This carriage ride lasted for a full day. We ate our food, admired the scenery, and had absolutely nothing to do, so I decided to ask Duan Qianyue.
“Junior Brother Qianyue, do you still remember Tang Ying saying in the illusion that their young master wants to protect me?”
Duan Qianyue gave a slight nod.
“Then who is that Tianji Pavilion young master?” Ever since I arrived in this world, the people I know can be counted on one hand, let alone having any deep connections.
“I recall that Chen Haishu has no sons under his name,” Duan Qianyue said.
That was rather strange.
“Could it be that Tang Ying joined some other sect?” I asked.
“Impossible. Wanting to deceive Chen Haishu and join another sect is out of the question,” Duan Qianyue replied without a moment’s hesitation.
At that moment, the carriage came to a stop.
“Young master, the hour is late.” A-Yun parked the carriage outside an inn.
“Yearning,” as I looked at the signboard of this inn, I thought of Li Bai’s poem: “Long yearning brings deep sorrow; short yearning drives me to despair. Had I known love would bind the heart like this, I would have chosen never to meet you at all.” It seemed the owner of this inn must be a deeply affectionate person.
“Although this young master has a fine literary talent, it is a pity you have never experienced romantic love, nor do you know that this kind of yearning can also be a form of happiness.” The speaker had a face like jade and exuded an air of noble elegance.
What he said was not wrong, but I truly had never experienced the feeling of falling in love with someone or longing for someone.
After finishing dinner, I whispered to A-Yun, “Later on, tell the innkeeper we need two superior rooms.” That way, people would think the young master stays in one room and the two attendants share another, with the attendants staying in a superior room, which would also make people praise the master’s generosity. If everyone took a separate room, it would seem far too strange; which attendant enjoys the same treatment as their master?
“Junior Brother Qianyue, you are not familiar with A-Yun. You can take a single room when the time comes, and I will share a room with A-Yun.” I considered this arrangement quite thorough.
Duan Qianyue was far from satisfied and glared at me. “I will share a room with Senior Brother.”
I looked at him in confusion, and Duan Qianyue added, “Who knows what Senior Brother might want to do to Brother A-Yun at night? I have to keep an eye on Senior Brother.”
Hearing him say that reminded me that A-Yun and the original host might actually have had something going on in the past, so I could not help glancing at A-Yun.
“Young Master can do whatever he pleases with me,” A-Yun uttered these words with a completely expressionless face.
I felt even more awkward.
Duan Qianyue stopped talking after that.
Thinking of A-Yun’s obedient, submissive little-wife demeanor, I ultimately decided it would be better to share a room with Duan Qianyue.
Late into the night, A-Yun came knocking on the door anyway. “Young Master.”
I was sitting up, so I went over and opened the door. “It is late, A-Yun, go get some rest.”
“Yes.”
I let out a long sigh of relief. Why did everyone act so strange?
“Senior Brother is truly popular with others,” Duan Qianyue said sarcastically.
I ignored him and lay down on the daybed. This superior room was quite large, featuring both a bed and a daybed.
I conceded the bed to Duan Qianyue and blew out the candle.
“Between Lu and Yun-shiong and me, who would you choose?” Duan Qianyue asked.
“Which scenario do you mean? Is this the kind where both of us fall into the water and you want to know who I would save first?” I countered.
“Which Senior Brother do you prefer?” he asked again.
“Do you want to hear the truth?” Seeing how serious he was, I stopped joking around.
“Naturally,” he said.
“A-Yun,” I replied.
“Why?”
“He treats me well.”
“Do I not treat Senior Brother well?”
“Not well.”
After that, he said nothing more.
The next day, we continued our journey. This was Ma’an Town, a mandatory stop on the way to Linnan Mountain, which was still considered quite bustling. We would be able to reach Linnan Mountain before tonight.
Thinking about how I was about to see Bai Shiyu, I curiously asked Duan Qianyue, “What kind of person is Grand Master?”
“Has Senior Brother forgotten many things?” he answered the question with another question.
“My memory is not very good.”
“Then does Senior Brother still remember saying that you like me?” he said.
“Junior Brother is exceptionally handsome, who would not like him?” What this meant was that I had merely said it casually, so he should not take it too seriously.
“Senior Brother said you wanted to become cultivation partners with me and engage in dual cultivation with me every single night,” he pressed on relentlessly.
Impossible. At the time I arrived, the original host only had the wicked desire but lacked the actual nerve. I suspected this was something the original host let slip during a later period of abandoning all restraint. You, Duan Qianyue, have lived twice, but what does that have to do with me?
“Junior Brother is joking. I never said any such thing,” I stated.
Duan Qianyue leaned in close, staring right at me like a venomous snake eyeing its prey.
“Yu Li, I want to kiss you.”
“What?” Before I could even finish, his lips pressed against mine. His slightly cool lips sucked softly upon mine, and amidst the shifting angle, a scorching tongue probed into my mouth. My mind went completely blank, and my entire body began to heat up. This unprecedented sensation utterly overwhelmed me.
Later on, I asked myself honestly: I harbored no desire toward Duan Qianyue, yet I did not feel any aversion to his intimacy either, and even thought it felt rather nice. Could it be that I was a visual creature? As long as someone was attractive enough, regardless of gender, when they grew close to me, my heart felt joyful and found it impossible to push them away.
Linnan Mountain is a mountain city built entirely against the cliffs, with many houses constructed upon the precipitous rock faces, yet no staircases were visible. As I was wondering how the people here managed to get up, I saw a martial brother moving with agile grace, his toes tapping against the rock wall as he flew straight up. “What wonderful lightweight Kung Fu!”
It seemed most people in Linnan Mountain were practitioners of martial arts and cultivation.
We rested for the night at a household at the foot of the mountain, and early the next morning, Duan Qianyue and I set off. Bai Shiyu lived at the very highest point of Linnan Mountain. This mountain towered into the clouds, and no matter how good one’s lightweight Kung Fu was, it could only take one halfway up; from there on, one had to ride a sword. I instructed A-Yun to enjoy himself here for a couple of days and then return to the manor without waiting for us.
“Young Master.”
I looked at him, and he had a hesitant look on his face, as if he wanted to speak but stopped.
“Once I finish handling this matter, I will come home to find you all and play,” I said.
With that, I turned and left.
At the peak of the mountain stood a small pavilion-like building, appearing as though it were nestled right in the clouds, truly a fairyland-like scene. At the entrance of the courtyard, two young boy attendants stood on guard.
“Who are you looking for?” one of the boy attendants asked. Despite their tender age, they acted as rigid as adults.
“My name is Yu Li, and this is my junior brother Duan Qianyue. We are disciples of the Starry Sky Sect, seeking an audience with Grand Master. Sorry to trouble you,” I said.
He turned and went inside, returning shortly after. “Yu Li, follow me.”
Duan Qianyue and I exchanged glances, then followed him inside.
Past the doorway was a covered walkway. Walking further forward, we spotted a celestial pool. Set in the exact center of the celestial pool was a pavilion, inside of which sat two people, both graceful gentlemen clad in robes as pristine as snow.
When I walked up close, I called out, “Grand Master.”
I had met Bai Shiyu before and still remembered him, but the other person was even more handsome, someone I had never seen before. The two of them were playing a game of chess.
“So, this is the person of exceptional talent you mentioned?” Grand Master asked.
“Indeed,” the other person replied. After speaking, he looked right at me. “Does Brother Yu still remember me?”
Seeing the blank look on my face, he offered a prompt: “Heaven has endowed me with talents, they are bound to be useful.”
“You are Feng Qiubai!” I exclaimed in surprise.
“It is indeed I,” he said with a smile.
The last time I saw him, he certainly did not look like this; he had used disguise techniques when going out to visit brothels. I smiled.
The two of them appeared to be of similar age, a couple of hundred-year-old youths who naturally hit it off and knew how to have fun together.
“Your disciple has come here this time to ask Grand Master to accompany us to Tianji Pavilion to seek justice,” I said, remembering the main purpose of our visit.
“Oh? Tell me about it,” Bai Shiyu said, keeping his gaze fixed on the chess board and asking with casual indifference while making his move.
I recounted the entire sequence of events from beginning to end.
From start to finish, Bai Shiyu maintained a smiling expression, glancing at me only when I first entered, before refocusing entirely on his game of chess. He truly possessed the unperturbed demeanor of an otherworldly expert of supreme detachment. It was hard to imagine that such a person had once written the four characters “Do not bother me” and nearly drove the old man to fury.