What?
Dual systems?!
Is there even such a wonderful thing?!
[System: You, you, you are two-timing, wanting to swallow the province while demanding the empire, insatiably greedy, completely without lower limits! How could you do this to me?! That is naturally impossible to be your second system!]
Ruan Weibai said uninterestingly: Tsk, whose is it then? Do you systems even travel in group raids now?
[System: Every system has different attributes and functions. Until I make contact with that system, it could be either friend or foe.]
Ruan Weibai said indifferently: Maybe it’s just your colleague who transmigrated into the wrong book, and once they realize it after a while, they’ll head back.
[System: Never mind, let’s ignore that system for now… But host, haven’t you noticed that every time you have indescribable moments with the Heavenly Lord, the bond between the two of you seems to heat up? You were already showering everyone with dog food constantly in Lanquique Heaven, how are you still keeping up the pace here in the mortal realm?]
Ruan Weibai, who was carrying the oil-paper bag back, thought: Huh? Heating up, me and him? Do you even hear the nonsense coming out of your own mouth?
[System: No, look at how accommodating the Heavenly Lord is to you, thinking of you and giving in to you in everything. When you said you wanted to come to the mortal realm, he brought you here; when you said you wanted to bring Bai Ruogu, he brought him along, and he even threw in Xie Xun to vent your frustration and relieve your boredom.]
Ruan Weibai sneered: Ye Tang is just a tool for me to farm points. You’d better reel your elbow back right now! Did stuffing two dates down your throat melt you into sweetness?
[System (pouting): Host, you really are impervious to reason.]
Ruan Weibai: Ha, eating everything will only harm you!
[System: I’ll eat, I’ll eat!! Eating everything will only keep my nutrition balanced! The Heavenly Lord’s attitude toward you has me shipping you two so hard I’m dying!!!]
Ruan Weibai: …
Ignoring the unhinged system, he walked up to the three of them and asked with utmost seriousness, “Do you guys know what amaranth stems are?”
Amaranth stems?
What was that?
All three shook their heads in perfect unison.
Ruan Weibai raised the oil-paper bag in his hand: “I figured you wouldn’t know. I’ve already bought them. Come on, let’s find a place to settle down, and I’ll treat you all to a proper taste!”
As it turned out, every single inn and restaurant in the surrounding area was packed to capacity.
After wandering around for a while, the four of them decided to try their luck at the largest restaurant nearby. After all, with its sheer volume of guests, if someone happened to check out, they could secure a temporary vacancy.
At the front counter, the innkeeper was lowering his head and clicking away on an abacus while calculating profits. He thought to himself that thanks to the blessing of Broken Sword Manor, rooms had been fully booked every single day for a month straight even with prices doubled. If every single day were like this in the future, wouldn’t he make a massive fortune and die of happiness!
Speaking of which, who on earth was this Sword Demon Bai Ye anyway? Such a god of wealth! Word had it that all these people came rushing here for his sword. Should he carve a statue of this god of wealth and worship it in the future? He wondered if the god of wealth was handsome or ugly, brawny or slender. The name sounded quite fierce and terrifying, so should he hire an artist next time to paint a Sword Demon Bai Ye modeled after door gods?
It would definitely rake in the wealth!
“Innkeeper, are there any rooms left?”
Immersed in the thrill of calculation, the innkeeper replied without raising his head, “None, none left, booked out ages ago.”
Xie Xun scratched his head, “Innkeeper, do you think you could spare a room for us? My young master has a weak constitution and cannot handle drafts or chills. If he falls sick again, my employer will chop my head off. How about I add a bit more silver?”
Still without raising his head, the innkeeper answered, “Fifty times the rate for a room, do you want it or not? If not, then hurry up and scram, scram, scram!”
[System: Whoa, fifty times? You really know how to gouge people on the spot.]
“Fifty times for a room, you’re clearly making things difficult for people!”
“Scarcity dictates value, you see. This is a reasonable price hike.”
“You call this reasonable? Let me tell you, it’s not that I can’t afford the money, I just can’t stand your.”
Seeing that Xie Xun was about to get into an argument with the innkeeper, Ruan Weibai let out a soft sigh, furrowed his brows slightly, looked up at Ye Tang, and cautiously hooked his finger into the sleeve of his robe:
“Little uncle, is it really okay for us to do this? What if your older brother finds out.”
The innkeeper’s hands, which had been flying across the abacus beads, instantly froze mid-air.
Ye Tang: “…”
Ruan Weibai feigned shyness: “Your brother only told you to take care of me along the way, yet last night you sneaked into.”
“Don’t even think about tricking me into opening a room for you again today!”
The innkeeper snapped his head up instantly!
Then, his face beaming with a radiant glow, he rubbed his hands together and smiled ingratiatingly, “Ah, honored guests, right, right, I remember now. There is a room, ah, bah, there is a room where the guests will be checking out in half an hour. Why don’t you four take a brief rest, and once they leave, I’ll have someone tidy it up so you can check right in!”
“Just half an hour, I’m truly not lying to the two of you!”
Blinking a few times at Ruan Weibai and Ye Tang, the innkeeper spoke in a suggestive, ambiguous tone, “The beds in our establishment are the largest and most comfortable in the vicinity! Every guest who has tried them sings their praises!”
Xie Xun, who had witnessed the entire process, stood frozen in shock on the spot.
No, this actually worked?!
[System: Holy cow, host, who could possibly outplay you?!]
Half an hour was neither long nor short. Ruan Weibai simply suggested that the four of them grab a meal together first. Although the rooms were full, since it was already past mealtime, the number of diners had dwindled.
Once the four of them were seated, a runner immediately hurried over. After Ruan Weibai ordered a few dishes, he gave a light cough and directly held out his hand toward Xie Xun.
Inwardly, Xie Xun gazed up at the heavens in despair: Why is this demon so effortlessly familiar with this? My money isn’t money, is it?!
Glancing at Ye Tang, who was currently scalding the tableware for Ruan Weibai with hot water, Xie Xun gritted his teeth and tossed over a pouch of silver.
Ruan Weibai caught the money pouch, and the joyful curve of his mouth made Xie Xun’s teeth itch with frustration.
Following that, he watched as Ruan Weibai casually tossed a piece of loose silver to the runner: “Little brother, I brought my own ingredients. Could I trouble the master chef in the kitchen to help prepare them? Consider this silver as the labor fee, how about that?”
“Sir, anything is easy to talk about when silver is involved!” The runner wiped the loose silver piece against his sleeve, thinking to himself that this gentleman was truly generous; the table of dishes just ordered didn’t even cost this much!
Taking out the oil-paper bag he had bought from the grandmother earlier, Ruan Weibai handed it to the runner, tapped it lightly, and instructed, “Remember to remind the chef to use vegetable oil, and steaming it for half the length of an incense stick will be just right.”
“Understood, I’ll arrange it right away for you gentlemen, please hold on for a moment!”
Clutching the oil-paper bag, the little runner scurried off toward the back kitchen eagerly.
Bai Ruogu asked with curiosity, “Master, what on earth are you going to give us to eat?”
Leaning against the table with his chin propped on one hand, Xie Xun idly spun a pair of chopsticks and said, “I advise you not to get your hopes up. Your master has unique and eccentric tastes. Last time, he made us buy a bunch of bizarre ingredients in the mortal realm… Come to think of it, our Heavenly Lord even cooks personally just to accommodate him. If he says it’s delicious, I reckon ordinary people can’t handle it.”
Tilting his head, Bai Ruogu said, “That can’t be right. I remember the things Master loves to eat are all home-cooked dishes, not bizarre at all.”
At these words, Ye Tang glanced sideways at Bai Ruogu, frightening the young man into shrinking himself into a tiny ball.
Did he say something wrong? Why did he suddenly get hit with a glare of eye-daggers?
Ruan Weibai smiled warmly, “You’ll find out in a moment.”
As Ye Tang was pouring tea for Ruan Weibai, a round-eyed young woman at the neighboring table suddenly walked over. Stopping in her tracks, she blinked as she looked at Ruan Weibai, asking with shyness and hesitation: “Excuse me, may I ask if this young master is already betrothed?”
Ruan Weibai paused, then turned to look at the young woman with a polite, smiling gaze: “What does the young lady mean?”
Though somewhat nervous initially, the young woman saw that Ruan Weibai was approachable and gentle in his speech and demeanor, which bolstered her courage: “Well, if the young master hasn’t taken a wife yet, would you consider making friends.”
“No.”
Before the young woman could finish her sentence, she was interrupted, leaving her standing awkwardly in place with no idea what to do.
Seeing this, Ruan Weibai hurriedly comforted her, “Miss needn’t mind him; he simply lacks any appreciation for delicate beauty…”
The young woman nodded slightly, a surge of fresh gratitude welling up in her eyes as she looked at Ruan Weibai.
“However, as for me, not only am I already betrothed, but I’ve done it more than once.” Ruan Weibai smiled gently, “I’m afraid I must disappoint the young lady’s kind intentions. Since you are so brave and lovely, I’m sure a suitable, fine match will appear for you very soon.”
“Th-thank you, young master!” Although rejected, the young woman still felt warmth flooding her heart without a trace of discomfort or awkwardness. This young master was indeed as wonderful and sincere as she had imagined. Despite his plain appearance, he was truly endearing, making her want to grow close to him. It was just a pity he was already taken, so she had no choice but to let it go.
How frustrating. Why are all the good men always taken by someone else?
After the young woman left, Xie Xun wore an expression of speechlessness and profound confusion: “No, this I don’t understand. Heavenly Lord, you’ve transformed into such an ordinary appearance that if I didn’t keep a close eye on you in a crowd, I’d lose you and mistake you for someone else, yet you still manage to pull this many blossoms of peach-blossom luck? Isn’t that a bit excessive?”
Ruan Weibai took a sip of tea: “What, are you envious?”
Xie Xun let out a breath: “For all these years, how come I’ve never seen anyone try to hit on me? Even if it’s just asking in passing, ‘Young master, are you betrothed or not?!'”
“Little brother…” On the other side, another young woman walked up to Ruan Weibai, gazing at him with deep affection as she said, “If I make the first move, can we have a story together?”
Ruan Weibai followed her lead and asked, “What kind of story?”
The young woman leaned closer: “Naturally, our little romance story~”
Hearing this, Xie Xun was so shocked he nearly bit his chopsticks in half!
Ruan Weibai laughed heartily: “Apologies, I like men.”
The young woman wasn’t upset in the slightest; she tossed her hair and remarked, “Ah, as expected, all the good men are snapped up by other men.”
With a look of lingering regret, she cast one final glance at Ruan Weibai and gracefully departed.
Xie Xun wore a look of utter dumbfounding.
No, two admirers in such a short span of time, what on earth was the reason?!
Amused, Ruan Weibai looked at Xie Xun: “I told you that you couldn’t be envious of it.”
“Ah-Ruan.”
“What, Mm.” The moment he turned his head, his chin was seized firmly by Ye Tang, who pulled him in for a kiss. Following that, Ye Tang bit down on his lower lip. This sudden kiss and bite startled Ruan Weibai into widening his eyes in shock, “Y-you, what are you doing?!”
Several people nearby who had apparently been preparing to step forward froze when they saw this setup, their faces flushing red as they turned around and fled.
Ye Tang stated with absolute certainty: “Helping you block the peach blossoms.”
Ruan Weibai: ?
[System: Ahhhhhh, this damned, disregard-for-others possession and retribution, I! Am! Thrilled! Again!]
On the other side of the restaurant, four cultivators who had similarly concealed their true spiritual power and appearances were seated at a table, sipping tea unhurriedly. Among them, the black-haired man who had happened to witness this scene nearly spat out a mouthful of tea. When the other three at the table looked toward him, he hurriedly coughed twice to smooth things over: “I didn’t expect the local social customs here to be quite so open, right out in public.”
The white-haired man beside him remarked, “Have you and your junior brother done much less in public?”
This remark made the black-haired man cough awkwardly for quite a while. He quickly changed the subject, saying, “Master, ever since we crossed over, I lost connection with Yingjie. How are you and Yuanguang holding up?”
The white-haired man shook his head: “Lost connection as well.”
Nodding in understanding, the black-haired man who asked the question said, “Then it seems the time node we arrived at is correct, we just don’t know when our Sword Demon senior will make his appearance.”
The crimson-robed cultivator opposite him turned to look at the person beside him, propping his head up lazily as he asked, “Aze, didn’t you say that after crossing over, our identities would randomly switch to become people of this world? Why haven’t our identities changed at all?”
The black-robed cultivator addressed as Aze was in the midst of picking food for the black-haired man. Hearing the question, he smiled and replied, “If our identities haven’t changed, it can only prove that we were originally meant to appear in this book, we are merely a part of the plot.”
With that, he gazed with absolute gentleness at the black-haired man beside him: “Senior brother, has your system made contact with the system over here yet?”
The black-haired man closed his eyes. After a moment, he shook his head:
“No, but it said it feels like it’s getting very close.”