “I promise I will never disturb your private world!”
His tone was so resolute and ringing that several passersby couldn’t help glancing over in curiosity.
Shi Junyan felt a sudden chilling sensation down the back of his neck, sensing that his situation was rapidly deteriorating.
“…Have the matters regarding the black market been completely settled?” Beisi hadn’t actually intended to bring that up, but since his junior brother had babbled so hastily, he simply went along with it though this assurance was precisely what he desired anyway.
Realizing he had misread his martial brother’s intent, Shi Junyan quickly smoothed things over. “The Aiyou Grass was stolen by the He clan and can no longer be recovered. We simply dumped the corpse right there and left them to tear their hair out in a panic.”
The implication was that the matter was officially dropped and swept under the rug.
“We can set off right now,” Shi Junyan said impatiently.
Since the affair had been temporarily concluded, it was indeed time to return to the Kunhan Sect. As for his identity… he wasn’t quite ready to reveal it just yet.
The three of them moved toward a more open, spacious clearing. Shi Junyan cupped the miniature boat in the palm of his hand, watching as it slowly levitated into the air and expanded at a visible rate, growing in a few breaths from less than the size of a palm into a colossal behemoth that completely blocked out the sunlight overhead, casting a massive shadow across the ground.
A vessel floating entirely in mid-air.
Beisi scooped up Chi Qiqi and landed lightly and effortlessly onto the deck. The central cabin was partitioned into several small empty chambers. Following closely behind, Shi Junyan brought up the rear.
They casually pushed open the door of the nearest cabin, only to find it utterly barren clean, pristine, and completely devoid of furnishings, looking as though it had been thoroughly picked clean by a band of wandering bandits.
If an actual bandit had broken into this room, they probably would have felt so sympathetic they’d toss a couple of copper coins inside on their way out.
Though the cabin itself was spacious, its interior was completely hollowed out.
Shi Junyan scratched the back of his head, fighting off a wave of acute embarrassment. “Well… the details aren’t quite finished, but there are still sleeping platforms, and you can sit on the benches…”
Before either of them could utter a word in response, he dropped a hurried, “We’ll arrive by tomorrow night, I’ll take my leave first!” and scrambled out of the cabin, slamming the door shut behind him with a resounding bang.
Chi Qiqi walked over to inspect the sleeping platform, and fell silent.
No hidden catches it was genuinely nothing more than a plain, unadorned wooden platform, completely devoid of mattresses, cushions, or quilts. Just a bare slab of wood.
This was quite literally his first time laying eyes on the “true face” of a bed stripped of all pretense.
While one might assume this big guy lacked financial means, the materials required to construct such a massive flying vessel were certainly far from cheap. Yet the interior was poverty-stricken to such a ridiculous degree.
All show and no substance.
Beisi knew his junior brother was chronically short on funds, but he hadn’t imagined the situation had deteriorated to this extreme. Inspecting the room and peering out the window to confirm they hadn’t departed yet, he spoke after a brief silence: “I’ll go purchase some supplies.”
“I’ll go with you,” Chi Qiqi offered.
“Rest here for a moment,” Beisi said softly, his voice carrying a gentle firmness. “I will be right back. If you need anything, just call for him.”
Since Beisi insisted, Chi Qiqi dropped the matter and instructed, “Then hurry back.”
“Naturally,” Beisi smiled gently.
Once Beisi departed, Chi Qiqi sat down at a wooden stool out of sheer boredom, poured himself a cup of tea, and called out, “You can come in now.”
The door cracked open just a tiny sliver, revealing a single human eye peeking through. Seeing that the coast was clear, Shi Junyan pushed the door open wider and stepped inside, asking in bewilderment, “How did you know I was there?”
“Footsteps,” Chi Qiqi sipped his tea leisurely, his tone unhurried. “Pacing back and forth—annoyingly loud.”
Shi Junyan suspected he was being silently judged. He had indeed been pacing anxiously outside the door, tormented by curiosity yet lacking the courage to walk back in.
Once inside, he comfortably claimed a seat opposite Chi Qiqi and inquired, “Sister-in-law, what’s your name?”
“State your own name before asking others,” Chi Qiqi replied coolly, taking another sip of tea.
“I don’t really have a formal name; just call me Xiao Fang,” Shi Junyan answered. Naturally, he didn’t dare expose any flaws in front of his sister-in-law, so he simply took his own surname and split it in half.
Chi Qiqi glanced at him sideways, well aware that the man was concealing his identity, but couldn’t be bothered to call him out. He simply stated, “Chi Qiqi.”
For some inexplicable reason, Shi Junyan felt that whenever sister-in-law looked at him, that gaze carried a distinct sense of condescension—proud, noble, and aloof—completely unlike the mild, approachable demeanor he projected whenever his martial brother was present.
Must be my imagination, Shi Junyan silently comforted himself.
“You and benefactor…” Shi Junyan paused midsentence, hastily correcting himself after remembering Beisi’s warning not to call him a benefactor anymore. “…How did you and North… I mean, how did you and my martial brother meet?”
Catching the fierce, burning curiosity shining in the man’s eyes, Chi Qiqi poured a second cup of tea, but pushed this one directly across the table toward Shi Junyan.
Flattered by the gesture, Shi Junyan received it with both hands. For the sake of his sister-in-law’s hospitality, he couldn’t possibly refuse, so he boldly took a sip.
Being chronically poor didn’t mean he had never tasted fine tea, but this particular brew tasted so astringent and bitter it practically tore at his throat. He twitched his brows, stealing a cautious glance at his sister-in-law, only to find the other man observing him with an amused, knowing smile. Was that intentional? But how could someone chosen by my martial brother possibly be a bad person?
No matter, bottoms up!
Shi Junyan swallowed the entire cup in one go, plastered on a smile, and praised, “Splendid tea.”
Chi Qiqi didn’t bother validating the compliment, casually redirecting the conversation. “Why don’t you talk about how you met North first?”
Quick on his feet, Shi Junyan fabricated a backstory on the spot: “I was running errands for the black market, accidentally offended some powerful figures, and ended up being hunted down. Fortunately, North happened to pass by and saved my life.”
The narrative aligned seamlessly. Chi Qiqi’s expression remained unreadable. He took a slow sip of his own tea and remarked, “Me? I was also saved by him… He really does… love saving people.”
“Naturally!” Shi Junyan affirmed emphatically, eager to pave the smoothest possible path for his martial brother’s romantic endeavors. “He is utterly righteous and intolerant of evil! Whenever he encounters a villain, he just slashes them to pieces slash, slash, slash!”
Getting carried away with his description, he chopped his hand through the air like a blade. “Just like slicing winter melons! Clean, simple, absolute zero survivors within ten steps!”
Shi Junyan was thoroughly convinced he was playing the role of the ultimate wingman on his martial brother’s path to love. He could already envision a future where all his raw mineral requests would be granted without hesitation!
Lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, he asked, “Have you ever heard of the Evil Entity?”
“Never.” Chi Qiqi finally lifted his gaze, fixing his attention squarely on the man before him as he calmly invited him to continue.
“He is quite literally the most vicious, inhumane beast walking this earth!”