Chapter 12#
Chapter 12#
Pei Huang stared into Xue Jingci’s eyes like a fierce young wolf.
This look was actually a bit amusing; a trace of a smile actually appeared in Xue Jingci’s eyes.
After a long time, Pei Huang turned his head and didn’t speak again, just followed behind Xue Jingci, not leaving like a tail.
Xue Jingci let him follow and turned back to the city to report.
Pei Huang reached up and felt his neck, feeling a sense of emptiness.
Everyone had been chasing and killing demons, and each had crawled into a demon den. Where was the elegant and otherworldly air of yesterday? They stood before Zhou Zimo covered in dust and dirt.
Song Jue was the most miserable; he had been assigned a fox den, which reeked to high heaven. Now he smelled like that from head to toe.
He was usually very particular and cared a lot about his reputation. He had intended to sneak back to the inn to clean up before meeting the others, but unexpectedly he was stopped by Zhou Zimo at the door and taken to report the situation, caught right in the middle of it by everyone.
Song Jue looked up, only to see that Xue Jingci was also a mess, not a bit better than himself. He didn’t look like his usual arrogant self at all, which provided much comfort to Song Jue.
Song Jue thought about his experience in the demon den. He had thought that eliminating demons would mean slaying ten thousand demons with one sword, looking like an immortal. Who knew that most of the time was spent digging through a fox den.
Everyone shared similar feelings; none had thought a cultivator would have to do such things.
They secretly agreed that this could be considered having gone through hardships together, and once they returned to the Upper Realm, no one should mention this matter.
Seeing everyone’s appearance, Zhou Zimo laughed out loud unceremoniously: “Everyone has worked hard in this demon elimination. Take a good rest. The Lantern Festival will proceed as planned today; if you want to play, go out and have some fun. We gather at midnight tonight to return to the Upper Realm.”
After all, they were all young people. Hearing this, they became happy and discussed what they were going to buy and which shops they were going to visit in a while.
Xue Jingci was about to leave but was stopped by Zhou Zimo.
Zhou Zimo handed him a bottle of elixir.
“The color of Zhuxia grass on the fingertips is extremely difficult to remove. Using this to wash will be faster.”
The System approached Xue Jingci, sniffed the host’s fingertips, and asked: “What does this mean?”
Xue Jingci looked at the dark red on his fingertips: “She is telling me she knows I modified the array.”
When he modified the array earlier, he didn’t have suitable materials on hand, so he used Zhuxia grass to dye the array talismans.
“Modified the array?” The System was even more bewildered: “When was it modified?”
“When we went to the mortuary.”
Xue Jingci said casually: “Just in passing.”
The System’s eyes widened. It had clearly been following the host the whole time and indeed saw him picking flowers and plants, but it hadn’t noticed this at all!
Xue Jingci returned to his room and used the medicine given by Zhou Zimo. Indeed, the remaining color on his fingernails vanished instantly.
When he went to the demon den today, he picked up quite a bit of unpleasant odor. He took a serious bath and, while he was at it, washed the System clean as well, leaving it by the window to dry.
The afternoon sun was warm and mellow. The System shook its fur, lay down leisurely, and watched the pedestrians on the street.
Today was the Mid-Autumn Festival. According to custom, a lantern festival would be held. The Prefect had posted a notice explaining that the evil array had been broken and the demon race had been eliminated. The entire city was suddenly even more bustling. Many lanterns with novel styles were being hung up; they would surely be beautiful when lit up at night.
The System was restless with anticipation and urged him: “Let’s go out and play! We finally came down; we can finally have a good meal!”
Just as they stepped out, they ran into the others. Now everyone had changed into ordinary clothes and looked like sons and daughters of wealthy families.
To his surprise, Song Jue was the first to speak: “Junior Brother Xue, we’re planning to go see the lanterns. Do you want to come along?”
Xue Jingci was a bit surprised. Facing this person’s rare show of goodwill, he still shook his head: “I have an appointment with an old friend, so I won’t be going.”
Song Jue was about to snort and turn away, but in the end he said awkwardly: “We plan to go to the moat outside the city to release river lanterns. If you change your mind, you can come find us there.”
After the three left, the System asked: “Are you going to find Pei Huang?”
Xue Jingci squeezed its paw and pointed to the roof beam opposite. Pei Huang had already changed his clothes and was waiting there.
Pei Huang’s toes tapped lightly as he landed in front of him, saying joyfully: “I count as an old friend?”
Xue Jingci glanced at him and said: “A child friend (Xiao Pengyou).”
Pei Huang was dissatisfied: “A friend is a friend, why add ’little’? I’m not small; after this year, I’ll be seventeen!”
Xue Jingci didn’t wait for him; the Lake-Heart eatery in the outskirts of the city only served fish at this hour, and once it passed, it wouldn’t be available.
The two and the cat soon reached the tour boat and managed to get on right before it set sail.
The Lake-Heart eatery was a specialty of Luocheng. The fish were caught from the lake that very day—cold-water fish that only grew in Luolake, exceptionally delicious. Only one net was allowed each day.
The boat left the shore, rowing along. The bow pushed aside the water ripples, and a piping hot fish head pot was served. Xue Jingci stared intently at the boiling milky-white fish soup and twitched his nose.
This action was exceptionally cute. Pei Huang felt as if he had returned to the past, in that Daoist temple, simply having a meal with him.
He hadn’t enjoyed food so peacefully for a long time. He didn’t have much of an appetite, but seeing Xue Jingci eating happily and even that stupid cat licking its paws, he finally picked up his chopsticks.
Pei Huang used to rarely eat fish, or rather, rarely ate things from the water.
He would always think of the corpses pulled from the river when he was a child, so naturally he didn’t have much liking for these things. Now, however, he felt the fish soup before him was like the most tempting delicacy in the world.
Xue Jingci ate with focus. His gaze while staring at the food was almost innocent. The way he ate was also pleasant but not slow, one bite after another. Sometimes he would even lick his fingers like the cat beside him.
If it were anyone else, Pei Huang would surely have been disgusted to death, but when Xue Jingci did it, it seemed perfectly natural and not strange at all.
He endured for a long time. Once Xue Jingci had nearly finished eating, he still couldn’t help but ask: “That matter—how did you know I did it?”
Xue Jingci answered while biting his chopsticks: “First, there was something you wanted in the demon den, which means you had the most motive.”
“Second, you appeared as soon as we arrived, showing that you closely monitor the city’s affairs.”
After not seeing him for many years, Xue Jingci was still so meticulous in his actions. Pei Huang felt for a moment that his loss wasn’t unfair and followed up with a question: “And?”
“Nothing else.”
Pei Huang was stunned: “Nothing else?”
Xue Jingci nodded seriously and said: “Actually, I wasn’t certain. I was just bluffing.”
Pei Huang’s eyes widened. He never expected Xue Jingci to have this side to him.
After eating the fish, there were actors singing on the boat. Xue Jingci was not interested in this kind of program. Having filled his belly, he grew drowsy under the sun as the boat rocked, and he spent the second half of the trip mostly asleep.
When they got off the boat, it was nearing dusk. The two walked along the widest long street of Luocheng. The sky in the mortal realm darkened quickly; before they had walked far, the sun was no longer visible.
But today, there were countless suns in the city.
Thousands of colored lanterns were lit one after another, making the bright moon high in the sky lose its color.
Young children carrying bamboo baskets moved through the crowd like agile fish, selling sparklers and flowers.
Shops along the street were all hawking their wares vigorously. As Xue Jingci walked along, his stomach was filled with various delicious snacks.
Pei Huang didn’t eat anything, just stared quietly at Xue Jingci.
Xue Jingci ate quickly, yet there was no trace of the unrefined manners of gulping food down; every action was a sight to behold.
It was just that he truly couldn’t understand how this person, after going to the Upper Realm, could be as hungry as if he hadn’t eaten in three years.
What kind of bitter life was he living in the Upper Realm?
Pei Huang waited patiently for Xue Jingci to finish the food in his hand before speaking: “No wonder I could never find you; it turns out you went to the Upper Realm.”
Xue Jingci glanced at him and asked in confusion: “Why were you looking for me?”
Pei Huang: “…”
“I wasn’t looking for you specifically.” Pei Huang turned his head: “Just occasionally, in passing.”
After saying that, he continued to ask the question he cared about most: “Are you living well in the Upper Realm?”
Xue Jingci nodded: “Quite well.”
Pei Huang had long known Xue Jingci would say this, and his gaze couldn’t help but turn to the System on the side.
He had long seen that this cat was very spiritual. If it could learn to write, perhaps he could ask about Xue Jingci’s true situation.
He had previously guessed that Xue Jingci’s life in the Upper Realm was not easy.
On the day the Lingxu Sect disciples entered the city, he had chased after them to investigate. Except for Zhou Zimo, who was too strong to approach, he had quietly investigated everyone else.
That guy called Song Jue showed quite a bit of disdain and dislike for Xue Jingci in his speech.
But looking at it again today, it seemed not entirely so.
Seeing Pei Huang staring at him the whole time, the System thought to itself that indeed no one could resist a kitten’s charm, so it flipped over in Xue Jingci’s arms and showed its belly, out of the goodness of its heart letting Pei Huang pet it.
Pei Huang was unmoved. His mind was full of how Xue Jingci was doing; how could he have the time to hold this fat cat.
The System invited him for a long time, but Pei Huang didn’t reach out his hand. Its eyes suddenly widened.
There was actually someone who could refuse a kitten!
One should know that over these years, even the host would pet it from time to time.
The System meowed in dissatisfaction, finally drawing Pei Huang’s attention.
“It’s grown on me; it’s quite cute. How old is it?”
Xue Jingci thought about the time they had been in this world and replied: “Over ten years old.”
Pei Huang was a bit surprised, and his gaze toward this old cat gained a bit of pity: “Having lived so many years, it’s probably close to death.”
Seeming to remember that he hadn’t been friendly earlier, Pei Huang bought some dried fish at the roadside and hung it around its neck: “Eat more while you still can.”
The System was almost fuming, meowing and cursing.
Pei Huang actually thought it was happy and nodded with satisfaction.
Xue Jingci was silent for a while and then nodded: “You have a point.”
The cat was still protesting and meowing wildly, but Pei Huang didn’t bother with it. Seeing Xue Jingci agree with his words, the sense of unfamiliarity between the two seemed to vanish suddenly, and he began to talk more.
One moment he asked what the Upper Realm was like, the next where the Lingxu Sect was located.
Xue Jingci answered everything one by one.
The lanterns were like daylight, and the crowd surged.
As Pei Huang asked, he moved a bit closer to Xue Jingci.
Seeing Xue Jingci cast a confused look at him, Pei Huang quickly said: “It’s too noisy here; I can’t even hear your voice clearly.”
The two looked at each other for a moment; Pei Huang’s face felt a bit hot.
Suddenly he was bumped by someone behind him. The crowd squeezed in one direction. Hearing the sound of gongs and drums not far away, a troupe of acrobats had actually arrived.
The two were already close together, and now they were squeezed together by the crowd; even a Great Golden Immortal couldn’t escape.
Pei Huang instinctively reached out to protect Xue Jingci, encircling both the person and the cat in his arms.
Xue Jingci looked up and suddenly realized that the youth before him was completely different from before. That originally restless wolf cub now actually knew to protect him.
His investigating gaze was unmasked. Pei Huang felt as if the piece of skin being stared at was burning and asked stutteringly: “Want… want to go take a look?”
Xue Jingci nodded. The two followed the crowd and saw several strange people on stilts breathing fire. Walking a few more steps, a burst of intense applause erupted from the crowd.
Xue Jingci finally felt a bit of curiosity and stopped his tracks.
Not far away, someone was performing a monkey show.
The monkey was extremely agile, doing handstands one moment and rolling the next, drawing countless cheers.
After performing for about fifteen minutes, one monkey snatched a brass gong from the performer’s hand and circled around, striking it. The other monkey picked up a bowl and ran toward the crowd with jumps and hops.
Hearing this sound, the originally gathered crowd scattered and left, revealing Xue Jingci and Pei Huang standing at the back.
The old man performing the monkey show couldn’t help but curse: “Each of you looks like a person, but who knows you’re dirt poor. Watching a monkey show for free without paying—may you be poor for a lifetime.”
After that, he said many more wicked things. A few people who had intended to give money also left in anger, feeling that hearing such words on Mid-Autumn night was very bad luck.
The little monkey holding the bowl shrank its head in fear. Seeing people still standing nearby, it hurried over. A few who were slow were embarrassed and pulled out a few copper coins to put in.
When it reached Xue Jingci, a clinking sound came from the bowl.
A full hundred copper coins!
The little monkey holding the bowl was startled. The old man who had been full of foul language earlier hurried over and patted the monkey’s head: “Quickly, perform a bow for the gentleman.”
The monkey quickly put down the bowl, performing both bows and kowtows. This was its best trick, which it wouldn’t easily show usually. The crowd that had originally walked away couldn’t help but gather back, only to be spat upon by the old man: “What are you looking at, you bunch of paupers.”
Xue Jingci took Pei Huang away in the chaos.
Pei Huang asked in confusion: “Why did you give him so much money?”
Xue Jingci explained: “I’ve seen him before. When I came to Luocheng in the past, I often watched his monkey show. But I had no money then; I would just turn and leave after watching.”
Pei Huang instinctively asked: “Did he curse you then too?”
Xue Jingci nodded.
He truly had no money then. He accepted others’ cold looks calmly; he heard the words cursing him but didn’t take them to heart.
Pei Huang felt a bit strange; he hadn’t thought Xue Jingci had suffered such grievances before.
He couldn’t help but say: “That man has no filter on his mouth; he’s extremely wicked. He cursed you before, yet you still gave him so much money?”
If it were him, being insulted so, he would surely have secretly “borrowed” the monkey back to play for a couple of days.
Xue Jingci said faintly: “Forget it. Making a living is not easy.”
The two looked over to where the monkey show was. They saw the old man had bought several buns from somewhere and was tearing them open and blowing them cool to feed the monkeys.
A trace of warmth flowed from Xue Jingci’s eyes: “Consider it buying their happiness.”
Pei Huang was momentarily stunned. It was a long time before he said stubbornly: “Others’ happiness—how can it be worth so much.”
Xue Jingci was noncommittal.
He could see that although the youth before him acted somewhat excessively at times, he could also distinguish between good and bad; it was at most youthful spirit.
When he grew up a bit more, he wouldn’t take these trivial matters to heart.
Xue Jingci looked at the youth and asked: “You’ve been wearing a mask the whole time. Who are you hiding from?”
Pei Huang gave a vague response. Xue Jingci didn’t ask further.
He secretly cast a spell, leaving an aura-hiding array on the tablet in Pei Huang’s arms.
The two passed through the crowd. Pei Huang suddenly remembered something and asked cautiously: “How long can you stay on this mission?”
Xue Jingci said truthfully: “Leaving at midnight.”
Pei Huang stopped his tracks instantly, lowering his eyes and no longer speaking.
Xue Jingci waited for a while. Seeing Pei Huang was excessively quiet, even as slow as he was, he noticed the youth’s low spirits.
He suddenly asked: “How much do you think others’ happiness is worth?”
Pei Huang hadn’t expected Xue Jingci to hear his petulant words from earlier. For a moment, a mix of unclear emotions welled up in his heart, feeling a bit worried that with Xue Jingci’s indifferent temperament, he would be bullied back in the Upper Realm.
After thinking for a bit, he said: “At most worth one copper coin.”
Your copper coins should be spent on yourself; you should be better to yourself.
He didn’t finish his words, hiding the last half and refusing to say it.
Fireworks filled the sky, blooming in the night. Xue Jingci watched him quietly, then suddenly pulled out a copper coin, took his hand, and placed the coin in his palm.
“Buying yours.”
Everything around them receded into blurred shadows in an instant. Pei Huang looked at Xue Jingci’s slightly lowered eyelashes. The light from the sky fell into the man’s eyes, brilliant as stars.
He squeezed hard, and the copper coin, which had picked up the coolness from Xue Jingci’s palm, grew hot.
Pei Huang couldn’t help but laugh and asked him: “Want to go see the river lanterns?”
Xue Jingci nodded. The two walked toward the outskirts of the city together. Many small stalls were set up by the moat, filled with various river lanterns.
Many people were writing notes and placing them on the lantern wicks to burn, pushing them down the water along with the river lanterns.
Xue Jingci stopped to watch for a while, then withdrew his gaze.
“There’s a bridge over there where one can have a full view of the entire river.”
Pei Huang led Xue Jingci up the bridge. Just before they went up, he remembered they hadn’t bought river lanterns and ran off hurriedly, shouting: “Wait for me here.”
Xue Jingci didn’t know where he had gone again and sat on the railing alone to wait. Suddenly he frowned.
All along the way, he had sensed an uncomfortable aura, as if a demonic cultivator was following them.
Xue Jingci thought for a moment, then cast a spell toward the place where the aura was coming from, vanishing in the instant he stood up.
Pei Huang bought the lanterns and hurried back.
But the spot by the railing was already empty. Only a few trampled maple leaves lay lonely on the ground.